Liu Bai’s name was still at the top of the second page, followed by the names of Jun Mo, Ye Su, Tang, and Qi Nian. Each of the names represented one of the most powerful cultivators in the world.
Ye Hongyu looked at the “Ri” Handscroll without any emotion. She had lived in the Zhishou Abbey for a period of time, but she didn’t have any access to the seven scrolls. So, she was still nervous right now, especially because of the presentation of the “Ri” Handscroll had made her perceive the greatness and omniscience of Haotian.
She flipped the pages slowly, and saw more familiar and unfamiliar names of cultivators appearing in front of her eyes. One of the names, which had made her frown slightly, was the name of Long Qing.
The ink that was used to write Long Qing’s name seemed to have been mixed with a lot of water, so the handwriting that fell on the “Ri” Handscroll was very light, and even looked somewhat grayish. Furthermore, the word structure of Long Qing’s name was obviously unstable. It seemed as if these two words might come out of the paper or disappear at any time.
Looking at Long Qing’s name, Ye Hongyu shook her head and continued to flip to the back. But she did not find Ning Que’s name even at the end of the scroll. She frowned and said, “Is he really dead?”
The middle-aged Taoist was hanging the brush on the brushes holder after washing it, and then adjusting the holder’s position to ensure that it could get enough but not too much of the blazing sunlight. After a while, he nodded with satisfaction.
“Uncle, I’ve read all of it,” said Ye Hongyu.
The middle-aged Taoist stepped forward and closed the heavy pages of the “Ri” Handscroll. He looked at her, shook his head and said, “It is a pity that you used such a precious opportunity to confirm whether Ning Que is still alive.”
Ye Hongyu shook her head and said, “I think Ning Que is the only one who could really threaten Haotian Taoism in the Academy. Therefore, it is extremely important for me to know if he is still alive.”
The middle-aged Taoist frowned and said, “Why do you think so?”
Ye Hongyu said, “Everyone said that the Academy believes in nothing, but people inside are still subjected to certain rules, such as morality, the law of Tang Empire, etiquette, and demeanor; Mr. First and Mr. Second are certainly great people. However, confined by these laws and regulations, their destructiveness can be predicted.”
“Ning Que is a person who can’t be confined by any restrictions. If he wants to do something, then morality or legalities mean nothing to him. He does not know what demeanor is. If Ning Que was in Mr. First or Mr. Second’s position, he would not have only destroyed the stone statues of Buddha and the Lanke Temple during that fateful battle. He would have certainly killed Qi Nian, and then find ways to level the Xuankong Temple.”
The middle-aged Taoist said, “Why are you so sure about what he’ll do?”
Ye Hongyu said, “Because we are the same kind of people.”
The middle-aged Taoist said, “Maybe you are right. Fortunately, Ning Que has died. No matter how terrible he may have become, it would be impossible right now.”
Ye Hongyu added, “Besides attaching importance to Ning Que, the reason why I’m willing to choose the “Ri” Handscroll is that I don’t care what I can learn from the Tomes of the Arcane. Two of their seven volumes have been lost. Ye Su saw six volumes in the past. So, it is meaningless for me to read these five volumes all at once, let alone one of them.”
The middle-aged Taoist said emotionally, “So many years have passed, yet you still take your elder brother as your goal.”
Ye Hongyu thought about the thunder by the Bi Lake last autumn and said indifferently, “He used to be my only goal. But after last fall, he is but just a temporary goal on my path to cultivation.”
The middle-aged Taoist said: “Ye Su must be happy about your change.”
Ye Hongyu looked at the middle-aged Taoist’s eyes and said, “But I’m not happy… Long Qing stole the Tomes of the Arcane, and I really wanted to kill him. However, I don’t know why all of you want to stop me.”
The middle-aged Taoist kept silence.
Ye Hongyu said, “I really doubted whether Long Qing was the Son of Yama before. Now, since we know that he is not, why did the Divine Hall prevent the Judicial Department from entering the Wilderness to kill him? Do you plan to bring trouble to the temple?”
The middle-aged Taoist smiled and he still did not say anything.
Ye Hongyu stared at his eyes and said, “In fact, what still disturbs me the most is what happened at Lanke Temple. Why were we so slow to act when even the Buddhism Sect knew that the Daughter of Yama had come to the human world? Since the Divine Priest of Light had chosen Sangsang as his successor, I don’t think he knew the truth even before he died.”
The middle-aged Taoist looked at her and said with a sigh, “I know that you came with doubts. However, the only person who can answer these questions for you is your Senior Brother, and he is still traveling in the South China Sea. So, I am as bewildered as you are.”
Ye Hongyu walked out of the cottage and went to the lake.
She silently looked at the green hill far behind the Taoist temple, with hands behind her back and the divine robes waving slightly.
When she lived in the temple, she and Chen Pipi were strictly prohibited from approaching the green hill. They did not know what was in the mountain, but when she was young, she clearly felt that the green hill was very dangerous.
Now, she was the West-Hill’s Great Divine Priest of Judgment, with a deep and powerful state. Therefore, she did not feel as frightened as before, and she even had a strong impulse to find out what was there.
