Nightfall

A gust of blizzard blew. A young girl appeared on the edge of a cliff. Her red blood-like clothing gently waved in the wind. On her waist was an ordinary black lace that bound her short and slightly loose red skirt that exposed her bare legs. Her legs were smooth with a dazzling sense of temptation. The red boot on her calf was like a tail of a koi carp.

When this young girl watched Tang Xiaotang leave, one could only see a small side of her face, a face as clean as water and as calm as a distant mountain. Judging from her facial expression, it looked like she had gone through a lot. But her slightly tilted lips not only showed her ridicule, melancholy, surprise but also her true age.

Prince Long Qing looked at her and suddenly laughed. He sighed and ignored the loose black hair on his shoulders. He sat next to a deformed winter tree, picked up a piece of woodchip, and gently touched it with his fingers.

The girl in the red dress quietly watched the wind and snow caused by Tang Xiaotang who was running at a high speed at the faraway mountain. She did not look back, but said in a much colder voice than the snow and wind around, “When encountering an enemy, you should be brave like a tiger or a lion fighting for a rabbit. You have disappointed me so much.”

Prince Long Qing ignored her and lowered his head down, gently inserting the chip of wood into the soil in front of him. He stared at the chip of wood that looked like a small log of firewood and said after a long time of silence, “Should I say I was injured for underestimating my enemy? That’s not my style. As for whether you were disappointed or not, it’s not my business. I’m just curious. Based on your peculiarity, on meeting such an enemy, you certainly will not let her go. Why don’t you chase her at this moment?”

She said with no emotion, “What a naive idiot! I worried that you would collapse after this setback, so I spent my precious time talking to you. If you suffered a setback in a brothel and had a body problem, another idiot, Lu Chenjia, would worry about it. But if you really collapsed and could not enter Knowing Destiny State, it would be bad for the Judicial Department. This is a thing I should worry about.”

Her bare unbent legs and her graceful waist vaguely visible under her red skirt made her look pure as well as charming. Probably it was because this girl never cared about the confusion she caused to men and her mind was all placed elsewhere.

Prince Long Qing looked up at her calmly and asked, “Do I really know nothing about fighting?”

The girl in the red dress did not hide her contempt for him and said sarcastically, “You seemed to seek from a firm Taoist Heart, but in fact it was all about pleasing the hierarch and the Priest. These years, you’ve led a group of useless men everywhere to kill another group of more useless men every day. You often went to the fire criminal platforms and Prison, but have you ever fought with a real strongman?”

Long Qing looked at her back and said with slight ridicule. “If the strongman you mentioned was yourself, should I dare to fight with you? Do you forget how the God punished me when I tried to challenge you on the first day I left the Revelation Institute all those years ago?”

Upon hearing his ridicule, the girl in the red dress suddenly cried, “Idiot! Do you think the status I have today is because of others? Do you want to die now?”

Her voice was like an invincible sword, trying to forcibly cut one mountain open. The friction sound between its blade and hard rocks made others feel terrified. After a rustle sound, those small beasts hiding around the snow cliff were all shocked and jumped out. They blindly scattered around and then they all fell to the ground.

Prince Long Qing’s face became slightly pale and then quickly returned to normal. He watched her back shaking his head and said with no emotion. “Now I naturally can’t defeat you. Of course, you won’t kill me, either. So your words don’t make sense at all. If I can enter Knowing Destiny State in this mountain, I’ll try to challenge you.”

After finishing this sentence, he added seriously. “Even if the hierarch and the God interfered, I hope you will still accept it.”

The girl in the red dress laughed. Her crisp laughter echoed around the snow cliff and clearly showed her strong self-confidence and strength. It amazed Tang Xiaotang that she could hide such a powerful force in her small body. How could the girl in the red dress still hide such strong self-confidence in her graceful yet seductive body?

Prince Long Qing quietly watched her back, the red dress band behind her, her naked and charming legs. Though he was not distracted by these, he did not hide the appreciation in his gaze.

There were boulders and sawdust all over the black rocks of the snow cliff. The girl in bright red stood out in such a cluttered and desolate environment. Her pride and self-confidence clashed with the environment. However, in anyone’s eyes, this girl standing on the edge of the cliff seemed to be part of this snow cliff and its surroundings. No one could distinguish the girl in red with the surrounding.

