Chapter 38: When Will the Bright Moon Shine Upon My Return

August 12th.

The moon is getting rounder day by day.

For the past few nights, Meng Chunqiu has been standing on the balcony, holding a cup and staring at the moon, as if he has lost his mind. Jiang Lai also leaves early and returns late every day, claiming it is for training; he returns every day tired like a dog, his clothes soaked through with sweat.

Chen Shu is still working hard to earn money.

Chen Shu: Supervisor Wang.

Chen Shu: /Please give me a bite to eat.

Wang Yang: I can't help it either. There haven't been many tasks lately, and I have to look after others, plus none of them are suitable for you.

Chen Shu: Sigh...

On the other hand, Wen Han has received the song but hasn't paid him yet.

He wouldn't welsh on my payment, would he?

The Mobile Phone vibrates.

Chen Shu thinks the money has been sent, but he doesn't expect it to be a video call request from Xiaoxiao.

He presses the answer button.

The little girl's face appears on the screen; like her sister's, her face is very small, but it is a bit rounder than her sister's, making her look less unapproachable and much cuter.

"Brother-in-law!"

"Xiaoxiao." Chen Shu doesn't ask why she is looking for him, but asks first, "Have you been eating properly these past few days?"

"Yes."

"Have you been eating potatoes every day?"

"No."

"What did you have tonight?"

"Steamed buns."

"..."

Chen Shu is speechless for a moment—

These past few days it has been nothing but potatoes or steamed buns, but the problem is he had already heard from Ning Qing that the little girl was using steamed buns to trick him.

This is really...

She doesn't even know how to come up with a few more excuses when lying!

Chen Shu says helplessly: "You can't just eat potatoes and steamed buns."

"I'll have rice noodles tomorrow."

"You can't fool your brother-in-law."

"Yes, I will."

The little girl nods repeatedly on the video.

Chen Shu is truly helpless and has no way to deal with her—this little girl looks obedient usually, but in reality, she is full of bad habits.

But this can't be blamed on anyone else.

Blame himself? They are too close, and he can't bring himself to say it.

Chen Shu has no choice but to continue asking: "Is it cold in Bai City?"

"Not cold, long sleeves are fine."

"Long sleeves won't do, right? You need a jacket."

"I'm not afraid of the cold."

"I heard you beat up a classmate before?"

"Brother-in-law, you told me to."

"Next time, don't tell your sister that I told you to do it. You can tell others that I told you to, but tell your sister that you wanted to do it yourself." Chen Shu teaches her patiently, "Anyway, your sister can't reach you in Bai City, but I am in Yujing, and she can reach me."

"Oh, right!" The little girl widens her eyes, "Brother-in-law, did you get beaten up?"

"I did."

"Is it bad?"

"Not bad, but a bit embarrassing." Chen Shu says honestly, then pauses, "And without Xiaoxiao's help, I can't handle her alone."

"Oh..."

"Do you feel lonely by yourself in Bai City?"

"..."

The little girl falls silent. Her brother-in-law said that she could lie in front of her sister and brother-in-law, but she couldn't pretend to be happy, so she has to change the subject and says to Chen Shu: "Brother-in-law, have you noticed that my sister seems to have gone silly lately? When I video call her, she just stares at me without blinking, and doesn't say a word."

"Is it quite scary?"

"So silly..."

"Haha... She is practicing something called the Heart Dao of Tranquility."

"What is the Heart Dao of Tranquility?"

"It's similar to Closed-Mouth Zen." Chen Shu pauses, winks at her, and says sneakily, "You can scold her now, she won't talk back."

"Really?"

"Absolutely really! It's the absolute truth!"

"..."

The two look at each other through the screen, neither speaking.

It is Chen Shu who grins first, breaking into a bright smile, and his laughter rings out. Immediately, the little girl's expression also becomes lively, her eyes darting left and right, as if she is thinking about how to use this opportunity to sanction her wicked sister.

"Brother-in-law, I'm hanging up first."

"I wish you success."

The video call ended, and he returned to the chat interface.

Chen Shu pursed his lips and turned his head to look toward the south, hoping the young girl's mood could improve a little.

"Knock, knock."

The sound of knocking on the door rang out again.

If nothing unexpected happened, it was Meng Chunqiu again.

Sure enough—

Meng Chunqiu's voice rang out, very gentle: "Brother Chen, if there is anything happy, why not come out and share it with the two of us!"

"There's nothing..."

