Nightfall

In a rainy alley, Ning Que held up the big black umbrella over his head and glanced at his soaked black uniform.

It wasn’t very difficult to kill these two people, but it was challenging to kill them quietly before the Imperial Court and the Military Minister started investigating them.

Huang Xing, who was burned to ash, was killed by his Fire Fu.

And Yu Shuizhu was killed by a Jing Fu.

Jing Fu was the most powerful Divine Talisman of Master Yan Se. He taught Ning Que it before he went to the Wilderness, but because it was very hard to understand, Ning Que didn’t get it until he finished his penance and got out from the cave a couple of days earlier.

Using the Great Spirit, Ning Que made a Jing Fu that was just an imitation of what Master Yan Se did. It was far less powerful than the real Divine Talisman. But this trick was good enough to cut someone into pieces quietly in the rain.

In the dark night, Ning Que went to the Imperial Palace to have a word with Xu Chongshan, the Deputy Commander of the bodyguard and then he went back to the Lin 47th Street.

Sangsang was very worried when she saw Ning Que drenched.

Ning Que explained what had happened to her softly, went to have a cold shower and then started eating.

In the dim light from a candle, he stared at the name list Sangsang left two years ago and fell silent for a long time. It reminded him of Darkie, who died on the opposite side of the shop.

He also died in the spring and on a rainy day.

Before he was killed, he left a piece of oilpaper, where the names of all the people involved in the two massacres were listed. And now after Ning Que killed Huang Xing and Yu Shuizhu, the people on the list were all dead.

But there were still two people who got away with it. Zhuo Er didn’t write their names down, because both he and Ning Que were very clear who they were.

It was Li Peiyan, the Prince of Tang and the Great Zhenjun General Xia Hou.

Sangsang walked to his back and asked, “Will you get into trouble?”

Ning Que answered, “Even if that old general knows I did it, he couldn’t do anything.”

Sangsang looked a little confused, “But why did you kill them in such a rush?”

Previously before killing Zhang Yiqi, the censor and Chen Zixian, Ning Que always spent a long time doing some research to make sure that the Imperial Court didn’t notice.

And he had been investigating Huang Xing and Yu Shuizhu, the two key figures in the massacre at the General’s Mansion, for a long time, but it was still a bit of a rush that he should choose to kill them today.

“Some people in the Imperial Court already guessed it was me who killed all the people.”

Ning Que passed the name list to Sangsang beckoned her to put it away. “If I don’t kill them today, it will become very difficult in the future.”

Sangsang took the name list over and asked, “If they still ask you to go to the General’s Mansion tomorrow, I will go with you.”

Ning Que shook his head and said, “It is fine. I have sent a messge to the Academy and there will be someone accompanying me.”

…

…

In the next morning, some officials from the Military Ministry knocked on the door of the shop even before the Hot and sour noodle slice soup stand was set up.

Ning Que was prepared for it. He pushed the door open and said to the official, who he had seen on Vermilion Bird Avenue the other day, “The general wants to talk with me again?”

The official replied simply and nonchalantly, “Please.”

Yesterday, right after Xu Shi, the general, talked with him seriously, Ning Que went to kill another two people. It was like smacking the Military Ministry on the face. Therefore, Ning Que was not surprised at all when finding out that General Xu Shi wanted to see him again. He only felt surprised that he called him to the Military Ministry today, rather than to the General’s Mansion like yesterday.

After departing from the Lin 47th Street, several carriages ran to the north along the Vermilion Bird Avenue. They went past Jianshen Archway and went into a bamboo forest.

Ning Que looked out from the curtain and could vaguely see a patch of a large meadow behind the forest, which looked like the scenery in the Wilderness. He was very surprised.

The Tang Empire was founded through lots of wars and its Military Ministry was the most important sector of all departments and the scarist place in foreigners’ eyes, because it was in charge of the four armies at the country’s borders and the Yulin Royal Guards.

This was the first time that Ning Que had come to the Military Ministry.

He didn’t expect to see such a beautiful forest and a large meadow near the Vermilion Bird Avenue, which seemed to be very humble and simple, but it actually couldn’t be more extravegant in such an expensive city like Chang’an.

He also didn’t expect that the Military Ministry was not heavily fortified at all. There were no high walls nor watchtowers, but only about ten separate buildings hidden among the bamboo.

Those buildings of different height were scattered in the forest in a seemingly disordered way, but together it was a very harmonious picture. A stone path, wide enough for carriages to pass, winded through the meadow and connected the buildings together. The whole place was very quiet and impressive.

Hearing the sound of carriages rushing on the stone path, several officials quickly moved away to give way to the carriages and darted some confused looks at them.

The carriages stopped in front of the highest wodden building.

Ning Que walked out of the carriage and looked up at the building. It had three stories and there was an attic on the top. It had the same dark roofs and black bricks, but the decoration on the roof was different from other buildings; its red beams were as straight as guns and its eaves were slightly curved like a machete.

