Published: March 7, 2025
Chapter 151: The Diligent Study of Chu Imperial Seat
Inside the caravan, Cheng Yunhe sat in the carriage. As he was about to leave, he suddenly felt a wave of emotions. He poked his head out of the window, watching the majestic North Gate slowly grow smaller, thinking about his home here, where his parents, wife, and children lived, and how his ancestors had all been people of Great Zhao. He had lived in this city for forty years.
He couldn't help but recall a phrase: "Born here, raised here, and die here."
Suddenly, he chuckled bitterly to himself, thinking: Being born here doesn’t guarantee that one can live and die here; even if one is born and raised here, it doesn’t ensure that one will die here! This thought was indeed a bit wishful. Just like himself, he might not necessarily die in Great Zhao. A true man can die wrapped in horsehide, why should he care where he dies?
He couldn’t help but chant: "This journey spans eight thousand miles of yellow sand, wasting this body for forty years; the wind rises, autumn chills, mourning white hair, clouds cover the sky, my heart feels cold."
After finishing, he felt there was nothing new about it, as if it were merely a catchy rhyme. He bitterly smiled and thought, "Why did the last line end with 'my heart feels cold'? I am under Lord Xiang, and this outing is precisely the moment to build my career."
Shaking his head, he returned to the carriage and did not record the poem.
When Cheng Yunhe left, it was late autumn, with leaves falling and the autumn wind mournful. The long sky wept.
At this moment, in Iron Cloud City, Chu Yang had just finished three challenges and returned to Butian Pavilion, immersed in serious study.
Wu Qianqian looked perplexedly at the tall stack of books on Chu Yang's desk, furrowing her brows in confusion.
It was hard to tell when it started, but the Imperial Seat began diligently studying, reading intensely, focused and tireless to the point that it would make the most hardworking scholars, who longed for fame, feel ashamed!
However...
If this Chu Imperial Seat were reading books about military strategy, or geography, or the history of the continent, Wu Qianqian wouldn't find it so strange.
But this guy was reading some books considered "lowbrow" by scholars—stories of talented scholars and beauties, legends of famous people, absurd and bizarre tales...
These stories weren’t long, merely the idle creations of bored literati meant to amuse, lacking in any real significance. If used to entertain children, they’d be appropriate; but Chu Yang...
Was truly somewhat amusing.
Especially when Chu Imperial Seat read with such intense concentration, murmuring to himself. When she leaned in to listen, she was astonished to find he was actually reciting aloud!
This left Wu Qianqian utterly speechless...
What was worse, this esteemed Chu Imperial Seat seemed to be getting addicted, often staring at the book with an inexplicable silly smile...
Just imagine—a prominent figure draped in black with a terrifying mask, holding a children’s book, grinning like a fool...
It sent chills down her spine, and she couldn't even begin to fathom how absurd that was, let alone witness it firsthand.
Wu Qianqian felt layers of goosebumps forming on her skin, as Chu Imperial Seat continued to chuckle foolishly. Most disturbingly, he often appeared lost in his own world while reading, eyes glazed over, with a shiny drool line dangling from the mouth of his mask. In those moments, even his expression looked somewhat lewd...
Reading could make one’s gaze so lewd, and it was still a children’s book... What a high level of spiritual achievement!
Wu Qianqian groaned, "I can't deal with this anymore!"
While dealing with matters, a chilling, almost lascivious laughter echoed behind her... If Wu Qianqian weren’t a girl with decent upbringing, she would have stood up to slap that book right across Chu King of Hell’s face, then doused him with a cup of tea, shouting at the door, "Get out!"
As for where these books came from, Wu Qianqian found it even more ridiculous: they were procured by Chu King of Hell using his position, making those brutish, wolfish men go find them... sending a group of assassins to seek out children’s books... Chu Imperial Seat was quite the expert at this: twenty different books for each person, and if they couldn’t bring them back, they’d face military law!