Nightfall

Places like quagmires, which are difficult and dangerous, were rarely visited. This also meant that they were safer. Ning Que thought so, as did many animals. The waters exuded a faint scent of sulfur and could not support the growth of big plants. However, they could eat moss and escape the winter here because of its warmth. That was why many animals stayed in this patch of swamp throughout the year.

The staple food was moss or plankton in the water. There were no lions or tigers in the swamp, but there was a fierce beast that looked like a snake and was covered with a light dusting of fine greasy hair.

This ferocious beast was called the Capybara by herdsmen in the Golden Palace. They swam quickly and had venomous saliva. They were carnivorous, and the horses and sheep of herdsmen who got lost and entered the swamp would mostly be killed by the beast.

Ning Que was not afraid of such capybaras. The capybaras seemed to be able to sense his dangerous aura and they would avoid him whenever they met. However, a few days ago, a capybara could not bear the temptation of the Big Black Horse and wanted to take a bite of it. It swam stealthily under the aquatic plants and ambushed the horse.

The Big Black Horse bit and killed the Capybara. It crushed the beast with its front hooves and bit into it. However, the capybara tasted horrible, so the horse did not eat it.

The fog in the Quagmire grew thicker.

They could no longer see the thick black clouds. Even though they knew that the cloud still hung above the horse carriage, both Sangsang and Ning Que felt much better.

They continued walking into the swamp. It would be about two to three days before they could cross it. The black horse carriage came to a pool, and a ray of light appeared before Ning Que.

The terrain here was relatively low. The water in the pool would reach the waist of a person and compared to the rest of the areas in the swamp, the water was much clearer. Perhaps because of the water source, the water here was drinkable. There were plenty of aquatic plants in the pool and tiny silverfish swimming amongst them. There were also dozens of white waterbirds drinking at the edge of the pond.

“Eldest Brother would be extremely happy to see this place.”

Ning Que walked to the edge of the pool. He felt momentarily refreshed by the colors of the pool after having seen nothing but the desolate Wilderness and mud. He reached out into the water and discovered that the temperature was just right, so he allowed Sangsang to bathe in it.

The Big Black Horse was chased to another part of the pool. It neighed happily and rushed into the pool, shaking its head uncontrollably. It washed away the mud stains and then salivated as it stared at the swimming silverfish.

Sangsang removed her heavy fur clothes and the thin vest underneath. She walked into the pool and shivered slightly at the light breeze brushing across the surface of the pool. She wrapped her arms around herself, feeling cold.

“Sit in the water and you’ll warm up.”

Ning Que brought a towel and walked up behind her, prepared to rub her back.

Sangsang did as he said. She sank down slowly until her head was submerged in the warm water before standing up again. Her short wet hair seemed very smooth and water dripped from its ends onto her slender shoulders.

When they were little, Ning Que often bathed Sangsang. When they grew up, Sangsang insisted on washing herself, but also insisted on him rubbing her back. After that, when Sangsang was ill, Ning Que helped her to bathe again.

They’ve lived together for many years, and they had no secrets between them, whether physically or spiriturally. Furthermore, they were engaged, so neither Sangsang nor Ning Que were embarrassed.

The girl’s body was still immature, but soft. Sangsang had grown up after all. Ning Que’s hands gently rubbed on her back, then reached out to the front and held on.

Sangsang said softly, “Too small?”

Ning Que said, “Not anymore.”

No one knew if the two were talking about the same thing.

Sangsang suddenly started coughing. Ning Que grew solemn and began to rub her back seriously. They were done within a short time. Then, he carried her back to the carriage, where he dried and dressed her.

He washed up hurriedly and put on new clothing. Then, he sat on the grass by the pool and hugged Sangsang closely, while looking out at the scenery. He noted her damp hair and thought of the past, smiling softly.

Sangsang always knew what he was thinking about. And even if she did not know, she’d know that he was thinking. She wriggled in between his arms and asked, “What are you thinking about?”

“I’m thinking about Shanshan.”

Ning Que answered honestly, “When I first met her at the northern frontier fortress of the Yan Kingdom, it was also during a hot spring. She was standing on a tree and her hair was also damp.”

Sangsang leaned against him lazily and thought of something. She said worriedly, “Miss Shanshan helped us at the Lanke Temple. It wouldn’t get her into trouble, would it?”

Ning Que shook his head, saying, “Her teacher, the Master of Calligraphy, is a visiting professor of Haotian Taoism. She is also a Divine Talisman Master, so the Buddhism and Taoism Sects have to take that into account. Furthermore, Eldest Brother took her in as his sworn sister, so she must be fine.”

The Big Black Horse was done with washing up as well and ran back happily. It ran up to the two and wanted to play with them. However, when he opened his mouth, Ning Que smelled a strong fishy odor. He couldn’t help but said angrily, “Are you stupid or a foodie? You haven’t forgotten to eat even while taking a bath. Go away quickly.”

