Nightfall

This was Haotian’s world, in which Haotian Taoism was the most powerful sect. Disregarding West-Hill Divine Palace, that had many powerhouses, and only talking about the hundreds and thousands of Taoist Temples in the world – who knew how much hidden power Haotian Taoism had?

In the Wilderness, Xuankong Temple had used over two hundred sadhus and several masters who were in the equivalent of Knowing Destiny State to pursue the black horse carriage. There were a lot of them, but West-Hill Divine Palace was like a terrifying ocean.

From the moment Divine Hall had announced to the world that Sangsang was the Daughter of Yama, the ocean began to toss and roll. The waves gradually broke through the calm surface of the sea. It would not stop until the black horse carriage was smashed to smithereens.

The mountains, covered by night, separated Yuelun Kingdom and the Tang Empire. Ye Hongyu stood at the highest peak, her divine robes dancing in the wind. Her robes rustled, but her face remained expressionless.

The Divine Priest of Judgement’s robes was red. It was more brilliant than the color of fresh blood and deeper than the night sky.

No matter how sharp her eyes were, she would be unable to see the black horse carriage in the distant mountain hollow. However, she continued looking in that direction, as if she had seen something interesting and refused to look away.

Dozens of Divine Hall priests and knights knelt on the peak before her. A deacon from the Judicial Department dressed in black reported information from Yuelun Kingdom. Her expression was indifferent, as if she did not care, as if chasing after the Daughter of Yama was unimportant and did not make her nervous.

After some time, Ye Hongyu looked away. She looked at the mountains around her and at the cliffs hiding 400 riders from West-Hill Divine Palace, three Knowing Destiny State Grand Cultivators and more than a dozen powerful cultivators from Haotian Taoism who had come obeying the edict. They were all hidden under her command.

This powerful group could – before Buddhism Sect had time to react – take over the capital of Yuelun Kingdom, Chaoyang, were they to head west. It was more than sufficient to take down Ning Que and Sangsang, who was ill.

The Judicial Department deacon in black remained kneeling on the ground after making his report. He was waiting for orders from the Great Divine Priest, but did not hear anything for a long time. He could not help but look up at the figure at the peak and ask respectfully, “Great Divine Priest, My Lady?”

Ye Hongyu’s mind had wandered as she was thinking about one thing or another. She only regained awareness when she heard that. She looked toward the west again and her lips curled up. She said, “That fellow is smarter than a thief, he would have already guessed what plans Haotian Taoism had. I’m afraid he would have left a long time ago. If this is so, should I still wait here like an idiot?”

The deacons in black were all surprised when they heard the words of the Divine Priest of Judgment. She seemed about to leave. However, the ambush by Haotian Taoism was ordered personally by the Hierarch Lord. Who would dare to disobey him?

Ye Hongyu walked down the mountain.

A Deputy Commander of the Divine Troops stood up in shock. He looked at the figure with billowing divine robes in the night sky behind her and asked, “Great Divine Priest, this is an order by the hierarch. Where are you going?”

In these mountains and in this world, there weren’t many people who Ye Hongyu had to answer to. That was why she did not reply. However, when she walked by the deacon in black, she said, “I’m going to the quagmire.”

The deacon in black was her direct subordinate. She had told him where she was going so that he could arrange matters in the Judicial Department. This did not mean that she had to report her whereabouts to anyone, not even the Hierarch Lord.

Those at the cliff froze when they heard this. Even the deacon in black showed his surprise as he tried to dissuade her. “The quagmire? The thousand miles of marshland between Yuelun Kingdom and the Golden Palace? Great Divine Priest, that is too dangerous. It’s been so many years, yet there hasn’t been anyone who had chosen that path…”

“Nobody had taken that path. That’d be the path Ning Que takes.”

With that, Ye Hongyu turned away, her red priestess robes flying along the mountain path like a bloodied flag. And, when it would flow downwards, it was like the descending night. Everyone from the West-Hill Divine Palace knelt respectfully and sent her off.

The capital of Yuelun Kingdom was called Chaoyang City. The name had been so for many years. No one remembered whether it was pronunced ‘Zhao’ or ‘Chao’, because they both seemed to mean the same thing.

There was a green mountain north of Chaoyang city. It was a broad, gentle, sloping mountain. The plants on the mountain were dense and, even though there were frequent visitors, there were many inaccessible and deep spots.

Southeast of Yuelun Kingdom was a primary forest and a great river. It was connected to South Jin Kingdom. The mists from the Great Lake and the southern oceans were often blown into the country. The mists were blocked by the high plains in the west, the Wilderness in the north and the cliffs in the east, so the area was humid and warm.

It was late in autumn and it had long begun to snow in the Wilderness. However, the cold had not yet approached Chaoyang City. The leaves in the mountain forests were dense and green. The scene was similar to spring in Chang’an.

At noon, the sun hovered high above in the sky and spread its heat to the ground. Chaoyang City and the green mountains in the north of the city became increasingly hot and humid, causing everyone much frustration.

Tourists and those living in the mountains rested in the forests, hiding from the dry autumn sun. Some children were playing by the Linzhong stream. Beside the mountain path, which was relatively less shaded, were cross-legged, tanned ascetic monks.

Some ascetic monks wore the robes of White Tower Temple while others came from somewhere else. Their robes were long reduced to tatters. And no matter whether they were local or not, the copper bowl in front of them was filled with fruits and food. These were offerings from the Buddhist believers of Yuelun Kingdom.

