Nightfall

“The term ‘Old friend’ is not appropriate.” Zhong Dajun glared at that back in the Rain-proof Corridor, furiously saying, “Who knows how Her Highness meet him, and is cheated by him.”

Ahead of the study room, the strong-built Chu Zhongtian rubbed his head and said, “I have mentioned it to the elders in my family when I was back home. My fifth uncle wrote back to me and explained he had asked about Ning Que from Hua Shanyue, the Senior Captain of Gushan Commandery. He replied that Ning Que was merely a solider of the City of Wei who had escorted Her Highness on the journey back and might have made some contributions too. Her Highness wanted to repay his help, and so gave him special care in Chang’an city.”

As the most outstanding one in terms of study among the thirty-seven grandsons of the sixteenth guard general Chu Xiongtu, Chu Zhongtian was a favorite with all his family members, so he needn’t step aside when government affairs were discussed in his family. Therefore, his words were always trusted.

“It seems that the encounter before the old library the other day was just a coincidence. As for his contribution on Her Highness’s journey back… ”

Zhong Dajun snorted indifferently, “What contributions can he make as a foot soldier? Oh, I see, putting up tents, holding the horse and picking up argol can all be counted as a help. It is not strange that Her Highness gives him special care, for she is virtuous and kind. But who can predict that this vile guy should borrow Her Highness’s fame to raise his own status. How mean he is.”

At these utterances, Situ Yilan, who had been sitting in silence beside the table suddenly, stood up and retorted, “When does Ning Que borrow Her Highness’s fame to raise his own status? Do you know what Ning Que actually did during Her Highness’s journey back from City of Wei? I know. If he just did trifle things like picking up argol, why did Her Highness come to see him personally that day?”

Then her arched eyebrows tilted up and she continued in a deep tone, “You said Ning Que was vile and mean, then I wonder, what do you think of gossiping about others like this? If you really think he is low, then tell him in his face. But just like what he said, you don’t have the courage, because you are afraid of him.”

Zhong Dajun became extremely awkward. He never expected this noble girl of Chang’an to speak for Ning Que even if he had offended most of his schoolmates. So he suppressed his fury forcibly and defended himself, “I am not afraid. But we are all cultivated scholars, how can we fight so brutally with that young barbarian?”

Situ Yilan showed no intention of answering him but turned back to see her companion whispering with Xie Chengyun. Frowning, she asked unpleasantly, “Wucai, wanna go back?”

Jin Wucai took a furtive look at Xie Chengyun and then said to Situ Yilan with a smile, “You go first, I’ll go later… to the old library to read books.”

Situ Yilan knew it was just her excuse, so she didn’t bother with it. She packed up her stationery and walked to Xie Chengyun. Looking at this reputed talent from South Jin Kingdom she said, “Wucai is the most adored granddaughter of Libationer of Tang. Although you are quite famous for your talent in South Jin Kingdom, you still have to enter the Second floor first.”

Xie Chengyun understood what she meant quickly and replied with a confident smile, “I will try my best.”

Zhong Dajun was still offended by Situ Yilan’s defense of Ning Que, so he sneered, “If Mr. Xie fails to enter the Second floor, then nobody in our grade can make it. Or perhaps you think… that Ning Que can make it?”

Situ Yilan frowned at him and turned to leave with great anger. How could she promise that Ning Que had the ability to enter the Second floor in front of her schoolmates? She didn’t have the confidence in him, not to mention that Ning Que probably didn’t either in himself.

…

…

After having three slices of fried steam buns and a bowl of golden millet gruel at the canteen, Ning Que passed through the wetland at his quickest speed to the tranquil old library, where he went upstairs to the second floor. This second floor was not the one mentioned above. However, it held the same significance to him with its fragrant smell of books and faded ink.

Inside the building it was pleasantly cool, as if the fragrance of books could usher in calmness, or merely because the fervor sunshine was prevented by the tightly-closed west window. Up the second floor, Ning Que found that his complaints and grumbles previously aroused in the study room, like the hotness and sweat, were cleared off in an instant.

Walking to the east window, Ning Que looked at the petite female professor who was delicate and peaceful, and respectfully bowed to greet her as usual. Then he straightened up. Staring at her pretty side-face with no trace of age and thinking of her indifferent reaction towards him when he was lying on the ground, heavily-injured the day before yesterday, he felt totally confused. He was about to ask for an explanation from her, yet finally gave up.

The female professor seemed to have forgotten the scene she personally witnessed that day, and that the lad beside her was the one who had laid against the wall, desperately waiting to die. She slightly nodded at him in greeting as usual without a look at him or a word. She was just peacefully copying the Hairpin-style Small Regular Script from the book and it was impossible to notice the slight movement of her lower jaw without carefulness.