"Oh, the moonlight outside is just right, Brother Chen, why not come out and enjoy the moon together? Brother Jiang is also outside."

"Coming."

Chen Shu opened the door, got up, and walked out.

The television was playing the news; Jiang Lai had finished showering and changed into a set of clothes, sitting on the sofa staring at the television, his hair still wet. Meng Chunqiu was standing on the balcony outside, still wearing modern clothing that had traditional elements without appearing cumbersome. The moon was only missing a small piece, casting out bright moonlight that made the building opposite look as if it were covered in a thin layer of frost.

"Brother Chen, what do you think of the moonlight tonight?"

"It's quite nice."

Chen Shu rested his hands on the railing and looked up.

The moon in August seemed to be larger than usual; the moon in this world was noticeably larger, like a jade plate right before one's eyes.

"I really want to recite a poem..."

"Brother Meng, don't be constrained."

"Ah..."

Meng Chunqiu let out a long sigh, then remained silent for a long time before squeezing out two lines: "Autumn night, white moon clear, often shining on Yujing..."

"What about the rest?"

"None for now."

"Emmm..."

"Brother Chen, how is it? You see, it just so happens that a nickname for the moon is also Yujing; isn't that clever?"

"This..."

Chen Shu pondered for a moment. Facing the expectant gaze of this exceptionally flamboyant new roommate, he decisively turned around and shouted to Jiang Lai, who was sitting in the room: "Jiang Lai, come, come, come, you come and evaluate Brother Meng's newly composed poem."

Jiang Lai's expression looked as if he had eaten a fly.

"Brother Meng, I am a crude person."

"Brother Chen, don't make things difficult for Brother Jiang."

"Then there's no helping it." Chen Shu spread his hands, "I don't understand poetry either."

"Sigh, since neither Brother Chen nor Brother Jiang understand poetry, it's meaningless for me to recite it alone. The remaining two lines might as well not be made; I originally wanted to take the opportunity to finish it..."

"That is true."

Chen Shu did not expose him. He stood for a while longer, felt it getting a bit chilly, then walked back into the living room, sat beside Jiang Lai, and turned his head to ask:

"What is your usual training method?"

"Hm?" Jiang Lai was a bit surprised, but still answered honestly, "Just training Physical Fitness, practicing combat, and sparring."

"Can people from other academies go to audit classes?"

"Do you want to audit our classes?"

"A little bit."

"It's possible, but you can only watch and listen. You can follow along and practice yourself, but the teacher won't guide you face-to-face, nor will they provide you with training equipment." Jiang Lai said, "But after you learn it, you can go to other Martial Cultivation Halls to practice. There are eight Martial Cultivation Halls; Number 7 and Number 8 are open to all academies, and Number 8 is for pure Martial Artists."

"Are there many people who go to audit classes?"

"Many."

Jiang Lai nodded honestly: "Some come to audit, and some just come to watch the excitement. Because we often spar, the teachers usually don't chase people away... they say that having those young girls watching on the sidelines makes us train harder."

"Then I'll go watch you train tomorrow."

"Sure..."

Jiang Lai scratched his head. Having an acquaintance watch him attend class always made him feel a bit embarrassed, but he still said: "We are usually at the 3rd Martial Cultivation Hall."

Meng Chunqiu's head poked out from the balcony:

"Go watch what?"

"Watch Jiang Lai and the others train."

"What's there to watch about that..."

"Sparring, how interesting."

"Then I'll go watch too."

"Brother Meng, aren't you a man of letters?" Jiang Lai felt increasingly uncomfortable, "Are you also interested in these things like sticks and fists?"

"Eh~~" Meng Chunqiu disagreed with his statement, "In ancient times, there were many men of letters who had profound cultivation and carried a Sword onto the Battlefield. Drinking wine, composing poetry, and dancing with a Sword is also the romance of our kind. Besides, our Dayi Dynasty was founded on martial arts to begin with; even for scholars and literati without any cultivation, they often wore a three-foot sharp blade at their waists."

"That makes sense..."

"I say, why are you still sitting in the room? It's truly a waste of tonight's moonlight..." Meng Chunqiu shook his head, "I have a bottle of fine palace wine; why don't I bring it out and open it, and we can raise our cups to enjoy the moon and stay up all night, how about it?"

"I, I can't..."

"I can't either."

"Why is it that there are only three of us, yet two of you can't?"

"Martial Artists cannot drink alcohol during their growth period..."

