Nightfall

Many years later, Ning Que was hit by mixed feelings while walking through the mean alley and heard a loud and familiar voice explaining history. The voice was talking about what had happened during that winter. There were a lot of people who shared the same feelings. Whenever they recalled that winter, they felt unreconciled and sad, but also somehow gratified.

That winter had inevitably become the one winter that would never be forgotten by human beings because the human world saw a glimmer of life in the war between the Academy and Taoism during that winter. It seemed that abundant hopes were ahead.

In the desolate wilderness, the snow fluttered violently. The camp of the Tang Army hundreds of feet away had become very vague, and Hua Ying, a general in the Tang Army, was nowhere to be found.

A Da squinted his eyes, and ruthless expressions occasionally flashed on his childish face. He slightly moved his blue lips, keeping silently praying to Tengri.

He had been waiting for a long time in the Wilderness but never made a move.

At first, he feared the will of the arrow tens of thousands miles away which could destroy everything. And at this moment, he was very concerned about the fleet slowly coming from the depths of the snow.

The national master who was cruising the grassland left Helan and came to Qicheng Village.

No one knew what he was doing here, and no one dared to disobey him, not even A Da. Although A Da was the gift given to the grassland by Tengri, he was also the nominal disciple of the national master.

As the fleet stopped, a calm voice broke through the wind and snow. “What the Tang people wanted the most is for us to lose our sanity.”

A Da looked at the camp of Tang Army in the snow and said, “I can kill him.”

The national master said, “But you will die the moment you kill him.”

A Da replied firmly, “Since you are here, I am not afraid at all.”

He was expressing the supreme respect for the national master although he was against the master’s will, for he believed that the iron arrow in the south couldn’t hurt him as long as the national master was here.

Even after the Rite to Light, nobody knew exactly how powerful the national master of Golden Tribe Royal Court was. Especially after the spring rain, whether the powerhouse of the grassland who was extremely devoted to Tengri, gained more power remained unknown. But with the condition of the master’s strong vigilance, plus a dozen of powerful grand priests of the grassland, the iron arrow of Ning Que might actually be stopped.

A Da thought he should be braver under these circumstances. He must kill the general of the Tang Army and destroy the camp of the enemy. Only in this way could he get back at the man in the remote south.

The national master was silent for a while and then replied, “The problem is that we don’t know where she is.”

Of course, this was the biggest problem. The iron arrow that pointed to the grassland in the far south all this time was indeed terrifying, but it couldn’t reach the grassland as long as the grassland was well prepared by controlling the State or the Psyche Power. But what about the other person?

That person was born and raised in the Wilderness. Although she had disappeared for decades, she remained the most legendary powerhouse and the most horrible devil on the grassland as long as she was still alive.

Lin Wu, the master of the Devil’s Doctrine, Twenty-Three-Year Cicada, Yu Lian, and Senior Sister of the Academy. Despite her different identities, she was always the one person the the Tribe of Savages feared the most.

During the past few years, she was rumored to be in the East Wilderness, so the powerful figures of the Left Royal Court were almost all eliminated by her, which was also the reason why the national master stayed outside Helan with the Thirteen Priests all this time.

This winter, the national master finally left Helan and came to the Wilderness in the south. No one knew his intentions, but everyone knew that it must have something to do with Yu Lian.

A Da figured it out and looked at the camp of the Tang Army. Then he turned around unwillingly, and retreated to the direction of City of Wei with the national master and the fleet.

“I heard that the Divine Hall is negotiating with the Academy.”

“Yes.”

“So war is not an option for now?”

“Yes.”

“Peace. I hate this word.”

“Only Haotian gets to decide things like this.”

While the two were talking, the fleet went farther and farther, disappearing into the depths of the snow in a short time. No one knew where the national master would go or what he wanted to do. But everyone was well aware that the master was waiting for a person, for the arrival of the iron arrow and also for the choice Haotian had made.

…

…

The matters that concerned the human world were determined by Haotian. The rule was written and must be obeyed by all human beings. However, since Sangsang had left the human world, how could she pass on her wills to her hundreds of millions of followers? While she kept her silence in the past, the so-called will of Haotian was merely the will of Taoism, and to be more precise, the will of the Abbey Dean.

Standing before tens of thousands of cavalrymen, Hengmu indifferently looked at the Verdant Canyon which was destined to be written on the history and then slowly raised his right arm. On the square of the capital of Song Kingdom, the cavalrymen who besieged the followers of the New Stream retreated and the divine priests and deacons stopped attacking, for there was a new order coming from the Divine Halls. The Golden Tribe Royal Court was waiting for the Abbey Dean’s choice, and so was Chang’an City and all human beings.

