Way of Choices: Book I - Youths We Were, Schoolmates

by Mao Ni

  Guardian Jin silently gave a bitter smile as he thought, This is the real world, where did all these plot points from stories come from? Princess seems to have matured a lot, but it turns out she's still a child.

  The next morning at five o'clock, Luoluo promptly awoke. Of course, under her normal routine, this girl that was fond of sleep would definitely have failed to get up, but her maids, following her commands, had begun beating on gongs and banging on drums in the yard from four-forty-five, and so she had to get up, even if she didn't want to.

  She wrapped some clothes around herself, rubbed her eyes, opened her door, and angrily mumbled, "It's so noisy!"

  Those maids that had forcefully suppressed their fear and unease to bang on the gongs and drums, their faces pale, were so frightened by their princess's anger that they immediately groveled on the ground, repeatedly asking for forgiveness.

  "I was just randomly commenting." Luoluo yawned and then indicated that they should rise, saying, "None of you were wrong and you've done well. In a little while, go to Mama Li and receive your rewards of silver…precisely according to the rule I established last night, if you wake me up before five, there will be a reward. If I can't wake up, your pay for the month will be gone!"

  The maids all looked at each other and, after confirming that the princess was truly not angry, they fearfully rose and brought over all sorts of tools, grooming the princess and assisting her in her toiletries. Another person came with ten-odd dresses, asking the princess which one she would wear today.

  The maids all looked at each other and, after confirming that the princess was truly not angry, they fearfully rose and brought over all sorts of tools, grooming the princess and assisting her in her toiletries. Another person came with ten-odd dresses, asking the princess which one she would wear today.

  Pushing open that brand-new door, she went from the Hundred Herb Garden to the Orthodox Academy.

  There was no wooden basin here, and so there was no naturally no bathing youth either. His past encounter had engraved far too deep a memory on Chen Changsheng's mind. After dinner, the first thing he did was to bring the wooden basin inside the house. At the same time, he did not forget to add a lock to the house and to also draw closed the curtains of the bathroom.

  Changes noiselessly occurred in the Orthodox Academy.

  Because this place no longer had solely Chen Changsheng.

  The Orthodox Academy now had two students.

  * * *

  Reading and then cultivating remained the theme of the Orthodox Academy.

  Besides no longer being able to bathe outside or sing when he was on the toilet…Chen Changsheng felt that the greatest change in his life was that the quality of his meals had improved enormously. From the second day after Luoluo had acknowledged him as her teacher, he began to eat the breakfast, lunch, and dinner she brought over from the Hundred Herb Garden.

  He was extremely satisfied with the three meals made in the Hundred Herb Garden. Whether it was the variety of dishes; the pairing of vegetables, grain, and meats; the nutrition; or the taste; he felt that they all surpassed his finest imagination. In Xining Village's old temple, it was always his senior that cooked the meals. Although nutrition was no problem, the taste was truly very ordinary.

  He was very satisfied with these meals, but he was even more satisfied with Luoluo's expression. Essentially, these meals and her diligence were her expression, her kind intentions.

  Luoluo was very close to him, wanting to spend every moment by his side. The moment his attention strayed, this girl would hug his arm and bury herself in his chest, constantly sniffing. She was just like a cute kitten, and if he did not so firmly insist, she would not even go back to the Hundred Herb Garden to sleep.

  Chen Changsheng was only fourteen years old and was not at all used to the respect and dependency Luoluo displayed. Although he even now mistook her for being around ten years old, even being so close to a female child was inevitably rather embarrassing. However, he thought this sort of feeling was very good, so good in fact, he was willing to endure it all.

  But there had still been no progress in his cultivation. Many days had already passed and he had constantly been drawing in starlight for Purification, yet his body still had not undergone any transformations. Even someone with as resolute a will as him began to doubt himself, or at least feel that his luck was seemingly not very good.

  He did not know that Luoluo had once said to her clansmen that he was a person that needed luck the least.

  Luoluo's luck was extremely good, and if one were to speak in terms of destiny, her destiny swept away all others before it—none could obstruct it!

  From the night she became acquainted with Chen Changsheng to acknowledging him as her teacher, and then in these several dozen days, the late spring had still not come to an end. Chen Changsheng had helped her find three paths of circulating true essence, and she had managed to grasp seventeen moves of the Wind and Rain Sword of Mount Zhong!

  Just as it was beginning to feel like summer, the pre-examination to the Grand Examination concluded.

  The grand streets and small alleys of the capital were lively, crowded with countless students from various places across the continent, in ecstasy or in sorrow, celebrating with wine or drowning their sorrows in it. The restaurants were all packed and though it wasn't even night, those famous brothels had already hung up their colored lanterns.

