Nightfall

Even the devout worshippers who wandered around and kowtowed to the Peach Mountain of the Divine Hall always had a direction. However, there were no treasure maps hidden in crimson fabrics. There was only the imperial court which had completely backed off after throwing the heavy responsibility on Ning Que’s shoulders, and Second Brother was totally irresponsible.

Hence, the journey to the Wilderness became tangled and frustrating for Ning Que. In his view, this journey was a process of cultivation; the guys who were warming themselves around fires in the warm rooms of the Palace in Chang’an City were all old and useless. Ning Que was extremely irritated at them and did not know what to say.

He did not know what to say or how to walk. During the first few days after they entered the northern Tianqi Mountain, Ning Que and Mo Shanshan walked silently and monotonously. He was

efficient at hunting and tracking, but still could not overcome the difficulty of an entire night of fierce northern wind and heavy snow.

When walking in an area where the wind was particularly strong, Ning Que pretended not to notice the female Talisman Master’s frowning eyebrows. He felt forced to give her a heating charm. When he was ready to move forward, he suddenly stopped and looked upwards.

Mo Shanshan looked at his expression. She assumed that he had probably seen some more Snow Mountain sheep which he might want to shoot down for dinner. She shook her head gently and didn’t say anything. She merely embraced the warmth coming from her belly.

Instead of bringing out his bow and placing the arrow, Ning Que slowly frowned and then sat down in the snow. He closed his eyes to force the Psyche Power of the sense of perception out of his body. He began to sit quietly, perceiving the aura of the surrounding world.

The snow came with the cold wind, and after a little while, a thin layer of snow had piled on his clothes. Mo Shanshan looked at him in worry and confusion. She wanted to flick away the snow for him but decided eventually not to do anything.

A moment earlier, Ning Que had felt a familiar aura coming from the depth of Tianqi Mountain. Speaking logically, it was impossible for him in his current state to perceive anything from such a long distance. However, the aura had just suddenly appeared in his sense of perception. It indicated that it was not Ning Que who had perceived the aura, but the aura that had ignored the whirling snow and taken the initiative to come to him.

This analysis shocked him. He wondered which state the Grand Cultivator was in, that he could allow Ning Que to perceive his existence from such a long distance. Could it be one of the No Rules from legends? Were there any Sage-like existences that had transcended five states on this vast mountain?

In order to confirm that his perception had not gone awry, he sat down without hesitation and began to meditate. With the concentration of his spirit and the release of the Psyche Power in the sense of perception, the aura coming from somewhere far away became clearer and clearer. It came to him as the snow in the wind traversed the long distance, and then gently fell on him. It then slowly and inexorably entered his body through his cheeks, mouth and nose.

The horrible and unimaginable aura of a stronger being, coming from afar, instantly occupied his sense of perception. Under this situation, even for people like the Tao Addict, the first thought that came to mind might be getting as far away as possible.

Instead of escaping, Ning Que sat quietly to gain perception, because as mentioned earlier, this terrible and powerful aura made him feel familiar and even closed. Yet the problem was that, no matter how much he recalled his memory, he still could not remember whether he had ever met a Grand Cultivator who possessed this kind of aura in the past two years.

The strong aura was not overbearing, but extremely proud. It was like a cedar surviving at the top of a Snow-capped Peak. It did not bend over, even if it was covered with a millennium of snow. It would rather overlook the mortal beings at the foot of the mountain instead of looking up to the sky.

Ning Que closed his eyes and quietly felt the taste of the aura. Suddenly, a flash of light passed, and several visions appeared in his sense of perception. The images looked like the green and calm meadow in front of the Academy; the numerous books that were too proud to be understood by common people in the archaic library; the white goose that proudly fed the fish in the back of the mountain; the ancient crown on Second Brother’s head; the flower that Eleventh Brother was fondly watching and the forest where trees were pointing straight to the Firmament like swords atop the mountain under the Academy.

