Nightfall

In a secluded alley with a winter tree leaning to the side, Ning Que who had felt something suddenly entered an inexplicable state. He stood silently under the shadow of the tree and sensed the aura with his eyes closed. He did not make a move for a long time.

The aura of the heaven and earth hidden in the snow, bluestones, winter tree, and the lane quietly surrounded his body. The path of the Snow Mountain and the Ocean of Qi in his body powered up exponentially, with an invisible but seemly tangible Great Spirit slowly flowing in it.

When the Great Spirit was dispersed in various parts of the body, the aura in the path became relatively thin. Yet the path was gradually filled with the primordial Qi that flooded into his body from the heaven and earth. This feeling was like eating delicious food nonstop without worrying about being full.

This feeling was very pleasant. When the Great Spirit in the path passed through the most delicate part of his body, it, as if spring water had cleansed his spirit and body, nourished every single muscle tissue and bone, and brought him a kind of a warm yet fresh sensation.

The changes within his body caused some changes to occur on his body’s surface as well. The thick jacket that Ning Que wore seemed to have absorbed enough rain, as it stuck closely to his body. The extremely quiet aura seemed to have a certain kind of attraction. It not only attracted the aura hidden in the snow and winter tree in the alley, but it also attracted things from the real world.

No wind blew in the narrow alley, yet the shadow of the winter tree quivered ever so slightly. This was because the leaves on the branches were falling towards to his body, which made the thin branches stand up straight. At the same time, the dust that had piled up on the stone slabs in the alley slowly drifted upwards and gradually gathered at his feet.

An unknown amount of time had passed before Ning Que slowly opened his eyes. A bright light flashed in his eyes before quickly fading away. The tree’s shades under his feet no longer moved, and the tree branches that were as tight as bowstrings slowly curled back to their original form. Only the dust beside his shoes still kept accumulating, and this made it seem like his feet were sunk into thick a thick pile of dust.

Ning Que watched the dust and did not say anything. He knew that the state of his cultivation and strength had improved significantly compared to just a while ago. However, he understood clearly that this improvement was not caused by original means of cultivation, but rather by the Great Spirit that had condensed once again in his body and had grown more powerful.

After leaving the Front Gate of the Devil’s Doctrine, he had never cultivated the Great Spirit. Although it was the mantle left by his Youngest Uncle, because of his fear of Haotian, he subconsciously chose to avoid even thinking about these things.

After hearing about the death of his master today, he vaguely understood the dirt that was hidden in those bloody stories. Looking at the cornice of General’s Mansion and thinking of Xia Hou’s happy life after his resignation, a mixture of grief, bitterness, and pain emerged in his heart. He had lots of dissatisfaction towards this world. All the emotions gathered together and finally turned into hot ashes. Not until he was burned to be uneasy, did the pride and strong Great Spirit in the body begin to awaken.

“If I join the Devil’s path even deeper, will I go further and further away from this world?” 

Looking at the lonely trees that stood by themselves in the winter and the gloomy sky that was separated by the thin branches, Ning Que sighed. His expression was still calm, but his spiritual world was somewhat unsteady because of the awakening of the Great Spirit in his body.

The Great Spirit slowly flowed throughout his body. Even though it seemed like an unstoppable river, it actually encountered some obstacles from time to time. It had stagnated as it passed through those routes-like veins. He would frown slightly and he looked pale due to the pain and discomfort brought by this spiritual stagnation.

After all, it was a matter of his mental state. While his Youngest Uncle was traveling the world with a sword, there were no infeasible roads or no undefeated enemies in front of him. He was arrogant and proud enough to be powerful, so he could cultivate the Great Spirit in his thorax and abdomen, and could act with the Great Spirit in the world. However, Ning Que always felt sad and aggrieved. Besides, he can’t even freely express his feelings. So how could he bear the forceful and peerless aura of the Great Spirit?

The general who lived in the General’s Mansion would give up all his military power in the future and resign silently. In the eyes of all the people in the world, he had paid a painful price for what he had done in the past years and suffered enough hardships. Besides, they thought he had made a heavy concession to the Academy and the Divine Hall.

But Ning Que did not think so.

Ning Que was unwilling to let Xia Hou retire. If so, Xia Hou would be like other people whose names were on the oilpaper left by Zhuo Er. As the time passed, what those men had done before would be no longer cared about, and they would be forgotten in the mortal world, living a happy and peaceful life and die of old age.

Ning Que wasn’t willing to let it end just like that.

It was precisely because of his unwillingness and understanding his own mind that the previous Great Spirit in his body could awaken and his cultivation state improved. However, this tight feeling in his heart was also what stayed in his spiritual world, and blocked the Great Spirit from flowing freely.

He remained in silence as he looked at the cornice of the General’s Mansion and the snow on the cornice in the distance. The smell of the green onions wafted into his nose continuously from the dinner tables of the houses on both sides of the lane. The depression and grief in his heart had faded away, and what he needed to do was only to drive away the obstacle in his spiritual world. However, how should he drive away something as tangible as that? He remained silent, as he looked at the cornice of the General’s Mansion and the snow on the cornice in the distance; smelled the flavor of the green onion coming from the dwellings on both sides of the lane. The depression and grief in his heart had faded away, what he needed to do was only to drive away the unwillingness in his spiritual world. However, how could he drive away the unwillingness?

