Nightfall

There were a great many things in life, no matter people, goods, emotions or life, the one that people feared most, was a comparison. The girls from the Great River Kingdom chose a quite camp outside the Tang campsite. Even though it was rather desolate, they felt that it was quiet and had no great objections to it. However, when they entered the resplendent tent that belonged to the Revelation Institution and looked at their equipment and exquisite food, they did feel a little sad no matter how bland their emotional state was and how they didn’t place much importance on the worldly enjoyment.

They were all young people who were carrying out their orders from the West-Hill Divine Palace. Why did the disciples of Black Ink Garden not have a good camp at the frontier fortress of North of Yan Kingdom? They carried the burden of a difficult mission and had gone through hell and high waters before finally arriving at the Palace and yet, they did not have a good camp. The students from the Revelation Institute had arrived in horse carriages singing and drinking tea and enjoyed such good facilities.

The girls found it hard to accept and felt extremely low after thinking of the bloody battle with the Horse Gang by the meadow. They thought of how they had sat by the camp and how they battled with death while the students of the Revelation Institute had sat on their horses and watched.

The disciples of the Revelation Institute who sat across them were not sad. They were not depressed either, and one could not see the shame on their faces regarding the Horse Gang robbing incident. They drank their teas from the porcelain bowls of the Wilderness and chatted with the girls from the Great River Kingdom blandly, their words littered with traces of superiority.

The Revelation Institute was an academy of the Haotian Taoism cult and was taught personally by the Divine Preist of West-Hill Divine Palace. They have taught several bigwigs over the hundred thousand of years. In the last few years, they had the Tao Addict, Ye Hongyu, and Prince Long Qing who eventually became the Priest of the Judicial Department in Divine Hall. They were both world-known. In the hearts of these young disciples, other than the Academy south of Chang’an, there was no other place that could compete with the Revelation Institute.

The girls from the Great River Kingdom had to keep a tight leash on their sadness and hatred. The disciples of Revelation Institute were only interested in displaying their airs and pride. While there was no conflict, the two parties did not click as well. The conversation tapered off, and they eventually only talked to people of their own cult, as if they did not see the other party at all.

They were not important today anyway. The star of this show had long entered the depths of the great tent. The conversation between the two girls was the most important thing today.

Ning Que who wore the uniform of Black Ink Garden sat on a chair. He had his body angled towards Cat Girl and they spoke in low tones. Cat Girl’s exquisite and cute face would occasionally reveal an expression of disbelief and excitement and caress the box by her side. She looked extremely careful.

Could this be the gift Calligraphy Addict, Mo Shanshan, had for the Flower Addict, Lu Chenjia?

…

…

There were countless beauties in the world. Only three were world-known.

According to the gossip spread throughout the realms, Princess Lu Chenjia, the Flower Addict of Yuelun Kingdom, gentle Master of Calligrapher, Mo Shanshan, the Calligraphy Addict who lived in seclusion in the Great River Kingdom as well as the Tao Addict, Ye Hongyu from the Judicial Department of West-Hill. Together, they were known as the three addicts.

Beauty lay in the eyes of the beholder. There was of course no one who was the most beautiful woman in the world. The three addicts came about mostly because the three girls were addicted to a certain state and were in a high cultivation state and all came from good backgrounds.

Behind the blinds in the depth of the tent, Mo Shanshan looked at the beautiful girl in yellow robes expressionlessly. “You were on the meadow that day.”

Lu Chenjia was trimming the branches of a unique seven petal flower plant. When she heard that, she lifted her head and smiled slightly. “This plant is one that the Prince Consort loves. It is a pity that they didn’t know how to cultivate it. The roots lack energy, so the flowers looked dull. It was so bland it made one sad.”

The princess from Yuelun Kingdom had loved botany since she was a child. Before she met the perfect man at the palace, flowers and plants were the only things in her life. They were perhaps, more important than her life.

Because of her relationship entanglements with Prince Long Qing and her love for flowers, everyone called her the Flower Addict. However, when people spoke of her, they would still remark on her appearance first.

The Flower Addict, Lu Chenjia, was very beautiful. Her perfection lasted to the very tip of her lashes. She was beautiful no matter from which angle you looked at her from. She looked like a prized flower that was carefully cultivated. In the spring breeze, the blooming petals would dip and smile shyly. She was beauty personified.

The Calligraphy Addict, Mo Shanshan was completely different. She had strong dark brows and looked as if she had emerged from a painting. While her gaze was kind of slow, it was clear and determined as well. Her lips, when pinched would form a straight line. Her slightly rounded face did not look like one of traditional beauty, but the unconventional features when put together, looked beautiful despite her wooden expression.

