Nightfall

The Yulin Royal Guards of Tang and escorts of the Divine Hall stood around the divine carriage. They had serious expressions and their eyes vigilantly moved around among falling petals.

There were neither any remains of Devil’s Doctrine, nor any mobs. However, wherever the Great Divine Priest of Revelation passed by, it attracted the attention of many. Some devout women and elders kept kneeling and kowtowing, whilst those standing respectfully lowered their heads and bowed. They even didn’t dare to look at the old man behind the curtain of the divine carriage.

The divine carriage entered Lin 47th Street and then stopped in front of the Old Brush Pen Shop, causing a heated discussion among the crowd in the alley. They envied the owner of the shop very much. It was difficult for them to believe the Great Divine Priest of Revelation was actually here. In fact, they didn’t even know that another Great Divine Priest of the West-Hill once worked as a hired laborer in the shop.

Yulin Royal Guards set a cordon at the entrance of the alley, keeping the crowd away. The escorts of the Divine Hall occupied several crucial places in front of the Old Brush Pen Shop. With the curtain raised, the Great Divine Priest of Revelation slowly walked out of the divine carriage.

Ning Que and Sangsang, who were standing at the doorway of the shop, welcomed the old man.

Only the Great Divine Priest of Revelation and Cheng Lixue went into the Old Brush Pen Shop.

Ning Que invited the Great Divine Priest to take a seat. He wanted to ask Sangsang to make tea for them but thought against it, because Cheng Lixue had once told him asking Sangsang to do such chores was a kind of blasphemy to the West-Hill and Taoism.

Four cups of tea lay on the table, with steam slowly gathering and then dispersing.

The Great Divine Priest of Revelation, whose deep wrinkles were like mountains and rivers, looked like a very ordinary elder. Only this gorgeous divine robe revealed his distinguished status.

Ning Que had met many bigwigs, but it was still the first time he was going to negotiate with someone as grand as the Great Divine Priest of Revelation. Thus, he felt a little nervous and didn’t know how to break the ice.

Sangsang was also nervous. Though Ning Que had explained the inheritance rule the Great Divine Priest of Light had last night, Sangsang was still confused. She couldn’t understand why the Divine Hall still insisted on taking her back, since her teacher had turned against the West-Hill Divine Palace in the end.

The Great Divine Priest of Revelation looked at Ning Que and his little handmaid, and suddenly smiled. As he smiled, his wrinkles deepened and his slightly-sunken eyes became calm and deep all at once; like an old well in the withered hill covered by irregular stones.

Facing the eyes of the Great Divine Priest of Revelation, Ning Que felt naked, as if his clothes had vanished. His instincts told him that the old man had seen through him.

It wasn’t about the body. Instead, the intentional dissimulation on his heart had been seen through, and even his fate track was also naked right now. There was nowhere to hide!

Ning Que controlled his vigilance and said, “I am Ning Que of the Academy. Greetings, Great Divine Priest of Revelation.”

The Great Divine Priest of Revelation responded, “Just take a seat.”

Ning Que took a seat opposite to the Great Divine Priest.

It was silent in the Old Brush Pen Shop. As the owner, Ning Que knew that he should be the first one to talk, but he really had no idea what to say on the matter.

The steam emanating from the teacup gradually disappeared, and a piece of green tea leaf floated up from the bottom of the teacup.

Ning Que’s throat felt dry and he said in a tight voice, “Can we take some more time to think about it?”

Cheng Lixue, who was standing behind the Great Divine Priest of Revelation, frowned and unhappily said, “You still need to think? Mr. Thirteen, please stop delaying it, OK?”

The Great Divine Priest of Revelation raised his right hand to stop Cheng Lixue, and then he said, “I have to go back to the West-Hill due to some affairs, but a decision must be made before I leave Chang’an.”

Without noticing the affairs in the West-Hill mentioned by the Great Divine Priest, Ning Que was thinking of other things. He constrainedly smiled and said, “My lord is going to leave? Have you bought any local products yet?”

Cheng Lixue had an ugly look on his face.

But the Great Divine Priest of Revelation just laughed and shook his head.