He slowly opened his eyes, looking towards the depth of the mountains in the distance and felt the peace and persistence contained in the aura. He did not know why he suddenly felt sad and almost shed tears, because… the familiar aura still retained its owner’s pride and obsession, but without any information. It had found Ning Que only because it also felt acquainted with his smell. It did not want to stay on this mountain; it wanted to return to its most familiar place.

It wanted to go back home, back to the Academy.

…

…

When Ning Que was awakened, the wind and snow had stopped, and his body had accumulated a thick layer of heavy snow.

He had stared at that place for a long time, thus he had understood something and confirmed something. He suddenly asked, “Did you feel that?”

Thick snowflakes fell down from his clothes.

Mo Shanshan stayed silently beside him. She did not know what had happened. Hearing his question, she furrowed her brows and replied, shaking her head, “Feel what?”

Ning Que stood up and dusted the snow off his clothes. He picked up his package and said, “Let’s

go.”

Mo Shanshan asked, “To…?”

Ning Que pointed to the huge mountain in the distance where the powerful and proud aura arose.

“There!”

Mo Shanshan said, “We don’t have a map.”

Ning Que shook his head and said, “They have sent me here because they know I don’t need a map.”

…

…

Walking on the snowy trails was difficult, but less difficult than climbing up to the sky. Ning Que who had a determined mental state and the young Calligraphy Addict who always had a strong mind were walking firmly towards that place. It did not take them too much time before they arrived at a steep cliff.

It took them half a day to climb the steep snow cliff. They stood at the top. A gust of wind was blowing; it was fresh and cool like the spring, much unlike the fierce snow and cold wind of winter.

They kept walking forward along the long snow cliff. Soon, they found the origin of the spring breeze. At the end of the snow cliff was a deep quiet valley, where there were several green broad-leaved trees growing. He didn’t know if they were able to grow here due to the climate or if there were hot springs nourishing them. The valley was large. It looked green, a sharp contrast to the icy world of the snow cliff that was only white and black.

Mo Shanshan was enchanted by the green scene in front of her. After a long period of silence, she subconsciously turned back and glanced at Ning Que. He had led the way here. She did not understand how Ning Que could know this kind of valley existed in the depths of the Tianqi Mountains. At the beginning, he had had trouble finding a map.

Ning Que was not as calm as her. He looked blankly at the green valley and the spring that could vaguely be seen in the depths of the valley. He felt the familiar aura becoming more concise and clearer. He could not help feeling nervous.

This aura had kept him silent for days. Now he finally confirmed that he was not mistaken. After a

sudden sense of sharp tension, he became absolutely relaxed from head to toe.

Standing at the top of the snow cliff, he suddenly shouted to the green valley, “Zhang Wuji, where are you?”

The voice reverberated in the valley for a long time before disappearing.

Mo Shanshan looked at him with no expression on her face, probably thinking he might go crazy again.

Ning Que calmed down his delightful mood and said to her in a soft voice, “I think we found the Front Gate of Devil’s Doctrine.”

Mo Shanshan looked slightly surprised. She asked, “Is it that simple?”

Ning Que stared silently into the valley under the snow cliff, and then shook his head, saying, “There are many things that seem difficult in this world. And yet, they turn out to be very simple as long as you can understand the links among them.”

Mo Shanshan shook her head in a simple and straightforward way, and then said, “I don’t understand what you mean.”

Ning Que looked at her and said, “There was a predecessor who found the Front Gate of Devil’s Doctrine and cut it into ruins with just a sword. Do you know who he was?”

Mo Shanshan shook her head and continued, “The teacher never told me. It seemed he didn’t want to say.”

Ning Que said, “I don’t know who he was, either, but I can probably guess who he was and confirm the relationship between him and myself. Because of this relationship, I can easily find the Front Gate of Devil’s Doctrine.”

Hearing his words, Mo Shanshan’s eyes gradually lit up. She had probably guessed who the predecessor that he was talking about was. However, since he did not make it clear she did not go on.

“Prince Long Qing should also be in the mountain,” she reminded him.

