Nightfall

Never Let You Go

Sangsang set off from the walls and drifted toward the Ark in the clouds.

Ning Que held her legs and would not let her go.

Just like many years ago when the gate to Haotian’s Divine Kingdom opened in the clouds above the Wilderness, she floated toward the sky while he stood firmly in the Wilderness and held her legs tightly.

At that time, Sangsang floated up together with him, but the Headmaster eventually got them. Now the Headmaster was gone. Even though he did not want her to go, how would he overcome the entire human world?

Sangsang left the wall and drifted to the sky.

He could not stop her and only held onto one of her shoes — the cloth shoes that he bought for her.

Sangsang landed on the bow of the Ark and threw the indigo lion into the clouds.

The indigo lion turned back to its original size of hundreds of miles in height, and howled to clear the clouds. He spared no effort and pulled the Ark toward the sky.

The City of Chang’an reacted with the God-Stunning Array. It was preparing for the swiftest and fiercest, sky-cracking killing intent, gathering energy from everywhere in the city, and getting it ready to set off at any time.

Many Tang citizens came out of their houses and crowded the streets. They looked at the bright sky in the south, the incredibly giant Ark and the indigo lion pulling it, and were filled with awe and fear.

The God-Stunning Array did not attack the Ark because the Ark was heading out of the city. But the Tang citizens did not drop their weapons out of fear or awe. Some even started collecting rocks.

Sangsang stood at the bow of the Ark and held her hands behind her back. Brilliant lights projected her lofty figure onto the ground and dimmed the city as well as Ning Que’s mood.

The indigo lion pulled the Ark through the clouds toward the sky. It was slow at the beginning but gradually accelerated. Somewhere afar in the sky, a golden line appeared.

That golden line was not the gate to Haotian’s Divine Kingdom, because the gate to the Divine Kingdom was destroyed by the Headmaster many years ago. It was Sangsang’s destination.

As long as there was a destination, she would not need a gate. She could reach the destination using her supreme wisdom, which was evident in her encounters with the Headmaster, the Buddha, and even herself.

“You left just like that. Was everything just my illusion?” Ning Que stood on top of the walls and stared at the giant Ark in the sky. He questioned emotionlessly, “The decades I spent to build the Buddha statue for you — was that just an illusion? I raised you up with my own hands — were those memories also just illusions? The famine was another illusion? And Min Mountain? The City of Wei and the City of Chang’an — were they all illusions?”

Sangsang stood silently at the bow and did not turn back.

“Let’s forget about Min Mountain and our past. Let’s just talk about the thousand of years we spent together. You didn’t even make one cup of tea for me. Now you are leaving for good. Do you think it’s fair?” Ning Que forced a smile and said bitterly to the Ark that was floating further away.

Sangsang still stood silently at the bow without turning back.

Ning Que took hold of his iron cutlass and said to her in slightly lower voice, “I think that’s not fair. Therefore you are not leaving!” He pulled out his iron cutlass and slashed toward the giant Ark in the sky.

They built the Buddha statue inside the chessboard and studied Buddhism together. She discovered the truth of the compassionate Ark. During that time, he also learned how to assemble the will of all living beings.