Translator: TransN Editor: TransN
Since Ning Que had pulled his bow and arrows to help them in the edge of the dark blue lake and had hunted together on the way to the Wilderness, Ning Que and Great River Kingdom Black Ink Garden disciples had already been very familiar with each other. After fighting a bloody combat side by side below the meadow, they had gotten even more intimate.
Over the following days, Ning Que had been in the horse carriage for recuperation. At the same time, he reformed the female Talisman Master’s conceptions of the world, life, and fighting. So he seldom went out, and even took breaks and had meals inside the horse carriage.
In the eyes of those Black Ink Garden disciples, it looked a little strange. They knew clearly that Hill Master seemed to be indifferent in nature but, in fact, was mild and moderate. But she had never been so close to a young man. Zhuo Zhihua also thought that this was not appropriate, but just felt that Ning Que had suffered a serious injury. So Zhuo Zhihua was too embarrassed to let him get out.
In fact, Ning Que had recovered quickly and no longer had hemoptysis by the second night. His sense of perception that had suffered great turmoil had gradually subsided, and his occasional episodes of dizziness never appeared again.
Black Ink Garden disciples like Zhuo Zhihua were not too clear of his physical condition. But Mo Shanshan had witnessed his whole recovery process and could not help feeling kind of puzzled.
On that night when Ning Que drew his bow to kill a few Horse Gang men, Mo Shanshan had felt Psyche Power fluctuation beside her and had guessed that Ning Que must be a cultivator. For this, she was not too surprised, for a wonderful place like the Academy must choose uncommon students to go alone into the Wilderness to perform a task.
However, that Horse Gang leader was a Psyche Master who had entered the upper Seethrough State. If she had not learned Half Divine Talisman on Mogan Mountain last spring, she would have had no way to hurt the leader. If such a strong Psyche Master had used their full strength to attack Ning Que, generally Ning Que was very likely to become an idiot because of his severely damaged sense of perception, if he was even able to survive. How could he be so talkative and enraptured now? Was it possible that his Psyche Power was even stronger than hers?
Calligraphy Addict was not good at talking with people, especially not willing to pry into others’ privacy. So even if she had doubts about Ning Que one after another, she did not ask him but quietly sat by the carriage window. She used elegant small characters to record his guidance and carefully chose what she could study to learn by heart.
Ning Que spoke highly of her when seeing her characters, for Mo Shanshan’s calligraphy was indeed excellent. When her ink brush fell on the paper, the characters were round and not exaggerated, but soft and powerful. The vigor of her writing style flickered but was clear, well-suited, fresh, and gratifying.
At this moment, he realized the reason why the Black Ink Garden female disciples had laughed so happily when, in the camp a few days ago, he had praised that the female Talisman Master wrote in a similar style as his—Calligraphy Addict was addicted to calligraphy. The calligraphy here was an elegant calligraphy of writing and sections rather than a common book for reading and circulation. In the eyes of the Black Ink Garden disciples, he, as an ordinary person, dared to say that Talisman Master wrote in a similar style to his, which was indeed a ridiculous thing.
The Black Ink Garden disciples got on the horse carriages and rode horses, diverting from the northeast to the northwest at an ice crossing. On the direct way to the palace, they rarely saw people but more often saw cold-proof furry sheep and desolate lands. The road was still difficult for them to walk on.
The carriage was constantly fluctuating. Ning Que saw her hand motionlessly holding a brush beside the window and her tidy handwriting on the paper. He could not help giving birth to lament. Since his own reputation of a Talisman Taoism genius had become unreal in the face of this girl, could his title of a calligraphy master also be stolen by her?
He put the cotton pad to the rear of the carriage and lay down comfortably, with his face very close to her white skirt edge hanging on the floor. Then he stretched out his hand to take out one of the sheets of paper on a small table and could not help being startled when he looked down at it.
There were very familiar words on that piece of paper.
“Sangsang, I, your young master, am drunk today and won’t…”
When Ning Que was watching the young female Talisman Master quietly writing beside the window, he remembered Third Sister at the east window of the old library and started to miss the Academy in the south of Chang’an, the days in Back Mountain, and those lovely Brothers and Sisters. At this time, as he suddenly saw his own Chicken Soup Calligraphy copy in the faraway Wilderness, he began to miss the alley of Chang’an Eastern City, the days in the Old Brush Pen Shop, and that thin, black girl.
Out of the corner of her eye, Mo Shanshan noticed that he had changed his facial expression. So she turned around with her hands placed on the floor and found that he was looking at her high-priced Chicken Soup Calligraphy. She could not help feeling startled and asked, “Senior Brother Thirteen, do you also understand calligraphy?”
It must be said that this girl Calligraphy Addict was really not good at communicating with others. If other people inquired, they probably would say: “Senior Brother, you also like calligraphy?” But she was too straightforward and completely ignored the listener’s feelings.
Ning Que had long been accustomed to her surprising words emerging just like Second Brother’s ancient crown from time to time. He simply did not mind and shrugged to reply. “A little bit.”
