Nightfall

The Lanke Temple was far away in the southeast. No one wanted an intense schedule. So although the time for the Yue Laan Hungry Ghost Festival was in the fall, most of the tourists and diplomatic missions in the Tang planned to set off ahead of schedule and left around early summer.

The Academy was the first one to receive the invitation to the Lanke Temple. Ning Que was sent as a representative and Sangsang who had already recovered was by his side. They departed that day.

Except for the Eldest Brother who traveled with the Headmaster, the disciples in the back of the mountain were seldom seen in the human world. Those obsessive people would only feel blissful while stuck to their own world and for them, the back of the mountain was already large enough and they didn’t have to go to the mortal world.

It was based on the belief that they admired and sympathized with their Youngest Brother who needed to enter the human realm to cultivate. When Ning Que set out on the journey, like when he ventured into the Wilderness two years ago, all his Senior Brothers and Sisters came forward to send him off and presented him a small gift to comfort him.

Fourth Brother and Sixth Brother often designed and made good things for Ning Que, but that time, they gifted him an ordinary box. Ninth brother Beigong and Tenth brother Ximen were discreetly standing by the lakeshore as they played a parting tune— their farewell gift to Ning Que.

Listening to the desolate sound of the vertical bamboo flute, Ning Que forcibly snatched a half Sealwort root from the Big Black Horse’s mouth and looked at his Senior Brothers. He became irritated by the delight on their faces and asked, “Is this a send-off or a funeral? Can we not take this too far?”

The Big Black Horse was also very annoyed at that time as no one minded it. The Big White Goose was swimming slowly in the mirror lake as if pretending to be in deep thought. Whitey the little wolf half-squatted beside Tang Xiaotang’s leg and listened to her and Sangsang’s reluctant parting. The wolf’s head was slightly tilted as if he could understand what they were saying.

As the desolate tune stopped, Beigong Weiyang stepped forward, took out a stack of thin paper from his arms and reluctantly handed it over. Then he said, “Youngest Brother, the world believes that this musical score has been lost and is extremely precious. You cannot say that your Senior Brother isn’t good to you anymore.”

What would Ning Que do with the musical score? The Saintess of Diabolism, Tang Xiaotang called him Youngest Uncle. Could he still meet another Saintess on his journey? However, he considered that if the musical score was really precious, it could be sold for a lot of silver taels, and he would not at all hesitate to do it.

“This musical score is not just any music. Do you know how to rely on words? Rely on using the chess terminologies and speak single words just like in the chess manual.”

Fifth Brother proudly walked among the crowd giving off an incessantly sour smell. He did not know how many days he had passed without taking a shower. Seventh Sister could not help but frown and nagged at him but he did not care.

“The Lanke Temple is not a dangerous place, and it’s not worth playing such a desolate and solemn tune. However, the temple was named after the chess world and the monks’ skills on the chessboard are equally good.”

Fifth Brother who had been ignoring the world affairs all along gave Ning Que an affirming look and said,”I have worked hard in cultivating with your Eighth Brother at the Academy while those monks got all the fame instead. Youngest Brother, your improper conduct on the chessboard cannot ruin the prestige of the Academy and embarrass your Senior Brother.”

Voices dropped. Eighth Brother carried a thick pile of chess manuals, looked at Ning Que with enthusiasm and said, “Youngest Brother, as you can see, we have played dozens of chess games. Presumably, at this state, your skills are higher than those monks’. It’s just that you are too lazy on weekdays, so you can’t do basic cultivation. This is a chess manual carefully compiled by your two Senior Brothers. You may wish to practice these chess moves on the way…”

Ning Que was stunned. He wondered where he was.

At this time, the Fifth Brother snatched the chess manuals from Eighth Brother’s grip and excoriatingly said, “Stupid! What use are these chess manuals to Youngest Brother?”

Ning Que was overjoyed. He repeatedly nodded and said, “Yes, yes.”

However, he did not expect his Fifth Brother to give the thick stack of chess manuals to Sangsang.

“Sangsang’s understanding of chess far exceeds our Youngest Brother.”

Fifth Brother looked at Sangsang and happily said,”Sangsang, the most important task of defending the chess skills of the Academy… has been given to you.”

…

…

The Academy was located in the southern suburbs of Chang’an City. There was no need to worry that the city gates would be closed. Therefore, in order to avoid the heat, Ning Que and Sangsang left before the sloping sun gave way to an approaching night.

Looking at the black horse carriage gradually disappearing into the misty hillside, Second Brother slightly frowned and felt that the atmosphere was a bit weird, hiding something that was not clearly visible.

Eldest Brother looked on as the black carriage left and remained silent for a moment. He then turned and left; the light shone on his old jacket making the faint dust on it more visible. It seemed that the cotton sleeves were slightly quivering.

The Second Brother turned around to look at the Eldest Brother’s figure on the mountain road. It slightly touched his heart and he chased up the road.

The Eldest Brother walked slowly, but for some unknown reason, it was very difficult to follow him.

When the Eldest Brother reached the thatched hut, the setting sun had just died out.

The night shrouded the ravine, and the stars appeared one by one upon the canopy of the heavens.

The Headmaster was standing outside the hut. He bent over and carefully examined a wide tube-shaped iron object. He did not know what was inside the iron tube.

The Eldest Brother came up behind the Headmaster and asked, “Teacher, what are you looking at?”