To wipe this regret away, he needed to kill Xia Hou. However… Eldest Brother had already made it clear that as long as Xia Hou was willing to retire, the Academy that promised not to interfere courtly affairs would keep silent. Without any evidence, the Empire, always putting the Tang Empire’s wishes above everything, would not impose any punishment on Xia Hou.

Therefore, the only way Ning Que had was to challenge Xia Hou to a direct a duel.

Eldest Brother had said that in five years, Ning Que could defeat Xia Hou. However, five years was too long. What if Xia Hou grew old and weak? What if he got sick? What if he had died of old age and sickness before Ning Que beat him? If he secluded himself in the mountain honing his skills while waiting to get revenge one day, there may be a chance that his enemy had already died before he could do anything. Time would then have taken away Ning Que’s wish to deliver punishment himself. Wouldn’t that just be the saddest thing ever?

Ning Que knew that his emotions were fluctuating way too much at this moment. The depression he was in right now would only bring more harm than good for his cultivation. If he continues to stay in this state, then his entire spirit might join the Devil.

He understood that he had to do something to temporarily dispel the devil in his mind. He knew that he was still weak and was unqualified to challenge Xia Hou, but both the Great Spirit running hard through his Meridians and the bitterness he had felt for all this time urged him to do something.

He stood silently under the winter tree for a long time. Watching the lackluster scenery of Tuyang City as he smelled the meat flavored smoke coming from houses, he remembered those letters written by Darkie in the past. He then made a decision walked towards the north side of the city.

As soon as he took a step, he heard a whistling sound under his feet. The thick dust piled up on the shoes spread out and dispersed into the air before quietly landing on the wall under the tree.

A sparkling clean quartzite was revealed to him after the dust cleared.

There were two footprints that were two fingers deep left on the quartzite. The edges of the footprints were neat and smooth as if they were carved with a knife.

…

…

Ning Que walked against the cold wind of Tuyang City. He noticed that his strength was now significantly stronger, and his senses were also much sharper than before. He could clearly feel the rhythm of his body as he walked. The force that was passed through his shoes whenever he stepped on the ground resonated back like drum beats. The skin on his body that was exposed outside of his clothes could even feel the faintest traces of the gentle wind that blew past.

The transformation his body had gone through due to the Great Spirit happened in a very short time. This indescribable feeling of power gave him a strong desire to prove himself. At the same time, all the piled up thoughts and feelings of regret he had under the tree also turned into a kind of uncontrollable impulse.

His current strong urge to destroy everything in his way strongly conflicted with the previous sense of responsibility that he had as a disciple of the back of the mountain of the Academy. Hence, he was still unable to come to a final decision of whether he should carry through with his revenge. It wasn’t until he arrived had in front of the mansion in the north side of the city did his clear and steady paces finally calm him down. He understood what he needed to do.

…

…

In the deep Winter Courtyard of the General’s Mansion.

Mo Shanshan looked at Eldest Brother who was behind the desk and whispered, “Something wrong with Ning Que’s mood.”

Eldest Brother put down the book in his hand and watched the young girl with a soft smile. He then comforted, “What are you worrying about?”

Mo Shanshan said after a moment of silence, “I think he’s going to do something.”

Eldest Brother continued, “He can do whatever he wants.”

Mo Shanshan looked at Eldest Brother and asked, “Aren’t you worried about him, Senior Brother?”

Eldest Brother said with affection, “Most disciples of the Academy these years were only addicted people like me who only learned to cultivate or to study Taoism. Only Youngest Brother had desperately struggled in the mortal world since his childhood, so he was in some ways, the strongest person in the Academy. He has his way of judging on threats and dangers, and I trust his judgment.”

Mo Shanshan looked at him in the eyes and said seriously, “Even if whatever he’s planning on doing brings trouble to the Academy?”

After a moment of silence, Eldest Brother replied, “The Academy is not as powerful as what Youngest Brother imagines. But I think Youngest Brother always has his reasons for doing things. As for things like opportunities, I also trust in his judgment.”

…

…

In the side alley of the mansion in the northern Tuyang City.

Ning Que stared at the tall grey mansion walls and decided to go in and have a look no matter what.

Just like what Eldest Brother had said, Ning Que was very vigilant to danger, and he also had a clear judgment on such things as opportunities. He rarely missed them.

Killing people in Tuyang City was like killing people in front of Xia Hou. It sounded a bit ridiculous.

Nevertheless, today was his best chance.

Because Xia Hou decided to retire today, he became an old man— an aged male lion would become lax in patrolling his own territory, and his wrath might also be easier to be resolved.

Ning Que walked to the gray mansion walls.

He bent his knees slightly.

The powerful Great Spirit in his body instantly poured into his legs.

A muffled sound was heard between the shoes and the ground, with an invisible airflow gushing out.

He bounced up 20 feet with ease and climbed over the tall wall.

He landed in a garden filled with withering flowers.

In front of the flower garden was a courtyard.

In the courtyard was a pine-wood chair where a person was sitting.

Xia Hou’s most trusted military counselor, Gu Xi.

Gu Xi looked at Ning Que in the flower garden, and then said with emotion, “I’ve been thinking whether or not I should kill you, and yet here you are.”