Nightfall

Ye Hongyu trusted the Abbey Dean more than the Academy, especially the Academy that was represented by Ning Que. She was so sure that her judgment was reliable. Killing her and her brother would do no good to Taoism, whether it be for the near future of in the long run. Therefore she had the guts to withdraw and give up the other choices. She placed herself right in the middle of the danger and did nothing, so that the West-Hill could deal with it calmly.

It was barely two hours after their conversation, and the moon was dazzling in the night sky. Yet the promise she thought she had received was gone. The Hierarch, followed by Zhao Nanhai and the middle-aged priest, had come to the Divine Hall of Judgment to kill her. They might not be aware of the others’ arrival, but gathered coincidentally for the same purpose: to kill her.

Ye Hongyu furrowed her slim eyebrows on her pale face. She had doubts and was startled, but had no time to figure it out. She gazed at the three people inside the Divine Hall of Judgment and her eyes became even brighter. If Ning Que was there, then he would definitely know that was her look when she was confronting a real enemy. She would be extremely careful, confident, and excited for being able to confront powerful ones. Then, she would apply her best attack to win.

Throughout her history of cultivation, she showed that look only a few times. For instance, she showed it when she fought with Ning Que years ago. But her brightest look was shown to Jun Mo when they fought in front of the Verdant Canyon.

Tonight, her eyes also looked extremely bright, even brighter than they used to be at the Verdant Canyon. Because her three enemies tonight were no less powerful than Jun Mo.

The Hierarch of the Divine Halls was above the Five States in Tianqi. Xiong Chumo’s title was simple, but it only meant for more terror because he surpassed the zenith of Knowing Destiny. He already elevated to another distinctly different world of cultivation. Ye Hongyu knew clearly she could not win against Xiong Chumo upfront. If only she could, she would have killed him already.

Zhao Nanhai from the South Sea ranked the third in the cultivation world in terms of Divine Skills, and was the descendent of the former Great Divine Priest of Light who divided the West-Hill six hundred years ago. Their cultivation had the same origin as the West-Hill, but had gone on a different path. His state of cultivation was unfathomably high at the zenith of Knowing Destiny. He was not inferior to Ye Hongyu even though he had come by himself.

Xiong Chumo and Zhao Nanhai were undoubtably the two most highly ranked and horrifying figures in the Divine Halls now. Compared with these two, the middle-aged priest standing at the gate of the Divine Hall of Judgment seemed very ordinary.

However, he was the one that made Ye Hongyu most worried and the one who chilled her Taoist Heart.

The middle-aged priest stood by the gate and did nothing. Yet he seemed to have isolated the Divine Hall of Judgment from the outside world. Ye Hongyu had tried several ways to inform her subordinates but all in vain. This seemingly ordinary priest was in no way ordinary.

Ever since the Abbey Dean was expelled by the Headmaster to the South Sea, this priest had been in charge of the Zhishou Abbey and maintained its dominating role in Taoism. How could he be ordinary?

Xiong Chumo, Zhao Nanhai, and the middle-aged priest… The three of them together could go anywhere in the world and kill anyone they wanted. Even Yu Lian would have to transform into a cicada and flee into the snow forest if they came to her. The Eldest Brother would probably have to drift away from them. The Drunkard, the Butcher, or even the Chief Monk of Scripture would never be their match.

Ye Hongyu wondered, Who could I win against?

It was deadly quiet inside the Divine Hall of Judgment. The lamps on the black stone walls sent forth very gentle lights. No one knew when the luminous pearls started to shine and for what reason.

Xiong Chumo, Zhao Nanhai, and the middle-aged priest stood in silence. They occupied the Divine Hall from afar, the middle, and up-close. And their Qi filled up the space and enveloped the huge hall.

Inside the hall, she was by herself. She stepped down from the terrace and came to the Seat of Heavenly Black Jade. She placed her hand on the slightly cold seat, paused for a long while, and spoke to the middle-aged priest. “Haotian always gives her follower a chance to choose, or an explanation.”

