Nightfall

The Strait

This river had a lot of names, and in around 20 miles of bypassing the territory of Tang, it was referred to as Wei River. In the Yan Kingdom, it was called Yi River or Juma River. In the Song Kingdom it was known as Tongtian River, because there was a tributary that flowed directly into the Storm Sea, and the Song Kingdom had always insisted that it was the main channel, hence they completely ignored that this river could flow through the other seven hundred miles of land before it reached the Great Swamp.

No one has ever called it the Great River because there was already a Great River at the south of the world, but this was actually an enormous river full of water, the waves were very wide, the wind blew across the paddy field and flowers on both sides of the strait, fostering countless human beings.

Especially during this period before and after the Yan Kingdom, the river was extremely wide, separated by a distance of hundreds of feet. It was difficult to make out the faces of people on the other side of the river, no matter how good one’s eyesight was, and of course it was impossible to recognize who the other party was.

But with one look across the river, Ning Que recognized the man as Long Qing. It was an indescribable feeling, just like a big river flowing into the sea, something that came naturally.

The world was so big, and Yi River was so cold. There were many wars, flames of battles raging everywhere, people who were supposed to run away had long fled. It was rare to see traces of people while walking in the wilderness, but someone had appeared on the other side of the river.

That person, of course, could only be Long Qing.

The big black horse stopped, Ning Que looked to the other side, and at the same time, Long Qing also stopped riding and looked toward Ning Que. Both of their eyes met on the surface of the surging river, it was not those kind of moments described in the literature: It turns out you are here too. And so they would just simply tell each other that they had seen one another, so neither of them could leave.

After looking at each other silently for a moment, Ning Que reined lightly and continued to speed north; Long Qing on the other side was also heading north, his ride was obviously extraordinary that it actually could keep up with the speed of the big black horse.

Winter was in the air. Ning Que felt slightly hungry and stopped by a river bend. He took out some food and began to eat by the river. Long Qing also stopped and drank several mouthfuls from his wine bottle to quench his thirst.

Twilight engulfed the countryside, Ning Que stopped and picked up some branches to start a fire. He let the big black horse wander around and rest while he himself sat by the fire to roast wild wheat until it was slightly scorched and then began to chew it in his mouth. It did not take long for a fire to burn on the other side, which stood out in the early evening.

The morning light shone the earth, Ning Que woke up and walked to the shore to scoop up a handful of cold piercing river water and washed his face. As he looked up, he saw Long Qing was using a leather bag to draw water without looking to this side.

Ning Que continued to travel north whereas Long Qing continued to accompany him on the other side.

Both of them did not speak, they were in absolute silence, no eye threat, not even a trace of hostility, not to mention flying swords and arrows, peach blossom and Divine Talisman.

When they arrived at the borders of Yan Kingdom, the river veered west into a narrow gorge. The river became much narrower than it had been yesterday, and they were able to see the people on the other side more clearly.

Ning Que and Long Qing still went forth silently, just like the two sides of the river.

Whether it was the left or right bank, in fact, the river banks always looked similar. There would be water grass, gravel, stone steps at places where people were usually found, and bluestone which was used to wash clothes. There would be garbage thrown into the river by people on the boat, rotten vegetables or leaves floating on the water, and also a winding stream.