Nightfall

Ye Su asked, “How far can you go with the help of foreign object?”

The Second Brother answered, “Haotian Taoism follows the Natural Law, which is wrong in the first place.”

Ye Su was slightly shocked. “Why?”

“What is a foreign object? If you consider everything except our bodies as a foreign object, then armor is a foreign object; a sword is a foreign object; the Qi of Heaven and Earth is a foreign object as well. However, everyone uses them.”

“We travel by horses and boats; we cook with knives and fire. The difference between human beings and animals is that we can use tools. How can we consider them foreign objects?”

Ye Su thought for a long time. “I thought you were a straight, staid, and stubborn man until today, but you are the wisest one.”

“Etiquette is a rule: think and follow the reasonable rules.” The Second Brother continued, “Even when facing thousands of people, I never step back. This is my style.”

“Mr. Ke said, even thousands of people will not stop me, I should go after my goal.”

“That’s what I meant.”

Looking at him, Ye Su asked seriously, “The Academy has been doing its favorite things because you believe these things are right. Haotian makes rules but people make judgments. Different positions see different things. How can you judge whether this matter is reasonable?”

“You’re right, different positions will naturally lead to different standards, but once you choose a position, you will know the judgment. That is the rule.”

The Second Brother added, “The Academy’s position is man’s position: we feel nothing to the world. We love good things, like rice; We hate bad things, like disasters. So is the rule: we follow good rules and abandon bad ones.”

Ye Su asked, “The Academy judges things by pros and cons?”

“Yes.”

Ye Su said bitterly, “That is too realistic.”

The Second Brother said, “Human is realistic.”

Ye Su smiled wryly, wiping the blood off his mouth with a handkerchief. The blood was thick, like the bottom of a wine barrel.

The Second Brother guessed he must be in bad shape. When he remembered Ye Shu’s Tao and the view of life and death, the Second Brother wanted to persuade him to hide in the Academy if he had trouble.

However, he knew how proud Ye Su was, so he just said, “Take care.”

Upon hearing this, Ye Su laughed and became happy. “I have traveled for so many years but after being destroyed, I have received your wishes. Thank you.”

After saying that, he turned around and left the Verdant Canyon.

Watching his lone figure, the Second Brother slowly inserted his iron sword into the ground.

His armor began to crack and fall apart. The burnt black metal fragments looked like the common broken tiles in Chang’an.

Moments later, the fragments of armor piled around his feet, revealing his bloody clothes.

In the north of the wilderness was the Verdant Canyon; in the south were the coalition camps.

Ye Su didn’t go north or south. He went east. Walking along the mountains, he would reach Great Lake. Past Great Lake was the Kingdom of Song; after Song, he would reach the sea.

He didn’t know why he wanted to see the sea, but he felt something was calling him there.

Somewhere in the wilderness, he was stopped.

By a red flower.

Ye Hongyu stood in front of him and asked, “Where are you going?’

Looking at her, Ye Su smiled and said, “I’m lost, so I decided to relax.”

“You are seriously injured,” she pointed out. “You need medical treatment. Zhishou Abbey is in the south as well as the Divine Hall. Why are you going east?”

Ye Su believed she must be clenching her fists even though he couldn’t see them, but he felt too warm to feel the anger in her heart.

He said with a smile, “I am a cripple now. No one can cure me.”

Ye Hongyu was indeed clenching. She was so angry that she could not help trembling, blasting her robe in the wind.

He was her elder brother and the most respected man in her life. He had been her idol and she had aspired to him since she was a little girl. She had always been watching his back but never to catch up. Even if she made the Great Divine Priest of Judgment, she would still be the little girl crying behind her brother…

Yet, at this moment, he was calling himself a cripple…

“How can you be a cripple!”

“How can you easily and calmly admit that you are a cripple!”

“Even if you can’t cultivate and stay normal, you are still extraordinary. How can you be so dispirited? Where is your pride? Your confidence!?”

She said this tremblingly even though she looked calm.