The middle-aged priest did not say anything. Xiong Chumo was a bit upset. He was the Hierarch of the Divine Halls, yet he had no idea how it had come to this point. He wanted to enrage Ye Hongyu and then kill her. But why did the Abbey Dean send Zhao Nanhai and the middle-aged priest to help him? He would like some explanation as well.

Ye Hongyu looked at him and said emotionlessly, “I could never understand how someone as vulgar as he could have surpassed the Five States. Is Haotian blind?”

The middle-aged priest said solemnly, “The Hierarch is mighty because he is innocent.”

Ye Hongyu raised her eyebrows and mocked, “Innocence is childish.”

The middle-aged priest laughed but did not object. He said, “There are many ways of cultivation. But eventually it has to be about innocence and intention. It doesn’t matter whether it’s childish or cruel.”

“Innocence…”

Ye Hongyu pondered while she looked at Xiong Chumo and said, “Decaying from inside out, ignorant and stubborn, and listening to whatever your faith tells you, is that the kind of innocence that empowers people? They all said Chen Pipi was a hidden gem of Taoism. Is that for the same reason?”

The middle-aged man thought for a while and said, “Pipi is optimistic, and thus reached Knowing Destiny. That should be different.”

Ye Hongyu looked into his eyes and asked, “I don’t care how the innocent or the ignorant reached Knowing Destiny. I wondered why the Abbey Dean has promised to give me his life, but seems to be doing the opposite now.”

The middle-aged priest said calmly, “Probably in some autumn day in a few years of time, when the Abbey Dean will help the Hierarch to reach Haotian’s Divine Kingdom, he will present his life to you there, the Great Divine Priest.”

Ye Hongyu said, “If I’m already dead, it will be a sacrifice rather than a present.”

The middle-aged priest said, “To sacrifice is also to present.”

Ye Hongyu remained silent. When someone like the Abbey Dean acted shamelessly like a child, probably a few in the world could exceed him.

“Then, I need an explanation.” She stared at the middle-aged priest and insisted, “A serious explanation.”

To be killed without knowing why, she could not accept that.

The middle-aged priest said, “My apologies. But I cannot tell you.”

Ye Hongyu turned to Zhao Nanhai. Zhao Nanhai uttered his first words ever since he entered the Divine Hall of Judgment, “Sorry. I had no idea.”

Then she turned to the Hierarch.

“Then, come on.”

…

…

Thousands of miles away from the West-Hill, there were rich lands, poor villages as well as towns. The night had yet to come. The snow that was left in Chang’an shone under the sunlight like the white color of a painting. There was more snow left on the city wall as if it was a blank paper.

To the south of the city wall, a few black dots were scattered on the blank paper. They were yurts and temporary cabins. Steam arose from two mud stoves next to the cabins. The ashes under the stove were much darker than the snow.

Ning Que stood by the stove and stared at the hot ashes. He was waiting for the sweet potatoes to be well-cooked. But he could not help from thinking of the two lonely tombs located outside the city. There were two jars in the two tombs, which contained two piles of ashes. He recalled the person who collected the ashes years ago, and felt heartbroken. He stood up and walked to the city wall.

Standing behind the city wall, he seemed very lonely. He neither liked such feelings nor showed such feelings to the soldiers behind him. Therefore he tried to look afar and refrained from rubbing his eyes.

Inside the city walls, there were crowds in the streets and lanes. He tried to cover his sentiment by looking at those people. But when he saw the Yanming Lake from some distance, he realized that it was a blind hope. The Old Brush Pen Shop was hidden in the cluttered streets. He felt even more upset and could only hope for change to come sooner.

Having killed thousands of people and drained so much blood, he finally won a chance to negotiate with Taoism and the time to send his words to Peach Mountain.

He had a few words for the Abbey Dean and some other words for Ye Hongyu. They seemed simple, but actually he had drained whatever he had learned in the two lives to compose them. All the information the Academy and Tang’s imperial court had collected could only support what he composed. Therefore he was pretty confident in his words.

He was waiting for some good news from Peach Mountain. However he had no idea what he was expecting. He was after all … an ordinary man, not the omniscient Sangsang.