Nightfall

Standing on the edge of the cliff and looking at the moving clouds, Ning Que spoke solemnly, which was rare for him. In the beginning, he had hesitated a little when he considered that he was speaking to Eldest Brother, however, the words just rolled off his tongue as he spoke.

“People do not want me to do that. The laws of the Tang Empire prohibit me from doing that. Morality does not allow me to do that. However, what has it to do with me?”

Eldest Brother shook his head and said, “But… there is no true freedom in the world. Everything, including your mind, has its limits. If your freedom interfere the freedom of someone else, or even the world, no one will allow you to stay free.”

Ning Que answered, “But we should have as much freedom as possible.”

Eldest Brother asked in confusion, “Why we need more?”

Ning Que said, “These things are no different from taels of silver. They are all good things, and since it is good, it’d be best to have more of it. I do not believe in saying that quality means much than quantity.”

Eldest Brother said, “However, you need the highest ability to do so. If you wish to have the world, you need the correspondent power. I have never seen such a person in my life.”

Ning Que said, “You’re right, Senior Brother. That is why we cultivate and why we need to become strong.”

Eldest Brother said bitterly and helplessly, “This is not what I meant.”

Ning Que smiled, “Even if we cannot achieve it, we can still work towards it.”

Eldest Brother looked at him and said, “You want absolute freedom, but do not have correspondent power. Is that why you returned to the Academy today to see our teacher?”

Ning Que looked at the clouds on the edge of the cliff and said, “I do not know what I will ask when I meet teacher. But since he does not want to see me, I have to figure these questions out by myself.”

Eldest Brother thought about the word Ye Su had said before the little Taoist temple that no belief, no fear. He also thought of the old story of the black line that year. He couldn’t help but sigh when he looked at Ning Que’s contemplative expression. He felt that the mountain breeze became suddenly colder.

“Different people have different freedom. Once their freedom is in conflict with another’s, disputes would happen. The laws of the Tang Empire and the West-Hill classics are the rules for resolving such disputes.”

He looked at Ning Que and said calmly, “The Academy puts the law of the Tang Empire before everything to prevent the world from falling into a state of chaos. No one can violate those laws, including myself. Furthermore, as a disciple of the Academy, I will protect the dignity of the law of the Tang Empire. I hope you can understand this.”

Ning Que was not surprised to hear Eldest Brother’s warning. He nodded.

Eldest Brother looked up at him and asked curiously, “What do you plan to do next?”

After a long silence, he said, “I do not know either.”

Eldest Brother asked, “Then, what you have told me earlier…”

Ning Que turned around to look at him and said, “Senior Brother, I did not say that to ask for your approval or aid. I just wanted to tell you that you’re wrong.”

Eldest Brother looked at him dazedly for a long and he said with emotion, “Youngest Brother, you can tell me in the face that I am wrong. You are much stronger than me or Jun Mo.”

A slender shadow appeared on the cliff.

Second Brother had arrived. He stepped on the rotten Purple wisteria and walked to the two persons. He looked at Ning Que sternly and said, “Younger Brother is right. Victory is not the true meaning of life, but battle is. That is why you should fight if you wish to.”

Ning Que suddenly smiled. “Second Brother, you are wrong too.”

Eldest and Second Brother were both stunned. They thought to themselves that their Youngest Brother was indeed special, as he had dared to point out the mistakes of both his senior brothers. Nobody in the back of the mountain of the Academy had dared to do this in all these years.

Ning Que calmly said, “The most important thing in life is not battle.”

Second Brother frowned and asked, “Then what is?”

Ning Que said, “It is battle, and then… victory.”

…

…

The most powerful Mr. First and Mr. Second of the back of the mountain stood on the edge of the cliff silently. They watched the fading figure walking in the cliff path, and the fluttering black academy uniform was blown up by the autumn breeze. It seemed that they were still considering the hidden undertones in Ning Que’s words.

Second Brother sighed and said, “Everyone thought that Youngest Brother’s state was the lowest in the Academy, but his state is higher than ours.”

Of course, Second Brother wasn’t referring to his cultivation state, but his mental state.

The Headmaster walked from the cliff cave.

Eldest and Second Brother stood aside and saluted respectfully.

The Headmaster walked to the edge of the cliff and watched Ning Que walk down the stone path before disappearing at a turn. His white brows floated slightly as he smiled. It seemed that he was very satisfied with his youngest disciple.

Eldest Brother said in annoyance, “Teacher, is hatred really that difficult to get rid of?”

The Headmaster said, “Love and hate are both strong emotions. They are what differentiate humans and beasts and are the keys to prove why we are humans. If we can abandon these, what makes us different from beasts? The mortals often say that those who do not care hate are always the one who does not help others. This is the truth.”

“Stupid boy, this emotion cannot be eliminated. Hatred is endless, how is it possible to simply erase all trace of it? The crux of the issue is why should we get rid of it?”