Cultivators in Seethrough state could integrate their own consciousness with the Qi of Heaven and Earth. But if one cultivator could integrate his own existence with the heaven and earth, he not only understood the law of the flowing Qi of Heaven and Earth but also had almost mastered this kind of law in essence. And therefore, almost realized the origin of the world.

It was called as Knowing Destiny State.

Prince Long Qing looked at her back integrating with the snow cliff, knowing that this girl was much closer to the threshold of Knowing Destiny State than himself. She just needed to gently lift her feet to step over it. She only needed a chance.

They had entered the Revelation Institute and the Judicial Department in succession. He and the girl in the red dress were considered as the most promising ones of this young generation in the Divine Hall. When he led the Judicial Department to stand out in the world, the young girl was addicted to Taoism and ignored the others. So she was less well-known than he. However, no matter how hard he tried, he could never catch up with her, whether in the cultivation world or in the secular world, in the ranking list of the Divine Hall or in the cultivation state.

Was it because she was Tao Addict Ye Hongyu?

…

…

Tao Addict, Ye Hongyu, quietly watched the faraway snow dust in the snow cliff and emitted a touch of cool and powerful luster in her eyes, saying, “On your path of cultivating Tao Heart, there is Ning Que, I , and now Tang Xiaotang as your firewood obstacles. I really don’t know when you will unplug these firewoods. I hope you won’t let me down again. If you still can’t enter Knowing Destiny State within three years, I will directly kill you because I won’t hand over the Judicial Department to a loser.”

Prince Long Qing did not answer, for he knew she was capable of doing this kind of thing. He also knew that although he was regarded highly by the hierarch and the God, he was a nobody compared with this girl who had a strong background.

Tao Addict suddenly blankly said, “She’s Tang’s sister.”

It came from nowhere. But Prince Long Qing understood it, for he knew who Tang was. His cheeks suddenly became pale and he fell into a thoughtful silence.

Tao Addict did not look back, but seemed to be able to see Long Qing’s expression. She nodded slightly and seemed to be very satisfied with his response, saying proudly and disdainfully, “Since she’s a Tang, of course, only Ye’s sister, me, is qualified to defeat her. A loser like you doesn’t need to think about it too much.”

Facing this contemptuous mockery, Prince Long Qing did not get angry nor did he ridicule her back. Instead he very seriously bowed to her back and said calmly, “Thanks.”

There was a fence around his Taoist Heart.

A fence had three stumps.

Over these years, Tao Addict, Ye Hongyu, had depressed his heart like a touch of dark twilight. And she was the first stump on this fence. In the mountaineering competition of the Academy, Ning Que inexplicably defeated him and became the second stump. Today, on this sudden encounter, a little Desolate girl defeated him and became the third stump.

As time went by, Tao Addict had less negative influence on him. Because there was always something one needed to adapt to, just as those who believed in Haotian could not go against it. Prince Long Qing rarely considered lauching a challenge to Tao Addict before his entering the Knowing Destiny State.

Not every failure had an impact on his Taoist Heart.

A stump like Ning Que was deeply wedged and made him writhe in pain. It was very fresh and easily caused his negative emotions—Because Confinement outside the Taoist Heart was just like a thorn in the heart. He was unwilling to accept this fact, for he should have won the mountaineering competition as a man favored by god and ignored that little soldier of the border town. But he finally lost to that guy. So the thorn would always exist.

He had not yet pulled out the stump, Ning Que. Today he was beaten by another unknown Desolate girl. If Tao Addict had not explained anything, it would have been harder for him to enter Knowing Destiny State.

However, since he knew that the little girl was Tang’s sister, his displeasure naturally faded. Just as Ye Hongyu had said, Tang’s sister should certainly be as strong as Ye’s sister. So it was not difficult to understand his defeat, for he was not well prepared.

So Prince Long Qing sincerely expressed his gratitude.

Tao Addict, Ye Hongyu, turned around, looking down at Prince Long Qing sitting beside a deformed tree. There was no expression on her delicate and beautiful face, even much calmer than her short red skirt swinging along with the wind.

“You don’t need to thank me. Though I insist that you’re a perverted idiot, you should not be too weak since you’re in the Judicial Department. The stronger you’re, the stronger the Judicial Department and the Divine Hall are. If you’re weak, the Divine Hall won’t become weak, but I’ll still feel ashamed and will not stand it at all.”