The smile on his old face gradually disappeared, and those deep wrinkles began stretching. The Great Divine Priest of Revelation peacefully looked at Ning Que’s eyes and said, “You are aware of her importance to the Divine Hall.”

Sangsang looked down at the tips of her shoes outside her skirt hemline and quietly moved two steps behind Ning Que. She hoped he could block her but was not very successful.

The Great Divine Priest of Revelation looked at Sangsang fondly and said, “She’s the successor of the light.”

Ning Que said in hesitation, “Sangsang is still very young. If she takes up the post of the Great Divine Priest of Light in the West-Hill, her status will be the same as yours. It sounds rather inappropriate.”

Cheng Lixue glanced at the Great Divine Priest of Relation and then explained in a low voice, “The succession of the God is a long process. Sangsang has to learn Taoism doctrine first in the West-Hill, and then experience all kinds of things in the mundane world during the practice in the Taoist temples around the world. Only after completing these procedures could she inherit the post of the Great Divine Priest of Light. These preparations are called the training of administration.”

Then he went on to explain further, “It is because it takes a long time for Sangsang to be the Great Divine Priest of Light that the Divine Hall is so worried and impatient now. It will be better if she can begin her training period as soon as possible.”

Ning Que suddenly asked, “Is she allowed vacations?”

Being a little shocked, Cheng Lixue thought to himself how would the Divine Hall allow such arrangement as if it were any other ordinary school?

However, before he said anything, the Great Divine Priest of Revelation smiled an said, “Yes.”

Ning Que looked at the Great Divine Priest of Revelation and asked another question, “How long?”

The Great Divine Priest of Revelation said, “As long as she spends more than half her time on the Peach-Mountain of West Hill.”

Ning Que asked again, “And she can leave the West-Hill during the vacation?”

“Yes.”

“Can I go to the West-Hill to visit her?”

“Yes.”

“If she becomes the Great Divine Priest of Light, can she still get married?”

The Great Divine Priest of Revelation, half-smiling, looked at him and said, “Yes.”

Cheng Lixue looked at the Great Divine Priest in surprise.

Ning Que stopped asking the Great Divine Priest of Revelation questions after this.

Ning Que said, “If this is true, I will agree.”

The atmosphere in the Old Brush Pen Shop became a little more relaxed. Unexpectedly, Ning Que added, “But it doesn’t mean she agrees with it, even if I do. Now, you need to persuade her.”

Cheng Lixue got angry and reprimanded him in a deep voice, “How dare you be so rude to the Great Divine Priest!”

Ning Que said, “I’m not being rude to the Divine Hall. If the Great Divine Priest said no to any one of the item I mentioned before, I wouldn’t allow Sangsang to go to the West-Hill. However, my agreement doesn’t mean I will make her go. It just means I will support her decision.”

Absolutely ignoring the conversation between Ning Que and Cheng Lixue, the Great Divine Priest of Revelation was just looking at Sangsang quietly.

Sangsang lowered her head and gently said, “I don’t want to go right now.”

The Great Divine Priest of Revelation looked towards Ning Que quietly.

Ning Que said, “I have discussed this with her for a long time now. After all, she’s just a fifteen-year-old little girl, so I really will feel uneasy if she leaves me now. How about going to the West-Hill after she reaches adulthood?”

The Great Divine Priest of Revelation smilingly said, “Next year?”

Ning Que shook his head and said, “In three years.”

The Great Divine Priest of Revelation said, “According to the law of Tang Empire, a female is considered a grown-up when she reaches sixteen.”

“The law of Tang Empire indicates a female can get married when she is sixteen, but it does not mean she is an adult.”

Ning Que said, “In my view, one has enough life experience and wisdom to arrange his or her future life only after he or she reaches eighteen years old. That’s why I insist on her going to the West-Hill in three years.”

“Three years…”

The Great Divine Priest of Revelation sighed lightly and looked at Sangsang who was behind Ning Que.

It was a glance that made the wrinkles on his face deeper, as if mountains and rivers were reshaped by a heavy storm and became more precipitous. His eyes looked quieter and deeper too. The old well, which silently hid in the depths of the mountain, also became a few feet deeper.

