Nightfall

Xia Hou left and walked over to Hulan Sea with the box filled with bone ashes. There, his countless powerful loyal subordinates were waiting for him. However, he looked so lonely, desolate and no longer had the disposition of a high-minded unique general as before.

Ye Su silently looked at Xia Hou’s disappearing figure at the shore of the lake and knew that this man had lost everything— this famous general had been swinging between West-Hill Divine Palace and the Tang Empire for most of his life. He had offered all his loyalty and had given many feats in exchange for supreme glory. Today, in order to get the Tomes of Arcane, he threw away all these things that he had gotten through untold hardships and even countless grievances. However, he eventually got a handful of ashes. Afterwards, he would inevitably suffer the severe punishments of the Divine Hall and the Tang Empire. So he was bound to lose everything.

Presumably, the West-Hill Divine Palace hierarch, Great Divine Priests of Relation and Judge would have some pity for this important figure, Xia Hou, who had disregarded the high status and reputation of the Tang Empire. However, Ye Su came from Zhishou Abbey. So he did not care about these struggles in the secular world. He just unconsciously glanced at the girl who had kept silent all this time.

He noticed her messy red dress and her half-naked body. He did not show concern for her injuries, but frowned at her exposed youthful body.

Because of his frown, Ye Hongyu’s beautiful cheeks became pale. Since Ye Su came from the Snow-capped Peak, she had stared at him. Neither Xia Hou’s iron box nor Eldest Brother from the Academy could have made her divert her gaze. However, Ye Su did not look back at her until this moment, when he finally glanced at her. But his glance was full of disgust, and this hurt her feelings.

Ning Que noticed her slightly strange expression and followed her gaze to the man with a sword who was floating like a fairy as well as a ghost. He thought that he had guessed the truth of the matter and asked in a low voice, “An old flame?”

Ye Hongyu slowly turned her head and looked at him with no emotion. She said, “I’ll kill you.”

Ning Que quietly moved half a step behind Eldest Brother and proudly said, “Nobody can kill me now.”

Tang Xiaotang interrupted him. “Come on. He is her brother.”

At this moment, Ning Que knew what he had misunderstood and apologized to Ye Hongyu with a smile.

The Wayfarer of Devil’s Doctrine, Tang, was Tang Xiaotang’s brother and the guy with a wooden sword was Ye Hongyu’s brother. Ning Que thought Haotian was not really fair, for the brothers and sisters were all cultivation geniuses. And then he remembered that he had sincerely wished that Chen Pipi could fall in love with girls who had the most ferocious brothers in the world. At this time, if Chen Pipi and Ye Hongyu had no affinity in their childhood, would Chen Pipi develop a love story with this Devil’s Doctrine girl called Tang Xiaotang in the future?

As he thought of these things, Eldest Brother said, “Youngest Brother, let’s go.”

Ning Que liked being called Youngest Brother, of course not by Chen Pipi or Seventh Sister, but by Eldest Brother or Second Brother. Because he felt a sense of security when he was called so.

He was Youngest Brother of the Academy. Once something happened, for example, when Xia Hou’s huge fists were about to beat him into a stupor, Eldest Brother or Second Brother would surely help him. This was undoubtedly the best thing in the world. So he gave a quick answer. “Eldest Brother, I got it.”

Ye Su suddenly looked at them and said, “It seems that Mr. First doesn’t want to see us?”

Eldest Brother quietly watched him for a long time. And then he said very slowly and seriously, “As a disciple of the Academy, I certainly hate taoist priests like you. Although I don’t admire Youngest Uncle like Jun Mo, I still dislike taoist priests.”

Ye Su did not expect that this scholar, who looked extremely mild, would actually talk about his hatred for the Taoist sect. He could not help falling silent for a long time. And then he slightly bowed and said, “Mr. First, thank you for taking care of my Youngest Brother, Chen Pipi.”

Eldest Brother shook his head and did not accept his gratitude. He pointed to Ning Que and said, “This is my Youngest Brother. As for Pipi, you don’t need to thank me, for he’s my Younger Brother, not yours.”

Tang suddenly bowed to him in a very serious manner and said, “I’ll count on Mr. First in the future.”

Ye Su slightly frowned and wondered what he meant by this. Would those frail Devil’s Doctrine survivors still want to have a relationship with the Academy in Chang’an?

Tang Xiaotang looked at Ning Que and said in a childish voice, “Ning Que. See you later.”

The little white furry wolf stretched its head from the Devil’s Doctrine girl’s arms and stared at Ning Que emitting a low cry. Probably it meant that it would bite Ning Que if he dared to invite her.

Eldest Brother confusedly glanced at Ning Que.

Ning Que spread his hands innocently, showing that he had nothing to do with the Devil’s Doctrine girl.

Eldest Brother no longer said anything. He tightly tied a scoop on his waist and walked outside.

Ning Que tied the baggage behind him more tightly and followed Eldest Brother to walk outside. However, before he took a few more steps, he ran back to Mo Shanshan and said smilingly, “Let’s go together, okay?”

Mo Shanshan’s slightly round face flushed and she nodded.

…

…

The three people disappeared in the winter sunlight in the Wilderness.

