by Mao Ni
Chen Changsheng was very used to this sort of atmosphere, as it reminded him of his senior brother. He didn't know how his senior brother was doing in Xining Village's old temple, nor when he would be willing to come to the capital.
He had no idea that Mo Yu had already sent people to Xining Village and that the temple there was vacant. Daoist Ji had brought Senior Yu Ren and left for parts unknown.
Chen Changsheng's gaze fell on the middle-aged woman and paused for a few moments.
He needed to get into the Imperial Palace to see the Black Dragon, but he didn't know the way, and he could not entrust this matter to the Black Goat… Tonight, seeing as he had guessed that the middle-aged woman's status in the Imperial Palace was unusual, he suddenly came up with the idea of consulting with her. How does one sneak into the Imperial Palace? Has my lady ever heard of a black dragon?
No matter how he thought about it, this was seeking his own death. To speak with an enigmatic noble of the Imperial Palace on how to sneak into the Imperial Palace, and to even ask about a taboo like the Black Dragon—if this wasn't seeking death, what was?
For some reason, he had this feeling that she was willing to tell him, and that she wouldn't harm him.
He had grown up together with Senior Yu Ren and so always felt that those who were deaf or mute were kind and good people. When he saw this middle-aged woman, he very easily thought of his senior brother and felt close to her, felt that he could trust her. It was just like the feeling many people had when they first saw him. In addition, that night when she had gently caressed his face with her hand had made him recall a person, or perhaps a word, that he had not thought about for a very long time.
He was an orphan, and those two people, those words, had never existed in his life. It was naturally difficult for him to think of them, naturally easy for him to not think of them for a very long time.
The hot tea within the teapot was endless, and the steam rising from the cups would never completely disperse. In the night breeze, however, the steam would drift about somewhat.
Chen Changsheng's hands quickly gestured in front of his body, expressing his intentions.
The middle-aged woman expressionlessly watched his movements, the previous tranquility replaced by a cold atmosphere. It was evident that she was somewhat unhappy at Chen Changsheng's question.
When Chen Changsheng asked about the Black Dragon, she raised her right hand and used three of her fingers to cryptically trace a few lines in the air.
The movement of her fingers was as unfathomable as that of a clear breeze. If Chen Changsheng's eyesight had not been sharp and his mind incredibly focused, it would have been utterly impossible for him to understand her meaning.
Of course, there was no reason to be happy about understanding her meaning.
She asked Chen Changsheng, "Are you not afraid of death?"
Chen Changsheng gestured in reply, "I don't want to die, but a promise is a very important thing, and I also will have to face some rather troublesome problems soon. If I don't resolve them properly, I might never have another chance to enter the Imperial Palace, never have another chance to meet the Black Dragon, so I've taken the risk of asking my lady."
The forest was dark and cold as the woman calmly stared at him, examining him for a very long time. Suddenly, she gave a noiseless laugh and gestured, "It seems that you really aren't afraid of death."
Her question about whether he was afraid of death or not represented her displeasure and threat toward him, while this statement about how he wasn't afraid of death represented her judgment of him.
And this was also the aspect she most appreciated about him.
The woman dipped her hand in the teacup and wrote a single word on the table. She then rose and walked back to the Imperial Palace.
The Black Goat sauntered out from some place in the garden and followed her into the forest, turning its head to glance at Chen Changsheng one final time.
Chen Changsheng had originally intended to escort her to the secret gate in the walls of the Imperial Palace as he had done last time, but he was worried that the word on the table would disappear, so he remained behind.
The tea was dark tea, a dark red that left vivid words on the slightly gray table.
It was the word 'ice'.
Chen Changsheng was somewhat confused. He raised his head, but both the woman and the Black Goat had disappeared.
He could not speak with the woman, only use sign language, but this word was a true riddle.[24]
Chapter 120 – New North Bridge
The breeze blew through the forest and chilled Chen Changsheng's body, waking him from his stupor. Only now did he realize how much of a risk it had been to ask the middle-aged woman about the Black Dragon, and only now did he feel fear over his actions. Just then, he heard the sound of Xuanyuan Po's angry roars from the distance. Most likely, Chen Changsheng's portion of the midnight snack had been eaten by Tang Thirty-Six. Smiling, he shook his head and stopped thinking about these problems, deciding to head back to the Orthodox Academy.
The word 'ice' left by the woman on the table was Chen Changsheng's only clue for finding the Black Dragon, and it also seemed like a sort of test. The Black Dragon was a Black Frost Dragon, a species that had always been associated with ice and snow.
The problem was that ice was a very common object, especially in this period between autumn and winter. One could often see shards of ice in the canals and rivers of the capital and against stone walls. Further north, massive chunks of ice were probably already floating atop the rivers. Even at the height of the summer, the estates of the princes and nobles contained icehouses holding significant quantities of ice.
To cultivators that walked the path of cold, ice was something that could be seen everywhere. They could prepare a pot of water, stick their hands in, and after a few moments, ice would appear in the pot. Places like the Li Palace even had arrays that were especially meant for producing ice for the use of the Pope and high-ranked priests.
