When Will the Bright Moon Light My Way Home?

August twelfth.

The moon grew rounder by the day.

These past few nights, Meng Chunqiu had kept standing on the balcony with a cup in hand, staring at the moon. Who knew what had gotten into him? Jiang Lai had also been leaving early and coming back late. He said he was training, and every day he returned exhausted as a dog, his clothes soaked through with sweat.

Chen Shu was still working hard to earn money.

Chen Shu: Supervisor Wang

Chen Shu: /Throw me a bone here

Wang Yang: I can't do anything about it. There haven't been many jobs lately, and I have other people to look after. Besides, none of them suit you.

Chen Shu: Sigh...

Meanwhile, Wen Han had accepted the song but still hadn't paid him.

He's not going to stiff me, is he?

His phone vibrated.

Chen Shu thought the money had come in, but it was a video call invitation from Xiaoxiao.

He answered.

The little girl's face appeared on the screen. Like her sister's, it was small, though a little rounder, making her look less unapproachable and much cuter.

"Brother-in-law!"

"Xiaoxiao." Instead of asking why she had called, Chen Shu got straight to his own question. "Have you been eating properly these past few days?"

"Yes."

"Potatoes every day?"

"No."

"What did you have tonight?"

"Buns."

"..."

For a moment, Chen Shu was speechless—

It had been nothing but potatoes and buns these past few days. Worse, Ning Qing had already told him that the little girl used buns as an excuse to fool him.

Honestly...

If she was going to lie, couldn't she at least come up with a few more excuses?

"You can't live on potatoes and buns," Chen Shu said helplessly.

"I'll have rice noodles tomorrow."

"Don't try to fool your brother-in-law."

"Okay."

The little girl nodded repeatedly on the screen.

Chen Shu was truly helpless against her. She usually looked so well-behaved, but she had a whole collection of bad habits.

Then again, he couldn't blame anyone else.

Blame himself? They were too close for him to say that.

So Chen Shu could only keep asking. "Is it cold in Bai City?"

"No. Long sleeves are enough."

"Long sleeves can't be enough, can they? You need a jacket."

"I'm not afraid of the cold."

"I heard you beat up a classmate."

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

"Next time, don't tell your sister I told you to do it. You can tell other people, but tell your sister you wanted to do it yourself," Chen Shu instructed patiently. "You're in Bai City, so she can't hit you. I'm in Jade Capital, so she can hit me."

"Oh, right!" The little girl's eyes widened. "Did she hit you?"

"She did."

"Hard?"

"Not hard, but it was a little embarrassing," Chen Shu admitted. After a pause, he added, "And without Xiaoxiao to help me, I can't take her on alone."

"Oh..."

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

"..."

The little girl fell silent. Her brother-in-law had said she could lie in front of him and her sister, but she mustn't pretend to be happy. So she changed the subject. "Brother-in-law, have you noticed 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."

"Pretty scary, isn't it?"

"She looks so silly..."

"Haha... She's practicing something called the Stillheart Way."

"What's the Stillheart Way?"

"Something like Silence Meditation." Chen Shu paused, winked at her, and said slyly, "You can go insult her right now. She won't talk back."

"Really?"

"Absolutely! It's the honest truth!"

"..."

They looked at each other through the screen, neither saying a word.

Chen Shu was the first to break into a brilliant grin and laugh. The little girl's expression came alive too. Her eyes darted from side to side as she seemed to consider how best to use this chance to punish her wicked sister.

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

"Good luck."

The video call ended, returning him to the chat screen.

Chen Shu pressed his lips together and turned to look south. He hoped the little girl would feel a little better.

"Knock, knock."

Someone was at the door again.

Unless something unexpected had happened, it was Meng Chunqiu.

Sure enough—

Meng Chunqiu's gentle voice rang out. "Brother Chen, what's made you so happy? Come out and share it with the two of us!"

"It's nothing..."