In the depths of the green mountains, were hundreds of eucalyptus trees. There were dense grass and shrubs under the tree, so no matter whether it were man or beast, they would find it hard to walk in. It was very quiet and, judging by the pile of rotting leaves on the ground, it had been decades since someone had passed by.

Ning Que picked up the last handful of dead leaves and carefully sprinkled them on the ground, making sure that no traces of their passing could be seen. He relaxed after making sure that his cover-up was perfect. He stepped on a rather spiky shrub and jumped onto the flat ground several feet away. He began to lecture Big Black Horse.

According to the Big Black Horse’s disposition, it would have become annoyed long ago, watching Ning Que lecture it like he was lecturing a child. However, it listened seriously today and its eyes were focused – not missing a single character.

“I don’t know how long we are going to stay in Chaoyang city. If we find Eldest Brother, I will take Sangsang and return with him first. Then, I will ask Eldest Brother to come and pick you up. If we can’t find him, we will probably wait in the city. You will have to live in the forest for a while. Don’t worry, I won’t abandon you. Thank you for your hard work.”

Ning Que hugged the Big Black Horse’s neck and patted it lightly as he said regretfully. Then, he picked up a blue cloth bag and tied it on the Big Black Horse’s neck. There were several fruits and ginsengs that were what remained of the provisions in the carriage.

The Big Black Horse nudged Ning Que’s face and whinnied at Sangsang who was sitting under the tree. It turned around and walked into the deep forest at a comfortable pace, the blue bag swaying to and fro.

Ning Que watched as the Big Black Horse disappeared into the distance. He then walked to the eucalyptus tree and piggy-backed Sangsang. He tied her firmly to his back with strong rope, picked up their heavy luggage and walked towards the city.

Everyone, from the king to the hawkers on the streets of Yuelun Kingdom were Buddhists. They all strived for peace and were known to be low-key. Even though Great River Kingdom, who bore a grudge against Yuelun Kingdom, might not think so. However, it was true that rebellions and shocking murder cases rarely happened in the kingdom.

Because of such a unique way of thinking, or perhaps one might say – pursuit – there were no city walls around many cities in Yuelun Kingdom, other than at the borders of the Tang Empire and Right King’s Palace. The capital, Chaoyang, did not have any city walls either. There was only a simple fence to protect against beasts from the green mountains.

Those who have traveled to Chaoyang City and Chang’an liked to compare the two capitals. They did not claim that Chaoyang was as majestic as Chang’an, but they made the comparison because Chaoyang City was the polar opposite.

There were no city walls in Chaoyang, so there were naturally no gates as well. The guards who were in charge of collecting tax for the royal family had placed some tables and umbrellas on the state highway as a toll booth.

Because of the year-round warm temperatures the officials all looked lazy. Some of them have undone their shirts and laid on the trees by the road for a nap. It looked lazy and unorderly, but what made the imperial court of Yuelun Kingdom proud was that Chaoyan collected more tax than Chang’an every year.

This was not because Chaoyang City was more developed in trade than Chang’an or because the toll officers were more hardworking. It wasn’t because the citizens of Yuelun Kingdom were all self-aware enough to volunteer paying tax. It wasn’t any secret, but it was so because taxation in Yuelun was ten times of than in the Tang Empire.

It was a lazy and peaceful country that had an inefficient and corrupt imperial court. It was a radical and messy capital that could not defend itself against the occasional wild elephant, that had come out to scrounge for food. How would they be able to defend themselves against enemies?

If not for the Buddhism Sect – Yuelun Kingdom would have long been taken over by the cavalry of the Right King’s Palace. If not for the help of the West-Hill Divine Palace – they might have lost to the weaker Great River Kingdom.

Chaoyang City was an unprotected capital. Wind and rain could both descend into the city. It was lucky that its geographical location was superior and there had not been any natural disasters over the years. People could enter and leave at random. However, its citizens cultivate in Buddhism and were fearful – not many dared to slip into the city to escape the heavy imperial tax.

On a certain day in late autumn, a white cloud floated into Chaoyang City. Everything happening on the ground was a mess, so naturally, no one could be bothered to notice what was happening above. Only a tax collecting soldier who laid on the ground suntanning saw the cloud. The cloud had two sharp ends and its middle was extremely thick. It was like a spindle. The guard laughed dazedly.

Right under the white cloud, Ning Que carried Sangsang on his back, holding up an umbrella he had found somewhere. He walked into Chaoyang City successfully, a shade cast above him.

The scent of spice permeated the air of Chaoyang City. Buddhist temples could be seen everywhere. Beautiful white pagodas and tiny shrines on temple walls were inlaid with precious gems. Beggars, holding on to their broken bowls, walked around leisurely. However, no one looked at the precious gems and no one tried to pick one.

Sangsang laid her head on Ning Que’s shoulder. She watched the scene before her in shock, and muttered, “This is indeed the legendary Buddhist country. Even beggars are so moral.”

Ning Que looked at an old beggar at the street corner whose hand had been cut off by a sharp weapon. He said, “This means that there are two possibilities. If a beggar lives so lazily and accepts his fate, then he is destined to stay a beggar forever. Or perhaps, they know that they cannot sell the gems, even if they were to steal them, and might be dealt horrible punishment.”