"I don't like drinking either, and I have to cultivate tonight," Chen Shu said, "I still have classes tomorrow."

"Sigh..."

Meng Chunqiu sighed again, sat down, and persuaded: "What is the point of always cultivating? Living in this world, one cannot spend all their energy on these things; one should often look up and appreciate the brilliant starry sky and the bright moonlight."

As he spoke, he paused slightly: "Besides, what day can't you cultivate? Such a beautiful moon is not often seen."

Jiang Lai scratched his head incessantly, feeling that he could not respond to this.

Chen Shu yawned, ignored this silly person, and changed the subject: "Brother Meng, you all in the Literature Academy have to cultivate too, right?"

"Naturally, we do."

Meng Chunqiu nodded and added: "But we only take one Elementary Cultivation course, two classes a week."

"How is Brother Meng's talent?"

"Naturally, it's a perfect score."

"?"

Has a perfect talent score become so worthless?

"Can't believe it, right?"

Meng Chunqiu raised his chin proudly, "You people are used to being arrogant. Don't think that just because I don't focus on the path of cultivation, my talent is bad, and don't think that all cultivation geniuses in the world must walk this path. I just think cultivation is boring and uninteresting; no matter how high the cultivation base is, if it can't be used and can't bring me happiness, it has no meaning. Poetry and literature are my greatest pursuits in this life."

As he spoke, he paused again and looked at Chen Shu gently: "Brother Chen, you shouldn't feel inferior because your talent is not as good as mine. Peerless geniuses like me are very rare..."

"I also have a perfect score."

"Hmm? You also have a perfect score?"

"Yes."

"Has a perfect score become so worthless?"

"What a coincidence..."

"This..." Meng Chunqiu withdrew his gaze, looked at the TV, held it in for a few seconds, and squeezed out a sentence, "A perfect score and a perfect score are also different."

"Indeed."

Chen Shu deeply agreed.

Jiang Lai sat on the side, his gaze somewhat dim; it was precisely because he could not open his Spirit Sea that he had to walk the path of a Martial Artist, otherwise he would have applied to the Martial Cultivation Department too.

Meng Chunqiu looked at the TV and suddenly turned his head: "Brother Chen, what did you ask about my talent just now?"

"Oh, I meant to say, since Brother Meng's talent is so good, if you could focus on cultivation, wouldn't you be both a poet and a master of the Sword in the future? That would be much more awesome than only knowing one; perhaps even in this era, your deeds could be passed down through the ages."

"Dancing with knives and playing with Swords, I'm not interested."

"After fighting three thousand miles in one go, with one Sword Light chilling nineteen continents, and fighting a million troops alone, wouldn't it be worth yearning for to then wave a brush and splash ink to write a magnificent and atmospheric poem?"

"These two lines..."

"Oh, I saw them online and just pieced them together randomly."

"They are written quite well, though." Meng Chunqiu shook his head with regret, "It's a pity that it is no longer ancient times; the style Brother Chen described only belongs to the past."

"That is true."

"Brother Chen, tell me, what would people of that era have been like a thousand years ago?"

"I don't know."

"It really makes one full of yearning..."

"I don't yearn for it."

Chen Shu yawned again, then stood up and walked toward his room: "Goodnight, you two. By the way, Jiang Lai, when will you be at Hall No. 3 tomorrow?"

"I'll be there all afternoon."

"Alright."

After walking into the room, Chen Shu did not rush to cultivate but walked to the balcony again. This was separated from the living room balcony by a wall. He looked up again, gazing at this bright moon, one hand unconsciously gripping the Crystal on his chest, and the other hand resting on the railing.

"Ninth Stage..."

Shengzu is above the Ninth Stage, right?

The "divine beings" in the records of multiple ancient civilizations.

Books have never mentioned that anyone could reach above the Ninth Stage, nor has any official channel confirmed it, but the truth can never be hidden from smart people, especially someone like Chen Shu—he not only knows that there are "divine beings" above the Ninth Stage, but he can also roughly guess the number of "divine beings" in the current world.

Some information is recorded in books but is never actively expressed; it is hidden in those inconspicuous words, requiring you to have a pair of sharp eyes to actively discover it.

The Shengzu of that time had already found the way back, but why couldn't he go back?

Was the Crystal energy not enough?

Chen Shu gazed at the moon and pondered.

People of today do not see the moon of ancient times, yet the moon of today once shone upon the ancients.

How many times has Shengzu watched this moon?

And when will the bright moon shine upon my return?