The words of the Headmaster did not help Eldest Brother in understanding. Eldest Brother had lived in the back of the mountain of the Academy since he left his town. He was always with the Headmaster when they traveled to different countries, and he always had a mission to complete when he traveled alone. It was true that he did not have much experience in the mortal world.

Eldest Brother sighed, “If we take revenge, when will hatred end?”

The Headmaster frowned and said unhappily, “I have said long ago, that you should not read those boring and shameless Buddhist Scriptures. It seems that you are really confused now.”

Eldest Brother smiled bitterly, as he thought to himself that those scriptures were indeed quite interesting.

The Headmaster said, “Jun Mo, explain to your Senior Brother when hatred will end if revenge breeds revenge. Otherwise, he will seek out his books for explanation and spend another three to four years.”

Second Brother agreed and looked at Eldest Brother. “Senior Brother, if you want people to stop taking revenge and end hatred, you should kill all your enemies and remove the root of the hatred. In this way, there will only be souls who cannot take revenge and hatred will end.”

Eldest Brother was not visibly moved by the plain words. He only smiled bitterly and thought that this method sounded rather villainous and did not sound like something that someone from the Academy should say.

Second Brother did not dare to guess Senior Brother’s feeling. He turned to look at the Headmaster and calmly said, “Teacher, since Youngest Brother cannot find evidence of Xia Hou violating the law, what would he do?”

The autumn breeze swirled the robe of the Headmaster and made clear sound. He looked at the faraway Chang’an and smiled. “I do not know either, but I suppose Ning Que would give us a surprise.”

…

…

Two years ago, the Tang censor, Zhang Yiqi mysteriously died at the House of Red Sleeves. Not so many people paid attention to this. When the censor’s wife made a fuss about it, the incident had been suppressed by the prefectural magistrate of Chang’an City, Shangguan Yangyu and the case was ended. The case had only been brought to light before the bigwigs when the Tang military Psyche Master, Lin Ling went to Chang’an secretly and began to investigate it and found the nail in the censor’s body.

After that, Chen Zixian and Yan Suqing died, and then Gu Xi died in Tuyang City. Then, Huang Xing and Yu Shuizhu died on the rainy streets. The Tang military and several other force all suspected Ning Que. However, just like that the emperor could not punish Xia Hou many years ago, without evidence, they did not dare to accuse this student of the Second floor of the Academy, the Headmaster’s core disciple.

There was no evidence, but it did not mean that it wasn’t true. The rumors about Ning Que’s identity had already spread in the upper echelons of society. It even had already spread out of the nation borders. Many believed that Ning Que was the son of Xuanwei General, Lin Guangyuan, who was killed because of being accused of betraying the country.

Therefore, many wondered what the young man, who had waited many years and finally returned to Chang’an to take revenge, would do when Xia Hou finally retired.

The old Minister of Offerings from the dominant family of Qinghe County came to Chang’an and hid in the censor’s mansion. He narrowed his deep and old eyes and focused on what happenings in Chang’an. He tried to speculate about what would happen.

The Tang military was also watching the Yanming Lake vigilantly. General Xu Shi stood in the building and looked at Chang’an City silently. He would not care the Academy, if anything out of the ordinary happened. He would send his strongest cavalry to capture or kill Ning Que because he was above the laws of the Tang Empire.

Those in the palace watched and speculated.

Even Ye Su, the Zhishou Abbey’s successor had come to Chang’an.

These bigwigs had great intelligence and astuteness which was rare in the world. They had frightening information that came from their subordinates. However, even they could not guess Ning Que’s next move.

While Ning Que’s state had improved greatly and he was already at the peak of the Seethrough state, he was still very weak as compared to General Xia Hou, who was at the Peak state of Martial Arts. That was why he could not assassinate the general.

No one had ever found any evidence of Xia Hou’s crime. Those who have participated in the matter had all died in Ning Que’s hands. There wasn’t much hope for him to reverse the verdict of Xuanwei General and use the law of the Tang Empire to bring Xia Hou down.

The crux of the matter was that no matter the emperor or the Academy, they all wanted to see Xia Hou retire peacefully. They would definitely not help Ning Que even if they did not stop him.

The danger of the Jianghu world could not touch Xia Hou. The court could not touch Xia Hou. Ning Que did not have the ability to assassinate Xia Hou. What could he do?

After countless calculations, including the reactions of the imperial court and those from West-Hill, the bigwigs in Chang’an finally came up with a conclusion that made them feel at ease.

Ning Que could not do anything.

At least in this winter.

It was still deep in autumn, and winter had not yet arrived.

General Xia Hou would retire in late winter.

Ning Que was cultivating silently at the Yanming Lake, waiting for winter to arrive.

Yellow leaves fell like rain one day.

Ning Que sat beneath the bare tree with withered leaves covering his knees.

Ye Hongyu put down the book in her hands and looked at him. She said, “Even though you have hidden the fact that you have joined the Devil and use it as your trump-card, you can only frighten Xia Hou, not kill him.”

Ning Que looked at her and said, “I don’t know what nonsense you’re talking about.”