Nightfall

Prince Long Qing had the most promise amongst the younger generation of the Haotian Taoism. He was the Priest of the Judicial Department and was the beauty who attracted women to the Taoist sect. However, he had been crippled in both body and spirit by an arrow on the Tianqi Mountains.

Ning Que’s arrow had robbed the West-Hill Divine Palace of their future Great Divine Priest of Judgment or perhaps even someone who could be even more important. How could the Divine Hall not be furious? And how would the Great Divine Priest of Judgment let him off?

Even if the West-Hill Divine Palace gave face to the Headmaster of the Academy and the Academy and not kill him, they would surely want him to pay a heavy price. Ning Que shuddered every time he thought of bigwigs like the Great Divine Priest of Judgment teaching him a lesson. That was why he had said that to Ye Hongyu.

His intention had been to find out how angry the Divine Hall could get. He did not expect Ye Hongyu to promise that the Great Divine Priest of Judgment would not give him any trouble. This answer confused him. It was understandable if the Tao Addict did not care that Prince Long Qing had been crippled if she and Prince Long Qing had an existing feud. But how could she promise that the Great Divine Priest of Judgment would not be angry?

“Why?” He asked in confusion as he stared into Ye Hongyu’s eyes.

Ye Hongyu did not answer his question. She looked down at the terrifying bloody hole in her shoulder and annoyance flashed in her eyes. She asked, “How long do you need to treat my wounds?”

Ning Que riffled through his luggage to find suitable tools. He said, “It wouldn’t take long if we were just staunching the bleed and removing the rot. But the old monk had taken two vicious bites and that dude hadn’t brushed his teeth for decades. He was so filthy, and god knows what kind of poison he had in his saliva. We might need to get cut off some flesh later.”

Mo Shanshan had moved towards the two. She looked at Ye Hongyu’s wounds and pity flashed through her face as she furrowed her brows. She felt disgusted as she heard Ning Que’s reply.

Ye Hongyu did not react. She said calmly, “He did not brush his teeth indeed. I can confirm that since I had been bitten by him.”

Ning Que lowered his head and answered, “Filthy and smelly saliva is also troublesome.”

Mo Shanshan could not help but interject weakly, “Aren’t you two disgusted saying that?”

Ning Que and Ye Hongyu lifted their heads at the same time and looked at Mo Shanshan. She was pure and innocent like a white bunny. And then, they shook their heads simultaneously as they both felt that someone like Mo Shanshan who had never experienced truly disgusting things was so fortunate it made one furious.

Ye Hongyu continued her discussion with Ning Que, ” Taoists Law is based on the strength of light. It will not be affected by regular poison. You do not have to worry that the poison will remain hidden in flesh and bones to cause further problems.”

Ning Que procured some needle and thread and said to her earnestly, “Wounds heal fastest after suturing. The thing is, that old monk took off too much flesh. If we use this treatment, there is a chance that there will be two pits left on your shoulder and arm in the future.”

Ye Hongyu furrowed her brows and said impatiently, “So what if there will be two pits?”

Ning Que shook his head as he sutured, “It won’t look good. I thought you would mind.”

Ye Hongyu said contemptuously, “Only those of the mortal world would care about this.”

Ning Que lowered his head to look at the bloody gouge on her shoulder. He answered flippantly as he considered where to start with, “Your figure is great and you like wearing flowy red skirts. It’d look weird if there were two pits on your body that is not covered. Even if you do not care, you have to think of the Divine Hall. You are the Tao Addict, the spokesperson of the Divine Hall. You have to look good.”

“I will start wearing the taoist robe from now on.”

Ye Hongyu said. And then she fell silent for a moment before she suddenly reached out for a dangling piece of flesh by the gouge and placed it on the gouge. She asked in a low voice, “If you sew it like this… will the pit be smaller?”

Was there any teenage girl who did not care about their outward appearance? The Tao Addict was no exception.

Ning Que did not notice the hidden meaning in her tone, which was why he did not take the opportunity to make any jibes at her. His gaze was fully attracted to her fingers and action. His fingers clutching the needle trembled slightly.

There were few in the world who could remain as calm after being bitten alive by a ghostly old monk. She could even flip a dangling piece of flash back as if the body did not belong to her.

Ning Que knew that she had to be in pain, but he did not see any trace of it on her face. He was surprised and even regretful. He had not met someone who was as ruthless as he was in a long time. Should he have killed her before he did anything else when he met someone like that?

“Start suturing,” Ye Hongyu said emotionlessly. “Don’t hesitate.”

Ning Que could not repress his sigh. He thought to himself, that she would have long been dead if he had not hesitated.

The fine needle pierced her pale skin, through the layers of flesh and back, stitching a line through the girl’s delicate shoulder. Ye Hongyu looked on silently. She did not call out in pain, but her beautiful face grew pale.