The Big Black Horse walked away angrily, crouching down at the pool and basking in the nonexistent sun. It gradually relaxed as the warm wind blew on it, and it snorted joyfully from time to time.

The fog was like smoke, and the clear pond was a faint emerald. The edge of the pond was green with grass, and the fish in the pool jumped around. Ning Que hugged Sangsang and watched the beautiful scenery, and felt tired as he relaxed and fell asleep.

After some time.

The fog dispersed even though there was no wind. A figure loomed across the quiet pool.

Ning Que opened his eyes and looked across, only to discover that the area of the pool was larger than he had imagined. The shore across was at least hundreds of feet away.

He was not very surprised when he saw the figure because if it was a person or a beast, it would not have been able to avoid his or Sangsang’s sense of perception. As such, he thought it was a tree.

The fog around the swamp grew fainter, and the fog around the pool had gradually dispersed. One could see the thick black cloud above and what was on the opposite shore.

It was not a tree across the shore, but a person.

It was a person both Ning Que and Sangsang had not sensed.

It was a beautiful woman.

They could sense the charm rolling off her even through such a long distance. However, the charm turned into death and horror due to her blood red clothes.

There was no blood on her blood red robe. The robe of the Divine Priest was red, but the robe, which was usually spotless was covered with mud. However, the woman wearing the robe was ethereal.

The woman wore a divine crown.

The crown was made of gold, and threaded with silver. It was inlaid with 13 bright precious stones. It seemed as if there was a curtain of light hanging down from the crown, shrouding her face. It was so luxurious, solemn and beautiful that it could not be overlooked.

Ning Que knew that the divine crown was very expensive. He had handled it in the Taoism Temple in the Kingdom of Qi. However, he did not know that he would see it again as well as the red divine robe on his escape route.

But when he saw her, he understood that this was but just a matter of fact.

The death of the Daughter of Yama was a great event. The Buddhism Sect had even managed to invite the Chief Preaching Monk of the Xuankong Temple. As servants of Haotian, the Haotian Taoism would not have stayed idle.

The powerhouses of Haotian Taoism lurking at the ridge seemed strong, but were not strong enough. Even though the abbey dean of the Zhishou Abbey was far away at the southern seas, the West-Hill Divine Palace should still have sent a Great Divine Priest.

The West-Hill Divine Palace had sent her as the Great Divine Priest. Ning Que felt lucky, and unfortunate at the same time. That was why he could only remain silent as he looked at the girl across the shore, not knowing what else to do.

The long period of absolute silence had caused the atmosphere by the pool to be rather grave and depressing. A school of slender silverfish dove deep into the aquatic plants. The dozens of white waterbirds flew away, terrified. The fog had also dissipated, as if knowing what was about to happen.

Ning Que suddenly laughed and waved to the figure across the shore, “What a coincidence to have met here.”

Ye Hongyu said, “I’ve been waiting for days in the Quagmire to meet you guys. How is this a coincidence?”

Ning Que smiled, saying, “Why do you have to make the atmosphere so tense right when we meet. It’s been months since we met in the Kingdom of Qi, didn’t we have a good chat then?”

Ye Hongyu answered, “Firstly, she wasn’t yet the Daughter of Yama then. Secondly, it’s been a year since we last met, not just a few months.”

She continued after a pause, “It seems that the Buddha’s chessboard saved you.”

Ning Que said, “You waited for days just to hear about how we got out of the Lanke Temple?”

Ye Hongyu said, “I waited to kill you guys.”

After saying that, she walked toward the other end of the shore, her blood red robe floating behind her.

Ning Que yelled, “If you don’t want to hear about how we escaped, I can tell you about what happened at the Xuankong Temple. That was interesting.”

It seemed as if Ye Hongyu had not heard him at all. She continued going forth slowly yet firmly.

Ning Que said angrily, “What I hate most about you is that you always talk about killing people so casually.”

Ye Hongyu furrowed her brows and stopped. She said, “I don’t need you to like me.”

Ning Que said furiously, “I’m such an outstanding man. What’s bad about me?”

Ye Hongyu answered, “You even dare to marry the Daughter of Yama. You’re too brave. You’re so brave that it has shocked me. So I’d better kill you rather than like you.”

Ning Que said, “This means that you might like me.”

Ye Hongyu knew what kind of person he was. She ignored him and continued moving forward.

Ning Que’s expression was calm. However, his body grew cold and he said, “You waited for us in this quagmire for so many days. That’s so nice of you, I cannot reciprocate your goodwill. I’m going to treat you to a bath.”

Ye Hongyu did not stop. She said, “Killing you is not an easy task. I will definitely be covered with mud and your blood later. So I shall bathe later.”

Ning Que shook his head and said, “I don’t fight with women who are covered with mud. No matter what kind of fight it is. When touching the mud and smelling its odor, I wouldn’t be happy about it.”

Ye Hongyu froze slightly and said, “You’re such a pervert, to like killing clean women.”

Ning Que stood up and looked at her calmly. He said, “You should know very well that we are all perverts.”