Nightfall

Sangsang didn’t move, but the forest did, or the whole world did, so to speak. The space had been twisted, making the snow line miss her narrowly, and fall softly on the ground. Then it bounced back, and returned in the same way it came, shoving into Chen Pipi’s body.

Chen Pipi looked pale with the bloody hole on his shoulder which was poked by his own Magical Finger. He looked into Sangsang’s eyes again, bitter and sentimental.

The bitter sentiment had nothing to do with the gap between their realms. He had never expected his victory over her because this was her world. It would be weird if she could be injured here. He felt sentimental because he remembered years ago, on the first day of the New Year, she was still a skinny tanned girl. She held the heavy quilt in her arms and stood in the Chang’an Government silently and stubbornly, looking pitiful. That was the first time he used the Magical Finger, and he used it to protect her.

Sangsang looked at Chen Pipi, the man was the first one who dared to attack her after she came back to the mortal world. Even the Drunkard had only dared to escape, and the Butcher whimpered in the corner when seeing her.

However, she didn’t punish Chen Pipi for his offense to Heaven. She turned back to the direction of Chang’an, saying emotionlessly, “You turned me down there.”

She was looking at Chang’an but was talking to Chen Mou in the handcart. She was talking about the whole thing, when he broke into Chang’an City alone and used the State of Pureness.

Instead of explaining, Chen Mou laughed out weirdly.

His laugh was full of emotions, including the joy of seeing the period of his life, the relief of seeing everything through, the peace of admiring the cloud; it had everything except awe.

This was his first time seeing Haotian. She was so proud and indifferent, without any human feelings. But he still found her interesting.

He had sensed the changes that had taken place in her, and he really wanted to sing praise for the Headmaster, though he had already left the world. Chen Mou knew that from now on, nobody would be able to see the future of the world clearly.

Nobody besides Haotian could.

The West-Hill Divine Kingdom was warmer than Tang or Yan, but it was still cool since spring just arrived here. The wind in the mountains was chilly, and the green trees looked dim when covering in winter dust. No wildflower could be seen here.

The Peach Mountain was now nervous and depressed because the war against the Tang Empire wasn’t going on well. Haotian Taoism Powerhouses like the Great Divine Priest and Ye Su had all been injured, and the coalition army couldn’t march any further before the Verdant Canyon. The Hierarch Lord had shut himself off from everybody else after he returned from Chang’an.

There weren’t many people in the Divine Hall, and they wouldn’t go outside or talk about it. That was probably part of the reason why nobody noticed when the tall chubby girl in black had reached the foot of the mountain, with the registered Big Black Horse.

Instead of Chang’an, Sangsang chose the West-Hill Palace to go to. She walked amongst the green mountains, peaceful and relaxed, like patrolling her own territory.

She walked in the Divine Hall of Revelation with the horse. The hooves clicked on the polished floors, clopping-clopping in the quiet empty hall.

The Great Priest of Revelation was lying in bed, in the deepest part of the hall. Dim light poured down from the dome and cast on his face, accenting his deep wrinkles. He was so old, seeming as if he would die any minute now.

He was knocked down by Eldest Brother’s wooden rod before the Verdant Canyon. His chariot had been burnt into ashes, and his old body was no better than the chariot. He spoke the best prophecy in Haotian Taoism, so he knew clearly how severe his injuries were, then he gave up doing anything after getting back. He had driven Cheng Lixue and other deacons out of the hall, waiting for his day to return to the Kingdom of Haotian.

The hall had been dark and quiet for long before someone dared to go inside, and break into the peace of the Great Divine Priest’s last moment. As the disturbing clopping sounded, the priest opened his eyes with difficulty. He saw the Big Black horse, and the girl holding its rein.

It took him just one glance to figure out many things. His dim eyes lit up again, and his wrinkles stretched, making up the happiest smile.

Sangsang went to his bed quietly to make sure that his life was near its end. No one could help him stay in the mortal world, not even Sangsang, but she could at least extend his time.

