Nightfall

Fall in the Wilderness was a little colder, but the man standing in the foothills did not seem cold. The wind blustered around him, blowing the furs on his body aside to reveal a muscular physique.

His body seemed to contain immeasurable strength, almost as if he could move mountains and decimate cities with a wave of his hand. Now, he stood as motionless as a rock, not because he was afraid of unleashing this force, but because a small girl in a very small sedan was perched on his shoulders, and he was worried about jolting her unnecessarily.

He was Tang, a wayfarer of the Devil’s Doctrine sect. The girl in the sedan, resting her chin on her hand in boredom, seemed to be twelve or thirteen. She was the teacher he had not seen in many years, the current Twenty-Three-Year Cicada and the leader of the Devil’s Doctrine sect.

She was also the third senior student of the Academy’s Back Hill, Yu Lian.

In the war between Chang’an and the Abbey Dean, Yu Lian had leaped into the sky to fight. Afterward, she fell into Snow Street. Although she had mastered the Devil’s Doctrine technique, she still sustained major injuries. Her sturdy ankle was pulverised. It had not been easy for her to heal to the point where she no longer needed a wheelchair, but walking was still difficult. Thus, here in the Wilderness, she sat in the sedan on Tang’s back.

She looked at the vast plains of the Wilderness that stretched out before her and the gorge that loomed in the distance, half-obscured. She said. “You can’t even accomplish such a simple task. You’ve disappointed me.”

The cold winds blew, making her long pigtails flutter behind her. The braids and her bright eyes almost made her seem adorable. At the same time, her face was emotionless, and she had the aloof air of a sect leader. This made her seem quite intimidating.

Tang said, “The Golden Tribe Royal Court intends to attack Helan in deep winter. This news has already spreaded through the Wilderness. Even if our tribe wants to lend assistance, the tens of thousands of the Left Royal Court cavalrymen in the eastern regions of the Wilderness would be too much of an obstacle.”

Yu Lian said, “It would be easy to pass through after killing all those stupid cavalrymen.”

Tang was confused. He asked, “How do we kill them?”

Matter-of-factly, Yu Lian replied, “Your wounds are all healed. In your current state of cultivation, would it be a problem for you to kill two hundred idiots on horseback?”

Tang thought about it for a second, then replied, “It should be no problem.”

“If you kill two hundred cavalrymen a day, you only need a hundred days to kill twenty thousand cavalrymen. Even if the Left Royal Court still has forty thousand cavalrymen, they will still be killed by you eventually.”

Tang was speechless. He thought, Why would the troops just sit there like lambs to the slaughter? Why would they deliver two hundred cavalrymen to you every day, and what if they decided to send out ten thousand cavalrymen to you at once? War could not be solved by a simple formula. His teacher had not been around for years. Anyone would struggle to understand her logic.

“There’s nothing to be confused about.”

Yu Lian said, “That wastrel Long Qing is no longer in the East Wilderness, so the backbone of the Left Royal Court is gone. If you do as I say, dealing with these savage cavalrymen will be even easier than defeating wastrels.”

Tang felt that there was no need to continue this discussion with his teacher. He said, “I want to go to Peach Mountain.”

Yu Lian replied, “It’s too late to go now.”

Tang paused. “Teacher, why did you choose to come to the Wilderness instead of Peach Mountain?”

Yu Lian hugged her knees to her chest and said, “My wounds have not yet healed, what’s the point of going to Peach Mountain? Honestly, in the current situation, there’s no point in anyone going there.”

“We have no knowledge of what the current situation is.”

“It’s definitely chaos up there.”

“Who would have gone?”

“What kind of person is the Hierarch? As long as he’s alive he, has an opinion about everything, and his opinion is always unsatisfactory to the Taoists. Now that I think about it, the branch from the South Sea should be there by now.”

“The Divine Priest of the South Sea’s successor?”

“That’s right. I think Liu Bai should be there too.”

“Why would he want to participate in the Rite of Light?”

“Because she wants to leave during the Rite of Light, but he doesn’t want her to?”

“Liu Bai has that kind of courage?”

“It’s lonely at the top. The strongest person is always the loneliest. It’s unavoidable that they have some thoughts they shouldn’t be thinking.”

“Why is Liu Bai the strongest?”

“Because he lent a sword to Chao Xiaoshu and Elder Brother implanted messages in Chao Xiaoshu’s mind about the philosophies and viewpoints of those in Chang’an and the Academy.”

“Actually, I still don’t understand why Liu Bai agreed to lend him the sword.”

Tang cut a mighty figure in the Wilderness, but at this moment, with Yu Lian on his back, he seemed every bit the honest, obedient disciple, earnestly deep in thought.

Yu Lian said, “He did it because he admired Chao Xiaoshu. He did not kill him last time, and he won’t do it this time either.”

Tang replied, “Maybe it was not out of admiration.”

Yu Lian said, “Don’t forget, Liu Bai cultivates the way of the sword.”

Tang understood what his teacher was saying. Swordsmen were as sharp and direct as their swords. If Liu Bai did not dare to kill Chao Xiaoshu because of the Tang Kingdom’s power or the Academy’s reputation, how could he have become the world’s greatest Sage of Sword?

He asked, “Is Liu Bai capable of defeating the Drunkard?”

“Liu Bai doesn’t even see the Drunkard as a threat,” Yu Lian said. “Even if he does not die this time, the Drunkard will definitely die at the hands of the Academy.”

Tang thought for a moment. “Is this the kind of change you wanted to see?”

With a wave of her soft hand against the spring breeze, Yu Lian replied nonchalantly, “Even I don’t know what changes will come.”

At these words, an expression of worry crossed the steady Tang’s serene face.

Yu Lian knew what he was anxious about. “Although everyone is waiting for the changes I’ve predicted, I haven’t set any plans into action. How can anything I do change the will of the heavens?”

Tang now looked troubled.

His most precious little sister was now at Peach Mountain fighting for that fatty who deserved to die. If everything was in the hands of fate, how could she possibly succeed and leave safely?

“Are you saying that Liu Bai won’t fight?”

“Both Jun Mo and I think he will fight; it’s only a question of when. Of course, once he makes a single move, there will be trouble from that person in the Divine Hall of Light. One could call that the change.”

“Even the Headmaster of the Academy can’t defeat her, how could Liu Bai?”

“It should be obvious to Liu Bai that he can’t defeat her, but his sword is still there. He must think that the Academy’s point of view is interesting, so he wants to be part of this interesting event.”

“In what way is it interesting?”

Yu Lian said, “We told him that once he made a move, it would give her trouble. To Liu Bai, there is nothing more interesting than doing something that would make even Haotian troubled.”

Tang furrowed his brow. “What kind of trouble?”

“Even if she were Heaven, she would have to pay a price to defeat the strongest cultivator in the world. She would probably become weak, maybe anxious, then sensitive.”

“I don’t understand.” Tang was confused.

“If she begins to become worried and oversensitive, Ning Que stands a chance to defeat her.”

Yu Lian grinned. “When I say that there’s no point for anyone to go to Peach Mountain today, that doesn’t include Ning Que. He has a purpose and he’s there right now.”

Tang still didn’t understand. If even the Headmaster couldn’t defeat her, what could Ning Que possibly do?

…