Ning Que smiled self-mockingly and rubbed his head. Then he wiped off those things from his mind and returned to the bookrack, squatting to draw out  Wu Shanyang’s Theory on Haoran Sword and then sat on the floor beside the west window to read it attentively by a faint light penetrating through the window paper.

He was totally incapable of remembering the content of classical cultivation books, and at the very beginning he even fainted at a look of figures in those books when his acupoints in Ocean of Qi and Mountain of Snow were blocked. Later he learned how to use Eight Strokes Calligraphy of Yong to deconstruct characters, which hence helped him to understand the implicated meanings behind the characters. Yet he was still troubled by those implicated intents. For example, the intent of those characters in this book about Haoran Sword was fiercely poking on him like sharp blades tormenting him.

He still did not know how many acupoints in his Ocean of Qi and Mountain of Snow were reconstructed. However, his Perception of that peaceful Breath of nature was enough to prove that his former anguish of blockedness had been mercily taken away by Haotian. He wondered what differences would be made when he read those books again.

There were indeed differences. The intent of those ink marks in the book entered his mind through his eyes, then gradually dispersed through his body, which was later transformed to a blade touring around. During the process, the previously unbearable suffering in his chest changed into a feeling of depression… and he felt that something was blocked, very blocked, extremely blocked.

The feeling was not good, which easily reminded him of that medicine made by Ma Yinglong pharmaceutical company. So after an attentive reading of more than an hour, he shook his head and put the book down, then walked to the west window to leave Chen Pipi a message.

“First, you can congratulate me, ’cause my acupoints are no longer blocked. Second, I still fail to find anything useful in these books, why? Third, can you offer some simple and workable methods? Lastly, thank you,”

Feeling a little regret, Ning Que went downstairs in the twilight and returned to Lin 47th Street of Chang’an City by horse carriage. Then he began to look forward to tomorrow’s Academy life, for he was curious about the answer from Chen Pipi.

He didn’t realize that this regret was actually an emotion that was totally undeserving. If those great masters from Haotian Divine Hall in West-Hill found a lad freshly entering the Initial Awareness State had expected to begin formal cultivation within a day, they would call it greedy and expel him from cultivation.

Similarly, if those Instructors of academy knew that one of their students, who just got ten of the seventeen acupoints in Ocean of Qi and Mountain of Snow unblocked, couldn’t wait to learn Haoran Sword, the unique skill of the Academy, they would definitely call him a narcissistic idiot and hit his palms a hundred times as punishment.

The engraving of Vermilion Bird by a Sage of the last generation in the Vermilion Bird Street of Chang’an, the mysterious big black umbrella with unknown sources at his back and the Heavenly Power Pill from some holy place of West-Hill were all most precious and marvellous existings in this world. Together, they brought such changes in his body.

A saying in the world of cultivation went that cultivation was a gift from Haotian which was picked up by a lucky person. It was against the will of Heaven to force an ordinary person without any potential of cultivation to pursue it and such a power was only possessed by god, or just recorded in Classics and passed from mouth to mouth. Only Haotian Devine Hall of West-Hill Divine Kingdom owned such power, which needed great devotions of those Great Divine Priests in a higher state.

Therefore, the ordinary cultivator beside Min Mountain, the Talisman Master of Military Ministry in charge of examination, the old man Lyu Qingchen he encountered in their journey back and Chen Pipi who left him messages could simply assert without any hesitation that Ning Que couldn’t pursue cultivation.

However, when the most marvellous existings-Vermilion Bird, Black Umbrella and Heavenly Power Pill intertwined with Ning Que at the same time, the circle of life moving forward slowly began to be stirred. (This sentence can be neglected)

In the pitch black darkness before dawn, the cultivator Yan Suqing concentrated all his life power to break through the defense in Ning Que’s chest made by his physical body. Later, the upper wing of Vermilion Bird changed into an intangible spear penetrating his Ocean of Qi and Mountain of Snow through the wound, and straight after, the Vermilion Bird burnt all it could touch with an invisible fire which would have finally put Ning Que to death.

The big black umbrella played a key role at this moment. It protected him like shadowy willows warding off sunshine, while rebuilding the Snow Mountain in his body with continuous chilly power from the night sky. But it was not enough, because this reconstructed micro-world in his body was too fragile and unstable and could collapse anytime.

Just then, Chen Pipi contributed a Heavenly Power Pill, which was as preciously as a virgin girl contributing her chastity.

