Nightfall

Rustling sounds could be heard on the mountain path.

The female professor came before Eldest Brother and Yu Lian. She put down the broom in her hands and used her hand to wipe the dust from her greet coat. Her wrinkles were filled with indifference as she said, “Both of you are already injured. I should go.”

While she had been indifferent to the world for many years and could only watch in silence as the world tried to defeat the Tang Empire due to the circumstances of her birth, she could no longer sit in the staff room now, since that man was here in Chang’an.

Then, Jun Mo walked out from the mists and said, “You all don’t have to fight over it. Senior Brother and Junior Sister are both still recuperating and you’re old. Naturally, I should be the one to go.”

The female professor said, “That’s rather rude.”

The four present were the four strongest people in the Academy. Now that the man had arrived in Chang’an, they had to represent the Academy in receiving him. However, they all knew that the outcome of meeting him was difficult to predict, which was why they all were fighting to go.

Jun Mo kept quiet.

The female professor stared into his eyes and said, “You are no match for him even at your peak condition.”

“I have never once asked for perfection.”

Jun Mo said, “That is why many who are stronger than me have lost to me. Even Liu Bai did not gain victory over me.”

The female professor did not say anything else when Liu Bai was mentioned. Her wrinkles deepened.

“Come on out,” Jun Mo said.

With that, Zhang Nianzu and Li Guangdi walked out from the mist. They were rather excited for it was the first time they left the Cloud Gate array on their own. However, they were extremely cold from the stream water that they were blue and pale, looking rather pathetic because of it.

Jun Mo looked at Eldest Brother and Yu Lian who were seated in their wheelchairs. He said, “Don’t fight. I have to bring these two to Chang’an, so it is on the way for me to meet that person. I have a reason to go, so I shall go.”

Yu Lian said, “Why do you have to bring them back to Chang’an?”

Jun Mo thought about it and answered, “Home visit?”

The atmosphere in the carriage was very depressing because Jun Mo never spoke.

Zhang Nianzu and Li Guangdi exchanged glances furtively and seemed to have guessed that something major had happened in Chang’an. They started to grow anxious but did not dare to speak. They kept their mouths tightly shut as they looked at the scenery outside the window.

The trees beside the road were dotted with green and the scenery outside the window swept by quickly. The two teenagers looked past the neat trees and into the distance, seeing the city wall of Chang’an.

At noon, the south gate of Chang’an City should be very busy usually. Soldiers from the City Patrol Department should carefully check the people entering and leaving the city. The people in line would probably complain about the speed of entering the city, and vendors selling herbal tea and eggs would keep calling out their wares. However, it was very quiet today.

During daylight hours, the two heavy gates were tightly closed. There were no pedestrians, vendors or soldiers from the City Patrol Department outside the city gates. There was no one at all.

There was only one horse carriage.

The horse carriage looked ordinary and was covered with a layer of mud and dust. It was dull, and when a gust of cold spring wind came, the dust on the carriage would peel off a little, revealing it’s darkish color. It seemed to be crafted from metal and one could vaguely see several lines on it.

There wasn’t a horse pulling the horse carriage and the carriage stood alone. The wheels of the carriage dug deeply into the surface of the ground and fine gravel could be seen on both sides of the wheels. Looking in the direction from where it had come from, one could see two deep lines digging into the tough stone surface of the state highway from a long distance away. One could not see where it started.

How heavy was this horse carriage to have destroyed the road?

What was even more interesting was the person standing by the horse carriage. Since there wasn’t a horse, did this person pull the heavy carriage for such a long way?

The man was wearing an ordinary shirt. He looked ordinary, and other than a few wrinkles at the corners of his eyes, his skin was smooth and tender. There were some traces of white in his hair, but should one look closely, they would discover his youth in his black hair. One could not gauge his age, and one could not say whether he was old or young.

He had a flagon tied to his waist that swung in the spring breeze.

He seemed to be waiting for someone. And as he grew bored waiting, he took a gulp from the flagon.

He looked extremely carefree when he drank. He looked like a whale taking in seawater and he did not release the flagon even after a long time. The flagon did not seem to empty either as wine continued to pour from it.

There were several arrows on the city wall pointing at the drinking man. However, no one dared to shoot at him.

Because the man did not care at all that he was being aimed at by the powerful arrows guarding the city. He only cared about drinking his wine as he stood silently in the spring breeze, as if he were not of this world.

The man put down the flagon and wiped his mouth. He squinted.

His eyes were closed, and he seemed to enjoy the alcoholic buzz. He enjoyed only one thing in life, and that was drinking. However, if one looked deeply, one would see the coldness and age in his eyes. He had already seen thorough everything in life and was tired of the world, and thus, was indifferent towards it.

The sound of hooves gradually slowed as another horse carriage arrived at the city gates.

Zhang Nianzu crowded to Li Guangdi’s side. The two teens looked at the man from the window and they started shaking uncontrollably. They were dreadfully pale because they felt as if having seen the Taoist in indigo they saw on the street that day.

