Thick clouds covered the sky, making it dark and gloomy. In the distance, at the bottom of the cliff, the Blue Kidney Sea was tranquil and beautiful. No one disturbed it. The stream between the cliffs flowed unbridledly, emitting rumbling sounds. It seemed extremely cheerful.
After a long time, Ning Que woke up. His face was extremely pale due to the loss of blood, and he looked confused. It took him a while to really wake up and remember what had happened. He covered his badly wounded chest with one hand and tried to stand up, but found it very difficult.
Such a simple movement took him a long time and brought him endless pain. His Academy uniform was tattered, and the blood all over his body was frozen by the cold air. He looked like a ghost who had just escaped from hell.
After the battle, the Big Black Horse rushed out of the forest and stayed by his side. Seeing his weak appearance, it hurried to his side and supported him with its warm and solid body.
Ning Que gently stroked its neck with his left hand and forced a smile to express his gratitude. Then he looked around and saw corpses everywhere on the beach and in the river. But the blood in the water had been diluted, so it was hard to see.
The hundreds of cultivators, who were as terrifying as hungry wolves, were all dead. Many died under his iron bow, and many more died under Long Qing's hands. The faces of the dead had a very strange gray color, and they looked very haggard. It should be the result of Long Qing absorbing all of their Psyche Power.
Ning Que noticed that there were dozens of dead birds beside the corpses of the priests. There were still some traces of blood and flesh in the birds' beaks. It seemed that these people had been implanted with some kind of poison.
Long Qing's body was at his feet. It was still staring at the gray sky, unwilling to die. He did not have the habit of collecting the bodies of his enemies, but he wanted to find something on Long Qing's body. He squatted down and began to search carefully, but he found nothing in the tattered black robe. Unexpectedly, he found that there were some faint golden reflections in Long Qing's wounds. He frowned slightly, not understanding what they were.
He picked up the iron arrow on the ground and pierced it into Long Qing's body. He picked out the golden things and found that they were very thin golden threads, and there were more than one. They were everywhere.
Ning Que only knew that a madman in the cultivation world had done something similar. Ye Hongyu had planted many golden threads in her body to counter his Practice of Taotie. He did not expect Long Qing to do the same.
The poison implanted in the bodies of those cultivators and the golden thread implanted in Long Qing's body were naturally a trap for him. In the previous banquet, Long Qing had used the Gray Eyes to absorb the Psyche Power of his subordinates. If Ning Que had responded with the Taotie, he would have fallen into his trap. No one could predict the outcome of the battle.
Ning Que looked at Long Qing's eyes, which were brighter after death than when he was alive, and remained silent. There were many key points in today's battle. He had refused to use the Taotie, which was completely out of his opponent's expectation.
A long time ago, he and the Headmaster of the Academy had talked about this matter. The master and disciple's attainments in food were as different as heaven and earth, but they had reached an unprecedented consensus in this regard: human flesh really did not taste good.
They were able to have this kind of discussion because both master and disciple had done such crazy things before.
Of course, if it really came to a moment of life and death, such as when he carried Sangsang on his back to escape in the barren land many years ago, or he would still eat anything, what would the Taotie be?
The reason why he did not use it today was that he always thought Long Qing would have other means, the strongest one. That was also the reason why he searched for Long Qing's body. Unexpectedly, he did not find it.
The "Sha" Handscroll of the Tomes of Arcane had always been with Long Qing. In the capital of the Kingdom of Song, he used this Tomes of Arcane to break the River and Mountain Sandbox of Fourth Brother. There were still some remnants of the Tomes of Arcane, but where was it now?
The Academy now attached great importance to the seven Tomes of Arcane, or to be exact, the six Tomes of Arcane in the hands of Taoism. When Yu Lian and Jun Mo were looking for the Butcher in the small town in front of Peach Mountain, they were also looking for the "Fall" Handscroll of the Tomes of Arcane in the hands of the middle-aged Taoist. So did Ning Que. Now that they had confirmed that the Tomes of Arcane were not with the original owner, they must be in the hands of the Abbey Dean. What did the Abbey Dean want to do with them? Needless to say, they must be extremely important.
Ning Que stood where he was and thought for a while. When he recovered a little, he patted the Big Black Horse's neck. The Big Black Horse knew that he was ready to leave, so it did not wait for him to turn over. Instead, it slightly bent its front hooves and arched to the side. Then, it lifted Ning Que, who was exhausted and powerless, onto the saddle. Then it stepped on the soft river bank and left.
Holding the Big Black Horse's neck, he noticed that its front hooves were stained with blood. Thinking that Long Qing's horse was missing, he seemed to understand something. Then, his attention was attracted by the clouds and mist that appeared between the cliffs again.
The Big Black Horse ran down the cliff and continued northward along the Blue Kidney Sea. It stopped by the steaming hot spring for a night. Ning Que soaked in the hot water and meditated to make sure that his injury would not worsen. Then, he was relieved.
He leaned against the edge of the pool and looked at the floating hot mist. He did not think about the stories that happened many years ago. Instead, he felt that the mist was very similar to the clouds and mist in the cliffs. There was no difference.
