Nightfall

Negotiation was a battle and to raise conditions first was tantamount to being the first to draw one’s sword.

Ning Que and Ye Hongyu were both well-versed in battling. They both knew that the person who raised conditions first would get the upper hand in this battle. As such, they both felt that they should be the first to put conditions forward.

“This is Chang’an, I should have home advantage,” Ning Que said.

Ye Hongyu looked at him quietly and said, “The Tang Empire is in a dangerous situation right now. The Golden Palace’s cavalry and the Divine Hall’s Coalition Army are both still on your land.”

Ning Que answered, “This might be a little troublesome, but is not the crux of the matter. Both the Abbey Dean and the Hierarch are crippled, and I heard that your brother is in a similar condition. I don’t understand how you can feel so emboldened.”

Ye Hongyu answered, “The Academy is in an even worse position. Mr. Second has lost his sword-wielding arm. I heard that Mr. First and the Twenty-Three-year Cicada Cultivation are both still in wheelchairs. As for your peers, I saw how they were injured in the Verdant Canyon; I’m certain they will not recover in a short period of time.”

Ning Que looked at her and said in a serious manner, “You’ve forgotten about me.”

Ye Hongyu looked at him and said calmly, “The problem is that you can’t leave Chang’an. You might not have enemies here, but once you leave Chang’an, there would be many people from Haotian Taoism who can kill you.”

Indeed, Ning Que had not left Chang’an since the New Year. It was because he could channel the power of the God-stunning Array through the array eye pestle here. Once he left Chang’an, he would not be able to affect the entire mortal world even though he was a powerhouse in the Knowing Destiny State.

Ye Hongyu continued, “Haotian Taoism has existed for millennia, and is as wide as the sea. Even though its waves are not as strong as before, I can find ten powerhouses in the Knowing Destiny State if you wish to meet them.”

If she was not exaggerating, her statement could shock most people in the world. One had to be aware that some small countries did not have a single cultivator in the Knowing Destiny State.

But this was not sufficient to scare Ning Que. He said, “It’s pointless even if there are many in the Knowing Destiny State and Haotian Initiation in the world one day. If they dare to enter Chang’an, I’ll kill them. I’ll kill them all, and if they are not of the Abbey Dean’s caliber, they are all just courting death.”

Ye Hongyu said, “Will you protect Chang’an for your entire life?”

Ning Que listened to her statement that sounded like a wedding vow and smiled, “I will do it if it is really necessary. Fortunately, there are wine, meat and beauties in Chang’an City, so it will not be too boring.”

It seemed as if they were fighting over who would make the first offer, but actually, they had both placed all their chips on the table. Ning Que did not wait for Ye Hongyu to speak, and he suggested, “Or maybe we can play a finger-guessing game. That’s fair and simple.”

Ye Hongyu frowned slightly.

Ning Que said, “You are the Tao Addict, and people say that you are well-versed in many skills. Do you not know how to play the finger-guessing game? You either win or lose when you play this game, and it hinges on your spirit and calculation skills…”

Without waiting for him to complete his statement, Ye Hongyu asked, “Which finger-guessing game?”

Ning Que answered, “The lewd finger-guessing game.”

Ye Hongyu asked, “What kind of game is that?”

Ning Que said, “You want to learn it? I can teach you.”

Ye Hongyu lost the game as expected. She might be the Tao Addict who was versed in many areas, but she was no match for Ning Que in gambling.

Ning Que had been gambling since he was a child and had gambled from the City of Wei to Chang’an. He had experienced hardships and even escaped from death before he could cultivate, and the first thing he had done right after was to win money at a gambling den.

Ye Hongyu was enraged. She did not like to lose, and most importantly, she finally understood why the lewd finger-guessing game had such a name. It was indeed lewd.

Ning Que explained, “This is a culture that has been passed on for many years, I did not intend to take advantage of you.”

Ye Hongyu breathed in the cold air deeply, the spring rain moistening her lungs, and she finally got a grip on her emotions. She thought to herself that she indeed could not find a second man who was as shameless as Ning Que.

“The Divine Hall Coalition Army has left Qinghe County, we have to get the county back.”

Ning Que’s expression turned solemn and he said, “There is nothing else to discuss regarding this matter.”

Ye Hongyu’s expression remained the same, one could not guess what she was thinking. She asked, “The families?”

Ning Que said, “Of course we have to kill all of them.”

Ye Hongyu remained noncommittal and said, “Go on.”

Ning Que said, “The Yan Kingdom has returned the remains of the soldiers of the Northeast Border Military. Crown Prince Chong Ming came to Chang’an and pled guilty, kneeling before the altar for an entire night. We do not have any other demands.”

“Do continue.”

“In order to express the Tang Empire’s sincerity and amicability, we are willing to withdraw from the Yuelun Kingdom. But you have to give us the Pamir Mountains and the Great River Kingdom has to be neutral forever.”

“Is there anything else?”

“No.”

“Do you want to hear the Divine Hall’s conditions?”

“To be honest, I don’t really want to because the Academy and the imperial court cannot possibly agree to them.”

“But you still have to listen to them.”

“It’s already noon, let’s eat first.”

Ning Que got Ye Hongyu to change out of her Divine Robe of Judgement. What was lamentable was that her clothing from back then was still in the Plum Gardens.

The two walked to the edge of Yanming Lake and crossed the wooden bridge in the south that was nestled in the reeds. They entered the streets and left Liu Yiqing and Xie Chengyun at the doors.