Mo Shanshan had asked him whether he knew Talisman Taoism and his answer was: “A little bit”. At this time, when they talked about calligraphy, his answer was still: “A little bit”. In front of other people, he would probably have the confidence to say that he was a Talisman Taoism genius and a calligraphy master. But in the face of the well-known Calligraphy Addict, he felt that it was easier not to lose face if he kept a low profile.
Mo Shanshan looked at him and suddenly asked, “What do you think of this section?”
Her facial expression was very focused, as if she valued Ning Que’s answer very much.
Ning Que did not expect that she would ask for his opinion. He said, “You mean Chicken Soup Calligraphy?”
Mo Shanshan looked at him and seriously said, “Senior Brother, you are a student of the Academy in Chang’an. Of course, you must have heard about Chicken Soup Calligraphy. I heard this was a masterpiece made by a person in the Academy. So I’d like to hear your opinion.”
There was an old sentence which said: Knowing yourself is always the most difficult. But no one knew it was also difficult to comment on oneself, especially when the listener did not know it and one wanted to praise himself.
Although Ning Que did not have any malicious intention to hide his true identity in front of Black Ink Garden disciples, it would inevitably be embarrassing to be exposed, for the relationship between the two parties had become so intimate. Therefore, he had to keep the information for the time being before any proper opportunity appeared. Therefore, at this point, it was more embarrassing for him to face this situation.
And he did not know what the female Talisman Master thought about Chicken Soup Calligraphy and its writer. It would be fine if she loved or admired it. Was it not very troublesome if she hated his calligraphy? This possibility was not small. Although it was said that no calligraphy master could rank first, there were always clashes of poets and calligraphy writers that took place during their meetings in Chang’an City. So a person who was good at calligraphy, like Mo Shanshan, would always despise other calligraphy writers.
Men of letters despised each other, so did calligraphy writers.
“This sect writer fully showed the vigor of his writing style and did not know to hide it. With a scattered character shape but without spirit, it seemed to be original. In fact, the writer just used some evil means and writing styles. It didn’t have an honest elegant style, so it’s worthless.”
He did not hesitate to calmly demean Chicken Soup Calligraphy and hid all the awkwardness and bitterness in his body. He dared not reveal his slightest true feelings. This might be the so-called price he had to pay.
Mo Shanshan quietly looked at him and seemingly wanted to distinguish if what he said were true words or arbitrarily derogatory ones. After a long period of time, she again conscientiously asked, “What did Senior Brother think of the Flower Blooms Sect?”
Ning Que looked at her and, with a slight shock, said, “Sister, you even read the Flowers Blooms Sect?”
Mo Shanshan shook her head and said, “I collected some copies of that calligraphy writer in the Academy. But the Flowers Blooms Sect was hidden deep in the court. Even its copies were also collected in those royal mansions in Chang’an City. So I only heard its name but didn’t see it.”
Ning Que felt slightly relaxed and said with a smile, “I have never seen it, so I can’t comment.”
Mo Shanshan slightly lowered her eyesight on that Chicken Soup Calligraphy copy in his hands. No one knew what she was thinking. She just gently sighed and turned around, continuing to write her Hairpin-style Small Regular Script.
In the battle below the meadow on that day, she saw the picture over the fire wall, but failed to see a fleeting fire in front of the Horse Gang leader’s face. If she had known that Ning Que beside her was also a Talisman Taoism master, perhaps her idea would have been completely different and have had a totally different performance at this time.
…
…
Deep into the Wilderness, they went from the northeast to the northwest. Soon they could see that touch of dim mountain shade in the faraway sky.
Min Mountain was the world’s most magnificent and the longest mountain, extending south from the depth of the Wilderness to the southern Hebei County of the Tang Empire, a place close to Chang’an City. No one knew know how many kilometers it had extended, as if it was a precious sword left by Haotian in the northern land.
Min Mountain was interrupted in the middle of the Wilderness. It formed a natural canyon, in whose western side lay a city heavily guarded by the elite North Road soldiers of the Tang Empire. And due to this interruption, Min Mountain was also divided into two, North Mountain and South Mountain.
The vast Min Mountain that Ning Que had lived in was its southern section. And its northern section was set deep in the Wilderness, which was called Zhashi Mountain by the barbarians, namely Tianqi Mountain. It meant if one walked out of this mountain, one would be abandoned by Haotian.
There was a fertile pasture in the east of Tianqi Mountain. Left-Tent Chanyu’s tribe had lived in that pasture for generations, and the palace was also there.
Ning Que looked at that mountain shadow in the faraway sky dome through the window and naturally thought of Min Mountain in the south, the North Road military fort over that mountain, and those old guys in the City of Wei. He had left Blue Water Battalion to be in the food team and the Wilderness for many days. But that mountain was still there, as if it had not changed its appearance at all.
It seemed that it was near but was actually far away, not to mention it was such a magnificent steep mountain. The palace was nearby, but it would still take some time to arrive there. As the distance got closer, Ning Que became more and more silent. He spent more time to hide in the horse carriage and refused to come down. Even Cat Girl called him to see cranes in the wetland, but he did not move an inch.
