Nightfall

Time passed slowly, but because it was so quiet, it seemed as if it had not passed at all. The clear light on the white tower was slowly changing, the willow branches on the lake seemed to have pulled out new buds, and there was still no one talking in the fields.

Looking at Chief Preaching Monk, Ning Que’s right hand which was holding the hilt, trembled slightly. It was not because of fear, nor accumulating combative atmosphere, but he was waiting for his answer anxiously. If the Chief Preaching Monk agreed with the Headmaster, the Buddhism Sect would stop to kill Sangsang, and even would be responsible for protecting Sangsang’s safety.

After countless days and nights of escape, he finally saw a gleam of light. His mood was somewhat restless but full of confidence because he believed that the Headmaster’s inference was correct. In his heart, the Headmaster was always right and had never made mistakes.

However, it was a pity that Ning Que had forgotten that in the hearts of the disciples of the Academy, the Headmaster had a higher status than Haotian and Buddha. Whereas in the eyes of the disciples of Buddhism, especially such bigwigs as the Chief Preaching Monk, although the Headmaster’s status was very high, it could never be higher than the Buddha and Haotian.

After pondering for a long time, the Chief Preaching Monk shook his monk staff lightly, and the head of his staff was ringing clearly. He looked at the Eldest Brother and said, “The Buddha is not necessarily right, nor is the Headmaster. This thing is different from that one. As a disciple of Buddhism, you must learn to listen to the voice of the Buddha. When there is right and wrong, you should not decide right or wrong from it.”

The Eldest Brother understood what the Chief Preaching Monk had said and looked somewhat somber. He said with a sigh, “The Headmaster was right. The most difficult thing to do is to change others’ minds.”

The Chief Preaching Monk frowned slightly and suddenly said, “But …”

The Eldest Brother looked slightly dazed, then his face lit up with delight. Ning Que was feeling disappointed. However, his dim eyes suddenly lit up when he heard “But”, and asked, “But what?”

Chief Preaching Monk raised his left arm and pointed to the white tower in the center of the lake. He said softly, “This white tower is also a relic of the Buddha. It can subdue all evils and isolate itself from the world. We have countless generations of disciples who have painstakingly studied Buddhist scriptures and did not let such divine instruments as the chessboard and peace bell go missing. But we still did not know what the Buddha meant by leaving this tower. On hearing what the Headmaster said, it suddenly occurred to Chief Preaching Monk that maybe it was because Buddha had already foreseen today’s event.”

The Eldest Brother said, “Do you mean to let Sangsang live in the White pagoda?”

Chief Preaching Monk said, “Exactly.”

The Eldest Brother frowned slightly and said, “I think there is more to the reason why the Buddha had left the White Pagoda.”

Chief Preaching Monk looked at him calmly and said, ” The White Pagoda is to take demons into custody. It can only be opened once in ten thousand years.”

The Eldest Brother looked back at Sangsang on Ning Que’s back. He looked at the little girl’s pale and gaunt face. After a long time of silence, he said softly, “That will be no different from killing her.”

Looked at Sangsang, his eyes were very complex. On one hand, he pitied her. On the other hand, he seemed very alert and uneasy. Ning Que saw this and felt slightly bitter, thinking that even the Headmaster could hardly accept the fact that Sangsang had become the Daughter of Yama. So, he was already very satisfied that the Academy would treat him like this.

Eldest Brother looked at Ning Que again, seeing the blood on his face, the shade in his eyes, and his exhaustion. After a moment of silence, he said to the Chief Preaching Monk, “The Headmaster wants to bring her back to the Academy.”

Chief Preaching Monk shook his head calmly.

The Eldest Brother coughed again, his body slightly hunched and trembled, which seemed very painful. It took a long time before he gradually calmed down and said, “If that is the case, let’s see if we can leave.”

On hearing this, Master Qi Mei was shocked, Ning Que felt dazed, and Sangsang showed a look of sadness. She really didn’t want to let these things happen for her own sake.

Talks between the Academy and Buddhism Sect broke down.

Eldest Brother looked back at Ning Que, patted him on the shoulder and said, “Don’t worry about anything. I’ll take you away. let’s go back to the Academy together.”

Ning Que was in a strange mood at this moment. He lowered his head, remained silent for a long time, and said, “I understand that if I ask for your help, you will definitely help me and Sangsang to kill out of here. Even if you know that in the end we may fail and die here. You may also die in front of me.”

“I am convinced of this, even if sometimes I can’t understand it. Because you have always been very alert to Sangsang. You may even be the first to find out that Sangsang is the Daughter of Yama. However, now that Sangsang’s identity has been exposed, why would you do this?”

Eldest Brother smiled and said for sure, “Because I am your Senior Brother.”

Ning Que looked at the crowds in the White Tower Temple and said, “But these people will not let us leave.”

The Eldest Brother understood what he meant and said after a moment of silence, “If we are forced to do something evil, I, as your Senior Brother, should do it.”

