Nightfall

It was really shocking that two famous mature experts at the Knowing Destiny State could not kill a young cultivator who just entered the Knowing Destiny State. They were unable to even stall him for short time.

Leaning against a tree, Luo Kedi sat on the ground. He looked pale, bloody and weak. An imperial physician and a priest who came from the West-Hill Divine Palace were nervously treating him.

At this time, his throat bone was fractured and he unable to see clearly as he had lost too much blood. He seemed to see another person when he saw Ning Que escaping over the slumping wall.

The Great Divine Priest of Judgment, Ye Hongyu.

Luo Kedi had been stronger than Ye Hongyu before last spring. During those years, he never dared to do anything to her, even to fight against her face to face, even though he wanted her so badly that he even wanted to insult and torture her. That was because he knew that if they fought to the death, the one killed would be him in the end.

Luo Kedi always believed that Ye Hongyu was the only one who could be so powerful regardless of realms, and never figured out how she was so terrifying. Until today, after he fought against Ning Que, he finally knew that they were the same kind of people. The Hierarch Lord thought Ning Que was invincible in the same realm, and he was right.

Looking at the empty house, Luo Kedi painfully coughed which tore the wound on his neck and revealed some white bones. As the imperial physician and the priest saw this, they were terrified and sped up the treatments.

Luo Kedi bitterly thought, “Even if Ning Que can be invincible at the same realm, as long as he meets an expert at the Peak of the Knowing destiny State, he will be killed. Since the Divine Priest of Judgment is in the Wilderness, where can you hide the Daughter of Yama?”

Standing on the roof of the small temple opposite the street, Master Qi Mei looked around and found Chaoyang City was so peaceful. There was no trace of Ning Que and the Daughter of Yama.

His face was cut by the Jing Fu and his skin was torn. The flesh gaped open which was extremely ferocious but somehow compassionate.

Looking at the sky and confirming the clouds didn’t move at all, Master Qi Mei realized Ning Que and the Daughter of Yama were still inside the city.

“I can’t keep you by myself, but what about the thousands of people in the city?”

The bell of White Tower Temple rang and spread over Chaoyang City which was more hurried than before as if it urged something.

As the sounds spread, all the temples in the city began to ring their bells. Little monks in robes pushed the hammers with difficulty while old monks tolled out of breath with the hammer in their hands. Then, all the bells and drums in the Yuelun Kingdom began to ring as well as the drums of the night’s watchmen.

All kinds of sounds rang in the city. People got out of their house and discussed in the street. When they were aware of the reason from the Village Head and the monks, they could not help be shocked at first, and then they were confused about what they should do.

Ning Que was moving fast in the remote alleys with Sangsang on his back. He had no time to wipe out the sweat on his forehead and the blood on his lips. The clear or heavy bells were like the summons to Death, drilling into his head from his ears, weighing his steps but never stopping him.

Running with Sangsang on his back was too conspicuous. He was unable to find a place to hide without been seen since too many eyes were on the streets. Besides, it was not a good idea to run inside the city since a powerhouse was coming soon.

The most important thing was that he had to take the opportunity to escape out of the city before the people noticed them and began to stop them.

He had been hiding in the city for the entire winter and already made a perfect plan to escape.

The monk called Qi Mei from the Xuankong Temple would not chase him if he didn’t want to be the target of the Primordial Thirteen Arrows, even though he was powerful and fast enough. If he could get rid of the monk and run out of the city, when he found the Big Black Horse, few men would be able to catch up to them.

He tried to run so hard that his feet stepped on the stone ground with heavy sounds. His speed was so fast that his black robe flew like a flag in the wind, dripping with his sweat.

The Big Black Horse and the carriage were hidden in the northern mountain. However, in his plan, he was going to take the western gates of the city instead of the northern ones. When he was able to see the gates, he felt a little relieved.

However, at this moment, he suddenly felt a formidable aura outside the western gates which was too dangerous for them.

He heavily stamped his right foot, cracking his leather boot and the stone ground and then he forced to stop his body, shocking Sangsang on his back.

Ning Que felt frustrated like anyone else when they faced a new and tough situation as they were about to get out of Chaoyang City.

While the others may take a second to rethink whether they should change to another way, Ning Que didn’t. He turned around without thought or hesitation and ran toward the northern gates.

Chaoyang City was a city without walls or real gates. Instead, there were only some non-temporary official buildings which were considered as the gates.

Today, all the bells and drums in the city rang and the buildings were locked. The people and beggars outside the city were driven like sheep into the city by the soldiers with weapons.

By this time, there were only dozens of ascetic monks in the field outside Chaoyang City. If someone was going out, everyone would notice him.