…

…

Tao Addict went to chase after Tang Xiaotang. No one knew when the two had encountered in Tianqi Mountain and how long their chase had lasted or was about to continue in the blizzard.

That cardinal short skirt was like a blooming flower on the black walls of the snow cliff. Each time it bloomed, it would go forward and suddenly appear in another mountain, and then disappear in the distance.

Prince Long Qing quietly watched the disappearing redness and wondered whose sister among the two legendary figures, Ye and Tang, was more powerful.

He had fought with both of them and confirmed that Tao Addict, Ye Hongyu, had attained a higher state. But as Tang Xiaotang had said, before a Haotian Taoism cultivator entered Knowing Destiny State, a person from the Devil’s Doctrine with a tough body was more suitable for fighting. But why did Ye Hongyu keep chasing after that Devil’s Doctrine survivor?

In the past years, he had led the deacon of the Judicial Department and mighty Apologetic Divine Forces in search of Devil’s Doctrine survivors, betrayers and heresies in the Central Plains. He had never really had any real trouble before. But today he finally believed that, as the Desolate Men moved southwards, those Devil’s Doctrine strongmen who had long been hiding began to appear.

Their encounter was the first time for Prince Long Qing to fight with the real Devil’s Doctrine stongman. Although his opponent was only a little girl, she was completely different with those older Devil’s Doctrine believers he had met before.

When they first met, he was defeated by a girl of Devil’s Doctrine. His ego and pride naturally suffered a lot. But he had a firm Taoist Heart and would not collapse because of this.

The Divine Hall hierarch and Ruling God had commanded them to enter the depth of the Wilderness for Tomes of Arcane and to check the movements of Devil’s Doctrine. But it was also a rare opportunity for trial and cultivation.

Just… Tao Addict wished to be defeated, but was not yet defeated.

He did not want to lose, but still lost.

Over and over again.

Prince Long Qing picked up a piece of woodscrap again and stuck it in the mud infront of him.

A short moment later, the long-short woodpiece seemed to become a fence and surrounded him.

His disheveled black hair scattered behind his shoulder. His black Taoist Robe that had been very clean was covered in dirt and snow mud, looking a bit messy. There was a worried expression hidden in his wide brows.

He closed his eyes and used his hands to gently touch his knees. He calmed down and chanted a passage from Haotian doctrine.

There was a fence made of firewood outside his body.

There was a fire burning in his heart.

He wanted to destroy the fence and set the flame free.

He got enlightenment from his failure. From then on, he no longer failed and naturally knew his destiny.

…

…

At this time, Ning Que could not confirm where Prince Long Qing was in Tianqi Mountains. He even did not know this son of god who was loyal to Taoism had regarded him as an obstacle like a useless woodpiece that must be unplugged before his entering Knowing Destiny State.

“In Shubi Lake, I was called as firewood-collector and barbarians or Horse Gang liked to call me firewood-chopper.”

He led the Big Black Horse and happily described his past to Mo Shanshan beside him. In this lonely journey into the mountain, aimless searching made them easily bored. If they did not chat often, he was really worried that he would leave at once and ignore Youngest Uncle’s nonsense.

Chatting always needed two people. After all, there was no person in this world like Zhou Botong, a talkative figure in Chinese novels. But Mo Shanshan had lived beside the teachers of Ink Lake since childhood had few secular experiences. Except a period of communication with Flower Addict, Lu Chenjia, via letters, she had only a life span of pen and ink. So she only spent a short time explaining her life.

Ning Que lamented that Calligraphy Addict had a clean, simple and happy life. In order to kill time, he had to tell his own stories. Fortunately there were too many things in his life. Even if he removed those that were too bloody or violated the human moral, he still could not finish the rest within three days and nights.

Mo Shanshan had been quietly listening and occasionally showed a smile on her slightly round face that became a little red from the blizzard. After Ning Que reminded her several times, she soon learned to ask at the right time, “And then?”

Later, as her question of “And then?” continued, they came to the quiet Snow Mountain. Ning Que finally confirmed that the Desolate Man did not lie to him. The caravan from Tuyang City indeed went south without entering the mountain. He could not help feeling somewhat doubtful. Could it be that Xia Hou had given up on looking for the “Ming” Handscroll of Tomes of Arcane?

