Nightfall

Sangsang didn’t think this poem was great, in fact, she thought it even worse than the one she wrote before for Ning Que to read when killing people. Besides, she remembered that this monk had threatened her and Ning Que at the outside of the Academy, therefore, she turned around and shut the door close.

Wudao stopped the closing gate with his hand. He looked at Sangsang. The craziness and excitement on his face could not be more obvious, and said in excitement, “To make sure that you can travel around the world and enjoy the beautiful scenery with me, I promise that I will kill your master as soon as possible.”

Sangsang turned around and looked at his face seriously when hearing what he said.

Seeing her serious look, Wudao was even more obsessed with her. He reached his hand out involuntarily to touch her face.

As his finger moved towards her darkish face, he felt as if the clean and addictive smell of Sangsang was permeating through his body. His breathing became rapid and he said in a serious voice, “I have never met any girl who can make me feel so excited. You will be mine.”

His face was still serious when he said that, with no greedy or obsessed expressions crossing his face. His tattered robe looked nice and clean against the wind. However, it was as if there was hot blood flowing rapidly in every pore on his face, and his every word carried a horny smell.

Sangsang stepped backwards to avoid his wet and sticky finger, as if the finger was as horrible as a snake’s tongue. She glanced at the bulging part between his legs and reached her hands to retrieve a basin expressionlessly.

The water in the basin, which was used to wash vegetables yesterday was saved for flushing the toilet.

The old man had gone to fetch the water from the backyard a moment ago and had been waiting there quietly.

Sangsang got the basin from his hand and moved her arms, and then she poured the water forward.

Splash!

The dirty water, together with sand and dirt, drenched Wudao from head to foot. Two pieces of smelly rotten leaves were seen lying on his bald head, which made his serious face frozen for a moment.

With a snap, the wooden gate was closed.

Wudao, soaked all over, was in a daze. He stood still at the foot of the stone stairs for a long time before coming to his senses. Then, with a smile on his face, he wiped the water from his face and removed the leaves on his head.

He had met Sangsang twice and always showed his excitement and enthusiasm. But now, cold and indifference appeared on his face for the first time after he was drenched by water.

This was because he was angry and sad. He didn’t understand at all why she, a handmaiden, should treat him in such a cold way. There was nothing irrational about him wanting to marry her and have sex with her. Shouldn’t she feel honored and faint because of happiness when such an important figure like him picked her? How dare she pour water on him?

However, the more she resisted, the more interested he became. Under his cold smile, the desire of wanting to occupy her made his heart pound excitedly.

Having noticed what had happened, a few men from the Fish-dragon Gang, who were keeping watch on the Lin 47th Street, walked towards Wudao and circled him. A man among them said in a low voice, “The people living here are Mr. Qi’s friends. I should warn you that you should never come back again if you still want to see tomorrow’s sun. ”

Love Monk Wudao came from the Unknown Place, he didn’t care a little about these normal people in Jianghu world. But the fact that there were many powerful men hidden in Chang’an city and Tang Dynasty made him cautious. Let alone there were many civilians around, watching and judging his deeds.

After a moment of silence, he said towards the shop with a smile, “I will be back.”

After finishing his words, he straightened his robe and walked straight away, ignoring the people from the Fish-dragon Gang. As he walked away, his robe was fluttered slightly in the wind and his straw shoes cracked the dead leaves on the ground.

The bare branches cast shadows on his peaceful face.

That night when he ascended the mountains to the Second floor of the Academy, Master Yan Se had burned the sleeve of his robe as a punishment. After that, Wudao left Chang’an and traveled to the villages in the south. Being out of Tang Kingdom and civilization since the end of the spring, he didn’t know any news about Chang’an; he didn’t know who that handmaiden was or who Ning Que was. But he had always hated Zhong Dajun.