Ning Que had thought so when he first saw her. No other adjectives were sufficient to describe the beauty of this girl from the Great River Kingdom. Any other adjective would be superfluous. She was just beautiful.

It was not the moving beauty Lu Chenjia possessed. Her beauty was refreshing. And because her gaze did not possess any ill-intent, it did not cause any undue stress on anyone. Anyone looking at her would feel relaxed.

One could take forever to look at this beauty.

…

…

There was no trace of emotion on Mo Shanshan’s beautiful face. She looked at Lu Chenjia and said calmly, “Since you admit that you were on the meadow, we don’t have much to speak about with regards to this matter.”

Lu Chenjia looked at her quietly and smiled slightly. “Sister Mo, do you have something to ask me?”

“You’ve admitted to it so calmly. Is there anything else to ask? Since you insist that I should ask, I will.”

Mi Shanshan was very calm. There was no anger nor distaste in her eyes. She looked as if she was talking about a matter that did not pertain to herself. “You were in the horse carriage on the meadow. You knew that the camp below was surrounded by the Horse Gang and you knew that the disciples of Black Ink Garden were there. Why did you not have the cavalryman of Divine Hall come to help?”

Lu Chenjia pursed her lips slightly and said, ” I became an ordinary student of the Revelation Institute after entering the Wilderness. How could I order the cavalryman of Divine Hall?”

Mo Shanshan looked at her coldly as if she was looking at the flower beside her. She said, “If you were an ordinary student of the Revelation Institute, you should be waiting outside right now. Would you have the right to sit here and speak with me right now?”

Lu Chenjia furrowed her brows slightly. She felt that the girl before her was very much different from the Calligraphy Addict she had remembered.

Mo Shanshan did not care what the girl was thinking, but continued coldly, “The Judicial Department is in charge of the cavalryman of Divine Hall. You are Long Qing’s fiance, why would they not listen to you?”

She looked at Lu Chenjia and said indifferently, “If you do not wish to talk about what happened on the meadows that day, I will not speak about it. Since you want to talk about it, then do not speak nonsense about it. You are the Flower Addict, not an idiot.”

…

…

Lu Chenjia did not say anything. She put down the little shears in her hands and focused on Mo Shanshan. There was a trace of laughter in her eyes. She wondered to herself, “What had caused the significant change in the Calligraphic Addict?”

Mo Shanshan’s accusation was not forceful. Everyone could understand what happened on the meadow that day. No matter if Flower Addict, Lu Chenjia, remained silent or not, she was responsible for it.

Lu Chenjia did not mind the accusation. She was more interested in Mo Shanshan’s current behaviors.

According to her memories and what everyone knew, the Calligraphy Addict was only interested in kneeling before her calligraphic stationary. She did not care about what happened in the world and did not speak out her mind for fear of trouble. She was silent beyond measure.

She thought that Mo Shanshan would be mad about the incident with the Horse Gang, but would not scold her for it. She did not expect for her to be so direct and even had such a strong stance on this.

Lu Chenjia looked at her silently. There was a pregnant pause before she said, “Sister Mo, you have changed. You are more direct now and even more critical of things. I am rather shocked and surprised at this.”

Mo Shanshan considered this seriously. “I did not know that being direct would mean that I was critical.”

Lu Chenjia looked at her and sighed. She smiled, “Even you have changed.”

Mo Shanshan replied calmly, “I’ve learned a lot of things from someone recently. I am adjusting to the change.”

Lu Chenjia asked softly after a moment, “Have you come to criticise me today?”

Mo Shanshan replied firmly and calmly, “Why would I come to see you if I was here to criticise you?”

Lu Chenjia sighed and said, “I only knew you were below the meadow when you executed that Half Divine Talisman.”

Mo Shanshan looked at her beautiful face and stilled for a moment. “Even if I were not below the meadows, there were other people there. They were about to be killed by the Horse Gang.”

Lu Chenjia soothed, “I know you, and I admire and like you. That is why your death has something to do with me. If you had died, I would be sad. The deaths of others have nothing to do with me. That is why I do not care about it.”

Mo Shanshan said, “I have a Younger Brother who died when the Horse Gang attacked.”

Lu Chenjia remained tranquil. “I do not know your Younger Brother. His death has nothing to do with me.”

Mo Shanshan looked at the nameless beautiful plant that was as white as snow. She said, “There are many people in the world that have nothing to do with you and I. But the world has something to do with you and I, because grief and joy are always linked.”

“There is never any connection between the joys and grief in this world.”

