Nightfall

The Moon Does Wax and Wane, and People Do Suffer Old Age and Illness

The relationship between Ning Que and Ye Hongyu had always been very subtle ever since they met many years ago. It was because they had felt irreconcilable hatred for each other and also fought side by side.

Before the Rite to Light, he went to the Divine Hall of Judgement to see Ye Hongyu, and she did him a favor. Ning Que was still grateful and wanted to pay her back, so he answered her question sincerely.

Which was more important, faith or revenge? Ning Que knew that Ye Hongyu was practical, just like himself. Then her question must point to something specifically, but what was it?

“After you and Haotian left, the Abbey Dean came to Peach Mountain.” Ye Hongyu explained, “The Hierarch seemed to submit himself to the rule of the Abbey Dean, but actually Taoism is still in the balance of power. Long Qing has become very powerful. All these things bother me.”

Ning Que said, “So you chose to leave Peach Mountain.”

Ye Hongyu said, “I just came to see where you are taking Haotian.”

Ning Que asked, “Why do you want to see her?”

After a moment of silence, Ye Hongyu answered, “I just want to gain courage through her.”

Ning Que somehow understood what she meant, “I think you have already started. I really want to know the hatred between you and Xiong Chumo.”

The purge from last night was a reaction of the Divine Hall of Light be means of the divinity of Haotian. The Divine Hall should not have responded so quickly and resolutely. However, it’s not hard to see that it was the Hierarch’s trusted followers who conducted the last purge inside the Divine Hall of Light.

The purge would inevitably shake the authority of the Hierarch in the end.

Ye Hongyu did not answer directly but claimed, “I am only doing what Haotian would love to see.”

Ning Que said, “You are playing the strategy of controlling Haotian and commanding Taoism.”

Ye Hongyu looked at him and mocked, “Isn’t it exactly what you have been trying to do?”

Since she refused to tell the details of her hatred, Ning Que didn’t try to get to the bottom. He went silent for a while and asked, “What is your plan if you were to ever succeed?”

Ye Hongyu answered, “I will figure that out later.”

Ning Que asked, “What is the point of becoming the new Hierarch of the Divine Hall or the Abbey Dean?” He once said similar words to her in Chang’an last year.

“The Academy always needs a cause to justify its actions, but for me, I only value whether or not an action is worthwhile.”

Ye Hongyu added, “I have already made up my mind regarding my own business. Where do you want to take Haotian? The whole world is now trying to guess your destination.”

Ning Que answered, “I don’t get to pick our destination. In fact, she is the one who wants to see the world. All the places we visited were picked by her.”

Ye Hongyu didn’t know how to respond, for the current situation had never appeared in human history. Even the Abbey Dean had no experience of this, so he did nothing but waited quietly.

Ning Que said, “Now I can only take one step and look around before taking another.”

Ye Hongyu said, “It’s like crossing the river by feeling the stones.”

Thinking of the picture of how they crossed the Great River, Ning Que smiled and said, “We don’t have to feel the stones while crossing the river.”