Nightfall

Listening to their conversation, Tang Xiaotang asked in confusion with her eyes opening widely, “But I always covered my face with a fox tail, so how can they recognize me?”

Looking at her new student, Yu Lian said slowly, “Everyone has their own unique trace, especially for cultivators. You can consider it as a scent.”

Ning Que did not join in the discussion. Instead, he just silently sat inside the cliff cave and looked very calm. However, his heart became very unstable due to his Senior Sister’s previous words.

When he was an ordinary student of the Academy, he once encountered Yu Lian in the Sword Forest. She indirectly expressed disapproval when she knew he wanted to enter the Second floor of the Academy. Besides, she also said that if he could give up entering the Second floor, she would introduce him to a mighty figure, who was not weaker than Liu Bai.

Liu Bai, the Sword Sage, was recognized as the strongest human in the world, but Yu Lian was living in the Academy and far away from the outside world all year round. How could she know a mighty figure as powerful as Liu Bai? Ning Que clearly remembered his shock after hearing her words at that time, and also remembered her sigh of pity when he insisted on his original thought.

Yu Lian’s words today sounded as usual, but they were full of confidence and pride. It meant that since Tang Xiaotang became her student now, it would be nonsense if Tang Xiaotang couldn’t beat or even kill the Tao Addict Ye Hongyu in the future.

Her expression was still peaceful, but it wasn’t a kind of deliberate pride and arrogance. It was based on an instinctive self judgment, so she just casually uttered the words.

It was this kind of casual and ordinary demeanor that made her look more mysterious and unfathomable.

Recalling their conversation in the Sword Forest, Ning Que’s thought couldn’t help becoming a little confused. Everyone in the back of the mountain knew that Third Senior Sister was just at the upper level of Seethrough State, so where did her peaceful confidence come from?

After a short thought, Ning Que concluded that it was due to the common temperament that all students in the back of the mountain shared. Third Senior Sister was only lower than Eldest Brother and Second Brother in seniority rank, so she, of course, was qualified to be confident.

He said earnestly, “Senior Sister is the first one to accept a student among all peers in the back of the mountain. Congratulations!”

Yu Lian said, “It’s all our teacher’s arrangements.”

She looked back at Tang Xiaotang and said calmly, “Come and salute your uncle.”

Tang Xiaotang walked towards the cliff cave and stood a little away from it. She stopped smiling, then carefully and seriously saluted Ning Que, “Youngest Uncle.”

Ning Que noticed that her worn fur coat had been replaced with a new Academy uniform, and her pair of old leather boots also had been substituted with a pair of small green cotton shoes. Now, she looked very tidy and pert.

Ning Que was looking at her. When suddenly hearing the words “Youngest Uncle”, his mood somehow became very comfortable. In a second he realized where this kind of relaxed mood came from.

First, he need not worry that he might have a junior sister. Besides, he was one generation higher than Tang Xiaotang. Did it mean that the Wayfarer of the Devil’s Doctrine should also show some respect to him?

Above all, ‘Youngest Uncle’ was a very special and meaningful title in the Academy.

Once, there was a Youngest Uncle in the back of the mountain of the Academy. He was the most amazing and powerful figure in the world, a legend extremely admired and missed by Second Brother all the time.

Now, Ning Que was referred as Youngest Uncle by the next generation of disciples.

In each generation, there was only one little Younger Brother, so naturally there was just one Youngest Uncle. He felt very proud and beamed upon thinking that there would be more and more people saluting and calling him Youngest Uncle in the future.

After greeting Ning Que, Tang Xiaotang straightened up. She found that his expression kept changing and he was intoxicated with self-satisfaction, but she certainly did not know what he was thinking of now.

They got to know each other in the Wilderness and then met again in Chang’an. In the Academy, Ning Que was the most familiar person to her. In addition, their ages were close, so it was hard for her to sincerely treat him as an elder. She tilted her head and looked at him. Suddenly, she couldn’t help giggling as she found his current expression very comical.

Ning Que looked at her and said, “Call me Youngest Uncle two more times.”

Tang Xiaotang, of course, did not want to call him Youngest Uncle. In her eyes, how would Ning Que, who was weak and very shameless, be qualified to be her elder?

Previously, she controlled her temper and politely called him Youngest Uncle. That was because her teacher ordered her to do so and it was necessary to meet all people in the back of the mountain before entering the Second Floor of the Academy.

“Quickly.”

Without noticing her changing expression, Ning Que happily said, “I enjoy being called Youngest Uncle the most.”

“I’m the only disciple of the third generation of the Academy.”

Tang Xiaotang gritted her teeth and said, “Is there anyone else?”

Ning Que said, “So in the future, you should come here to visit me and call me Youngest Uncle from time to time.”

Tang Xiaotang angrily said, “I won’t come here to play with you in the future if you keep acting like this.”

Ning Que proudly said, “You have to follow my orders because my seniority is higher than yours.”

Tang Xiaotang irritatedly said, “Don’t forget that I am the first disciple of the third generation of the Academy, which means that I will be the Eldest Sister of the Academy one day. Youngest Uncle you’d better not tease me now if you would not want your children or students to be bullied by me in the future.”

Ning Que was a little shocked and said with emotion, “The flourishing Central Plains, such a dirty and vile place… it only takes a little time there to turn a pure girl from the Wilderness into a foxy one. So very boring.”