“You want to know what’s in the mountain, right?”
The middle-aged Taoist came to her and also looked at the green hill.
Ye Hongyu did not hide her ideas and nodded.
The middle-aged Taoist said, “That Mountain stands for the once strong power of Haotian Taoism and will be the glorious future on our road ahead.”
Ye Hongyu felt something. She frowned slightly and asked, “When will the future come?”
The middle-aged Taoist said, “Maybe until the person, who made Haotian Taoism no longer strong, leaves.”
Ye Hongyu kept silent for a long time and then said, “No one knows how far the future is.”
The middle-aged Taoist said, “Everyone will become old and die, and even the most powerful one won’t be able to shake off the shackles of this rule. It is only “forever” that is really far away from us, so ‘future’ won’t be too far away.”
We are all mortal, so it always seems that death is far away from us. In fact, it is very close to us, and its arrival often seemed to be understated, without any signs.
Many events, large and small, had happened in Chang’an city during the whole year after the autumn of the Tianqi era’s sixteen year. However, what really caught everyone’s attention were the funerals held one after another.
In winter, the aged Grand Secretary Wang, an extremely important person to the balance of the imperial court over the past three generations, had died. It was said that before he died, he looked at the Chicken Soup Calligraphy for the whole night. Eventually, in his last words he retracted from been buried with the Chicken Soup Calligraphy, and then quietly closed his eyes forever.
The Old Chancellor who argued with the Grand Secretary Wang for a lifetime also closed his eyes forever before the winter snow had thawed. Jin Wucai, whose eyes had swollen because of crying, conveyed the Old Chancellor’s last words to the official students who were waiting in the house. He said that since it was too cumbersome to relocate the tomb, the Old Chancellor would be buried next to Grand Secretary Wang. In this way, they wouldn’t be lonely.
Chu Xiongtu, the great General of the Tang Empire’s 16th dynasty, also died of illness in the spring of the next year. After that, several more ministers left the world. There wasn’t even a chance to take down the white flags, which were hung on the streets of Chang’an.
These deceased ministers and generals were all very old, so it was normal for them to have died of illness or natural causes. However, what had made people feel uneasy was that they all died in the same period of time, when half of the main pillars of the court in the two generations of the Tianqi era had passed away.
What was even more upsetting was that the lung disease of Xu Shi, the Defender-general of the State, had become more serious. Even if he was forcibly driven back to the southern front, the moist air could not alleviate his disease like the previous years. News from the palace said that the emperor’s cough grew more and more grave and his temper was getting worse and worse. He said the word “idiot” far more than the average times of that year.
After students from the front yard of the Academy had graduated, most of the foreign students had returned to their countries, with one-third of them staying in Chang’an. Students of the Tang Empire had either entered the imperial court or joined the army.
Acceding to his grandfather’s last words, Chu Zhongtian had joined the military of the Yulin Royal Guards at the grass-roots level. Zhong Da Jun returned to Yangguan City and immediately took office as an important but low-ranking official. The Zhong’s family was a big family in Qinghe County. So, if he worked hard and did not make any big mistakes, he would get promoted again soon.
Among the students in the Academy, Situ Yilan, the daughter of General Yunhui and a friend of the Princess, shocked people the most. She got a position from the military department, and went to Hua Shanyue at the Gushan Commandery in the north to become a female Commandant, taking a firm step toward her goal of becoming the first female general of the Tang Empire.
Situ Yilan’s decision had shocked the whole city of Chang’an. From the very beginning, people didn’t understand her and were cynical about it. But later on, they kept silent and even paid tribute to her. The mindset of those in Chang’an had changed, or in other words, they had learned something from it.
Today, Hua Shanyue was no longer a Senior Captain, but had become the head of the military forces of the Three States. In the northeastern hilly region of the Tang Empire, Hua Shanyue was the most powerful one except for the Northeast Border Military in Tuyang City.
After returning from the Lanke Temple with his delegation, Xian Zhilang was not affected by the change in the Battle of the Lanke Temple. He took over Xia Hou’s position, and became the great general who guarded the north.
General Shu Cheng, who had contributed to defeating the Northeast Border Military by cooperating with the Academy, disguising himself as a Horse Gang in the Wasteland for the past few years, took over the position of Xian Zhilang. He became the great general who guarded the west, confronting the Yuelun Kingdom directly.
Birth, aging, illness, and death were natural.
During the Year of the Tianqi era, people in the old generation were as many as stars, but they gradually left the world. Therefore, it was natural that the new generation would take over their positions. The most powerful thing in the Tang Empire was that this land was suitable for the growth of towering trees. But many people have noticed that as time passed by, the new generation had gradually taken over the old one, so Princess Li Yu’s influence had become increasingly powerful.
The only thing that could make the Queen gratified was that Ning Que had gone missing after killing General Xia Hou. If he was still alive, the Academy would certainly choose to support Li Yu, regardless of Ning Que’s close relationship with Li Yu or Li Yu’s feud with the queen.