As spring turned into winter, it gradually became cold. Time passed by quickly and took many things away such as fear. Wudao plucked up courage and came back to Tang Kingdom. And a little bird told him that Master Yan Se was busy dealing with something, which convinced him that Master Yan Se would be too busy to care about him. Therefore, the fear of that scary Divine Talisman Master faded in him and gave him the confidence to come back to the capital city, Chang’an.

He came back because he really missed that handmaiden, in fact, he wanted her so much. It must be fate or luck that brought her into his sight on the second day after his arrival at Chang’an. Therefore, he followed her all the way from the Princess Mansion to Lin 47th Street, knocked on the gate of Old Brush Pen Shop, but to his distress, only got a basin of dirty water and two pieces of smelly leaves.

But it didn’t matter because the flame of excitement and obsession in him would not be put out by a basin of water.

He was the Love Monk, who had attracted countless girls of all types. On his journey to Yuelun Kingdom and South Jin Kingdom, he never failed to appeal to any girl. Therefore, he had every reason to believe he would not fail to allure a handmaiden this time.

When thinking that his wish was about to realize, Wudao felt really happy. He walked on the alley lined with trees, wearing a bright smile.

…

…

An old man looked through the door, his eyes following the young monk. He watched the monk walking away and thought, “Even a pervert monk from Xuankong Temple was able to sense the specialness of Sangsang. It proves that Xuankong Temple is not an ordinary place.”

He walked back to the backyard and found the basin lying in a corner. Sangsang didn’t continue to eat. She was squatting next to the stove, staring at the small but pure Divine light on her fingertip, and thinking.

“You don’t want to eat anymore?” The old man said.

Sangsang shook her head. The wood in the stove came to fire as she moved her fingers slightly, which made her furrow her brows.

The old man smiled, and said, “Some monks are obsessed with couple-practice. I guess that is why that monk is so crazy.”

Sangsang didn’t answer him. She was still gazing at the flame and thinking about how to improve her Divine Skills quickly. At present, her level was so low that the Haotian Divine Light she can gather was very little. It was only as powerful as the normal flame, which could only be used to burn wood, but not to fight against those powerful cultivators.

Seeing her determined face, the old man sighed and said, “Worries are very harmful for cultivation.”

Sangsang didn’t turn around, she said softly, “He said he will kill young master as soon as possible.”

Apart from those words, Sangsang didn’t say anything or require anything. But it was very clear to the old man why she was so eager to improve; she wanted to kill the monk as soon as possible.

Looking at Sangsang’s back, the old man smiled without saying anything.

…

…

The night was drawing near, with dim clouds floating near the horizon. It was time for dinner. On the silent alley in the eastern part of the city, tree branches cut the dim sky into many shapeless areas. Wudao looked away from the sky with a smile and was ready to keep going. However, in the next moment, his pupils tightened suddenly.

There was a figure standing at the entrance of the alley. His face was hidden in the dim light. But judging from his hunchbacked outline, he should be an old man. It alarmed Wudao that he didn’t even notice when the old man came there.

After a moment of silence, Wudao walked towards the entrance of the alley. As he drew near to the old man, he found the man’s face rather familiar. In fact, he just saw him in the shop on Lin 47th Street. He was the man who was holding the basin.

The man looked at him with a smile, and said kindly, “You are good at judging people, as you can realize Sangsang’s potential talent. I would say you are among the best of the young cultivators.”

Wudao raised his hand slowly and stroked his head. Although the move was handsome, the sticky feeling between his fingers and the feeling that the two pieces of rotten leaves were still there were not nice at all. But he didn’t want to do anything about it.

He didn’t want to address those small problems because he knew he needed to watch out. This old man may seem like an ordinary man, but he was no way an average person: he was able to appear in the alley without drawing his attention because he was a cultivator.

But despite his cautious mind, Wudao was, after all, a proud young man. He saw himself as a cultivator who was as powerful as Prince Long Qing. Enjoying such power, he couldn’t put up with that an old man was trying to teach him a lesson. So he said proudly, “Her name is Sangsang. I got it. You may leave now.”

