The autumn rain was still falling quietly as before. Suddenly, there was a hurried sound of hooves coming from the foot of the mountain. Some cavalrymen broke through the rain and shouted something. The Eldest Brother, who was about to leave, glanced at the Drunkard.
The cavalryman was soaked. His handsome warhorse was covered with mud. The solemn and magnificent black and gold armor was no longer what it used to be. He looked extremely embarrassed.
It was a cavalryman from the Divine Halls of West-Hill. It seemed that there was something urgent. The Drunkard raised his eyebrows slightly. It was a rare reaction for him because there were not many things in the world that could move him. It was very difficult to find him and Li Manman in the autumn rain. At this moment, only one cavalryman came to the foot of the mountain. The Divine Halls of West-Hill must have sent tens of thousands of people to search for them. What was going on?
The cavalryman knelt down in the rain and dared not to get up. He told the Drunkard the news that the Divine Halls wanted the Drunkard to know with a trembling voice.
Ning Que started killing people in Chang 'an.
Listening to the cavalryman, the Drunkard raised his eyebrows higher and higher, while the Eldest Brother's eyebrows became more and more flat. They had different emotions.
The Divine Halls of West-Hill did not know who Ning Que had killed and how many people he had killed. They only knew that he started killing people. And according to the information from the Tang Empire, all the prefectures and counties were preparing to kill people.
"You know, before … I was really going to leave … to kill people."
The Eldest Brother turned around and looked at the Drunkard. His flat eyebrows hid deep guilt and self-blame. He said, "But now it seems that the Youngest Brother is much braver than me."
"This determination has nothing to do with bravery. It is just a habit. He is used to killing people and fighting with others' lives. As I said before, he is good at risking his life."
The Drunkard said expressionlessly, "But as I said before, I have no love or hate for the human world. So Ning Que's method is meaningless to me."
The Eldest Brother pointed at the cavalryman kneeling down in the rain and said, "But it is useful to Taoism. Otherwise, they would not be looking for you so anxiously. Maybe you should listen to their opinion."
Hearing this, the cavalryman lowered his head even more and his voice trembled even more. He looked so pitiful, like the weak yellow leaves in the rain that could be broken at any time.
"Please … wait a little longer."
The Drunkard said sarcastically, "No matter how many people Ning Que killed in Chang 'an yesterday, and no matter how many people he will kill in the future, do you think I care about the lives of those ordinary people? What's the point of waiting? "
Eldest Brother said, "Killing all the Tangs is not the ending you want. You are also waiting to be persuaded. What Youngest Brother did was just to give you a reason."
The Drunkard said, "That's too childish. Do you think we won't kill each other if you kill each other? Is he really not afraid of chaos in the world? "
The Eldest Brother said, "The world that Haotian wants to rule is not a cold and uninhabited world. That way, she will also die, so she doesn't want to see the world destroyed."
The Drunkard's eyes turned sharp and he yelled, "Does he really dare to destroy the world? Not to mention Haotian, even the Headmaster would kill him directly! How preposterous! "
The Eldest Brother said, "No one can change the Youngest Brother's decision. Neither Jun Mo nor I can persuade him. Haotian has no influence on him. As for the Headmaster, the only person who can probably control him … He is not back yet. If he really wants to destroy the world, who can stop him?"
At this moment, dense hoofbeats came from afar. The sound was even louder than the sound of falling rain. Hundreds of cavalrymen of the Divine Halls galloped from Linkang to Autumn Mountain from other places.
The Eldest Brother looked at the scene and the anxious cavalrymen and said, "The Abbey Dean knows Ning Que's decision very well. So … he will definitely try to persuade you."
…
…
One day in late autumn, the governor of Chuzhou of the Tang Empire passed away.
On the same day, 531 people were killed in Chang 'an. In the following days, the Tang Empire's states and counties secretly executed a group of prisoners, numbering more than 2,000. These people were old and young, male and female. They were prisoners, but they were not condemned to death. They were executed for only one reason.
The Drunkard killed the governor, which made the Tang Empire furious and fearful. Ning Que killed thousands of people to make Taoism furious and fearful. It was an equal revenge, another form of sacrifice.
Just as Ning Que had predicted, the West-Hill Divine Palace fell into a frenzy of anger and cold fear after receiving the news. When the Divine Hall learned that the tens of thousands of captives left in the Tang Empire during the previous war were now facing the fate of being secretly executed, these two emotions reached their peak.
Fortunately, it only took the Divine Halls of West-Hill a day to find the Drunkard on Autumn Mountain outside of Linkang. With the help of Mr. First of the Academy, they persuaded the Drunkard to wait for a while.
Even if they only waited for a day, it was still a show of respect for Taoism. The cold rain never stopped. The Divine Halls mobilized thousands of South Jin civilians and spent only half a day to build a building on the mountain outside of Linkang.
There was wind outside the building. It was the autumn wind. The autumn wind traveled in the human world, sometimes to the west, and sometimes to the east. No one knew which wind would overwhelm the other, and no one knew how the situation would develop.
Standing in the building and watching the autumn wind, the Drunkard was waiting for the news of how many people Ning Que had killed and how Taoism would persuade him. But in fact, he was waiting for the wind in his heart.
The Eldest Brother waited outside the building with a wooden stick in his hand. He looked at the red, yellow, and green leaves all over the mountain. If the Drunkard was unwilling to wait, he would hit the autumn wind.
…
…
Ning Que closed the oil-paper umbrella and brushed off the raindrops on his clothes. He looked to the south and said, "I heard that there is more rain in the autumn in the South Jin. If I were the person in charge of the Divine Halls, I would build a pavilion for the Drunkard. It's boring to wait for such a bigwig and senior. I have to serve him well."
Cheng Lixue took off his headscarf and let his snow-white hair spread out. He walked to the edge of the city wall and looked at the city of Chang 'an that had been washed clean by the autumn rain. After a moment of silence, he said, "As I said the other day, even if you can intimidate Taoism, you can't influence the Drunkard. Whether Taoism can persuade him is also a problem. If you want the Drunkard to stop, why can't you stop for a while? You should know that you've killed so many people. "
"I only need to be sure that my means can intimidate Taoism. How Taoism can persuade the Drunkard is their problem. I believe in the Abbey Dean's wisdom and ability. "
Ning Que said, "I can spare the others for now. But I will kill the dozens of people from the Military Ministry slowly. Otherwise, the people in the Divine Halls will not go crazy."
Cheng Lixue's eyes were a bit gloomy, "The Tang Empire has paid such a big price to capture seven of the Hierarch's relatives. Are you going to give them up?"
Ning Que said, "Xiong Chumo can't have sex … His nephew is precious. I will make good use of him. I won't send him to the Underworld so early."
Cheng Lixue frowned and asked, "Then why did you kill the He family?"
Ning Que said calmly, "For the Tang Empire, some people must die … sooner or later. He Mingchi and his family are among them. If so, of course they must die."
…
…
(I'm really in a bad state. It's mainly because of my health. Sorry.)
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