  Chen Changsheng's mood was rather downcast because of his recent problems with cultivation. He knew that being constantly tense was not a good thing. He needed to relax his mind somewhat. Consequently, he finally emerged from the Orthodox Academy, taking an extremely precious half day of time to go see the sights. Interestingly, or perhaps in his way of rendering others speechless, he did not go to the Li Palace to see those ivies which seemed to be in eternal spring, nor did he go the Bridge of Helplessness to count the stones. Rather…he took Luoluo to the entrance of Hundred Flowers Lane and sat by the well under the eaves to gaze vacantly at the activity on the street.

  Luoluo had always obeyed every one of his orders. No matter what he decided, she had always followed without a single complaint. She believed that any choice he made was correct. No matter how absurd, there was undoubtedly some deeper meaning behind it that she had yet to grasp. Only today was she finally upset.

  "Teacher…"

  She sat on a stone step, looking at the moss growing on the edge of the well as she pouted, bored to death, and kicked around a small leaf at her feet. She had originally planned to grumble a few phrases, yet she couldn't. She felt that since they had finally managed to come out for a stroll, shouldn't they go a little farther? Walking the streets with her teacher was quite an interesting proposition.

  "What's wrong?" Chen Changsheng, holding two ice pops, said, "You don't want to eat it? If I eat two, it'll upset my stomach."

  Luoluo thought to herself, Teacher still loves me. As a result, she grew happy again and took the ice pop from his hand. Seating herself by his side, she vacantly gazed at the sea of people on the street.

  Licking the ice pop, she asked, "Why is it so lively today?"

  With a crunch, Chen Changsheng took a bite out of his ice pop and said in a muffled voice, "Just now when I was buying ice pops, I heard somebody say that the pre-examination for the Grand Examination just ended."

  Luoluo opened her eyes wide and exclaimed, "Ah!"

  Chen Changsheng turned his head to look at her, asking, "What's wrong? Is it too cold?"

  Luoluo turned to him and said uncertainly, "I just feel like we've forgotten something."

  Chen Changsheng began to seriously recall, his brow twisting tighter and tighter and then finally relaxing.

  "I've remembered, we have to represent the Orthodox Academy in attending the Ivy Festival."

  Yes, the pre-examination for the Grand Examination had concluded and summer had come.

  The Ivy Festival was about to begin.

  Luoluo asked, "Do we have t
o go?"

  Chen Changsheng thought it over, then replied, "We should go."

  Luoluo asked, "But it seems that no one has come to notify us."

  Chen Changsheng replied, "If the Bureau of Ecclesiastic Education has forgotten, then we can just not go."

  Luoluo took a satisfied lick of her ice pop and said, "Yeah, whatever Teacher says."

  Chapter 40 – The First Night

  On that day, Chen Changsheng truly had been very unhappy because of that Heavenly Dao Academy overseer's words and attitude. With the passing of time, this unhappiness had long since been dispelled. To him, rather than wasting his time on anger, he would find it better used on more meaningful things, like reading and cultivating, or cultivating and reading.

  He really didn't care much about the Ivy Festival. To make his name famous throughout the world in a single day and cause those people that had belittled him to feel shocked and helpless, to strike a resounding a slap across their faces? In the first place, he had to obediently admit that it would be very difficult for him who had not even succeeded at Purification to do this, and even if he could…he didn't want to.

  Of course, to obtain an undeserved reputation and undeserved glory was not a bad thing, but the problem was that if such a day really did come to pass, his calm life of cultivation would assuredly be disturbed. These past days in which he cared not for the world outside his window and placed all his time on cultivating and reading would certainly not occur again.

  What of Luoluo? First of all, no matter what Chen Changsheng thought, she would support him. Although she had been somewhat upset because he had not taken her strolling through the streets, one ice pop had been enough to pacify her, so a formal and serious affair like this meant much less to her. As for using the Ivy Festival to make her name famous…with her family background and origin, there was no way she would consider these things.

  This was the attitude Chen Changsheng and Luoluo held towards the Ivy Festival. They really did not care very much and wouldn't even care too much if they forgot about it. Based on experiences from the past few years, the Orthodox Academy being forgotten once more would be a very normal thing. However, there was a massive difference this year: the existence of Priest Xin.

  After being reminded by the archbishop, Priest Xin had always been silently attempting to understand the essence hidden behind the Pope's signature. Although he as of yet had not understood anything nor seen any changes in the capital brought about by that new student of the Orthodox Academy, he would at least be unable to forget that new student.

  One day in the early summer, a carriage was driven into Hundred Flowers Lane and into the Orthodox Academy. At dusk, under the rose-red twilight, this carriage drove out of the Orthodox Academy, drove out of Hundred Flowers Lane, and, following the roads of the capital, reached the Heavenly Dao Academy and entered through its black jade gates.

  Luoluo raised a corner of the window curtain and looked around at both sides of the road at those pavilions and buildings, her eyes wide open in curiosity. She had visited the Heavenly Dao Academy many times before, but it had always been under the heavy escort of her clansmen and the Guardians of the Imperial Palace. She would noiselessly come in from the back gate of the Heavenly Dao Academy and quietly exit. Other than those professors and those outstanding students personally taught by those professors, she had interacted with nobody else, and this was the first time she had actually come in through the main gate of the Heavenly Dao Academy.