Sangsang was nervously waiting for an answer.

Ning Que was more nervous than her.

The Great Divine Priest of Revelation looked at Sangsang and smiled, “We’ll meet in three years at West-Hill.”

After saying these words, the Great Divine Priest of Revelation stood up and walked out of the Old Brush Pen Shop.

The Great Divine Priest got on the divine carriage, accompanied by his escorts. A solemn atmosphere was left hanging in the air.

The master and the little handmaid at the Old Brush Pen Shop looked at each other.

That’s it?

Ning Que didn’t understand why the Great Divine Priest of Revelation said the last words so definitively.

We will meet in the West-Hill in three years.

The Great Divine Priest was sure that Sangsang would definitely go to the West-Hill?

…

…

Following the Great Divine Priest, Cheng Lixue also left the Old Brush Pen Shop.

He got on the divine carriage and lowered the curtain, kneeling down behind the Great Divine Priest. He said in a low voice, “I don’t understand. Shall we really go back to the West-Hill? We haven’t even gotten a promise from Sangsang.”

“There is no power in verbal promises.”

The Great Divine Priest of Revelation took a white handkerchief from his sleeve and then gently rubbed his canthi with it. As the snow-like handkerchief touched his skin, the wrinkles on his canthi were just like flowers, scattering.

Cheng Lixue lowered his head and said confusedly, “Since we are already here, why did we leave so quickly?”

Looking at the handkerchief that was as white as snow in his hand, the Great Divine Priest of Revelation said after a short silence, “Because the matter concerning the Judicial Department is more serious than I thought before.”

Cheng Lixue raised his head and said, “But according to what you said several days ago, that serious incident of the Judicial Department may not be bad for the Divine Hall. The Revelation Department just carries out the order of Haotian. If we prevent the accident in advance, it would be the same as disobeying Haotian.”

The Great Divine Priest of Revelation said, “We aren’t going to prevent it happening after returning to the West-Hill. Instead, we are going to make sure that everything falls back on track after the incident.”

Cheng Lixue’s eyes fell on the Great Divine Priest’s handkerchief his body became stiff, because there were several patches of bloodstains on the handkerchief!

He discovered that the Great Divine Priest’s canthi were bleeding!

“I’ve seen the light on the Peach Mountain in three years.”

“So in three years, she will go to the West-Hill.”

The Great Divine Priest of Revelation continued rubbing the blood flowing from his canthi calmly.

Cheng Lixue, confused and shocked, asked, “What else did my lord see?”

“Light is our closest partner. Just a glance almost made me blind. What else would I possibly see?”

The Great Divine Priest of Revelation was smiling as he said this.

He folded his white handkerchief and then wiped the blood off his eyes.

The white handkerchief was gradually dyed red by the blood in his eyes.

The deep wrinkles on his canthi were also reddened.

They were more like a barren land soaked by blood.

…

…

Before the diplomatic corps from the West-Hill left Chang’an, Ning Que paid a visit to the Southern Gate Temple. He got a piece of very important information from Cheng Lixue that the attack of the Sword Garret was indeed relevant to the Judicial Department.

He grew increasingly worried for Chao Xiaoshu’s safety. As he was thinking of whether to leave for South Jin Kingdom to seek Chao Xiaoshu, he suddenly received a letter from the Great River Kingdom.

He thought it was from Mo Shanshan and could not help be excited.

Later he found it was posted by Chao Xiaoshu, which made him disappointed and his worry turned into anger.

“Why don’t you write some letters to us in advance if you’re safe and alive? He’s having so much fun out there that he dares to forget his father! What an idiot!”

The middle-aged man in a bright-yellow robe waved his sleeves angrily and scolded.

“Maybe Chao Xiaoshu was unwilling to come back after being attracted to the beautiful widow in a small village. Indeed, only an idiot could do such a thing!”

Looking at the letter in his hand, Ning Que ridiculed Chao Xiaoshu bitterly.

Deep in the room of the Tang palace, the sound of someone screaming ‘idiot’ could be heard from time to time.

Looking at the angry expressions of His Majesty and Ning Que, Her Majesty couldn’t help laughing.