"Oh, the moonlight is lovely tonight. Why not come out and enjoy the moon with us, Brother Chen? Brother Jiang is out here too."

"Coming."

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

The television was playing the news. Jiang Lai had showered and changed, and now sat on the sofa watching it, his hair still wet. Meng Chunqiu stood on the balcony in another modern outfit with traditional touches, elegant without looking fussy. Only a small piece of the moon was missing now, and its clear light made the building opposite look as though it had been lightly dusted with frost.

"Brother Chen, what do you think of tonight's moon?"

"Pretty nice."

Chen Shu leaned on the railing and looked up.

The moon in August did seem larger than usual. In this world, it was especially striking, like a jade plate hanging right before his eyes.

"I feel like reciting a poem..."

"Don't hold back, Brother Meng."

"Ah..."

Meng Chunqiu let out a long sigh. After a lengthy silence, he finally squeezed out two lines. "The autumn night, the moon shines clear; it often lights Jade Capital..."

"And the rest?"

"That's all for now."

"Um..."

"What do you think, Brother Chen? You see, Jade Capital is also another name for the moon. Clever, isn't it?"

"Well..."

Chen Shu thought for a moment. Under his flamboyant new roommate's expectant gaze, he turned decisively and called to Jiang Lai inside. "Jiang Lai, come on. You judge Brother Meng's new poem."

Jiang Lai's face immediately took on the look of someone who had swallowed a fly.

"Brother Meng, I'm a rough sort."

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

"Then there's nothing I can do." Chen Shu spread his hands. "I don't understand poetry either."

"Sigh. If neither of you understands poetry, there's no fun in reciting it alone. I might as well leave the last two lines unwritten. I'd hoped to come up with them while I was at it..."

"Fair enough."

Chen Shu didn't call him out. He stood there a while longer, then felt a chill and went back into the living room. He sat beside Jiang Lai and turned to ask:

"How do you usually train?"

"Hm?" Jiang Lai looked surprised, but answered honestly. "Fitness, sparring, combat drills."

"Can students from other colleges sit in on your classes?"

"You want to sit in on ours?"

"I'm thinking about it."

"You can, but you can only watch and listen. You can follow along on your own, but the teachers won't coach you one-on-one or give you training equipment," Jiang Lai said. "Once you've learned something, though, you can practice at another Martial Cultivation Hall. There are eight halls. No. 7 and No. 8 are open to every college, and No. 8 is for Martial Artists."

"Do many people sit in?"

"Lots."

Jiang Lai nodded earnestly. "Some come to learn, and others just come to watch. We spar a lot, so the teachers usually don't turn people away... They say we train harder when those girls are watching."

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

"Sure..."

Jiang Lai scratched his head. Having someone he knew watch his class felt a little embarrassing, but he added, "We're usually at Martial Cultivation Hall No. 3."

Meng Chunqiu poked his head in from the balcony.

"Watch what?"

"Jiang Lai and the others train."

"What's there to watch..."

"They spar. That's fun."

"Then I'll come too."

"Brother Meng, aren't you a scholar?" Jiang Lai grew even more uncomfortable. "You're interested in all that punching and fighting too?"

"Now, now." Meng Chunqiu disagreed. "In ancient times, plenty of scholars with profound cultivation carried swords onto the battlefield. Drinking wine, composing poems, and dancing with swords—that's romantic to men like us. Besides, the Great Yi Dynasty was founded on martial might. Even scholars with no cultivation at all often wore a three-foot blade of gleaming steel at their waists."

"You have a point..."

"Why are you two still sitting inside? You're wasting tonight's moonlight..." Meng Chunqiu shook his head. "I have a bottle of fine palace wine. Why don't I open it? We can raise our cups to the moon and stay up all night. What do you say?"

"I—I can't..."

"Neither can I."

"There are only three of us, and two can't drink?"

"Martial Artists can't drink while they're still developing..."

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

"Sigh..."