Jun Mo lifted the carriage curtains and alighted.

He walked up to the man and stopped.

The spring breeze caused his empty right sleeve to flutter. He seemed gentle, but his aura was cold.

His iron sword remained in its sheath by his waist.

Jun Mo looked at the man in the black carriage, his gaze landing on the flagon at his waist. After a long moment of silence, he lowered his head and said, “Greetings, Senior.”

The man said with satisfaction, “No need to be so polite.”

That was a simple statement, but even the Southern City gates trembled.

It was because the man’s voice was old to the extreme. And when air passed through his vocal cords, it sounded like dusty bronzed implements rubbing against each other. Even if the dust had been wiped off, the rust on the bronze objects rubbed against each other. It made everyone’s soul shudder.

Zhang Nianzu and Li Guangdi did not get off the carriage. Their faces turned even paler when they heard the voice and their bodies cooled and felt like ice. It was as if they had suddenly neared their twilight years and were about to die.

Several dull groans could be heard inside the city wall. The Tang Army that had been aiming at the man with arrows were extremely distressed by the sound. Even the moss-covered wall bricks showed some faint signs of loosening. The wall had endured thousands of years of wind and rain, butseemed young before this old sound.

Jun Mo looked up calmly. There was not a trace of respect in his eyes.

He said, “Leave, or die.”

The spring breeze started again. The flagon at the man’s waist started swinging once more. He was a little surprised, and then, his expression returned to one of indifference as he looked at Jun Mo and said, “I heard that you adhered to etiquette the most.”

“I have already greeted you, so I do not need to present any more etiquette.”

Jun Mo looked at the man and said, “Those who study etiquette are learned because they respect. I have already saluted you because you are older than I am. My teacher once studied under you; I have already respected the order of things, but I don’t respect you as a person.”

The man raised his eyebrows and said indifferently, “Why am I not worthy of respect?”

Jun Mo answered, “Because you are a coward.”

With that, the Qi of Heaven and Earth in front of the Southern City gates suddenly changed.

The spring breeze turned into a bone-chilling cold wind.

Jun Mo’s empty sleeve that swayed in the spring breeze looked as if it had been starched too many times and was suddenly stiff. The extremely soft lines on the sleeves became extremely sharp lines.

His right arm was broken, but he still had sleeves.

He did not wave his sword, but his sleeves were still filled with sword style.

Several sharp sword styles appeared in the suddenly chilly spring breeze.

In the carriage, Zhang Nianzu and Li Guangdi looked even paler because they discovered that there seemed to be many sharp fine lines in the air, and every breath they took was so painful.

Several sword marks appeared in front of the man.

Crisp sounds occured on the flagon at his waist, and then, it gradually receded.

He looked at Jun Mo and said, “He is indeed better at selecting disciples than us.”

Jun Mo answered, “Teacher is better at everything than the two of you.”

With that said, he stretched his left hand to his waist, held the middle part of the scabbard, and held the sword in front of him. He held the iron sword in front of his brows, and he seemed respectful. But actually, he was as indifferent as ice.

Jun Mo had executed the junior’s bow. He held the sword in front of him gravely.

The iron sword was straight and broad and was an impenetrable city wall in the wind.

The shadow of the iron sword and his sleeve cast on the ground as a dignified and continuous castle peak.

“You guarded the Verdant Canyon for seven days. First, you defeated Ye Su, and then, you injured Liu Bai. You are indeed extraordinary.”

The man looked at Jun Mo’s raised sword and his expression turned slightly more serious.

But the change was slight. He waved his sleeves casually, and the spring breeze responded, lingering around his body. His aura suddenly rose and he suddenly broke through the Five States, arriving at an unknown peak.

He was not in the city, so the city wall could not stop him. He was not in the mountains, so one could not see him there. He did not wish to fight, so not even powerful Jun Mo could fight him. What state was this?

“Teacher once said that not even Buddha can compare to the state you have attained.” Jun Mo looked past his sword point and at the man. He continued, “Since you do not wish to fight, why have you come?”

The man looked at him and said, “I came to Chang’an to return something to the Academy.”

Jun Mo asked, “What is it?”

The man replied, “This horse carriage.”

Jun Mo answered, “I am here, you may leave.”

The man asked, “Does the carriage belong to you?”

Jun Mo answered, “No.”

The man said, “Since this is so, you are not the person I’m looking for.”

Jun Mo answered, “Since this is my Youngest Brother’s carriage, I can make a decision on his behalf.”

The man shook his head slowly and took a sip from his flagon. He looked at the mottled city wall and said, “No, because you can’t make any decisions in this city.”

Jun Mo looked at him and did not say anything.

He only had one hand. It held his sheath and he could not hold his sword.

The iron sword would show its sharpness since it had been pulled out of its sheath by itself, accompanied by the slightest sound of friction.

Then, the sound of friction sounded at the city gate as it started to open slowly.