Nightfall

Master Yan Se went to the table, shook his head at the old man, and sighed. Then he turned around to see Chen Pipi, who was as timid as a quail with his head lowered, shaking his head and sighing again. He asked, “How has the abbey dean been recently?”

Hearing this, Chen Pipi looked up and wondered, “You know I’ve been in the Academy all these years, how would I know if he is good or not?”

Yan Se slightly stroked his sparse beard and stared at him, impatiently saying, “Now that you do not know, we can’t chat about the old days. Since you have escaped from the Abbey, do I need to save your face?”

Chen Pipi became increasingly puzzled, touching the back of his head and answering, “Of course not.”

Master Yan Se growled, “Then why not offer me a seat? Why stand here like a dull goose?”

Chen Pipi hastily got up and gave the seat to him, and then humbly stood aside. It was not until now that he realized that this old Taoist would actually play chess with the Great Divine Priest of Light, so he could not help but be surprised and feel helpless, thinking to himself, “Who knows what you damn old guys are thinking about? Who would expect that ‘please’ from the Great Divine Priest of Light meant that he was actually inviting you to play chess.”

But Master Yan Se didn’t care at all about what he was thinking. He just slightly stroked his taoist robe and sat down. He glanced at the chessboard and found the black chess was on the upper hand, so he felt pleased and glanced praisingly at Chen Pipi.

The old man on the opposite side of the chessboard smiled and stretched out his right hand, indicating for Yan Se to play his turn.

Master Yen Se put down a chess piece and patted his mouth, saying, “How have you been doing recently?”

Holding a white piece in his hand, the old man replied softly, “Every year when you returned to the Peach Mountain, you would go to You Prison to see me and naturally inquire how I was doing there. As of recently, I have been really good.”

Master Yen Se stared at the criss-crossed pieces on the chessboard. After a moment of silence, he suddenly said, “Even if you are not satisfied with your life in the Peach Mountain, why must you come to Chang’an?”

The old man answered with a smile, “That day, your Younger Brother also asked me this question.”

…

…

Although one of them did not wear a taoist robe, they were indeed two old Taoists beside the chessboard, the most excellent Taoists of Haotian Taoism in the recent years, who were both qualified to be crowned with eternal glory.

Although Chen Pipi had been a Grand Cultivator at the Knowing Destiny State, whose status could make him unparalleled in this earthy world, facing the two old Taoists, he had no choice but to behave like a young student, who honestly delivered tea and dared not speak.

Master Yan Se drunk his cup of tea, and licked off some tea from his front teeth. He frowned, displeased with the extremely bad-tasting tea. So he raised his head and said, “Back then, the abbey dean always thought you were the strongest one in the Peach Mountain, even stronger than the hierarch. How about now? ”

The old man recalled that Taoist in indigo, and answered with a slight smile, “In front of the abbey dean, who dares to call himself the strongest.”

Holding a black piece, Master Yan pointed to the lane outside the Old Brush Pen Shop and said, “Even if you are more powerful than the abbey dean, so what? Here is Chang’an City. Here is my big tactical array. You can’t defeat me. ”

The old man nodded. A figure at his level would definitely know that Chang’an City was the legendary God-stunning Array. As the controller of the Array, Yan Se was undefeatable so long as he was in Chang’an.

“I still hold the view of the day.”

The old man smiled at the opposite side of the chessboard and said, “I am just a lingering-out old Taoist, and it will be a big waste to use a big tactical array like Chang’an City on me. Presumably, you also think so.”

Master Yan Se sighed and said, “The word ‘lingering-out’ is quite exact. We are both old and about to return to Haotian. Of course, it will be fine for us to enjoy ourselves in the earthly world for a bit longer. If you didn’t come, I could live longer, and you too could have more time in this world.”

The old man looked at him and said calmly, “You know my eyes can fortunately foresee the future sometimes, so I am well aware that it is hard for me to leave Chang’an this time.”

Master Yan Se shook his head and said, “If so, why come here.”

The old man answered, “Everyone will eventually return to the source of life, which is, the embrace of Haotian. So I’m not afraid of it. Time is only the order of different events, and as for us, we need to use time to do the things we should. If we can’t finish doing those things, time will be meaningless.”

Master Yan Se sank in silence. He gently put the black piece between his fingers on the chessboard and said, “So the reason why you came to Chang’an City is to return to the origin of time, and complete the thing you didn’t finish that year?”

The old man answered without saying a word.

Master Yan Se also laughed and looked at him, saying, “The ultimate cultivation is the cultivation of the heart. How can we aged guys change the mind of others? Well, anyway, I now have a successor and don’t feel much attached to this world. Well, you were imprisoned then and probably didn’t know it.”

The old man was very clear about Yan Se’s attainments in Talisman Taoism, and clearer about how difficult it was for a Divine Talisman Master to find a successor who has potential. Now he learnt that he actually found a successor, so he could not help being surprised and feeling happy for him.

