Nightfall

In the midsummer evening, even the cold starlight could not add a bit of chill. However, Ye Hongyu’s pale face and indifferent voice made people feel that they were in a snowy winter, instead of being in the courtyard beside the lake.

“I won’t die, so nobody will come after you. I just need time to cultivate.”

Ning Que thought it was justified that she was cultivating. But he did not know what the amazing method of cultivation she had from the Divine Hall. Ning Que said softly, “You can cultivate alone. But cultivating with me is also a good choice. If you encounter some difficulties, you can talk with me. Maybe it will be beneficial to your cultivation.”

Ye Hongyu replied coldly, “How could you be so kind?”

Ning Que did not bat an eye and said, “Cultivating with me may be a win-win situation.”

Ye Hongyu calmly said, “You’ve said that even Chen Pipi dared not flirt with me with such bestial words. You are such a nudnik.”

Ning Que was startled and said, “I didn’t use bestial words.”

Ye Hongyu silently looked into his eyes and saw that there was no shame and awkwardness in his eyes. She thought that the double cultivation method was a top secret in the Divine Hall. ” Maybe he didn’t know that?”

However, she had experienced his indifference and impudence many times in the Tianqi Mountains while in the Wilderness. Therefore, she would not insist on her previous thought but said, “You are a student of the Headmaster, there’s no need for you to learn from me.”

“I’ve said that I didn’t want to steal anything from you. I just want to share with each other.”

Ning Que paused for a little while and said with a smile, “All right, I do want to learn something from you. Although there is almost everything in our Academy, there are no Classics on Divine Skill.”

“You know the Divine Skills.”

He stared into her eyes and said, “By the Daming Lake, I saw the boundless grandeur lights.”

Ye Hongyu said, “Divine Skill is the top secret in Haotian Taoism.”

Ning Que said, “Sangsang is the inheritor of the Divine Priest of Light. She is qualified to learn the Divine Skill. However the Great Divine Priest of Light passed away too early, so, she learned little from him.”

Ye Hongyu frowned a little bit.

Ning Que said, “What are you worrying about? Are you afraid that you will be replaced by Sangsang as the number one in the group of West-Hill’s young powerhouses?”

Ye Hongyu said, “Are you goading me?”

Ning Que said, “Yes.”

Ye Hongyu said, “I knew that it was your trick to goad me. Why should I agree?”

Ning Que said with a smile, “Because you are the most powerful Tao Addict. How could you be afraid of being surpassed by Sangsang?”

Ye Hongyu responded with a poker face, “I won’t worry about something that will never become true.”

Ning Que asked, “Then, why don’t you agree to it?”

Ye Hongyu thought for a long time and said, “But what would you give me in return?”

Ning Que answered in a very serious manner, “The house rent.”

Ye Hongyu looked at him quietly and said, “I have underestimated you.”

Ning Que asked, “My impudence?”

Ye Hongyu nodded.

Ning Que turned and was ready to leave the guest room.

Ye Hongyu stared at his back and opened her mouth to suddenly say, “You can’t be present and she can’t tell you what she has learned.”

Ning Que stopped walking, looked back at her and said seriously, “I can swear this on the Headmaster’s name.”

…

…

It was a bit of a pity that Ning Que had not discovered any of Ye Hongyu’s secrets. Thus, he could not take advantage of them. But he believed that as long as she continued to live in Chang’an, he would have the chance to discover her secrets one day.

Lying in the big bed, like the last dozen summers, he held Sangsang’s little feet, which were as white as lotuses and as cool as jade. He enjoyed the exclusive sense of coolness and refreshment in the hot summer.

“I don’t know why she agreed to it, but this is a good opportunity. She is the only one that I admire in the West-Hill Divine Palace. I don’t mind how far you can go in the process of cultivating Divine Skill, but I believe it will help you in getting rid of the cold inside your body faster.”

Sangsang felt a little bit itchy and rubbed her feet on Ning Que. Then, she answered by grunting in a soft voice.

Looking at the silvery starlight and hearing the intermittent cicada chirps, Ning Que found that the feet in his arms turned warm while his mind became increasingly calmer. He thought about how he had traveled with the Calligraphy Addict. Now, he was living with the Tao Addict. He wondered about Long Qing, as he might be dead. The Flower Addict might come for revenge, but maybe he could convert this enemy into a friend. Therefore, he would have close relationships with the three Addicts in the world. It must be a good story on everybody’s lips.

Thinking about this, he was very proud of himself. However, the silvery starlight turned into fluffy snow in front of Chang’an’s red wall in winter. It frustrated him to think about that girl in the snow with long black hair and charming appearance.

Sangsang had been able to perceive his most subtle mood change since they were children. She could sense that Ning Que was getting frustrated just from that moment of silence, so she asked curiously, “What are you thinking about?”

Ning Que rubbed her little feet and said, “Nothing to worry about.”

He thought in his mind that it was such a helpless life that he could not even imagine beautiful and happy moments.

…

…

No matter what the reason was, Ye Hongyu agreed to cultivate the Divine Skill with Sangsang. Although Sangsang’s talent and potential in Divine Skill had already been recognized by the two Gods, namely, the Great Divine Priest of Light and the Great Divine Priest of Revelation, she had wasted her time in cooking and doing housework for 15 years. Therefore, there was no comparison between her and the Tao Addict on the theory and understanding of the Divine Skill.