It was quiet on the shore of Hulan Sea.

Tang looked off at the distance and said, “He ranks first in the Academy, but never fights. No one dared to fight with him. I always thought I was no better than him. But what if he wasn’t good at fighting? Unfortunately, no one dared to try.”

Ye Su looked in the same direction and said, “I tried.”

Tang slightly frowned as he did not expect to get this answer. He watched Ye Su and said, “What happened?”

Ye Su calmly said, “I launched an attack and he didn’t.”

It was a simple description with a clear result. So Tang became silent once again.

Ye Su looked towards Ye Hongyu and said, “You’ve been doing well in these two years. I saw that you broke the realm on the snow cliff. But it’s not good for you to be addicted to something.”

After finishing this sentence, he was about to leave.

Ye Hongyu did not expect to hear such a warm comment. Although Ye Su’s tone was extremely calm and cold, the words “doing well” made her feel warm. She looked at the back of her elder brother and shouted sadly. “Brother…”

Ye Su did not look back and said, “You can call me brother again only when Pipi returns to the abbey.”

Ye Hongyu saw that lonely man gradually walk away. She suddenly realized that the reason why she could not catch up with her brother was because her brother had never wanted her to stand beside him. Was that person really so important?

Tang Xiaotang looked at her and said with sympathy, “You’re very annoying sometimes, especially when fighting. But you’re really pathetic being left alone by your own brother.”

Ye Hongyu stayed calm and did mind her.

After all, Tang Xiaotang was still young. With innocent eyes, she kept asking, “Is Pipi your younger brother? Or how could your elder brother be so angry with you? And how did you bully that guy?”

Ye Hongyu felt tired and said, “That guy is the fat one Ning Que mentioned in the valley.”

Tang Xiaotang surprisedly covered her mouth with her small hand, but touched the beast’s tail. She said, “Good for you for having made a cultivation genius in Knowing Destiny State escape from home.”

Ye Hongyu did not know how to respond to this kind of praise. If she knew that her childhood gloomy bullying thoughts would eventually make her elder brother indifferent towards her, she wouldn’t have done it.

Tang looked at her and suddenly said, “Don’t try to learn from your elder brother. Even if you’re qualified enough to stand beside him, you’ll become a half-dead boring person.”

Ye Hongyu scornfully said, “It’s an after-death enlightenment. How can a Devil’s Doctrine survivor learn about this Taoist Law?”

Tang said blankly, “But I know I can kill you at any time after he leaves you here.”

The Taoist sect was against Devil’s Doctrine. Since Ye Hongyu was the Grand Master of the Judicial Department in West-Hill Divine Palace, Tang should have killed her. However, he did not do so and just silently left with his sister. Perhaps because he thought of Ye Hongyu as a common and miserable little sister losing her elder brother when he saw Ye Su leave.

Ye Hongyu stood alone and missed the lonely figure of her elder brother. After a moment, she also left and went slowly to the Papal Cavalrymen of the Divine Hall on the shore of Hulan Sea.

It had previously been extremely tense at the foot of the mountain, but now nobody was there. All the people had come for the Tomes of Arcane, but finally saw nothing but a box of a dead man’s bone ashes. The bleak winter sun shone on the cold Wilderness and became dimmer above the cold winter lake. The view frustrated everyone.

…

…

Departure always made people feel bitter. But Ning Que did not feel this. Because he was sitting beside a winter forest with Eldest Brother and warmed himself by a bonfire. Some dried potatoes that had been plucked from the ground were hidden under the bonfire, vaguely emitting an aroma.

In the distance, he heard an extremely exciting and joyous hissing horse cry. Following the sounds, he saw the Big Black Horse kept fluttering its head like a madman in a warm stream that had not frozen.

Mo Shanshan was washing the Big Black Horse. When it fluttered its head, her head and face became wet. However, it was clear that what she had said outside the palace tent was not all a lie. She really liked Ning Que’s Big Black Horse. So she was not angry for being wet, but smiling she revealed a charming girlish rare expression.

“Eldest Brother, you are so admirable. In such vast Wilderness, you actually found it and drove it from the north to this place. Why did it listen to you?”

Ning Que looked at the scholar beside the bonfire, full of shock and admiration in his eyes.

Eldest Brother took a thick firewood and slowly played with the bonfire. He gently explained, “My teacher has an old yellow bull and I often deal with it. So these animals probably feel me more secure. Youngest Brother, your Big Black Horse is quite good. If that bull goes back to the back of the mountain for retirement, your horse might help the teacher pull the carriage.”

Ning Que scratched his head and suddenly asked, “Eldest Brother, you’re a great man. Those two guys we met are not as good as you. But they are also great. So I don’t understand one thing.”

Eldest Brother looked up at him and asked curiously, “What?”

“How could someone like the successor of Zhishou Abbey, Ye Su, believe that the ‘Ming’ Handscroll was in the iron box? Tang is the successor of Devil’s Doctrine, why did he also believe it? If people like them were sure that the ‘Ming’ Handscroll would show up here, why did nobody find it?”

Ning Que looked at Eldest Brother and seriously asked, “Where on earth is that Tomes of Arcane?”