Tang Xiaotang decided to ignore him, and then walked to Sangsang’s side. She pulled Sangsang’s hand and led her into the hut. Later she began to ask about Sangsang’s life in the cliff cave and whether she could do something for her.

Sangsang was not accustomed to her cheerfulness and enthusiasm. After a while, she recalled that they previously had agreed to be friends outside a hut at the other side of the mountain. Soon, a cheerful smile crossed Sangsang’s little face.

Sangsang talked about the life on the cliff platform. It seemed everything was alright, though it sounded a little boring. Tang Xiaotang felt relieved after she made sure that her best friend did not suffer from a hard time and was not bullied by her Youngest Uncle Ning Que these days. Soon, both of them sat on the ground and began playing games.

Sangsang was less than fifteen years old, and Tang Xiaotang was even younger. Actually, they were still young girls, especially in temperament. When they played together, they enjoyed stone chess like other children.

At the entrance of the cliff cave, Senior Sister Yu Lian was glancing through the learning problems that Ning Que had these days. After a short meditation, she raised her head and began solving and explaining the problems in a soft voice.

Ning Que listened carefully to his Senior Sister’s elegant and gentle voice. He found that he suddenly understood many difficult problems after her brief explanations.

Obviously, Yu Lian did not understand the Great Spirit, but she had a deep research and understanding on the operation law of aura, especially on the nuanced differences among various materials. Besides, she was extremely knowledgeable. She could easily recall a cultivation experience as example and make a suitable and exquisite metaphor. What shocked Ning Que the most was his Senior Sister’s ethereal way of thinking. She was often able to find a possibility within impossibility and to discover clear water and green hills in a hopeless and despairing environment.

Time passed slowly, and the sunshine outside the cliff gradually became stronger. Ning Que was absolutely absorbed in the new world that Senior Sister showed him. His admiration for his Senior Sister had reached the peak. He thought to himself that it was no wonder Yu Lian was only second to those two Senior Brothers at the back of the mountain in the Academy. She was really powerful and amazing, whether in knowledge, wisdom, or vision. Compared with her, even Chen Pipi also lagged far behind.

…

…

Without any nonsense, Yu Lian’s lesson was always clear and brief. Just after noon, she had already solved all Ning Que’s problems.

She didn’t wait for Ning Que’s thanks and didn’t intend to make small talk either. Instead, she just stood up peacefully and called Tang Xiaotang out of the hut. After gently nodding to the cave she floated down the mountain.

Between the narrow and steep cliffs, two petite figures and two pieces of Academy uniform with same style and size could be seen from time to time. Within a short time, they got to that waterfall.

Previously in the hut of the cliff platform, Tang Xiaotang asked Sangsang to play stone chess with her.

Stone chess was a kind of simple game that all kids from the Wilderness to the Great River Kingdom played. There was not any obvious regularity in winning or losing because of its simplicity. However, she, unbelievably, failed to win a single game!

Tang Xiaotang was a young girl of the Devil’s Doctrine with a strong will and desire for winning. If it were other people, over ten sets of failures at the beginning might have made them feel bored and give up playing such a simple game. However, she insisted on playing with Sangsang, losing one hundred and twenty-nine sets in total!

Stone chess was very easy, but she unbelievably lost one hundred and twenty-nine sets in a row. Tang Xiaotang could not figure out how on earth it happened. Although she had strong willpower, her little face unavoidably expressed depression and frustration now. She looked at her teacher beside her and asked sadly, “Teacher, am I stupid?”

Yu Lian slowly went past the cliff and then walked towards that narrow gorge. She said, “No, you aren’t stupid. You just stupidly chose the wrong opponent.”

Tang Xiaotang followed her and curiously asked, “I know Sangsang is the successor of Divine Priest of Light , but playing stone chess isn’t a kind of cultivation. Why did I fail to win a single game?”

Yu Lian peacefully said, “In the past few decades, only the God of Light had real wisdom on the Peach Mountain of the West-Hill Divine Palace. The successor chosen by him was certainly extraordinary. As for why you couldn’t win a single game…that’s because she considers you as her real friend. In other words, she played with all her might.”

Hearing that Sangsang regarded her as a real friend, Tang Xiaotang’s young face revealed a cheerful smile right away. She, jumping up and down like a naughty stone, chased after the figure of Yu Lian. Her previous frustration and sadness couldn’t be found anymore, like leaves that had floated into the abyss carried by the wind in the canyon.

Thinking that her good friend had to stay in that desolate cliff all day long, Tang Xiaotang suddenly became unhappy again. She complained, “It isn’t a big deal that the shameless Ning Que is imprisoned, but why does Sangsang have to suffer from it…”

Yu Lian stopped in her tracks and said, “That’s your Youngest Uncle. How could you call him by his name?”

Tang Xiaotang stuck her tongue out behind Yu Lian and argued, “I’ve been used to calling him Ning Que.”

Yu Lian calmly said, “Make the mistake again after being taught and you’ll be punished according to the Academy’s regulations.”

Tang Xiaotang asked with a slight shock, “What’s the punishment?”

Yu Lian said, “Walk up to the waterfall, and then jump down.”

Looking at that silver waterfall not far away, she said sorrowfully, “It looks a little high.”

Yu Lian said, “One hundred and twenty-nine times.”

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