Nightfall

Thick winter clouds over Chang’an City covered the sun in the rear. Among the streets outside General’s Mansion in Southern City, a sun suddenly appeared. Its blazing light burst out from Great Divine Priest of Light’s eyes and immediately turned the dark world around into the shining daytime. Withered leaves, spotted stone walls, broken stone lions and old stairs were all covered with the glittering glare and completely lost their original appearances so as to become holy.

Dozens of elite crossbowmen, known for their spiritual determination, threw away the crossbows on their hands and covered their own eyes. Then they fell down to the ground screaming. The crossbow arrows flying orderlessly had more miserable tweetings and had long been lost in direction in the blaze. People could vaguely see those slightly shaking crossbow ends on trees and walls.

The heavy-armor cavalries of the Tang Empire gathering on the street fell into a chaos. Those well-trained armored warrior horses seemed to sense the supreme power hidden in the incandescent white screen in the alley and respectfully bent their forehooves with screaming. They were so scared as to kneel to the ground, unnoticedly making many riders fall down.

South School of Haotian Taoism Array Tactical Masters, who had hidden in the faraway workshop, looked even much paler on his face. Several people’s clothings were covered with blood in front. They did not get any devouring of Qi of Heaven and Earth, but they have felt great shocks and fears in their sense of perception so that those spiritual shocks directly hurt their internal organs.–The exquisite Encircling Array Tactical that was inherited from West-Hill Divine Palace simply had no way to locate its target.

Their cultivation aimed at Haotian Taoism. So they infused the power of the light into Encircling Array Tactical. However, Great Divine Priest of Light was full of light from his body to his heart, no trace of impurities. Therefore, it was impossible for them to use crystal clear lake water to lock a mass of clean water!

In the faraway Vermilion Bird Avenue, there was a breeze blowing up out of no reason. Those gravels on the Vermilion Bird figure that was deeply carved in the flagstone were blown everywhere by this gusty wind. The tourists from different empire counties were blinded by the wind and sand and were covered by gravels. They subconsciously bowed to avoid them, or rubbed their eyes with hands.

Even if they did not bow down or covered their eyes, they could not see that a very clear and very weak Vermilion Bird phantom, almost invisible to naked eyes, arose from the ground with its wings waving around. It rolled up those leaves and gravels, and then instantly swept a round over Chang’an City in an unimaginable horrifying speed.

Unfortunately, Vermilion Bird failed to find any enemy in Chang’an City. A faintly angry cry was heard above the sky and winter clouds.

Li Qingshan silently stood in front of the street outside General’s Mansion, listening to that faintly angry cry above the clouds, and then slowly opened his tightly closed eyes. He looked at the deserted alley and became more and more serious.

That Blue Dragon swimming among the streets uttered a reluctant whisper and slowly concealed its aura to become a sword back to the sheath.

Vermilion Bird failed to find that person’s trail. The spies spreading all over Chang’an City also failed to find that person’s trail. The numerous men arranged by the Tang Empire were forced to abruptly stop their actions.

Thick winter clouds above Chang’an City suddenly gradually spread, exposing the long-hidden sun. Soft sunshine gently softly sprinkled down towards thousands of mansions and cold houses. People could see it everywhere.

That person did not start or revealed the slightest hostility and sense of fighting. He only emitted his own light and quietly disappeared like the sun light, no trace of his trail.

The world was bright everywhere. How could one find the light?

Li Qingshan looked up at the leaked light among the winter clouds and murmured. “Above the God, below the heaven… ”

“Senior Brother, I finally understand what you mean by this sentence.”

…

…

In the small yard behind the House of Red Sleeves.

Master Yan Se stared at the rocking candlestick on the table. His wrinkled canthuses were slightly shivering, as if he was thinking of a certain important decision.

Dewdrop reclined in his arms, slightly trembling her slender eyelashes. She looked puzzled on her face, but dared not to ask when looking at his solemn facial expression.

Why light the candlestick in the daytime? Could it be… this Divine Talisman master, whom no one dared to offend including Mistress Jian in the entire Tang Empire, actually had some strange interests in mind after refusing to have sexual enjoyments these days?

Dewdrop looked at the gradual formation of the tear-like waxes on the candlestick, feeling her body a bit stiff. She thought that she herself actually heard a lot about this interest, but never had done it in person. She did not know whether she felt painful or peculiarly interested when the tear-like waxes fell onto her body. She wanted to refuse, but dared not to say it out.

Suddenly, the candlelight on the table suddenly shone brightly so that every corner of the room was seen clearly. Dewdrop was shocked and almost fell down from Yan Se’s legs.

Master Yan Se stared at the candlelight that first burst into flames and then faded away. He squinted and kept silent for a long time, and then indulgedly rubbed Dewdrop’s supple and tender buttock. He said in a slightly dumb voice, “After these days, I have some things to do. So I’ll probably not come here often. If… in the future you have something that even Miss Jian can’t solve, you can go to the South Gate to find my Younger Brother.”

Dewdrop now knew the true identity of this Taoist and naturally also knew that Younger Brother he mentioned was Master of Tang Nation Li Qingshan. When she first listened to those words, she inevitably felt somewhat surprised, for she could find another very powerful backstage supporter in the future. But then she felt infinitely scared, for she felt that he seemed to be dying so as to say these words.