This battle was very bloody and tragic. But he also learned something. For example, he understood a saying.
At the end of the mountain and the end of the river, there were white clouds.
There was no need to think about whether there was a path in the depths of the clouds. There was no need to think about whether there was a light at the end of the tunnel. There was no need to look for villages and hunting villages. He thought so the moment he waved the iron bow and did so.
It was not necessary to be more evil to defeat evil. It was not necessary to be more violent to defeat violence. It was not necessary to use the Practice of Taotie to defeat the Gray Eyes. Follow your heart, and you may see freedom.
This might be the real no-boundary spirit of the Academy. It was also the true meaning of the four words that the Headmaster of the Academy let him see on the stone behind the wooden door. It was also a kind of teaching. Ning Que understood.
He knew very well how important it was.
If he really wanted to write that big character one day in the future, he must understand this truth.
This battle also gave him some psychological hints. Because it was too painful, too bitter and too miserable, he always felt that this should be the last pass before he traveled thousands of miles to see Tian Yan.
He took out the stone statue and looked at Sangsang who was lying quietly in the mist. He said quietly, "You have to wait for me."
…
…
After leaving the Blue Kidney Sea, Ning Que rode the Big Black Horse and continued northward. The Eastern Wilderness grassland was full of charred tents and corpses of warhorses. The Desolate Man defeated the last cavalry of the Left King's Palace, so no one would disturb him. It was strange that he did not go to the Desolate Man for supplies or clues. He seemed to be extra careful.
He went all the way to the north and came to the valley guarded by Helan City. He stopped the Big Black Horse and looked around to see that there was no one around. He put his finger to his lips and blew a very clear whistle.
The sound of the whistle traveled far into the mountains and ridges.
Some birds were startled, some beasts growled, and then there was the sound of hurried hooves going far away.
Ning Que waited in the same place for three days.
On the morning of the fourth day, when the sun had just risen, a very handsome wild horse galloped in the morning light. Its long mane danced in the wind and its strong body was drenched in sweat. It looked very beautiful.
"It is much more handsome than you."
Ning Que looked at the wild horse and said to the Big Black Horse. To his surprise, the Big Black Horse only snorted and did not make any more aggressive moves to express its opposition, such as acting coquettishly or acting cute.
The wild horse galloped to Ning Que and stopped in front of him. It lowered its head and sent a message.
Ning Que recognized that this horse was one of the eight horses in front of the black donkey's broken chariot. He reached out and patted it to express his gratitude. Then he began to read the message that Gaga had ordered countless creatures on the grassland to inquire about.
The Big Black Horse approached the wild horse and tried to show affection by rubbing its neck. The wild horse raised its head to show its pride and disdain, but it did not leave.
Ning Que then realized that this unusually handsome wild horse was actually a female horse.
Gaga used some unknown means to make a human understand its consciousness. It even made the human write a letter. The words in the letter were very simple and the meaning was very clear.
"In the cold north, the most cunning snow fox and the most vigilant snow chicken are dying one after another. There are no wild horses and snow wolves that have seen the beast that is good at hunting, but there must be such a beast."
Ning Que finished reading the letter and looked to the north.
It was the same as what the stone statue had predicted. They were all in the north.
The Headmaster of the Academy once said that the north of all places was in one place.
— — No one found any trace of her, but they found traces left by a fierce beast. That beast was either an indigo dog or an indigo lion.
Ning Que's expression did not change, but his hand holding the letter became a little stiff.
He turned over and mounted the horse, lightly clamping its belly, and headed north.
The handsome wild horse quietly saw him off at the entrance of the gorge.
The Big Black Horse lowered its head and looked a little unhappy.
Ning Que said, "I know you want to find a companion, but I have to find mine first."
…
…
The wind and snow gradually became stronger as they headed north.
Ning Que calmed himself down and was cautious and silent. He did not meet with the Desolate Man and even paid attention not to leave any traces on the snow. He did not want anyone to find his whereabouts and thus find her.
He moved forward in the mountains abandoned by Haotian.
He was the person abandoned by Haotian.
In other words, he had abandoned Haotian in the human world.
Now he was going to find her.
…
…
He arrived at the Hot Sea. There was no heat, only thick snow and bone-chilling coldness.
Ning Que led the Big Black Horse and walked in the wooden houses abandoned by the Desolate Man. He recalled the scene when the Headmaster brought him and Sangsang here and the wedding witnessed by Master Heaven and Earth.
The stone statue in his arms was also very warm, which told him that he had come to the right place. She should be here.
But where was she?
He walked to the window of a wooden house and looked at the dark Snow Sea and the unimaginably high mountain.
There was an oil lamp in the window. Sangsang looked at him quietly. Her face was like the silver moon, illuminated by the dim light.
She could see him.
He could not see her.
They were people from two different worlds.
Ning Que stood by the window for a long time, until his eyebrows were dyed white by the snow.
When he walked to the forest, he suddenly stopped.
He looked at a place under the tree and his hand holding the reins began to tremble.
…
…
(The more I wrote, the more cautious I became, and the more I didn't want to continue. I really love the people at night. Last night, after Long Qing died, I was able to sleep peacefully. This is the truth. I also love you very much.
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