Ning Que shook his head and said, “If the Divine Hall knew the location of the Front Gate of the Devil’s Doctrine, why didn’t they come here before the Desolate Man went south? Besides, according to my estimate, there should be no good things remaining in this valley. Why did the Divine Hall ask Prince Long Qing to come to the Wilderness? I believe they are of the same mind as that of the Academy. They just want us to have cultivation.”

Mo Shanshan blinked her eyes slightly and quietly said, “Sometimes cultivation is a matter between

two people.”

Ning Que did not mistake her meaning; he understood what she meant. After a moment of silence, he said, “If Long Qing can only fulfill his Taoist Heart by defeating me; do you think I’ll give him this opportunity?”

Mo Shanshan shook her head and said, “As for cultivation, many things are compelling most of the

time.”

Ning Que said seriously, “We’re all righteous people. How can we start a fight as soon as we meet each other? Moreover, the Tianqi Mountain is so vast, how easy is it for us to encounter each other?”

Someone’s voice suddenly carried over from the snow cliff. The voice contained very complicated emotions; they seemed somewhat surprised, delighted, confused and determined. Eventually the

emotion died down.

“I didn’t expect to meet you so soon.”

Ning Que and Mo Shanshan looked back and saw a man sitting at the end of the snow cliff, just a few hundred meters away.

As the temperature on both sides of the snow cliff was distinctly different, the right half of the person’s body was covered with thick snow, while the black coat on his left side was free from snow. It seemed that he was sitting on the dividing line between two worlds, one side of which was wind, snow and darkness, while the other side was spring and brightness. It was an extremely odd sight.

With his voice, the thick snow that covered his body slowly melted and fell off. His perfect cheeks, due to the chilly wind and frost, looked haggard. His black Taoist robe that had once been clean was now full of dirt. The dark hair that fell to his shoulder made him look a bit embarrassed.

However, he still looked calm, awed and bright as the son of God.

…

…

The world was so big that a person, even if he was powerful and prominent after growing up, still could not find any information about the neighbor’s little girl who had given him lollipops, till the day he died.

However, this world was also very small. Maybe when a person ate a bowl of unclean pork giblets and went to the latrine at the corner of the street, he might suddenly encounter the shameless guy who had competed with him for that little girl’s lollipops.

In the Buddhism Sect, loving apart and resentment meeting meant suffering in human life. Where there was life, there was suffering. Therefore, living in the human world often required that people leave their loved ones and then continuously meet with people they disliked.

After the examination on the second floor of the Academy, in the eyes of those at the top of the secular world and those in the cultivation world, Ning Que and Prince Long Qing were destined to be enemies for life.

And they hated each other indeed.

Thus, no matter how big the world was or how large the Tianqi Mountain was, they were certainly destined to meet.

…

…

Prince Long Qing looked at the man and the girl on the other side of the snow cliff, and suddenly laughed.

He was able to pass his voice hundreds of meters; so naturally, he could also see their faces clearly.

How could he forget the man’s disgusting face? How could he forget his tender freckles? How could he forget his dimples? How could he forget the time this man had walked out of the thick fog like a fool and passed him the squashed pastries at the top of the mountain behind the Academy?

However, he had never expected that Ning Que and the Calligraphy Addict could actually find this valley. Logically speaking, only the Divine Hall had a map. Besides, if the sky did not give guidance, and the large tactical array outside the valley was eliminated, even the people from the Divine Hall could not find their way here.

“When I came here a few days ago, this valley was still covered with frozen snow.”

There was no emotion in Prince Long Qing’s voice. He said, “I have been sitting here watching the snow and ice melt. I’ve seen the rejuvenation of green leaves and the differences between each day, as if witnessing a miracle. I’m truly impressed.”

He looked at Ning Que who stayed on the opposite side of the snow cliff and calmly continued,

“You’re late to arrive. Or I can say you’re early, because there are still a few days before the gate opens.”

Ning Que’s warm and sincere voice sounded in the distance, “Your Highness, do you know when the gate will open?”