There was no true love in the brothels, not to mention the huge gaps of age and status between Yan Se and Dewdrop. But out of no reason, Dewdrop looked at the Taoist’s wretched face and actually felt a bit pitiful and sad. She subconsciously reached out her hands to tightly seize his Taoist Robe collar and totally forgot that she most hated the grease and dirt on this Taoist Robe on weekdays.

…

…

An old man wearing a dirty thick cotton jacket sluggishly walked in the streets of Eastern City, with his hands behind his hunch back. There was a very light smell of hot and sour noodle slice soup emitting from the jacket.

As previously stated in the dialogue with Li Qingshan outside General’s Mansion, as long as the Headmaster of Academy was not in Chang’an, he was the light and his only taboo was this big array tactical Chang’an City. However, he did not have evil spirits, only the good ones and a pure Taoist Heart. Even though what he had done seemed to be rather vicious for all people in the world, he still believed he was the light. As long as this big array tactical Chang’an City did not fully launch the attack, how was Vermilion Bird Divine Talisman starting from the light able to find him?

However, even if someone whose cultivation had reached to their state could not comprehend the deepest law of the flowing Qi of Heaven and Earth, he had started to have some kind of feeling between man and nature. Therefore, he could faintly understand what would appear in front of the time river.

The old man felt that he would die in Chang’an City, and this feeling became intenser and intenser. He seemed to have seen the Underworld messengers began to dig a tomb for him in Chang’an City, but just did not know what was written on his tombstone.

End of life was not necessarily a sad thing. But just as Yan Se had a sense of nostalgia for the world, he also had a sense of regret in the world – In those years when he had put a foot across the threshold and saw the magical world over there, he had been reluctantly pulled back by some existences. But he was not resigned to this. Therefore, he wanted to receive a successor before leaving the world so as to leave his inheritance that allowed his successor to take a clear look at the world over there for him.

It was very difficult for Divine Talisman Master as well as Great Divine Priest of Light to have a true successor. Yan Se now had Ning Que and thus had no regrets. But he had on one. He even thought that until the moment when his life ended, there would be no successor for him. However, he came to Chang’an City and Lin 47th Street, and then saw Sangsang.

The old man stood outside the threshold of Old Brush Pen Shop and watched this busy little handmaiden in the shop. His heart was full of praise and satisfaction, and he was almost moved to tears. He felt that although he had violated Haotian’s intention repeatedly in his lifetime, at least in the final stage of his life, Haotian kindly granted the most precious gift to him.

There was no better man in the world than this little girl to be the successor of Great Divine Priest of Light, because there must be no second man in this world cleaner and purer than this girl.

The old man crossed the threshold and walked into Old Brush Pen Shop. He bent over towards this busy little girl and said, “Hello.”

Sangsang turned around and put a large cloth in her hand on the table. Then she answered, “Hello.”

These days she had long been aware that this seemingly poor old man often appeared in the alley. Master Qi San’s men even asked her if she wanted to drive away this old man. But she thought he was just an ordinary old strange man. So she rejected this proposal and even was too lazy to pay more attention.

The old man asked, “Do you know the biggest difference between a Taoist and a beast?”

Sangsang did not think, but shook her head and replied. “I don’t know.”

Then she grabbed the rag and prepared to keep wiping the table.

The old man said sincerely, “Can you try to think?”

Sangsang thought for a moment and said, “People are more beastly than beasts. So we are stronger than beasts and we can eat beasts.”

Upon hearing this answer, the old man apparently did not have any mental preparation and surprisedly asked, “Why do you think so?”

Sangsang shook her head and said, “I said I didn’t know. My young master told me this when I was young.”

The old man said with a lament, “Your young master must be a clever man, a super evil or super good man.”

Sangsang thought for a moment and said, “Young master is the young master.”

She did not finish the sentence, for she did not have the habit of finishing the whole sentence. It had nothing to do with her whether the opposite could understand her or not. Her meaning was actually very clear — The son was the son. The mother was the mother. The brother was the brother. The husband was the husband. The young master was the young master — For her, Ning Que was another existence, different from the concepts of the evil, the good, men, women, the rich and the poor.

After a moment’s silence, the old man said, “In my opinion, the greatest difference between men and beasts is that inheritance. Beasts inherit their own blood essence at the cost of their lives, and the mankind wants to inherit the spirits. Both of their inheritances contain a very strong desire of leaving their trails on the earth for much longer.”

After a brief pause, the old man looked at the little girl’s dark cheeks and said with a solemn look, “If the bearing in the inheritance represents the root of the family or the Taoist tradition, then such a strong desire can even become a heavy responsibility.”

Finally, the old man concluded. “This is the so-called inheritance.”

Sangsang looked at the quirky old man in front with her bright willow-shape eyes open. After a long time of thought, she assumed she had understood it and then seriously asked, “Are you looking for a wife to have your own child?”

She looked at the appearance of this elderly person and judged his age. Then she said, “If you can confirm that you still have a chance to have a child, there are traders selling Yan women in Eastern City. They’re not expensive and are easily raised.”

The old man fell into a trance and said, “I don’t mean it.”

Sangsang stared blankly for a moment and shyly shook her head as she said, “I can’t, I can’t… give birth to children for others.”