Lu Chenjia lifted her beautiful face slightly. “Why would people like us deign to involve ourselves with the joys and grieves of the world? Other than flowers and a handful of people, there are no more clean people in the world. We are both clean. If we care about the dirty world, we would one day be entangled in the dust and mud of it. What has the grief and joy in the world to do with me?”

Mo Shanshan’s lids closed slightly. She looked at the dirt that had splattered on her clean white dress throughout the journey. She lifted her head after a moment and looked at Lu Chenjia. “I have never been able to win an argument against you. I will not pretend to be an orchid that everyone likes. That is why I do not wish to speak with you anymore.”

Lu Chenjia sighed, “You are being mean. This is not good.”

Mo Shanshan replied, “I am not being mean enough. You are not even mad.”

Lu Chenjia furrowed her brows and asked, “Why would you want to make me mad?”

Mo Shanshan replied, “Because your ignorance and uncaring ways make me very angry. Because what happened at the meadows made me very angry.”

Silence filled the resplendent tent. The long silence exerted an unknown pressure and began to descend heavily upon the room. The branches on the blinds looked as if they were about to break from the pressure in the air.

After an unknown period of time, Lu Chenjia looked at her calmly and said, “I would like to know how you are going to make me mad.”

Mo Shanshan replied, “You know that I have never been good with words. My entire life has been spent on paper with a brush. I do not use my hands. If I were to defeat you completely, would you be mad?”

Lu Chenjia smiled. She looked like a sleeping lotus in the pond that had been startled awake by the cries of birds and had bloomed. One could sense no trace of enmity behind her beauty and silence.

The Flower Addict was indeed a flower addict. She was a slave to her emotions. She did not wish to fight Mo Shanshan and was not prepared to fight her. She just smiled at Mo Shanshan silently.

Most people in the world, even the cultivator with the strongest Taoist Heart would not know what to do in the face of the peaceful smile from a beautiful girl. Would they really punch her?

However, Mo Shanshan was a Calligraphy Addict. She had her own ideas and was even more unfeeling than the Flower Addict when she was in the mood. When she decided on something, she did not care what state the situation was in. Even if Lu Chenjia was a drifting flower scent or a fragile jade carved flower, she would have no pity for it. She reached out.

Two slender fingers shot out from her sleeves. However, what extended from it was not a sword but a brush. It spun and began writing on an invisible paper on an invisible desk.

Mo Shanshan’s hand was the Half Divine Talisman.

Lu Chenjia sat on the seat quietly. A transparent bloom appeared between her fingers.

The bloom was not completely transparent. There was a thin layer of primordial Qi that floated on top of it like a layer of morning dew. It looked as if it was carved out of the fog and was extremely exquisite.

A frightful pressure encapsulated the tent along with the Half Divine Talisman.

A fresh aura accompanied the bloom and spread out of the tent.

Within a certain tent, the Priest in the Revelation Department of West-Hill Divine Palace felt the aura that came from not far away. He awoke from his meditation and looked out of the tent before sighing softly.

The Half Divine Talisman was strong. Calligraphy Addict seemed to be stronger than when they had met the Horse Gang on the meadow. It seemed that Chen Jia’s was about to be defeated.

…

…

Lu Chenjia looked at the shattered pieces between her fingers and the bloom that had dissipated into the air. She looked at the girl in white and said, “I am not in as high of a cultivation state as you are. And I am no match for the Tao Addict. But that is fine with me. Defeat is defeat. I still enjoy trimming blooms and planting flowers most.”

Mo Shanshan retracted her hands and tucked it back into her sleeves. She looked at her and said, “You wouldn’t be the Flower Addict if you were only addicted to flowers.”

Lu Chenjia seemed to have thought of something. She smiled warmly and also revealed a trace of disappointment. “Flower Addict, oh, Flower Addict… Slave to people and slave to flowers. I guess this is enough.”

Mo Shanshan rose to her feet and said, “You used to dig in the mud with a hoe. Your hands were stained with dust and your face with sweat. I think that you were a better person then.”

Lu Chenjia lowered her head and continued trimming her flower. “But he likes me better as the person I am now. And he will protect me.”

Mo Shanshan looked at her silently before the corners of her mouth twitched slightly. This was the first time in her life where she had learned to reveal the victor’s smile. It looked slightly awkward.

“Someone told me last night, that if you behaved as if you did not care after your defeat, but mentioned Long Qing, it meant that you are starting to get angry. Then, you’d truly have lost.

Lu Chenjia did not reply but smiled slightly. However, she cut off a perfect green leaf with the shears in her hand.