Meng Chunqiu sighed again, then sat down and tried to persuade them. "What's the point of cultivating all the time? You can't spend your whole life's energy on such things. Every now and then, you ought to raise your head and admire the brilliant stars and clear moonlight."

He paused. "Besides, you can cultivate any day. You don't often see a moon this beautiful."

Jiang Lai kept scratching his head, feeling he had nothing to say.

Chen Shu yawned. Ignoring the fool, he changed the subject. "Brother Meng, you have to cultivate at the Literature College too, right?"

"Of course."

Meng Chunqiu nodded, then added, "But we only take one introductory cultivation course, two classes a week."

"How's your talent, Brother Meng?"

"A perfect score, naturally."

"?"

Were perfect scores really that common?

"Hard to believe, isn't it?"

Meng Chunqiu lifted his chin proudly. "You people have gotten used to being proud of yourselves. Don't assume I lack talent just because I don't devote myself to cultivation. And don't assume every cultivation genius in the world has to follow that path. I simply find cultivation dull. No matter how powerful I become, if I never use that power and it brings me no joy, it means nothing. Poetry and literature are my greatest pursuits in life."

He paused again and looked warmly at Chen Shu. "And Brother Chen, don't feel inferior because your talent falls short of mine. Geniuses like me are rare..."

"I got a perfect score too."

"Hm? You did?"

"Yeah."

"Are perfect scores really that common?"

"What a coincidence..."

"Well..." Meng Chunqiu looked away toward the television. After a few seconds, he managed, "Not all perfect scores are equal."

"True."

Chen Shu couldn't have agreed more.

Beside them, Jiang Lai's eyes dimmed. He had only taken the Martial Artist path because he couldn't open a Spirit Sea. Otherwise, he would have applied to the Martial Cultivation Department too.

Still watching the television, Meng Chunqiu suddenly turned his head. "Brother Chen, why did you ask about my talent?"

"Oh, I was thinking that with talent as good as yours, Brother Meng, if you focused on cultivation, you could master both poetry and the sword. That'd be far more impressive than mastering just one. Your deeds might even be passed down through the ages, despite the times we live in."

"I'm not interested in waving blades around."

"Fighting your way across three thousand miles, your sword's cold gleam shining over nineteen provinces—then, after facing an army of a million alone, taking up your brush to write a poem of sweeping grandeur. Isn't that worth aspiring to?"

"Those lines..."

"Oh, I saw them online and cobbled them together."

"Not badly written." Meng Chunqiu shook his head regretfully. "It's a pity these aren't ancient times anymore. The splendor you described, Brother Chen, belongs to the past."

"That's true."

"Tell me, Brother Chen, what do you think people were like a thousand years ago?"

"No idea."

"It really makes you long for those days..."

"I don't."

Chen Shu yawned again and got up to head to his room. "Good night, you two. Oh, Jiang Lai, when will you be at Hall Three tomorrow?"

"All afternoon."

"Got it."

After entering his room, Chen Shu did not start cultivating right away. Instead, he went out onto the balcony, separated from the living room balcony by a wall. He looked up at the bright moon again, one hand unconsciously closing around the Crystal against his chest while the other rested on the railing.

"Ninth Tier..."

The Sacred Ancestor was above the Ninth Tier, wasn't he?

The "deities" recorded by multiple ancient civilizations.

Books had never said anyone could rise above the Ninth Tier, nor had any official source confirmed it. But the truth could not be hidden from clever people forever, especially someone like Chen Shu. He not only knew there were "deities" above the Ninth Tier, he could even make a rough guess at how many existed in the present age.

Some information was recorded in books without ever being stated outright. It hid among inconspicuous words, waiting for a keen eye to find it.

The Sacred Ancestor had already found a way back. So why hadn't he been able to return?

Was there not enough energy in the Crystal?

Chen Shu gazed at the moon and pondered.

Those of today never see the ancient moon, yet this moon once shone upon the ancients.

How many times had the Sacred Ancestor looked at this moon?

And when would the bright moon light my way home?