The Great Divine Priest of Revelation read her mind and said humbly and sincerely, “Going back to you was the biggest wish through my entire life, I hope you can help me with it.”

Sangsang sat beside the bed and held the skinny old man in her arms. Her face showed no emotions. A peaceful aura was coming out around her.

The Great Priest leaned his head on her shoulder and murmured, “It’s a little bit too late, isn’t it?”

He once met her in the Old Brush Pen Shop in Chang’an. Three years later, he saw the light on Peach Mountain, so he made the three-year deal with her. That happened in the 15th year of Tianqi, and four years had passed unknowingly since.

Sangsang said emotionlessly, “Time is nothing fun to play with.”

The Great Divine Priest of Revelation smiled peacefully and closed his eyes.

Sangsang checked if the soul of the man had really ascended to the Kingdom of Haotian. Then she put him back on the bed, rose up and left the hall with the horse.

She didn’t leave the Peach Mountain.

She went to the highest white hall in the mountain.

The Hierarch Lord grew quite grumpy after returning to the West-Hill Divine Palace. His angry yelling could be heard at the foot and the top of Peach Mountain; his trusted followers were too afraid to step any closer to the Divine Hall.

More than ten priests were kneeling before the white Divine Hall. They were going to yell at Sangsang when they saw that she had shown up with the Big Black Horse, yet soon they found that they didn’t know how to talk anymore.

Those respected priests of the West-Hill Divine Palace had lost the ability to talk, and they forgot how to write when picking up the pen. They had been deprived of all their expression abilities.

Sangsang walked into the Divine Hall with the Big Black Horse.

There were thousands of rays of light in the hall, casting a huge shadow of a man on the endless voile in the Hall.

That was the figure of the Hierarch Lord of the West-Hill Divine Palace.

Sangsang might be tall, but she now looked so small compared with that figure.

The tall figure suddenly trembled, so did his voice that was coming out of the voile.

“You’re not Lin Wu, who are you?”

Sangsang kept moving forward without any expression. She grew taller with every step she took.

On the contrary, the tall figure behind the voiles grew smaller and smaller.

She walked into the voiles and rays, then light stopped brimming out.

The Hierarch knelt and kissed the ground before her bare feet. In the most humble way he said, “I am your most loyal servant in the world, waiting for your presence.”

He looked even more skinny and pathetic than the days when he was in the back of the Academy’s mountain because his wounds were difficult to heal. His eyes had gone blind, and his arms had been broken.

The skinny dwarf at her feet reminded her of a saying, which she heard many years ago when she was abandoned in the mountain.

“That person looked as pathetic as a dog.”

Omniscient and almighty might she be, she couldn’t understand why that man would laugh so happily with tears running down when he said that.

She frowned, and holy flames emitted deep in her pupils.

The Hierarch started to groan painfully. His eyes, which had been stabbed by Yu Lian with cicada wings, were flaring. Moments later, the flare went down as a piece of ash floated out of his eyes.

When he could see the world clearly, he burst into tears and couldn’t stop kowtowing.

Sangsang watched him no more, and left with the horse.

She then took a look at the black Divine Hall, and went to the Divine Hall of light.

There was Eternal Fire in the Divine Hall of Light. The former Great Divine Priest of Light had been imprisoned, and his throne had been suspended ever since. Only the Eternal Fire never stopped burning, because it was the symbol of this Hall.

The 3450th year of Dazhi in the West-Hill, on a cool early spring day.

The Great Divine Priest of Revelation went back to the Kingdom of Haotian. The Eternal Fire in the Divine Hall of light finally died out before a girl walked into the hall, because there was no better symbol for the light than her.

Wildflowers in the mountains around West-Hill burst into blooms causing many weird looks because it was all too early even for a warm place like the West-Hill.

What came next was even more shocking. The Peach flowers had never bloomed since the Headmaster climbed the mountain and chopped all of them several decades ago.

However, today over the mountains, there were countless peach trees in full blossom.