Chen Changsheng had encountered a few problems, because ice in the capital… was far too commonplace.
In Xining Village during the deep winter, he and his senior brother would occasionally go to the stream in the mountain to pick out pieces of ice to play with. After coming to the capital, he had fewer chances to interact with ice. Now that he thought about it, the event involving ice that left the greatest impression on him was when he and Luoluo went strolling outside the Orthodox Academy and the two bought ice pops to eat.
He remembered very clearly that it had been midsummer and the streets had been packed with tourists. Almost all of them, whether they were young ladies or noble sons, servants or peddlers, had an ice pop in hand. In Xining Village and in the summers of other cities as described in the Daoist Canon, this was an extremely rare sight.
Both cultivators and arrays could easily create chunks of ice, but no one would ever use such ice to create something as low-value as ice pops. Even if all cultivators lowered themselves, if all arrays worked at full capacity, they would not be able to fulfill the needs of the entire capital for the whole summer.
He walked out of the Orthodox Academy and to the miscellaneous goods store by the well in Hundred Flowers Lane, asking about where they bought their ice pops during the summer. He followed this trail of clues all the way until he arrived at a desserts store in the New Morning Market. From there, he found an icehouse that was strictly administered by the Imperial Court.
The result of his investigations indicated that during the summer, the ice used by all the desserts stores in the capital was bought from this icehouse.
This icehouse was located in the Western Market and had a very small gate. In no way could one tell that the icehouse located beneath its courtyard was able to hold such vast quantities of ice.
Chen Changsheng had Tang Thirty-Six walk around and realized that this icehouse in the Western Market did not contain any sort of array. At the same time, he also made a few inquiries
and confirmed that this icehouse was truly a natural icehouse. Apparently, it was connected to some cold vein running under the capital, so it could provide an unending stream of ice.
After thinking of every way to have Tang Thirty-Six hurry back to the Orthodox Academy, Chen Changsheng found a simple restaurant in the Western Market to sit down. With brush and paper, he began to seriously carry out calculations.
Naturally, he did not believe the so-called cold vein theory. Based on the knowledge in the 'Water Classic' and the related laws of the Imperial Court, paired with the position of the icehouse as scouted out by Tang Thirty-Six, he used about an hour to get a rough estimate of the deepest point of the icehouse. There was no underground river there, and crucially… this was the origin of the cold.
Walking out of the Western Market, he walked according to the path traced out on the paper.
After quite some time, he realized that the noise around him had vanished. Raising his head in amazement, he saw a massive wall before him. He was actually in front of the Imperial Palace!
As expected, he was in front of the Imperial Palace.
He saw the barely visible roofs beyond the palace wall and distinguished which ones were buildings. Then, using the position of the Orthodox Academy as a reference, he obtained a rough estimate of the Weiyang Palace's position. He closed his eyes. He began to walk in his own mind, replaying the events of the Ivy Festival. He walked into the abandoned garden, entered the cold pond, and then began to run. After running, he finally opened that door.
He opened his eyes and walked into a path to the left and behind him. Treading on a carpet of golden leaves, he reached his destination.
The golden autumn of the palace walls was as famous a sight as the ivy vines of the Li Palace. It was currently the best season and best time to view them, so although the weather was rather chilly, there were still many tourists.
He carefully dodged a child with mud-stained hands, courteously bowed to an elder, detoured around a few trees, and came to a well.
He knew that this place was called New North Bridge, but this was the first time he realized that there was a well here.
He peered into the well and discovered that its bottom could not be seen. However, there was not even a hint of moisture, so this well was probably dry and abandoned.
He raised his head to glance upward at the autumn, looked at the nearby crowd of tourists, and felt stunned and perturbed.
The Black Dragon was actually sealed under this place? The entrance was just placed in broad daylight like this?
* * *
New North Bridge was not a bridge, but the name of a place.
Why was this place called New North Bridge despite the clear lack of a bridge?
There was a very famous legend told in the capital about this matter.
It was said that many years ago, when the allied army of humans and demi-humans engaged in pitched battle with the demons on the Central Plains, a formidable evil dragon took advantage of the situation to make trouble wreaking havoc in the capital, devastating life and slaughtering the innocent. No one could control it, and just when the capital was in absolute chaos, Wang Zhice unexpectedly returned from the plains, sneaking into the capital. Together with the Divine Generals that remained to protect the capital, he defeated the evil dragon.
The evil dragon was still a member of the Dragon race, a divine being of the highest class, so it was very difficult to thoroughly kill it. Moreover, it was also said that the blood of this evil dragon was that of the Dragon King. Even a legendary figure like Wang Zhice was worried over the possibility of inciting the fury of the Dragon race that had withdrawn from the world if he killed this evil dragon. He was also concerned that if he killed this dragon, the dragon might do its utmost at its last moment of life to bring a calamity on the capital. Thus, he decided to give the dragon a chance to live. Wang Zhice requested that the evil dragon accept being imprisoned by humanity as atonement for its crimes. He then promised the dragon that he would construct a new bridge over the place where it was imprisoned. If this bridge were to become old or be drowned by the Luo River, it would be released.