God helped those who helped themselves. Perhaps Haotian began to compensate him for the bitterness and harshness he had experienced during the first decade of his life.

Ning Que didn’t realize that he had encountered the most magical luck in this world. Even if he knew, he still would not understand the reason and remained unsatisfied and regretful after his fate was changed against the will of Heaven. This really infuriated others and rendered them speechless

…

…

Chen Pipi was speechless and infuriated.

At the word “congratulate”, Chen Pipi realized that the guy’s fate should be forcibly changed against the will of Heaven and actually began his pursuit of cultivation. He then couldn’t help gaping, losing his ability to utter a word. He even suspected he had a blurred vision.

He had no idea of the miraculous fight with the engraving of Vermilion Bird and the one under the protection of the big black umbrella both using Ning Que’s body as the battlefield. However, as a cultivation genius cultivated both by the West-Hill and the Academy, he could figure out some causes and effects. But no matter in what way, he still failed to predict that Ning Que should have such a miracle fortune!”

His shock lasted for quite a long time, rendering him totally speechless for some time. A strong sense of admiration and jealousy aroused from the depth of his prideful but kind heart. He couldn’t refrain from being indignant again when he caught sight of those messages on the paper,

It was hot and dry in summer. Although cool breezes sometimes visited and the chirping of cicadas outside the west window gradually faded in the night, Chen Pipi still sweated profusely, not knowing it was caused by his fatness or the indignation. He unbuttoned his clothes and wrote back to him with great anger,

“First, I don’t want to congratulate you, ’cause the thing is too absurd to understand. Second, the useless one is not reading books but you, an idiot in cultivation. Third, I admit I envy you now, so I’m unwilling to give you directions.”

“Finally, please first thank Haotian and your ancestors, as for me… the hell thanks!”

…

…

When he was young, actually very young, Ning Que was constantly brain-washed by a sentence, the general idea of which was: The knowledge one masters is like a circle. The more you know, the bigger the circle is. Then you will find there is more and more knowledge that you don’t know.

He used to hate this sentence, not understanding why his mother and teachers always taught him such a pessimistic argument. However, when he finally knocked open the door of cultivation, he realized what the sentence conveyed was so real which made him confused and helpless, for he found what he couldn’t understand actually increased.

Getting the message from Chen Pipi, he went to the second floor to read cultivation books, earnestly following the idea in the message. But no matter how earnest he was, he still couldn’t get the trick.

He had been accustomed to the lineal thinking mode of killing people at grassland with three knives tied to the back. While it couldn’t be counted as a bad thing, Ning Que decided not to think further when confirming that he couldn’t go ahead, and turned to do something more important.

Nobody knew what Ning Que would do first after confirming he could pursue cultivation.

He didn’t indulge in calligraphy in the companionship of wine and songs all day long, nor did he find an Instructor of the academy to strongly ask for an intensive practice of the course of magic skills, yelling, “I made it! I made it!”. He even didn’t visit the princess’s residence and brazenly tell Li Yu that he was now a big investment. Besides staying at Old Brush Pen Shop with Sangsang basking in happiness privately, where they would raise their heads to look at each other like two idiots and then giggle inexplicably, he just showed off to Chen Pipi and then left for the Southern City.

At the gate of the famous Star-Picking Casino in the Southern City tonight, a master and his servant whispered nervously to each other.

The lad had a delicate appearance. He had shallow dimples in his cheek and black hair. He raised his head to take a glimpse at the golden powder-painted signboard of Star-Picking Casino and swallowed his saliva not knowing if he was nervousness or greedy. He then asked with his somewhat coarse throat, “Sangsang, if we win a big fortune later, will they come after us to kill us?”

The dark little handmaiden felt nervous too. With a heavy casket in the right hand, she hid behind the lad, listening to the bustlings spread out from that dim light and said in a trembling tone, “Young master, I’m more worried about your method. Percepting Qi of Heaven and Earth can help you to see the counts on the dice? Are you sure about that? If you gamble away all your silver later, you mustn’t use me as stake.”

“What nonsense! Moreover… even if I use you as stake, the casino may not even want you.” Ning Que rubbed his hands together nervously, saying, “As for how certain I am, I have shown you many times last night. I, your young master, never fight without confidence of success. Surely I will win, and the problem is, how to escape after I win.”

“You have confidence to win… ”

It seemed that Sangsang was not anxious about the way to escape at all. After Ning Que assured her that they could win, she bit her lips and made up her mind to fetch a little folded paper star from the old belt. She then murmured, “I have taken out two hundred taels of silver from under the bed to change for a note, and in the casket, there are still one hundred taels of silver… Young master, you take them all and try to win more.”