Because he needed time to think about two very important issues.
The Horse Gang who had attacked them in the meadow must have tracked them for many days. Later, it had been determined that the goal of the Horse Gang was Ning Que himself. It showed that the force behind the Horse Gang had known that Ning Que had left Blue Water Battalion to enter the food team.
Whose subordinates were the Horse Gang or the groups of the Horse Gangs? Who wanted to kill him? Who was the Horse Gang leader? A Psyche Master in the Seethrough State certainly could not simply be a Horse Gang leader. In the battle, Ning Que had felt a kind of military aura, which made him feel heavy-hearted.
The Horse Gang leader’s right arm was cut off by Ning Que. If the leader did not die in the Wilderness after being rescued by his subordinates, he would certainly need a place for healing. A common Horse Gang gathering place could not cure such a heavy injury. That leader needed a doctor, drugs, and time efficiency. But the place that was close to the meadow and could help cure a broken arm happened to be the Left-Tent Palace.
The forage had been ruined. Ning Que did not object to Mo Shanshan insisting on taking Black Ink Garden disciples to the palace. In addition to the friendship formed in the fighting, another reason was this point.
Even though the person behind the Horse Gang was the palace Chanyu or someone else, Ning Que firmly believed that as long as the Horse Gang thief was alive, then at this time there was at least a 90% chance for the leader to hide in the palace.
Ning Que wanted to find the leader to ask him some questions and then kill him.
In addition, he was still reflecting on what he had done since he left the Academy and came to the Wilderness.
From an early age, he had analyzed and summarized every difficult battle of life and death afterward. Just because of that, he could survive with Sangsang.
Introspection had become somehow a kind of instinct to him. However, his introspection in the horse carriage this time was much deeper than every reflection in the past years, and even went all the way back to all his behavior after he had left the City of Wei and entered Chang’an.
After a long period of silent thought, he confirmed that after leaving the City of Wei, especially after entering the Academy, his many behaviors or choices were not the most appropriate ones, for he was caught in some kind of misunderstandings.
While in the City of Wei, he became accustomed to fighting alone, probing the enemies’ information for the general and chasing the Horse Gangs with his fellows. So, this time he took the Academy students to practice in the Wilderness. With two important tasks delivered by His Majesty and the Master of Nation, he was still accustomed to doing so, disguised to enter a food team for his wish of acting secretly.
However, he had forgotten that he himself was no longer a minor soldier in the City of Wei, a scout or a wood-cutting man in Shubi Lake, but a core disciple of the Headmaster of the Academy, a student of the Academy’s Back Mountain, a golden secret scout of His Majesty, and a visiting professor in the South School of Haotian Taoism and the Imperial Center Administration.
Acting secretly meant that his innumerable identities and backgrounds that made people envious and have admiration all had no significance. When that commander of cavalrymen of Divine Hall knew Mo Shanshan was a Calligraphy Addict, he dared not to do or say anything wild. If Ning Que showed his identity as a disciple of the Academy’s Back Mountain, how did those Horse Gangs dare to convene to attack?
There was also an extremely important point—Before leaving the Academy, Second Brother in Back Mountain specifically reminded him that the Academy people could only bully others instead of being bullied when going out of the Academy. How arrogant those words were. And now he did not show his identity as a disciple of the Academy’s Back Mountain, who would know this was an arrogant Academy person even if he really behaved arrogantly?
Ning Que used his hand to hold his jaw, leaning against the horse carriage window. He watched the faraway mountain range and faintly visible tents. Then he could not help thinking with lament that even if a poor boy in the countryside earned a lot of money after going into the city, this boy would only secretly buy some houses and eat several bowls of hot and spicy shredded noodles. He had been a common person for too long. So some time was still needed for him to get used to bullying others.
…
…
The cold winter had come and there were frozen lands everywhere. Maybe because of the terrestrial heat among the mountains, there were scattered lively green grasses on the pastures below Tianqi Mountain. Those tents were in full bloom between the grasslands like white clouds.
Two horse carriages and a couple of weary horses carried the Great River Kingdom Black Ink Garden disciples to the grassland periphery. With no food team behind them and no guarding cavalry to protect them, they looked rather bleak.
A peace talk had officially begun between the Left-Tent Palace of grassland barbarians and the Central Plains Coalition Army. All forces took their cavalries to gather here. From a long distance, one could hear those noisy lively sounds and did not know how many people were drinking or talking there.
A group of palace cavalry welcomed those Black Ink Garden disciples to the camp. It was clear that word of the meadow attack and that Half Divine Talisman had spread, and they knew Calligraphy Addict was in the horse carriage. So the performance of the cavalry could be counted as respectful.
On the contrary, the Central Plains ambassadors and guards in the camp looked somewhat indifferent towards the Black Ink Garden disciples. They did not understand since the forage was destroyed, why these people did not return to the North of Yan Kingdom, but to the palace. Did these Black Ink Garden students not know that Divine Hall and some bigwigs in the coalition forces were extremely dissatisfied with their performance?