It seemed that only Long Qing didn’t know what was going on. He didn’t hear the nervous breathing of thousands of people outside the wall or receive the latest news from the Divine Halls. He felt the firewood piled in the yard were not enough, so he picked up a hatchet and chopped firewood unskillfully while imagining the flames these woods would turn to.

As the night was getting longer, the human world was getting colder. The West-Hill Divine Kingdom which used to be always warm saw several heavy snowstorms this winter. The cliff yard was covered with snow, so the traces of the wheelchair were very clear under the moonlight.

The middle-aged priest stood behind the wheelchair with a solemn expression. He had expected that maintaining the status quo was an excellent strategy to deal with Ning Que, but it seemed that the Abbey Dean disagreed.

“You mean Ning Que wanted to see the Taoism play the ‘maintaining the status quo’ card? But it doesn’t make sense.”

The middle-aged priest looked up at the bright moon in the dark night, thinking about the battle which might take place in the remote Divine Kingdom. Then he frowned and said, “The Headmaster weakens day by day. The situation runs against the Academy if the dispute is not resolved as soon as possible.”

The Abbey Dean sat in the wheelchair and kept quiet, just looking at the world under the moonlight.

The middle-aged priest suddenly figured it out and marveled, “It turns out that it’s also what he wants.”

Since it involved faith, he could only understand it vaguely, but couldn’t say it clearly in words.

With these words, the temperature on the cliff yard suddenly decreased. The cold wind passed through, and the snow began to fall although the moon was still bright. The snow was coming fast and falling fiercely, covering the cliff yard in a while.

The Abbey Dean and the wheelchair were of course covered with snow. The words coming from his mouth were as cold as the snow, implying the meaning underlying these words.

“He wants to have a talk with the world. I want to see what he wants to talk about. He thinks he has figured everything out by imprisoning himself in Chang’an for half a year. Unfortunately, he is wrong.”

The Abbey Dean said, “He doesn’t know himself or Ye Hongyu. The most crucial thing is that he doesn’t understand the current situation of the human world.”

The middle-aged priest replied, “One can’t see far ahead if they don’t stand high enough.”

At this point, there was no other person who could see as far ahead as the Abbey Dean in the human world.

As the middle-aged priest pushed the wheelchair to the other side of the cliff yard, the wheelchair left two deep tracks on the snow which were then stepped off by footprints, just like the fate line of the human world.

“The story Ning Que told me is very interesting. As the Academy would put it, it is very meaningful. That story is indeed very convincing.”

The Abbey Dean said with a smile, “The problem is that there is no God in his story, for that world has no God. But we have Haotian in our world.”

The middle-aged priest looked more and more solemn, and even his steps were heavier and heavier. The footprints on the snow were getting deeper and deeper, as if they were about to be carved into the cliff stone.

Haotian, of course, was the heaviest topic.

…

…

“Of course, as I said before, I have to admit the Academy is right that Taoism will inevitably fail and Haotian will eventually perish.”

The smile on the Abbey Dean’s face suddenly disappeared, and the emotion in the depths of his eyes became extremely complicated. He was confused and even feared at first but eventually became calm like the water in a well.

“But so what?”

The master of Taoism said that Taoism would be destroyed, and the most devout follower and the most powerful spokesman of Haotian said that Haotian would die. If what he said was heard by the human world, what kind of shock and chaos would it bring?

After saying this, the Abbey Dean regained his calm and smiled while looking at the human world. He was thinking about nothing, looking as cute as a newborn baby.

“Ning Que is right about one thing. Taoism and the Academy, me and the Headmaster, are not that different in a certain way. We are on the same road and both have ideas for the whole human world, but we choose different routes and have different points of view on the future of the world and mankind. So of course we choose the different methods and have different ultimate goals. Since Ning Que will never agree with the path I choose, peace is not an option. But are we really engaging in the same pursuit?” The Abbey Dean said, “As you said, he can’t see far ahead since he doesn’t stand high enough. He can’t see the most important person, but I can. Then the Academy fails.”

The question Ning Que had set for Taoism seemed to be a dilemma, forcing Taoism to maintain the status quo. But for the Abbey Dean, the question was quite easy.

The Abbey Dean didn’t care about Ye Su and Ye Hongyu at all. He thought he could just kill the two.

He didn’t care that Ye Su might be sanctified, didn’t care that Ye Hongyu might die or betray Taoism, and didn’t even care that the Divine Hall of Judgement would fall into disorder and Taoism would be chaotic.

He didn’t care because everything was destined. Taoism was actually Haotian Taoism. If Haotian failed, then how could her Taoism won?

The world outside the cliff was the human world which was covered with snow. The sky and the ground seemed to be connected together, making it impossible to tell which was which.

“But so what? After all, it is human beings’ own business. If Haotian dies, we can just find a new Haotian. If Taoism is destroyed, then we can just create a new Taoism. It’s that simple.” the Abbey Dean said.