The lives of the Dragon race were long to an unimaginable degree. The evil dragon thought to itself, A new bridge turning old might take a few decades or at most a few centuries. In addition, with its understanding of the capital's drainage system and its innate abilities, it was very sure that a massive wave would sweep through the Luo River every sixty years. As it was heavily injured and on the verge of death, it agreed to these conditions.
The evil dragon surrendered and the Great Zhou Imperial Court set up an enormously powerful seal outside the Imperial Palace, sealing the dragon underground, and yet… they never built a bridge on the surface.
The Luo River wound around the Imperial City, not once passing through it. The so-called bridge was just a fake bridge.
Wang Zhice did one other thing. He changed the name of the place to New North Bridge.
This bridge would forever remain unflooded by the Luo River.
This bridge would forever be new.
This evil dragon would forever remain imprisoned.[25]
* * *
Chen Changsheng sat under the tree, his gaze on the book in his hands, yet he could not take in a single word.
Behind the tree, a father was recounting this legend to his child.
That father praised Immortal Wang's flawless plans, while children happily clapped their hands. A child asked, "If this is the case, then that evil dragon is right under our feet?"
The other children were all somewhat frightened at this question, but the adults all roared with laughter, saying, "A story is just a story; how could it be true?"
Chen Changsheng had also heard this legend, but he had never expected that this legend might actually be true.
He turned to the nearby abandoned well, his feelings more and more confused.
Upon hearing the legend of New North Bridge, people would always express loathing for the evil dragon's brutality and praise for Wang Zhice's intellect, but he felt that the dragon was extremely pitiful.
Of course, since the legend might be true, perhaps the dragon really did kill many innocents, necessitating Wang Zhice's scheme. He knew that his standpoint was rather unsteady for him to feel such emotions, but he had seen the dragon's current misery, and when he saw the beautiful autumn scenery on the surface and thought of the cold stone cavern down below, it was hard to not feel some sympathy.
During the day, there were many people at New North Bridge, and the distant palace walls were patrolled by Imperial Guards. Above the walls, a flying carriage would descend at set intervals. Occasionally, a fiery light could be seen in the distance, probably Xue Xingchuan mounted on his Red Cloud Qilin. Chen Changsheng knew that there was presently no way for him to head underground. He had to wait for a while.
He lowered his head and continued to read.
The falling leaves left their branches and fell on his shoulders, a dazzling yellow akin to leaves of gold.
As time passed, the surrounding sounds gradually deadened, the twilight retreated, the darkness descended. He raised his head, confirmed that no one was paying him any attention, and walked to the well.
He knew that he could not display any hesitation, or else he might attract someone's attention.
So he jumped right in. The seemingly golden leaf drifted off his shoulder and fell on the edge of the well.
* * *
The well had no bottom, so there was also no mud, and it felt like he was dropping straight into the void. There was no light here, only darkness, and Chen Changsheng was falling ever faster into this darkness. When he jumped into the well, he covered his head with his hands, the bones toughened by the broths and beatings of his master and senior brother ensuring that his collision against the wall of the well did not do him any harm.
Upon falling into the darkness, he felt the wind howl past his face. He was not concerned about falling to his
death, as he knew that the Black Dragon was certain to detect his arrival. Moreover, for some reason, the closer he got to the Black Dragon, the closer he approached the emotional state he was in on the night of the Ivy Festival. He lost his fear of many things, including death.
While his body was still in the air, he could hear the prolonged and distant breathing, and then he heard it come to a stop.
Two faint spheres of divine flame appeared in the darkness, its eyes.
The Black Dragon had awakened.
A finely crafted, seemingly solid cushion of air appeared under Chen Changsheng's body, helping him fall gently to the floor.
A massive figure akin to a mountain range moved with a terrifying slowness toward him. The air of the cavern, squeezed by the enormous body, shrieked as it moved.
An extreme cold instantly enveloped his entire body. His eyelashes were coated in frost and seemed ready to drop off at any moment.
"It's me." He took out the Night Pearl and illuminated his face.
As he took out the Night Pearl, the several thousand Night Pearls in the dome of the dark cavern lit up in response.
The Black Dragon appeared once more before his eyes, its mountain range of a body undulating and extending into the darkness. Its head was as massive as a palace hall, its scales like mirrors. Ice and frost twinkled on its dust-covered body, and it gave off an indescribable aura of a being that had endured the many tribulations of time. Its floating whiskers were like real, frozen lightning bolts.
This was the second time Chen Changsheng had seen the true appearance of the Black Dragon, but he was still stunned. It took a very long time for him to finally wake from his daze.
He put away the Night Pearl and greeted the Black Dragon. Thinking of the Black Dragon's age, he naturally gave the bow that a junior would give to a senior, saying, "Uncle Dragon, I've come to visit you."