Nightfall

There was a Taoist priestess in the rain. It was Ye Hongyu.

She had left the Peach Mountain after blinding Chen Bachi with a piece of paper. She had left the West-Hill in the covers of the dark and came to Chang’an. There, it rained heavily, and she grew exhausted. When she heard Ning Que’s questions, she could not help but grow angry. She said irritatedly, “So what if I do not recompensate you?”

Ning Que did not dare to provoke her when he saw the cold anger in her eyes. The beautiful female priestess beside him was the person he feared most in the cultivation world.

He flicked off the sawdust on his face and said bitterly, “It’s fine if you don’t, why do you have to be so serious?”

Ye Hongyu pushed him away from the entrance of the courtyard rudely and headed in. She said, “Find me a room. I want to stay here.”

Ning Que looked at the Taoist priestess walking into the courtyard and only emerged from his daze after some time. He ran after her and asked her with a dour expression on his face. “Why are you in Chang’an? Why did you come? How did you know I live here? You want to stay here? How long do you intend to stay?”

Ye Hongyu suddenly stopped in the shelter and replied, “There are some things that I need some time to think about.”

Ning Que asked, “What is it? How much time do you need to think?”

Ye Hongyu held up her fringe that was dripping with water. She said, “It would take some time.”

Ning Que looked at the beautiful girl beside him and said nervously, “You are the Tao Addict from West-Hill. There are loads of people who would want to kiss your arse, and there are a bunch of places for you to think at. The Revelation Institute, Lanke Temple, Zhishou Abbey, I am sure you know the way there. Why did you have to come to Chang’an? Why must you think in my house?”

Ye Hongyu said, “Because Chang’an is the only place where the Divine Hall cannot enter.”

Ning Que breathed in deeply and looked at her forehead. He said, “You… have betrayed them too?”

Ye Hongyu furrowed her brows and said “Why do you say ‘too’?”

Ning Que said, “The Great Divine Priest of Light stayed in Chang’an for over six months last year.”

Ye Hongyu did not speak. Instead, she turned around and continued down the end of the corridor. Her steps were calm and stable and she left a trail of water behind her.

Ning Que followed behind her and yelled in annoyance. “Even if you had not betrayed them, you must have offended some bigwigs in the Divine Hall. Why should I offend the bigwigs that even you cannot afford to offend and had to leave the Divine Hall to avoid?”

The statement was rather mind-boggling, but his intentions were clear. Both Ye Hongyu and himself were cultivators who were serious about victory and practicality and could understand what he meant.

Ye Hongyu continued down the jiuqu corridor and looked at the forests outside. She said calmly, “I have said that I wanted to kill you when we were in the Wilderness.”

Ning Que replied, “I admit that you do have reasons to kill me, but it doesn’t mean that I owe you anything.”

Ye Hongyu said, “Shall we void the incident where you shot Long Qing with that arrow on the snow cliff?”

Ning Que sped up and came beside her. He looked at her slightly pale and haggard face. He repeated tentatively, “So does this mean you will not attempt to kill me in the future?”

Ye Hongyu said, “Indeed, you may celebrate.”

She had said that Ning Que could celebrate since she wasn’t about to kill him now. But it also meant that she could kill him anytime she wished.

It was a simple statement that was filled with pride, confidence and even narcissism.

Ning Que was also a narcissistic person. But beside the Tao Addict, he had to keep a tight reign on his narcissism because he knew how scary she was.

Even though he was very happy to hear that she wouldn’t attempt to kill him again, his male pride had been hurt. He lifted his brows slightly and asked, “Have you been injured?”

Ye Hongyu did not try to deceive him. She said, “I have not healed from my injuries in the Wilderness.”

The seemingly silent battle with Master Lotus at the Front Gate of the Devil’s Doctrine was a battle fraught with danger. Ning Que thought of it often, and he knew how important Tao Addict was in that battle. He knew that she was heavily injured, but had not expected it to still bother her till now.

“No wonder I felt that your cultivation state had weakened. When I opened the door earlier and saw that you were thoroughly drenched, I thought you looked like a stray dog in the rain and looked really pitiful. I was wondering why I felt that you were pitiful.”

Ning Que looked at the girl’s pale face and thought of how they had fought together in the Front Gate of the Devil’s Doctrine. He was overwhelmed with emotions, and forced himself to calm down after a moment. He said softly, “But since you are already so weak, you don’t really have much to offer. What would I gain from taking you in?”

They had come to the end of the jiuqu corridor. They would reach the reception and study should they move any further in.

Ye Hongyu stopped and turned around to face Ning Que. She said calmly, “If you feel that what I have suggested wasn’t good enough, shall we fight?”

Ning Que looked at her eyes that were reminiscent of water in autumn. He stared into them for a long while, wanting to see a hint of uncertainty in her eyes but to no avail.

He would not hesitate to attack if he had seen any trace of uncertainty in Tao Addict’s eyes, just like how he had shot Long Qing by the Daming Lake.

He was a cold-blooded person. He knew that the Tao Addict was a rare unfeeling person in the cultivation world like himself. They would not hesitate to get rid of the other should the opportunity arise.

Unfortunately, rather than uncertainty, Ning Que only saw exhaustion, fatigue and loss in her eyes.