The old man smile, “I know you are from Xuankong Temple.”

The expression on Wudao’s face changed, as the old man surprised him by revealing his secret.

The old man said peacefully, “I am very confused about why you appeared in the secular world. As it is very rare for the Xuankong Temple to expel apprentices. And you are a lot worse than Qi Nian, the person who represented your temple to go out, so you are not qualified to do that.”

The expression of Wudao became even more serious. He didn’t expect the old man to know so much about Xuankong Temple, including things about Qi Nian. He was very on his guard now, his robe floating with the wind.

He said in a husky voice, “Why do you dare to stop me if you know that I come from the Unknown Place.”

The old man laughed, “The unknown place is powerful because no one knows about it. Its name is nothing scary once people get to the place.”

Wudao couldn’t be more alarmed, he looked at the old man silently.

“In Chang’an city, many people know about Xuankong Temple and Zhishou Abbey. And the Academy is right at the foot of the mountain in the south part of the city. Your background is really nothing new for people here. But Chang’an city is bombarded by a thing, which has kept Yan Se and the others busy. That is why you are so fearless. Don’t you know that the name of Xuankong Temple can’t make Tang people scared?”

The old man stared at him and continued to talk, “I am related to the thing that keeps everyone busy. So it is my responsibility to let you behave so boldly. I didn’t expect you to harass my apprentice Sangsang.”

Wudao realized who the old man was. Suddenly the hunchbacked old man seemed to him much taller and bigger. He suppressed his shock and greeted the old man hurriedly. He changed his attitude immediately and said politely, “Senior master, I am wrong. I will leave right now.”

The old man stared at him, but did not speak.

The alley was deadly silent for a while until Wudao realized what might happen next. He said huskily, “You can’t kill me even if you are a bigwig in West-Hill Divine Palace. After all, I am from XuankongTemple. Let alone, My master is a preach master in the temple, who met you before.”

The old man was still looking at his eyes, peacefully and silently.

Wudao was frozen in horror. He bit his tongue to keep himself calm and said, “I admit…the preach master is not my master, he is my father. I left because I am only an illegitimate child. Please pity me, senior master.”

Until then, did the old man start moving. He shook his head and said, “I am a betrayer who left the Peach Mountain. I have nothing to worry about and nothing can hold me back. I couldn’t care less even should the remnants of Devil’s Doctrine and all people from the three Unknown Places: Xuankong Temple, Zhishou Abbey, and the Academy come to me. Let alone your father.”

The ragged robe on Wudao was shivering in the wind. He looked at the old man in the eye and asked shiveringly, “I didn’t deliberately do that, what can I do to gain your forgiveness?”

“I said before you are good at judging people because you understand Sangsang’s talent. But I am afraid you only saw the surface because you still don’t understand how important Sangsang is to me. The world is not bright anymore for me when she is not happy.”

Two streams of sweat flowed down from Wudao’s head, as he noticed the very serious tone the old man had put on and when he heard the last two lines. He begged shiveringly, “I was blind then. Please forgive me.”

The old man raised his finger and reached to the chilly wind, “No, you only just become blind, right now. ”

Wudao was very scared when he heard that. He screamed and reached his hands out to do a very delicate Emblematic Gesture of Buddhism Sect, which became a barrier between him and the old man. Then he ran away fast in the opposite direction.

The Emblematic Gesture had a very majestic and delicate aura. However, when it touched light at the old man’s finger, it was as if snow met the sun and was melt down quickly, or dust fell into dirty water and lost its trace.

Wudao was also trapped by the beams emitted by the flame. His feet couldn’t leave the ground, no matter how hard he tried to pull himself.

He looked at the dim flame between the old man’s finger, his eyes full of fear.

The light flame appeared in his pupils and expanded until it took all the place where fear was.

Then, his black pupils started burning.

A scream was heard in the silent alley.

…

The light was pure, so it was easy to dirty light.

The light had no temperature, so it could be the hottest or coldest thing.