Mo Shanshan squatted on the other side of Ye Hongyu with her lips tightly pierced. She frowned as she watched the needle in Ning Que’s fingers moving up and down. She tightened her hold on Ye Hongyu’s hand subconsciously, wanting to transfer her energy to her and support her.

In the dark Devil’s Palace, the three most outstanding youngsters of the cultivation world cowered in the corner like three wounded rats after having succeeded in overthrowing the most outstanding powerhouse of the previous generation. Having paid a hefty price for it, they cared for each other, and gave each other strength, as if they had forgotten the battle they had amongst themselves in the wild.

…

…

It was finally over. The two bloody gouges in Ye Hongyu’s body no longer bled. The flesh that had been stained with filthy aura had also been removed. Her face was extremely pale, but her pupils were unusually pride. She had no intention of lapsing into a coma to avoid the pain.

Ning Que kept his needle and thread and happened to meet her bright gaze when he lifted his head. His heart wavered unconsciously. He was curious as to how she had managed to grow in strength earlier and managed to turn the situation around when she had clearly been under the complete control of the old monk. He had been in the enigmatic state then and was only aware of the end result and not the process.

Ye Hongyu could tell what he wanted to ask just by looking at his gaze. She was very confused too, in actuality. What had Ning Que learned when he was in a daze? Had that lucky fellow really inherited Mr. Ke’s Haoran Sword from the sword marks left behind on the wall?

The two were both puzzled and curious, but neither asked any questions. They were not certain if they could obtain a true answer from the other party and was even more unwilling to tell the other person their own answer.

Mo Shanshan and Ye Hongyu rested against the stone walls. They needed a long time in order to completely heal from their injuries. Ning Que was the least seriously injured, and his vitality was not seriously weakened. As such, he walked towards the middle of the room.

The mountain of bones had long been turned into a pile of rubble by the impact of the aura. It was hard for him to walk through the uneven rubble. He shook his head silently as he looked at the pile of ashes that had been the old monk.

He did not know how he would appraise this Liansheng 32. He was the absolute powerhouse who was versed in both Taoism and the Devil’s arts. To think that this person had stood shoulder to shoulder with Youngest Uncle, he must have been one of the few on the top of the world. The light ahead of him must have been scorching bright, but his choices had been crazy, and even absurd.

Ning Que stood by the pile of ash and looked around. He looked at the sword marks on the stone walls and thought of how he had inherited the path of Youngest Uncle. A magnificent feeling grew within him, taking away the fear and uneasiness that joining the Devil had given him and the inexplicable feeling Lotus’ death had brought him.

It was at this moment that the odd sadness that he had felt when he regained conscious poured into his body once more. He looked at one side of the stone wall subconsciously. There was a twinge within him. He did not know that the wall faced the south.

After a while, he shook his head in an attempt to rid himself of the inexplicable emotion. Then, when he turned to look at the ash on the ground once more, another feeling grew within him. He felt even more pity for the ash on the ground as he thought of the emotions and incomprehensible shards of information that the old monk had transmitted through the spiritual world before his death.

“Regardless of our previous grievances, we were still considered acquaintances. Even though our meeting was not pleasant, you are still considered a senior. You have once done marvelous feats in the world, and you deserve a place to stay in death.”

Ning Que searched through the broken bones around him and found an inconspicuous iron box. It must be a relic belonging to one of the Devil’s Doctrine powerhouses. He opened the box to find that it was empty.

“This is a little small, but it is rather suitable since we only need to put in a portion of you.”

He squatted before the pile of ash that was once Master Lotus and lifted a femur. Then, he swept the ashes into the iron box sloppily as if he was sweeping up rubbish.

…

…

They had come to the Wilderness with orders from their sect and waited for the Front Gate of the Devil’s Doctrine to open to search for the missing Tomes of Arcane. However, they did not expect to survive the crossing of swords and arrows and that the Stone Array Tactics hidden beneath water and rock had not stopped them. They had met an old monster that everyone had thought was dead for decades within the Devil’s Doctrine. They listened to numerous shocking tales and struggled between life and death several times over and in the end, they had managed to survive, albeit pathetically.

As one of the most promising cultivator of the younger generation in the cultivation world, they each, of course, possessed more determination than any other person. However, after experiencing so many things, the desire to steal the Tomes of Arcane had abated plenty.

Ning Que had inherited Youngest Uncle’s mantle. He would be satisfied if he could bring the aura that had lingered far away from home back to the Academy.

Ye Hongyu had been seriously injured both in body and spirit. She needed to rest, recuperate and recover. She had come to the Wilderness under orders to seek defeat, and she had been thoroughly defeated. She had also found the only way to succeed through defeat by through her own will and determination. She was satisfied because she had gained such rare and precious experiences.

Mo Shanshan had cracked the hidden tactical arrays of the Front Gate of the Devil’s Doctrine and had understood the Great Blockage Formation. She had learnt plenty. What was most important, was that she had finally told Ning Que how she felt at death’s doorsteps courageously. No matter if she or Ning Que forget that moment in the future, she was the most satisfied of them all.

…