Ning Que shook his head and said, “Even if we kill thousands of people today, what can we do when we return to the Academy? What can we do when all the countries start to attack the Tang Empire? What if people in Chang’an are just like the people in Chaoyang City who flooded into the Academy and forced the Headmaster to bring Sangsang to them? Can we kill all of them?”

The Eldest Brother looked dazed. He didn’t think about these problems, or perhaps, he didn’t want to think about these problems.

Looking at all kinds of expressions on the faces of the crowds and thinking about those who had fallen down in front of his blade, Ning Que saw the boy, who had thrown stones on Sangsang, was still crying amongst the crowd.

“Senior Brother, have you ever fought with anyone before?” He asked suddenly.

The Eldest Brother shook his head.

Ning Que looked at him with a smile, he asked, “Then, have you ever killed anyone?”

The Eldest Brother continued to shake his head.

Ning Que continued to smile and felt relaxed because he had finally made a hard decision today. So his smile was all the more clear and bright.

“I have asked these two questions to Pipi, and at least he has fought before, which is better than you at this point. By the way, how is Pipi doing now?”

The Eldest Brother said, “Pipi has come back to the temple.”

Ning Que sighed emotionally and said, “He has finally grown up. It seems that love really needs courage.”

The Eldest Brother didn’t understand why he was saying this. But he felt somewhat uneasy.

Ning Que looked at him and said, “Senior Brother, I also have courage.”

He continued, “I did not know how to trust anyone from my childhood until I entered the Academy. I believed that the Academy could protect me and Sangsang, so whether it was in the Lanke Temple, the Wilderness, or just now, I have been waiting for you to appear. However, I’m not sure whether that is my trust for you or taking advantage of you.”

“I believe you will come to save me, so I’ve been waiting for you to help me out of trouble. It was seemingly trust to you, but in fact, it was just taking advantage of you. Because I never thought about and even don’t care what the Academy and you will pay for it. And I clearly know that even if you know that I don’t care about you and the Academy, you still don’t mind. So I always believe that you will come.”

Ning Que did not look at the Eldest Brother anymore. He accepted the straw rope from Sangsang, crossing the hilt and the hand that was holding it, and said, “I didn’t feel regret until I saw your eyes just now.”

The straw ropes tightened the hilt and his right hand more and more tightly. Looking at the bloody marks in the palm of his hand, he said, “Senior Brother, it must be painful for you to see me kill so many innocent people?”

When the straw rope crossed for the last time, Ning Que raised his right hand. He handed it to Sangsang and asked her to tie it into a dead knot. He then looked at the Eldest Brother and said, “If it was in the past few years, I would probably continue to take advantage of you with ease, just like what Qi Nian did before. As the saying goes, ‘You can deceive a gentleman with reasonable methods.’ But I don’t want to do it now.”

The Eldest Brother looked into his eyes and asked, “Why don’t you want to do that anymore?”

“Of course it is not because of enlightenment after being hit on the head by someone, nor some kind of sublimation of human nature. I still think that you are too gentle and kind to do things, and not as straightforward as Second Brother.”

Ning Que gradually stopped smiling and said, “It is hard to have someone as clean as you in this world, so I don’t want you to be tainted with blood. However, if you take me back to the Academy, you will definitely be daubed with blood. Once this happens, you will definitely not feel at ease in the rest of your life.”

“Senior Brother, I am different from you. I can feel at ease no matter how many people I have killed. If someone wants to kill my wife, I will kill him. That’s for sure, and it is the principle of the Academy. But if you cannot feel at ease, neither will I.”

The heavy podao was hanging on his wrist and kept swinging, sending out a smell of blood.

Looking at the Eldest Brother, he said, “I have been killing people and doing evil things since I was a child. My hands are covered with the blood of innocent people. How can I then taint your hands with blood. Since I have already been tainted with blood, it doesn’t matter to have more of it.”

He had been talking all the time, and the Eldest Brother remained silent. His face was dusty and he looked slightly dazed. It turned to unease and he said, “Younger Brother, what do you want to say?”

“Eldest Brother, we might as well go separately.” Ning Que said.

The Eldest Brother was somewhat puzzled. He frowned slightly and said, “Since you have been waiting for me, and I have been looking for you. Now that we have met, why do you want to separate with me again?”

Ning Que said after a moment of silence, “Because I suddenly realized that you’ve been looking for me to take me back to the Academy, while I’ve been waiting for you for no reason.”

“Senior Brother, thanks for your appearance, because it matters a lot for me.”

After saying this, he knelt down in front of the Eldest Brother to pay his respects to his Sinor Brother.

“We can be separated because we have already met each other. Meeting turns out to be the reason for separating.”

The Eldest Brother had finally understood what he meant and also knelt down to him, with his hands folded in the front. He said emotionally, “Younger Brother, thank you for taking me as your real Senior Brother from now on.”

Ning Que worshiped again and said, “Eldest Brother, thanks for your hard work over the past year.”

Eldest Brother also bowed and said, “I am so incompetent that I can not take you away. Forgive me.”

Ning Que worshiped again without saying a word.

Eldest Brother bowed again and said, “Even if we are going to separate, I should still see you off the main road.”