The ascetic monks came from the Xuankong Temple and had been waiting here for a long time. They didn’t find Ning Que and the Daughter of Yama, but they found a carriage.

The carriage looked very strange. It was not big, but same as Ning Que’s, the body and wheels were all made of steel, decorated with many real words of Buddha. There were 16 tired horses in front of the carriage. Considering the depth the wheels stuck into the ground, the carriage was very heavy.

Looking at the carriage coming slowly from a distance, the ascetic monks coming from the other three directions all gathered together and knelt down. They kowtowed with their forehead on the ground and looked extremely respectful and devout.

An old monk wearing a bamboo hat totteringly got off the carriage, landing his monk’s staff on the ground with a crisp metallic crash.

The monk’s staff seemed very light when it touched the ground, while the 16 horses in front of the carriage felt an invisible quake so that one of them tumbled.

When the old monk’s rear foot left the carriage, the deeply stuck wheels into the ground bounced up. Most of the carriage’s weight came from the old monk!

Some hoofbeats sounded in the direction of Chaoyang City. A general of the Yuelun Kingdom drove forward with dozens of fine horses. Looking at the old monk, he got down from the horse and knelt down in a hurry, kissing the ground which messed up his face with mud.

A military officer, who came following the general, loosened the halters and tied down the fresh horses that they brought as fast as he could. Then he knelt to the old monk as well and moved backward, his hands quivering because of excitement or fear.

The old monk didn’t say anything to the general or to the officer. Instead, he raised his head and looked at the dark cloud above Chaoyang City.

His bamboo hat was lifted. The sun shined on his face and disappeared in his deep wrinkles as if clear streaming water was absorbed by parched land.

Looking at the cloud, the old monk calmly said, “137 horses ran to death and countless believers were drafted to repair the roads. I am sinful.”

Then he lifted up his staff and got on the carriage. When his right foot landed on the carriage, the wheels stuck into the ground once again, and the 16 horses subconsciously hissed.

No matter how sinful he was, none of the Buddhists was able to punish him since the Buddha passed away. He was the Buddha in the human world because he was the Chief Preaching Monk of the Xuankong Temple.

The old monk always believed that, as the Buddhist disciples, they should stand in awe of both the Buddha’s wisdom and the shifts of Haotian’s fortune. Even if it would cost so many lives, break so many rules, and incurr in so many sins, he still insisted on coming to the world, to Chaoyang City.

That was all because of the Daughter of Yama.

Sangsang was indeed in the city. She was on Ning Que’s back.

As Ning Que was running so fast, Sangsang felt badly bumped. Even though her waist and legs were fastened on Ning Que’s body without any gap, she still felt uncomfortable.

She didn’t hold on to Ning Que’s neck for stabilization. Instead, she tightly grasped Ning Que’s shoulders which would not affect his running and fighting.

Many years ago, Ning Que used to carry her on his back, hunting and running in Min Mountain just like this. They were so familiar with the process and knew what was the right thing to do.

Even though Sangsang was 16 years old and no longer the little girl, the old ways still worked. They only had to adjust some details.

The bells and drums still sounded and more and more people came out. They were told about the situation and began to search for the Daughter of Yama under the officers’ organization.

All of sudden, Ning Que and Sangsang were stuck in the biggest trouble that they had ever had.

Wherever they went, they could be seen. A lady saw them and began to scream when she was drying clothes. An idle beggar found them and began to shout when they were flying over the eaves. As long as they were found, they would be shot.

When they broke into a house, trying to hide for a little while, they nearly terrified an old woman, who was praying in front of the Buddha figure, to death. Maybe it was better if the lady died, so she would not throw the censer to Sangsang like a crazy woman.

Since the West-Hill Divine Palace promulgated the decree, they no longer covered the news of the Daughter of Yama. Instead, they informed everyone in the world. People had been afraid and hated Sangsang for a long time and what they wanted to do most was to burn her alive.

When Ning Que returned to the street, the black crows who rested in the yard began to hover over their heads, cawing.

No long after that, the cultivators and people in Chaoyang City heard the crows. Listening to them, they began to chase Ning Que and Sangsang.

Ning Que could not hide from people in the city even for a short time, so he had to keep running in the streets among the crowd.

Countless shouts of horror sounded in the street. Some of them gradually gathered courage and tried to stop them. They threw stones, vegetables, eggs and even rolling pins which by their hands. In a trice, the street was covered with all kinds of things.

Ning Que could avoid the hard objects that were thrown to Sangsang, but he could not avoid the vegetables and eggs. He was hit with an egg on his eye; it didn’t make him bleed but it hurt.

Sangsang lowered her head on his shoulder and tightly closed her eyes. Her pale face and thin body were covered with eggs; not bleeding either, but felt just as uncomfortable.