Sangsang was a little bit nervous and went into the peaceful guest room. After a while, the peaceful room was full of sheen and the sense of solemnity. It seemed like a summer’s midday but it was not that remarkable.

That night, Ning Que and Sangsang had a long and serious conversation in their bed. After realizing that he had no potential in cultivating the Divine Skill of Haotian Taoism, he decided to respect the Headmaster. After that, he did not ask Sangsang about it nor peep of their cultivation.

When Sangsang went to the guest room again, Ning Que was standing among several winter sweet trees in the courtyard and waiting in silence. In the summer, there were no blossoms at all. But the twigs had their own beauty. The same went for him. Although he received nothing from the agreement, it was still meaningful if Sangsang could take advantage of it.

The same night, Ye Hongyu was eating her rice when she suddenly raised her head and said, “Do you know how remarkable your little handmaiden’s potential is in cultivation?”

Ning Que shook his head and then nodded, saying, “I know that it’s remarkable. But I don’t know how much.”

Ye Hongyu said peacefully, “It’s so terrific that if I were you and knew that my little handmaiden’s potential was much higher than me, I would feel ashamed and knock my head against a pillar.”

Ning Que laughed happily and said, “I haven’t been peeped at when bathing and I still have my innocence. Why should I knock my head against a pillar like how those women do in yamen?”

Ye Hongyu looked at him and opened her mouth suddenly, “After this, I will definitely kill you even if it will cause a war between the West-Hill and Tang.”

Ning Que was shocked and sighed, “Have I become so important now?”

…

…

Ye Hongyu’s life did not change due to practicing the Divine Skill with Sangsang. She still stayed in her guest room and focused a little bit insanely on silent cultivation. Sometimes, she stared at the sword on the piece of paper under the natural light; sometimes, she went out of her room, stood in her courtyard, looked at the sky and talked to herself; sometimes, she touched the old winter sweet trees, lost in her thoughts.

The paler she got, the brighter her eyes grew. The more languished she was, the more determined she became. Ning Que, as the onlooker, finally knew why she was called the Tao Addict.

Only “Addict of Tao” could describe the spirit, of this young female taoist priest.

Involuntary, Ning Que thought of those who were in the back of the mountain, and the words that life was like a question and different people had their own addiction. He thought of himself, climbing the old library, entering the back of the mountain, learning Talisman Taoism, his days writing calligraphy and meditating before that and sighed, realizing that he and the Tao Addict were the same kind of people, which touched him a lot.

Abruptly, he walked towards Ye Hongyu, who was beside the winter sweet tree.

“Although determination is necessary for cultivation, penance is not the only method of cultivating. I have some experience in this. If you relax, you will find more besides what you focused on.”

Ye Hongyu turned back, looked at him and said peacefully, “Where did you get that pride and confidence to say that I haven’t crossed the boundary you mentioned after a decade of cultivation?”

Ning Que said, “But, at least, you can have a try now.”

Ye Hongyu said ironically, “How? Will you take me to worship the Taoist temple’s mountain? Or will you take me to sightsee in Chang’an like you took Mo Shanshan around? Or do you want to cultivate together?”

Ning Que felt a little embarrassed, not on account of cultivating together but because of the mention of the Calligraphy Addict. After a while, he calmed down, looked into her eyes and said seriously, “Let’s have a fight.”

Hearing this suggestion, Ye Hongyu’s eyes turned brighter. Being the Tao Addict, this suggestion suited her taste very much. She said with a smile, “You dare to fight me?”

Ning Que answered genuinely, “Now your cultivation state has decreased a lot. What’s more, your spirit has been torn down recently. So maybe it’s the best time to defeat you.”

Ye Hongyu stayed silent for a moment and said, “According to my definition of battle, the fight will not end until someone dies.”

Ning Que replied, “Yes, this is so.”

Ye Hongyu said, “Do you really believe that I am weak now?”

Ning Que peacefully looked into her eyes and said, “Maybe it’s just an illusion that you are in the lower Seethrough state. But if I don’t sweep a house, how can I sweep the world? If I dare not challenge you…”

Then he kept silent and continued in his mind. He thought that if he dared not have a fight with her who was injured and whose cultivation state had fallen, how could he challenge that powerful enemy?

…

…

Many pieces of Fu paper were flying in the peaceful courtyard with the Great Spirit on it. Suddenly, the Great Spirit turned into magnificent Qi of Heaven and Earth. It made the wind in the courtyard grow wild and fierce.

A green belt danced in the wild wind like a slim sword that had been tempered in repeated struggles, or like a fish swimming agilely in clear water.

The willows behind the whitewashed wall of the guest room were shaking. Shades came together and then scattered. The waves in the Yanming Lake became dense, like the face of Chen Pipi facing the wind.

Then, the wind stopped.

The winter sweet trees in the courtyard had been cut into pieces and were squeezed by the two powerful aura rays into a line. The straight line ran through the middle of the floor tiles.

Ning Que was on one side, and Ye Hongyu was on the other side.