It was a bit tough in the winter in the Wilderness. Both of them were cultivators, so they could resist coldness and heat. But they still felt a bit cold from the wild snowy wind. And this rolling mountain in front was also a great challenge for them.

This north section of Tianqi Mountain was steep and difficult to walk on. Combined with the coldness and dangers, neither Desolate Man nor grassland barbarians could ever go into the mountain. Although the Big Black Horse was strong enough, Ning Que did not dare to take it into the mountain.

After he unloaded the heavy luggage, he heavily patted on the Big Black Horse’s hip, saying, “Find another place to have fun. If you can’t find food, you go back first.”

The Big Black Horse suddenly felt much relieved and ignored what he had said, neighing happily and loudly and running down along a gentle slope on the mountain. It remembered that it had vaguely seen a coniferous forest northwest on the road. Although it did not like eating barks, those cold-resistant squirrels surely had hiden something for the winter and pine nuts seemed to taste good…

Mo Shanshan looked at the Big Black Horse who instantly disappeared like black lightning. She tightened the scarf on her neck and asked in a state of confusion, “Will it find something to eat?”

“It’s a foodie and therefore, good at finding food.”

Ning Que searched for the luggage for a long time and then pulled out a piece of cloth. He looked at the girl with a smile, adding. “The people in the back of the mountain are a group of foodies. Sometimes I really feel that the Big Black Horse naturally belongs to the Academy.”

Mo Shanshan kept silent for a long time and softly asked in doubt. “The Headmaster… is also a foodie?”

Ning Que did not hear her question clearly. He held up the blood cloth in his hand and aimed it at the unreal light in the sky. Facing the sunlight, he wanted to see what was hidden inside, but ultimately only saw some blood.

“If this is a test, are there no tips?”

Ning Que watched the blood cloth sent by the Nation Master, Li Qingshan, over and over again for a long time. He said annoyedly, “There should be a treasure map in it. If not, how will I find the Front Gate of Devil’s Doctrine? If we two can enter Devil’s Doctrine by casually and blindly wandering in, why is it known as Unknown Place?”

Mo Shanshan gently shook her head and said, “Let’s go into the mountain first.”

Ning Que nodded and carried the luggage on his back, digging his boots deeper into the snow.

Mo Shanshan curiously looked at the baggage on his shoulder, wondering what exactly was inside it that it looked so heavy.

Ning Que looked at her frozen eyelashes like frost silks and her reddish cheeks, suddenly asking, “Are you cold?”

Mo Shanshan nodded, for she did not want to hide anything from him.

“Why did you not say it earlier?”

Ning Que passed a piece of Fu paper to her and said, “Put it on your waist. It can keep you warm. If it’s not enough, you can ask for more. I still have a lot.”

Mo Shanshan listened to him and put the slightly yellow Fu paper on her waist. Later she felt a bit confused and wondered why she followed his order. When the warmth gradually seeped into her waist, she could not help but be amazed. “What’s this?”

“My first experiment product, the fire talisman.”

Ning Que carried his luggage walking towards the valley and said with a smile, “It failed. There is no way to condense the fire within the Breath of nature. It can only warm up slowly. When I left Chang’an, I thought it must be cold in the Wilderness. So I wrote a few more.”

When Mo Shanshan heard these words, she suddenly felt a chill on her cheeks that had gradually heated up because of warmth and shyness. She said in a trembling voice. “Using Fu paper… to warm up? How many fire talismans do you have?”

Ning Que said, “I didn’t count. Maybe dozens. They’re useless, after all. You can use them as you wish.”

Mo Shanshan slightly blinked her eyelashes, suddenly breaking the frost silk on them. She stared at him and could not say anything. She simply thought that writing talisman took a lot of Psyche Power, how could he waste his valuable Psyche Power on an unnecessary trifle?

She was addicted in Talisman Taoism all her life and regarded it as a priority. So the more she thought of it, the angrier she became.

Ning Que turned back to see her look and could not help wondering. “What’s wrong?”

Mo Shanshan looked at his eyes and said very seriously, “You’re such a squanderer. Don’t do this in the future.”

Ning Que smilingly scratched his head and did not answer her.

It might be really wasteful to use Fu paper as a heater.

However, he had plenty Psyche Power and he could recover very quickly.

Most importantly, Sangsang had a weak body and feared the cold.

He had written hundreds of such talismans in Old Brush Pen Shop. So Sangsang certainly would not have such a tough life in this winter.