On the attic above the third floor, an old man in a court robe was overlooking the railing blankly and thinking about something.

Yesterday, when they talked in the General’s Mansion, the old man had been wearing his casual clothes, which meant that the talk between them was private and informal. But today they were going to talk in the Military Ministry and he was in his court robe, which indicated that this talk was no longer the same as yesterday; it was a serious and dangerous inquiry.

Ning Que walked into the building and passed the busy officials who were tidying up the documents and dealing with the messages from the borders. He climbed up the stairs and arrived at the attic on the top. The view there was the best.

The rain yesterday washed up all the flowery scents of late spring and cleaned up the air. When the breeze swept across the attic, it was very refreshing.

General Xu Shi’s voice was as cold as the breeze.

“Do you know why the Military Ministry only have buildings without walls.”

Ning Que walked towards the railing and stopped behind the old man. He shook his head and said, “No, I don’t.”

Xu Shi turned around and said, “It is because the goal of being a soldier is to stop the enemies from getting into our territory. If the enemies are already in the city and have circled the Military Ministry, there will be no need to fight against them, we should better commit suicide. Walls are useless here. As for these buildings and attics, they are meant to tell our soldiers to be farseeing.”

Ning Que said, “It is quite deep in meaning.”

Looking at him in the eye, Xu Shi said coldly, “Our country, Tang is never afraid of enemies from the outside, because our biggest enemy is ourselves; the strongest fortress always starts to fall apart from inside.”

Ning Que said, “Your words are also deep in meaning.”

“It is not deep in meaning, on the contrary, my words are easy to understand.”

Xu Shi continued in his cold voice, “I tried to warn you to set store by overall interests and obey the laws yesterday, because Tang needs to be stable, and it can’t afford to experience any internal disorder. Ning Que, as a student of the Second floor of the Academy, I suppose you see clearly what I mean.”

Ning Que said, “I was indeed, very impressed by your words yesterday. So after I returned to the Old Brush Pen Shop, I asked my handmaiden to get the law of Tang Empire and stayed up late to read it. As expected, I really learned a lot.”

Ning Que’s perfunctory attitude raised the anger of Xu Shi. But he didn’t show it, instead, he asked a question expressionlessly.

“Yesterday in the afternoon, when Huang Xing and Yu Shuizhu died, where were you?”

Ning Que frowned, seeming to try to recollect. After a moment of silence, he answered, “I was hanging out on the streets.”

Xu Shu continued to ask, “It was raining heavily at that time, how can you hang out then?”

Ning Que said, “I love getting wet in the rain.”

“It was a Talisman Master who killed them.”

Ning Que answered, “He was too bold.”

Xu Shi said expressionlessly, “There are not many Talisman Masters in the world, let alone in Chang’an city. The Imperial Center Administration has records of every one of them.”

Ning Que smiled, “Then you should ask the Imperial Center Administration to investigate quickly. There are not many Talisman Masters in Chang’an, but there is still a fair amount of them. It will still be difficult to find the murderer.”

Xu Shi said, “You are a Talisman Master yourself.”

Ning Que replied, “I know quite a lot of things actually.”

“It was reported that when the murder happened yesterday at the West City Gate, a young man dressed in black with a black umbrella on his back appeared there.”

Xu Shi stared at the black Academy uniform he was wearing.

Ning Que said, “I also have a big black umbrella on my back. It seems like it was me who went there. But there are many young people who like to wear black clothes.”

Xu Shi said, “But will there be another young Talisaman Master who wears black clothes and has a black umbrella at the same time?”

Ning Que looked at him in the eye and asked, “So you suspect me of murdering the two officials?”

Xu Shi said, “Yes, because you didn’t make it clear where you were exactly when they were killed.”

Ning Que suddenly asked, “Are you questioning me?”

Xu Shi answered, “Am I not qualified to do that?”

Ning Que shook his head and said, “If I am still a trivial soldier, then you definitely are qualified to question me, but after I passed the first exam of the Academy, I have become a civilian, even if I am suspected, I should be arraigned by the Chang’an Local Government, not by you.”

Xu Shi said, stony-faced, “Under His Majesty’s order, the Military Ministry and the Palace share the right to rule the Imperial Center Administration. And you are a visiting professor at the Imperial Center Administration, why can’t I question you?”

Ning Que took the Imperial Center Administration visiting professor’s token out and put it on the railing. He said, “I went to the Bodyguard office and checked yesterday. And I got the message that His Majesty had agreed my application of withdrawing from the Imperial Center Administration two days ago. I just forgot to return this token. If I remove it now, you will not be allowed to question me. ”

Xu Shi didn’t expect Ning Que to do such a thing in advance. His furrowed brows unwrinkled and he said scornfully, “You are afraid of me questioning you.”