Seeing his reaction, Master Yan Se proudly said, “My disciple is not an ordinary one. He understood the original meaning of Talisman Taoism after being showered in the rain, so in the future, he must be far better than me in terms of state. I don’t want to compete with you in other things, but my ability can be inherited, so in this aspect, I’m much better than you.”

The old man gently smiled and looked at Sangsang, who had been silent. He then softly said, “I also have a disciple, and she is also quite good. I think she will at least not be worse than your disciple in the future.”

Strong confidence and his rare intention to dispute was revealed in his indifferent tone. In the eyes of the old man, Sangsang was a gift given by Haotian and the biggest Lucky Chance he had in his life. Even if Yan Se had luckily found his successor, he still couldn’t be compared with his favorite girl disciple.

Master Yan Se slightly stiffened, and was shocked by the fact that the Great Divine Priest of Light had found his successor before he died. However, following the eyesight of the old man, he was more shocked to find that the so-called successor was actually Sangsang. So suddenly he looked shocked and he had an overwhelming feeling of absurdness.

“Your disciple is this… little darkish girl?”

The old man looked at him in surprise, and then answered seriously, “It is, but Sangsang is not darkish.”

“Ha ha ha ha ha!” With one hand pointing at Sangsang, Master Yen Se used the other to hold his belly which was aching from laughing. He looked at the old man and said, “Do you know, the disciple you are so proud of is the handmaiden of my disciple?”

The old man was startled and frowned, asking, “Isn’t that person the core disciple of the Headmaster of Academy?”

Master Yan Se proudly said, “Taking advantage of the Headmaster of Academy’s absence, I stole him so he could be my disciple too.”

The old man sighed, “I see. I didn’t expect that young man to actually have such a good fortune… But even if Sangsang is his handmaiden, so what? In the future, Sangsang will inherit my Divine Skill. Even if she doesn’t take my place in the West-Hill Divine Palace, she will still be the most excellent figure among the young generation of Haotian Taoism. So how can your disciple be compared to her?”

Master Yan Se sneered and contemptuously said, “Not to say that my disciple is the future Nation Master of the Tang, nor the achievements he will make under the instruction of the Headmaster of Academy. Let’s just talk about their relations. Even if this girl becomes the Great Divine Priest of Light in the future, she still has to make the bed or even warm my disciple’s bed.”

The old man sighed and said, “Do you feel proud?”

Master Yan Se spit and fiercely said, “At least I’m better than you in one aspect, why shouldn’t I be proud?”

…

…

The seemingly warm dialogue between old friends actually hid many complicated things such as aura of Divine light. These childish disputes were just like a foreplay before a fatal fight.

At this time, Sangsang took a broom and clear water from the backyard to clean up the phlegm on the ground. She did not understand what the two elderly people said and only felt that they were very powerful. To some extent, she was worried that they would quarrel or even fight with each other.

Chen Pipi, who had been sitting beside the chessboard, was clear about what he had heard. In the midst of the aura of two peak-leveled figures, he felt that a fight was about to break out, thus he was extremely nervous and fearful. It was hard to tell when his fat body had begun sweating, and he even felt weak and limp.

He could not sit down anymore, nor could he pretend that nothing had happened. He could not pretend that they were just two ordinary old guys quarreling under locust trees, beside wells or at the street corner, so he stood up and said with a gasp, “Can I go first?”

The old man and Master Yan Se both looked at the chessboard and answered in unison, “No.”

Beside the chessboard, Chen Pipi was a stabilizer and also a witness. His family background was the stabilizer, and his status as an Academy student was the witness. If Master Yan Se failed to control the old man, he would start the fight ahead of time.

Chen Pipi was frightened by their unanimous answer, and his chubby body trembled and knocked over the chessboard. The chess pieces all fell to the ground and were scattered everywhere.

Looking at the empty chessboard, Master Yan Se sighed, “It seems we have to stop now.”

After a moment of silence, the old man nodded.

Sangsang was holding her broom, nervously standing aside. Although she didn’t understand what they said, she still faintly felt something bad would happen soon.

Sangsang didn’t want them to fight, for one was the teacher of young master, and the other one was her own teacher. Anyway, fighting was not as good as playing chess, even if they continued to quarrel with each other when playing chess.

She put the broom aside and squatted down to pick up the black and white chess pieces scattered on the floor.

Then she came to the tableside with those chess pieces and put them on the chessboard one by one.

The chess game was restored and none of the pieces were misplaced.

“Fortunately I had glanced at it, otherwise I would not be able to put them back.”

Sangsang patted her chest slightly and then looked at the two old men beside the table, saying, “Go on.”

The two didn’t know what to say.

Staring at those chess pieces on the chessboard, Chen Pipi didn’t know what to say.

Sangsang’s held her hands together behind her. She slowly looked down at her old shoes and softly muttered, “They are ready, why not continue?”

Suddenly she looked up, and her willowlike bright eyes gazed at the two old men.

“Are you hungry? Then I will cook noodles for you. How about noodles with fried eggs?”

…