Prince Long Qing was agitated by the enthusiasm in Ning Que’s voice. He said in a low voice, “I

don’t know. But since you and I are all here a bit early, maybe we can find a way to occupy our time.”

…

…

Ning Que did not possess Prince Long Qing’s ability of talking with others regardless of distance. He

opened his palms and put them aside his mouth, shouting, “Playing chess, or playing a melody, or idle talking. These are the kinds of thing I’m good at now. As for fighting, forget it. I can’t defeat you, and it’s disgraceful for you to bully me.” Mo Shanshan stood beside him and bowed her head after hearing these words.

…

…

Ning Que’s remarks were so wretched and frank that even the young girl who admired him could no longer listen to him. Let alone Prince Long Qing.

Prince Long Qing looked at Ning Que in the distance and took a deep breath.

The night of climbing the back mountain of the Second Floor had been the greatest setback he had ever suffered. A few days ago, he had been defeated by Tang Xiaotang, which made him feel extremely frustrated. And now, today, he had finally met Ning Que. The spark that had been buried in the ash of his chest and abdomen gradually became robust. It burned his body and Taoist heart and was about to light up his black taoist robe.

Let this fire burn, set the sky ablaze and burn the fence!

Prince Long Qing looked down at the fence made of branches. He reached his hand to randomly draw a piece of wood out from the middle, and then slowly put it in the snow. He smiled.

…

…

Taking out a piece of wood from the fence… Ning Que could not figure out what it meant. However, Mo Shanshan understood. She raised her head and stared expressionlessly at Prince Long Qing. She stretched her hands out of the cotton cuff and casually made a pinch in the snowy wind. She then picked up a few pieces of cool snow and several talismans.

With this movement, the Qi of Heaven and Earth on the snow cliff was violently disturbed. The young Talisman Master’s heavy cotton robe, for whatever reason, magically became soft. It flowed gently in the mountain breeze, like a gossamer and beautiful skirt.

It seemed there were not any changes on the snow cliff, but Prince Long Qing and Mo Shanshan could see that the fluffy snow had become fluffier than before, and even the cliff below the snow had also become soft. The power of Talisman Taoism had been quietly laid among them.

Prince Long Qing frowned slightly and quietly looked to the other side of the snow cliff. It was then that he discovered the Calligraphy Addict was stronger than in legends. He did not know if she had seen the threshold, but she was already close to the Knowing Destiny State.

He looked towards the other side and asked in a deep voice, “Ning Que, are you going to keep hiding behind the girl?”

Hearing these words, Ning Que quickly stood behind Mo Shanshan and squatted slightly. After confirming that the girl’s body could completely cover him, he reached his head out. He then smiled and shouted, “Don’t try to stimulate me. I’m such a person. You can’t discourage me. Just think about other ways.”

These words showed no shame.

Prince Long Qing could not imagine why the Headmaster of the Academy’s disciple was so shameless. Hence, he became gloomier and angrier as he increasingly felt that it should have been he who was qualified to become the Academy’s disciple.

He provoked, “Do you think you can hide behind a girl all your life?”

Ning Que placed his head on Mo Shanshan’s shoulder and looking to the other side of the snow cliff, he said naturally, “I’ll certainly keep away from you if I can’t win. I just hope that you don’t learn from me. Although there is not much chance of that, if I can’t win against you in my entire life…”

He continued seriously, “I’ll hide behind her forever. What can you do to me?”

The anger on Prince Long Qing’s face gradually faded, revealing an expressionless calm.

Ning Que stared shamelessly at Long Qing with vigilance and considered what he should do later.

Mo Shanshan looked a little complicated. Her long and thin eyelashes twitched gently, while her thin red lips were tightly pressed together. Her lips were so bright; they appeared more intense than the hue of the white snow and the emerald valley.

Hide behind me forever?

His entire life?

She slowly lowered her head. Her hands that were holding the Fu paper were quivering slightly, not because of nervousness, but from something else.