  Chen Changsheng had come to the Heavenly Dao Academy twice. The first time was that extremely disastrous enrollment experience while the second time was when he had come with an incredibly wretched appearance, soaked from head to toe, also not a very good experience to remember. He had long since lost his respect and admiration for this academy, but he would not deny that it truly was very beautiful.

  The pleasant shade of the trees, the winding of the stream, the dazzling beauty of the summer flowers…as Chen Changsheng sat by the carriage window and saw these beautiful sights, the melancholy brought about by having to attend the Ivy Festival, meet with strangers, and waste an entire night of cultivation was completely banished. When he thought about how he would meet Tang Thirty-Six in a little while, his mood improved even more.

  Priest Xin did not know his personality, so when he saw him constantly looking out the window in silence, carrying about him an atmosphere of youthful depression, he couldn't help but misunderstand and grow somewhat concerned. Patting Chen Changsheng on the shoulder, Priest Xin soothed, "Just sit, it doesn't matter if you don't step on stage."

  Chen Changsheng turned and nodded his head to indicate that he understood, and then earnestly gave his thanks.

  After a momentary pause, Priest Xin added, "Don't concern yourself too much about the words spoken by Sir Overseer in the Orthodox Academy…I truly do advise that the two of you not step on stage to compete. This year's Ivy Festival is somewhat different from the past, you really have to be a little more careful."

  Chen Changsheng knew that he meant well and said, "Sir should relax, I'm already prepared to sit for a night."

  "Hm? One night?"

  Priest Xin was just comforting himself over the fact that his good intentions had not been misunderstood when he suddenly noticed the problem in this statement. He shook himself from his daze and asked, "You don't know?"

  At a loss, Chen Changsheng asked, "What?"

  Priest Xin glanced at Luoluo who had just pulled her gaze away from the window.

  Luoluo was also at a loss. "What should we know?"

  "The Ivy Festival…is an activity organized by Ivy Academies, but in reality, it's a rehearsal for the Grand Examination. All of its rules are the same as the Grand Examination's. The Grand Examination is conducted for three days, so the Ivy Festival feasts for three nights. Did the two of you really not know? Then you must also not know that these three nights are not held together?"

  Priest Xin stared at the two like they were freaks and asked, "Just what have you two prepared for?"

  Chen Changsheng completely missed this question. All of his mind was on that previous statement, feeling very troubled. It actually wasn't one night but three? How much time would that waste? How many fewer books would he be able to read? This was too inappropriate, wasn't it?

  Luoluo saw him in a daze and said to Priest Xin, "Sir should relax. We have already made our preparations. We didn't even eat lunch, so we will definitely eat our fill tonight."

  Priest Xin was speechless as he thought, what sort of freaks are these? Looking at Chen Changsheng, he said, "In short, tonight, the two of you have to be more careful. At the moment, I can't be sure, but I've heard news that a few unexpected people will also be attending the Ivy Festival. But they might not come as well."

  At this moment, the carriage reached the primary meeting place for tonight's Ivy Festival.

  Priest Xin said, "I still have some matters to take care, so I can only send you up to here."

  Chen Changsheng and Luoluo gave their thanks and descended from the carriage. They saw that it was already dark, the previously verdant trees now shadowy demonic existences. He froze, feeling that in this academy, some faint and indescribable pressure seemed to be pressing upon him.

  "This way please." A student dressed in the black uniform of the Heavenly Dao Academy very politely pointed the way.

  At the end of the stone path was an enormous building, its exterior hung with three rows containing several hundred red lanterns that spilled their light in all directions. Worthy of the most acclaimed academy on the continent. Although this building wasn't particularly unusual in the Heavenly Dao Academy, it was enough to hold several hundred to one thousand guests.

  Seeing the dense mass of red lanterns, not only did Chen Changsheng not feel much better, he felt that the pressure had grown more real.

  The curtains within the building lightly drifted. Several hundred young students were already seated at those tables constructed of fine-gra
ined hardwood. These were all students who had successfully passed the Grand Examination pre-examination several days ago. They came from all over the continent, so not all of them were people of the Great Zhou Dynasty, and none of them were members of the Six Ivies. The students of the Six Ivies could directly participate in the Grand Examination and possessed the right to skip the pre-examination. It was like the students of the Six Ivies were automatically a level above these young students, so now when they were seated in the Heavenly Dao Academy, they couldn't help but be somewhat reserved and nervous.

  Besides these hundred-plus tables scattered amongst these curtains, there was still an extremely large area fenced off by pear trees with yellow blossoms into a certain number of spaces. These areas were left for tonight's hosts, guests, and the students of the Six Ivies.