Nightfall

The Beginning of the Blood-Filled Journey to the Throne

Eldest Brother said, “I don’t understand why master would say that.”

The Chief Preaching Monk looked at him and gently said, “You are the Headmaster’s student. You should know how he is like. If he really thought that killing Sangsang would cause Yama to invade us, he would have brought Ning Que and Sangsang back to the Academy. Would everything that had happened since autumn happen then?”

Eldest Brother fell into silence.

“I heard Ye Su once said in Lanke Temple that Haotian Taoism is doing the right thing while the Buddhism Sect is doing what we think we should do. Only you all at the Academy have been doing what makes you happy all along.”

The Chief Preaching Monk looked at him and said, “You people at the Academy do not have beliefs, respect nor fear. You might be infinitely powerful. But in the end, you might discover that you don’t understand what would make you happy.”

“I don’t know if the Headmaster is happy or not. But I know that he is hesitating. He does not know what is the right thing to do and what he should do to make himself happy. When you return to the Academy, please give him my regards and tell him that to a large extent, the future of the world lies in his hesitation today.”

With that, the Chief Preaching Monk held his monk’s staff and climbed up the horse carriage with difficulty. The sixteen horses neighed painfully and pulled the carriage out of the temple.

Eldest Brother remained silent as he watched the slow retreating horse carriage. He thought to himself, “Could teacher be hesitating? If he wasn’t hesitating, he would have long acted.”

Winter had ended, but spring had not yet fully arrived. Among the hills in the north of the Yuelun Kingdom, vegetation was turning green, but it was still vaguely hidden between the withered and frosted leaves.

Both sides of the path were rather bare, and when the horse carriage sped past, it looked like a single block of color moving. It was no better off than the plainness in the Wilderness.

In the carriage, Sangsang was dressed in fur clothing and was huddled under thick bedding. Her face was pale and she held a leather pouch filled with strong liquor. She would take a few gulps whenever she felt cold. It could slightly warm her chest and abdomen, but it could not stop her cough.

Ning Que stared at the small medicine bottle above the copper basin. He’d count the time carefully and cough softly every now and then. The injury he had suffered in Chaoyang City was basically healed, but he still had some small problems with his lungs.

Sangsang was injured by the arrow but had recovered under his care. What made him uneasy now was that he did not know if it was due to the continuous escape that the cold aura in her body seemed to show signs of acting up again.

The slightly pungent smell of medicine gradually spread through the carriage. He took down the medicine bottle and placed it on the floor to cool. Then, he took the liquor pouch from Sangsang and stuffed a Buddhist scripture into her hands.

“I can memorize it,” said Sangsang, looking at him pathetically.

Ning Que’s heart was like steel and he was unmoved. He said, “Master Qishan said you have to continue reading scriptures and studying Buddhism. It’s pointless even if you can memorize it. You have to understand Buddhism through reading the scriptures.”

Sangsang said, “I’ve read so many scriptures, but I don’t know if they’re useful.”

“Didn’t we confirm that it is useful in Chaoyang City?”