Looking at her, Ye Su said, “Since I am neither Ning Que nor Long Qing and I am irrelevant to Yama, Haotian won’t bless me. I am just a normal, hard-working person who has had his Snow Mountain and Ocean of Qi destroyed. I am an ordinary person now.”

“I know why you are angry.”

He gently added, “When I stopped you from killing Long Qing in the North of Yan Kingdom, I knew you had doubt and you were angry because I didn’t have the courage.”

“I am your elder brother, but I have less courage than you and that annoys you. But I have to remind you that I have doubted Haotian for a long time and I couldn’t help thinking that today’s failure was my punishment from Haotian.”

Ye Hongyu was a little shocked.

Ye Su burst out laughing. “It is useless to talk about these things now. Anyway, I am satisfied. I have experienced the most wonderful fight of my life.”

Ye Hongyu said, “Only victory can make me happy.”

“I am not you or Ning Que.”

Ye Su smiled and said, “People like Jun Mo and me are still conventional.”

Ye Hongyu didn’t know what to say. She and Ning Que would probably never understand why this battle could develop to this situation.

Looking to the mountains not far in the distance, Ye Su said calmly, “I wanted great fame when I was young. Luckily, I failed. I could have devoted my whole life to the Sword Taoism. I could have ranked in the top 3 of the Sword Taoism but unfortunately, the top 3 are all here.”

“Failure is not terrible. Over these years, I have failed more than once. I just didn’t have a thorough defeat like today. I don’t think it’s sad. On the contrary, I think it is a good thing.”

Ye Su turned to Ye Hongyu and said with a smile, “The Academy is following Human Taoism, so they are realistic. I lost but I also gained some understanding.”

“Liu Bai is about to move and you should keep watching in the Verdant Canyon. This fight will be meaningful to you.”

“What about you?”

“From today on, I will be an ordinary person. I can’t use the sword anymore, so I will have more time to think about other things.”

“Hold on to your Sword Taoism and you will overtake me one day,” Ye Su said. “In fact, I have been waiting for you for so many years. Unfortunately, I fell behind. I hope you can forgive me.”

Then he took Ye Hongyu’s divine crown off with a smile. He rubbed her black hair messily like a nest, making her look childish.

Ye Hongyu suddenly froze. She was very uncomfortable with this.

In all these years, Ye Su had never been so gentle with her.

She was nervous, but she felt warm and contented.

Therefore, she bowed her head obediently.

Ye Su left.

A long time passed. Ye Hongyu raised her head, thinking about what had just happened.

As she watched the vanishing figure, she tried to control her sadness.

Several deacons and guards from the West-Hill Divine Palace appeared around her.

“Go and protect him.”

She said in a low deadpan voice and then turned toward the Verdant Canyon.

Given it had been a fair fight, she was not angry. Her brother had gotten what he wanted, and he was happy. As Ye Su said, it was time for Liu Bai to take action, because Jun Mo, who had just beaten Ye Su, was in his peak period.

The Second Brother was sitting under the tent, staring into the wilderness.

The fragments remaining on his body had been collected by Mu You. She took off his armor and began to unskillfully comb his hair.

Holding a bowl of herb water in his left hand and a bag of sugar in his right, Wang Chi said, “The decoction is thick and bitter. If you can’t drink it, take the sugar.”

Looking at the sugar, the Second Brother frowned. “How can a bitter decoction compare to being alive?”

He took the warm water and gulped it down as soldiers drank wine. His face didn’t change but his eyebrows trembled slightly.

The black decoction was so bitter that he could not control his face.

Wang Chi quickly passed him the sugar.

After the Second Brother ate the sugar, his hair was well combed.

Mu You put a mirror in front of him, and then tied the crown on his head.

The Sixth Brother was sweating profusely as he constantly refined the iron sword.

Mu You asked, “Do you need a break?”

The Second Brother stood up dressed in his academy uniform with her help and said, “I can’t.”

He couldn’t because if he stopped to rest, he would be discouraged.

He couldn’t because his opponent wouldn’t allow it.

A carriage came from the south, heading straight toward the Verdant Canyon.

It was moving quietly, driven by no one.

The only person was inside the carriage.