They bought a few hotcakes on the streets and Ning Que brought her towards the Southern City. They saw many civilians who were holding crutches and many soldiers who were injured.

The injured soldiers were mostly brought back from the frontlines. They all looked pathetic with their arms and legs broken. The civilians were mostly injured on the day the Abbey Dean entered Chang’an.

“The whole city is filled with those on crutches.”

Ye Hongyu said, “The Tang Empire is already so pathetic, why does the Academy insist on holding on?”

Ning Que answered, “The same image you see can be interpreted differently. To the Divine Hall, these injured people on crutches prove that the Tang Empire is about to fall. But you see, it proves that the Tang Empire is still powerful because we can save our injured soldiers from the frontlines. And the most important things is, even against an enemy that is as terrifying as the Abbey Dean, even the most ordinary Tang citizen would dare to fight him. A city filled with people on crutches? No, these are not crutches. To me, they are all blades. They are very sharp blades.”

Ye Hongyu did not say anything else.

Ning Que stooped at the entrance of the Southern City’s Shishi alley. There were two large trees at the entrance that were of unknown variety. They were slowly turning green in the spring wind.

Ye Hongyu asked, “Has the Calligraphy Addict left?”

Ning Que answered, “She is studying with Eldest Brother in the Academy.”

Ye Hongyu said, “If she seeks for Heaven’s Way, how can she be trapped by love?”

“I thought of the very same question a few days ago.”

Ning Que walked under the tree. He found it difficult to find green shoots on the bald branches.

“We saw these two trees turning green in the spring wind earlier. But now that we are under the tree, it is difficult to find green shoots. Heaven’s Way is like spring. You can only look upon it from afar. And things like the love between humans in the mortal world are like the green shoots. You can see Heaven’s will, but you cannot catch it. And precisely because you do not wish to lower yourself into the dirt and refuse to look at the ugly bare tree trunks, Heaven’s Way becomes a small matter.”

He looked at Ye Hongyu and frowned, “I did not see Second Brother fighting against Liu Bai and Ye Su at the Verdant Canyon, but you saw it. Have your opinions not changed?”

Ye Hongyu thought of what her brother said before leaving and was silent.

“Everyone’s path is different, and Teacher’s path was one that went against Heaven. What is yours?”

Ning Que looked at her and said, “What are you pursuing in this life? You wanted to chase after your brother in the past and become a powerhouse in Haotian Taoism, then allow your brother to become the Abbey Dean. But what’s the point of becoming the Abbey Dean? The Abbey Dean traveled across the South Sea aimlessly for decades and was unable to return to the Zhishou Abbey. After that, you wanted to become the most powerful person and outstrip your brother. What was the point? We might be the two people in the world who are best at fighting and have no opponents in our state. But have you considered that I cannot become the Headmaster and you cannot be as powerful as the Abbey Dean? What is the point of us continuing in cultivation?”

Ye Hongyu said, “Not everything has to be meaningful.”

Ning Que said, “Teacher once said that we live not for any meaning, but to have meaning.”

Ye Hongyu said, “I live to become more powerful.”

Ning Que asked, “I once thirsted to become powerful because I had to survive with Sangsang. Furthermore, I wanted to seek revenge, which is why I was obsessed. But you have lived in the Zhishou Abbey since you were a child, and then, you entered the Revelation Institute on Peach Mountain and entered the Judicial Department after that. Your life has been smooth sailing. Where did your obsession come from?”

Ye Hongyu said calmly, “Not everything has a reason. You can understand my growing powerful as an instinct. Just like how when ants see two leaves and would want to reach out for the bigger of the two. As a cultivator, I’m not interested in power or profit. But I enjoy the feeling of watching the scenery from the peak.”

Ning Que thought of how he had successfully scaled the mountain and watched the scene before him from the peak. The starlight was silver and the clouds floated around the peak. He could vaguely see a few peaks in the distance, it was absolutely beautiful.

“That feeling is indeed really good.”

He agreed with Ye Hongyu.

Ye Hongyu said, “You did not kill Li Yu, are you not worried about internal strife?”

Ning Que looked at the peaceful expressions of the pedestrians on the street. He said, “Have you seen any possibility of chaos in Chang’an? There are many Divine Hall spies in Chang’an, and you should know that I can kill her any time. I just do not wish to kill her for now.”

“Do you not wish to kill her, or can you not bear to?”

Ye Hongyu said, “You did not kill her because of her relationship with the Golden Palace. You did not mention the Golden Palace earlier, so it seems like you have already made preparations on the northern front.”

Ning Que said, “I do not have any preparations.”

Ye Hongyu answered, “The Divine Hall has power over the Golden Palace, to a degree that the Academy cannot imagine.”

Ning Que answered, “Isn’t it just Tengri? I already thought it was weird when I passed through the Wilderness last year. After that, I got someone to check it out for me, and only realized that the Divine Hall had been preaching in the Golden Palace through the years. It might seem interesting, but does Haotian think we won’t recognize him just by changing his vest?”

Ye Hongyu did not think that he already knew of the matter. She said, “You do not have any arrangements regarding the northern front and you have also rejected the Divine Hall’s good intentions. What do you intend to do with the Golden Palace?”

Ning Que answered, “I have only one intention towards the Golden Palace.”

Ye Hongyu asked, “What is it?”

Ning Que answered, “To kill them all.”