Ning Que shook his head and smiled, saying, “Are you kidding me?”

Ye Hongyu looked into his eyes and said solemnly, “You know I wasn’t kidding.”

Ning Que knew that Ye Hongyu’s cultivation state had been badly damaged after forcefully lowering her state at the Devil’s Doctrine’s Front Gate. He had received Tao enlightenment and gotten into the Seethrough State after going into the cliffs. His cultivation state was above that of Ye Hongyu’s, but he was not sure that he could beat her.

Chen Bachi was a commander in the upper Seethrough state. He did not know of Chen Bachi’s miserable fate.

He had only sensed the danger like those beasts in the Min Mountain.

He continued to shake his head, and then, he extended his arms like a gracious host and brought Ye Hongyu through the corridor and to the hall.

Sangsang stood at the threshold. She watched curiously as Ning Que brought a thoroughly drenched Taoist priestess in. She asked, “Shall I boil water for a hot bath?”

“No, let me introduce our guest.”

Ning Que cleared his throat and tried to calm himself down. He pointed at Ye Hongyu and said, “Don’t be fooled by her appearance. She is the powerful Tao Addict I talk about often. The one who kills without blinking.”

Ye Hongyu said, “You talk about me often after returning to Chang’an?”

Ning Que answered honestly, “I wanted to kill you, so I mentioned you often.”

Ye Hongyu nodded and said, “That does make sense.”

Ning Que looked at Sangsang’s face and spotted the uneasiness on it. He said with a smile, “She is indeed very scary, but you do not need to be afraid. Only I do. She could be considered your Senior Sister.”

Then, he walked to Sagnsang’s side and put an arm around her shoulders. He said to Ye Hongyu, “This is my Sangsang.”

Ye Hongyu felt that the thin handmaiden was very different from the Sangsang that she had imagined. She did not show her surprise, but bowed lightly and said, “Greetings, Junior Sister Sangsang.”

She was thoroughly drenched, and the raindrops dripped from her hair and Taoist whisk. Her wet robe clung to her curves and she looked utterly charming.

However, she looked calm and composed and was the epitome of a solemn Taoist priestess.

Sangsang was flustered, and half-knelt in a bow.

Then, she stood up and looked at Ye Hongyu’s beautiful face and curves beneath her wet clothes. She could not help but sigh and was filled with envy.

Ning Que was much more composed than before and finally noticed the Taoist robes that clung onto the Tao Addict. His eyes brightened and were filled with envy.

Ye Hongyu looked at them without any outward expression. She asked, “Does it look good?”

The master and servant pair nodded and praised, “It is indeed very good.”

Ye Hongyu could not maintain her icy exterior upon hearing their replies and natural response. She breathed in deeply and said, “I shall have a bath and then, the two of you can look as much as you please.”

…

The pitter-pattering of rain could be heard in the dark outside the window.

Ning Que looked at the carved headboard of the bed with no intentions of sleeping. He said, “It’d be really troublesome if she continues to stay here.”

Sangsang was sleeping at that end of the bed. She lifted the thin curtain and leaned against the headboard. She said seriously, “That’s right. It seems like we really have to hire a maid.”

Ning Que definitely would not allow Sangsang to wait on anyone else. He said, “We have to hire a maid, this is not the true trouble. The trouble I am speaking of is more troublesome.”

Sangsang asked curiously, “What kind of trouble is it?”

Ning Que thought of the figure clothed in red that flitted through the forests beneath the snow cliff in the Wilderness. He thought of the Divine Light on the Daming Lake and the flesh and blood at the Devil’s Doctrine’s Front Gate. He could still feel the piercing cold even though it was a rainy summer night. He felt the cold penetrate his body.

He had encountered many dangerous things in this life. He had encountered even more dangers after returning to Chang’an from the City of Wei and entering the cultivation world. However, only the Tao Addict, Ye Hongyu had truly made him feel the shadow of death creeping upon him.

He had seen lots of powerhouses with a high cultivation state. Ye Hongyu was definitely not the strongest, but he felt that she was the most dangerous.

That was because Ye Hongyu had a Taoist heart that was made of steel. She was as cold-blooded as he was, and she understood what true battle was. She was a powerhouse who was aware of life and death.

What had happened in the West-Hill Divine Palace to cause Ye Hongyu to flee in the night for Chang’an despite the enmity between the West-Hill and the Tang Empire?

There weren’t many people in the Divine Hall who could cause this.

Was it the Great Divine Priest of Judgment or the Hierarch Lord?

Ning Que knew that this incident would cause him trouble if he didn’t deal with it well.

Sangsang said concernedly, “How shall we resolve this?”

“I cannot solve this problem that even Ye Hongyu can’t. But luckily, I know lots of people who can solve the West-Hill Divine Palace’s troubles.”

Ning Que said, “I shall bring up this trouble tomorrow.”

They did not speak, but they had not slept well either.

Especially Ning Que, who felt nervous and uneasy upon thinking that Ye Hongyu was sleeping just a few feet away in the guest room. He only fell into a light doze at daybreak.

When he woke up, the summer rain had already stopped and the skies were bright. He washed up hastily and brought Sangsang with him. They boarded the horse carriage and sped away from the Yanming Lake and to the Academy.