“I’m looking at the stars… Well, we should say that we are stargazing. This way, it sounds more elegant.”

The Headmaster motioned for him to come and see and said, “This is what old Sixth and Thirteenth made in my honor. They called it the Stargazer Mirror. I have tried it before and the stars are still the same but the scenery in the distance is magnified and pulled closer. I think it would be better to view through the telescope.”

The Eldest Brother looked through the tube-like iron object and found that the view was indeed like what the Headmaster had described. The stars in the field of view of the iron tube did not become large, but when he looked at the mountain under the starlight in the distance, it appeared clear and enlarged.

“What’s really interesting is that there are so many things that the Youngest Brother knows.”

He smiled, but his expression seemed a little anxious.

The Headmaster looked up at the stars above his head and said. “In this world, there may be people who were born wise, but there is no omniscient person. Your Youngest Brother knows more things. There will inevitably be quite a lot of things that he doesn’t understand. I am also the same. Legend has it that, the seven volumes of Tomes of the Arcane show the successful transformation of Haotian’s will. When I was a turquoise robe scholar just like you, I was able to read the remaining six volumes. Now that I have grown old, I still can’t even read the words on the ‘Ming’ Handscroll.”

The Eldest Brother sincerely said, “I do not understand the Handscroll either.”

“These superfluous words are unclear to the teacher. How do you understand them?”

The Headmaster looked at him, smiled and said,”Since you don’t understand it, don’t worry about it day and night.”

The Eldest Brother said, “In a work like this, we have no choice but to worry.”

The Headmaster looked at him sternly and said, “If this was a story, no one knows how it would develop. You do not know, I do not know, the world does not know, then what do you think must the outcome of the story be?”

Everyone in the back of the mountain of the Academy knew that no matter how adorable Chen Pipi was, or how fierce Ning Que was, the teacher’s most beloved apprentice was still the Eldest Brother. The teacher seldom criticized the Eldest Brother. Stern reprimands, like the one that day, had almost never happened.

After a long silence, the Eldest Brother said, “If I don’t worry about tomorrow, I will have to live today in sorrow.”

The Headmaster said, “You should only worry about today and not tomorrow.”

The Eldest Brother said, “If you are not worried about future prospects of the world, why would you allow Youngest Brother to go to the Lanke Temple?”

The Headmaster looked at the mountain forest shrouded in silver hues and listened to the faint sound of waterfalls in the distance. He said, “The night your Youngest Brother killed Xia Hou, I discovered that there was something wrong with Sangsang. It was more serious than I had thought. If we really use the West-Hill Divine Skill, perhaps it will cure the problem but might cause more problems. So, I allowed him to take her to the Lanke Temple and see if there was any Buddhism Sect method that could cure her.”

The Eldest Brother bluntly asked, “What if the disease cannot be cured?”

The Headmaster turned around, looked at him and said, “If the disease is not cured, your Youngest Brother will be very sad. So, even if there is only a glimmer of hope, you must put in a hundred times the effort. Moreover, she should not have fallen sick in the first place.”

“What about the Haotian Taoism?”

The Eldest Brother said, “Sangsang is the inheritor to the Divine Priest of Light of the West-Hill Divine Palace. After knowing that she is seriously ill, the Haotian Taoism will certainly worry about it. They should have their own methods of curing the disease.”

The Headmaster looked at his dearest disciple, and suddenly laughed and said, “Curing the disease… If the Haotian Taoism could save lives, why would I be so worried? Sometimes I think that when we go to cure diseases, perhaps all we do is cure our own sickness and save ourselves.”

The Eldest Brother was deep in thought.

The Headmaster said with a solemn expression, “You love all the people in the world, so you are incapable of loving only one person, unlike your Youngest Brother who does not love anyone in the world and only loves one person. Therefore, after killing Xia Hou, his mental state has surely been refreshed. No one knows where to go in the future, and you have to bear the pain of the struggle. If you can’t see through the pain, then the gains will be limited.”

The field was quiet.

After a long time had passed, a gentle smile appeared again on the Eldest Brother’s face. He said, “I want to continue worrying like this because an untroubled me isn’t me.”

The Headmaster watched him admiringly and said,”I was wrong. Your benevolence for the world does not involve any old conventions and arises from pure intentions. How can it limit your future?”

“Instead of being a teacher who is always an unwavering weed on the wall, I always wanted to follow the wind. Now I don’t know where the wind has come from. I don’t know what your Youngest Brother will meet, but I believe that if you don’t walk, then you will encounter nothing. As long as you walk, you will always meet the future. When we meet, that is, the day we encounter a real future, we will think about what to do with it.”

The Headmaster sighed with emotion and said, “It’s a pity that the fellow I had to curse for three days and three nights over a bowl of braised pork… has already died. I desperately want to ask him what he would do.”

The Second Brother came to the thatched hut and quietly stood beside them, listening to the conversation between the teacher and his Eldest Brother. He did not open his mouth, until finally he could not help but say, “Teacher, although I do not understand what you and Eldest Brother are talking about, I think I can guess what Youngest Uncle would do.”

The Headmaster’s expression changed slightly and he asked, “What would your Youngest Uncle do?”

Second Brother naturally said, “Fight.”

The Headmaster found that his disciples were more and more like himself. They had taken everything for granted and assumed that he understood. He was frustrated and asked, “Fight who?”

Second Brother was also frustrated. After a long pause, he solemnly said, “It doesn’t matter who.”

…