After getting up in the morning, Sangsang combed Ning Que's hair and fetched some hot water. Then she went out of the shop and bought two bowls of hot and sour noodle soup with two spoonfuls of minced beef. After washing his face and brushing his teeth, Ning Que put on an unlined robe and began to have breakfast. Sangsang took out clothes and shoes to match them. Last night, the Academy's spring clothes had been ironed tightly and the shoes and socks were all new. Ning Que's serious and dignified handling of his clothes over the years could only be compared to last spring on the opening day of the Academy.
With Sangsang's help, Ning Que began to put on his clothes. He held the brand-new densely-woven fine flower belt with both hands and pulled it hard. Sangsang picked up a lot of tokens from the bedside and stuffed them into his belt. It took her a long time to stuff them all into his belt.
Ning Que took the quaint and small wooden token from her hand. His fingertips slowly stroked the smooth lines on it. He wondered why His Majesty gave him this waist token of the Imperial Center Administration last night, and it seemed to have existed for many years.
The waist token should have been tied to the belt instead of being stuffed into the clothes. But Ning Que had too many waist tokens in his hands — the waist token of the secret guard, the waist token of the Academy, the waist token of the Second floor of the Academy, the waist token of a visiting minister given by the Fish-dragon Gang last year, and the new waist token of the Imperial Center Administration. If he hung all of them on his waist, he could totally go dancing.
Ning Que touched the bulging bulge on his waist and twisted it in front of Sangsang. He said, "I've been in Chang 'an for a year and earned a lot of money and tokens. But your young master's waist is not thick enough. If there are more tokens in the future, I'm afraid I won't be able to hang them."
Sangsang looked up at him and said with a smile, "Young master, don't be so proud, okay?"
Ning Que said proudly, "I have to pretend to be quiet and gentle outside. Why can't I be proud at home?"
Outside the front door of the Old Brush Pen Shop, the horse carriage had been quietly waiting in the alley under the morning light. But today, Old Duan did not wait in the carriage, but stood outside the shop with a very respectful look.
The coachman Old Duan did not know about the Second floor of the Academy, nor did he know about the Flower Blooming on the Opposite Shore Heaven. But he was called over by the boss of the carriage and horse shop last night and was warned. His boss told him that he was lucky and that he must serve Ning Que well in the future. Therefore, he took out the energy that he used to serve his wife at home and got up in the middle of the night. He changed into a set of clean clothes and brushed his teeth with a willow branch dipped in expensive powder for the first time. He also brushed the horse carriage clean and shiny and arrived at Lin 47th Street ahead of time to wait.
Looking at the clean coachman and horse carriage, Ning Que could not help but feel a little surprised. After asking a few questions, he guessed that the boss of the carriage and horse shop probably knew something. He could not help but smile and shake his head, thinking that it was hard not to be proud.
The carriage gradually moved away from the Eastern City and went out of the South Gate of Chang 'an via the Vermilion Bird Avenue. It went on the official road of the empire and headed towards the fairyland-like Academy in the distance.
Ning Que looked at the green trees and wildflowers along the road outside the window with a calm expression. He had seen the spring scenery on this road so many times that it could no longer arouse his thoughts. After looking at it for a while, he put down the curtain.
Sitting in the slightly shaking carriage, he slowly closed his eyes. The fatigue and tension of the past few days had long left his body. But this was the first time that he had a chance to calmly recall the experience of these days.
The morning light passed through the curtain and then through the eyelids, turning into a very dim light, which was very similar to the light intensity of the Wilderness that was about to usher in the night. His thoughts instantly drifted back to those strange dreams and the strange illusions he saw during the process of climbing the mountain.
After a long time, Ning Que opened his eyes and shook his head.
In the previous time, he once again reviewed the intertwining of light and darkness, the calling from the farthest place between heaven and earth and the deepest heart, and then found that these had nothing to do with him. If the last step was the test of the Academy, why would the Grand Cultivator of the Academy make such a mysterious illusion and why would he be right?
The selection test before climbing to the top of the Back Mountain of the Academy was too metaphysical and too solemn. And Ning Que was just a weak cultivator who had just entered the No Doubts State. Asking him to answer this question was like asking a philosophy professor of Heidelberg University to catch a child who had just entered elementary school: Who are you, where do you come from, and where do you want to go?
The boy would not have held his head in his hands and pondered for half a century until he had turned into a statue and could not answer, but he would have answered in a loud voice: "My name is So-and-Vitch, I come from Frankfurt, and I am going fishing in the Neckar."
Perhaps the philosophy professor of Heidelberg University also taught theology, or perhaps this professor was similar to the Zen masters in ancient China, who liked to play the trick of returning to the original and returning to the original. Hearing this answer, Ning Que's thin body shook violently. He felt that the child's answer seemed simple, but in fact it was not simple. He found the ultimate path directly from the heart, and increasingly felt that the child was a rare genius.
He was about to officially enter the Second floor of the Academy to study, but to be honest, until now he still did not know why the Academy, why the long mountain road, and why the bigwigs who set up the illusion selection would choose him. After thinking for a long time, Ning Que could only come to this conclusion.
"The Headmaster of the Academy is too profound, so he is confused, and I am that child."
…
…
On the wide straight road in the southwest of Chang 'an, several carriages and dozens of knights were silently moving forward. These carriages were mainly decorated in black and gold, exuding an indescribable sense of luxury and solemnity. Although the dozens of knights were not wearing armor, their neat black robes and determined expressions on their faces still exuded a sense of sacredness and inviolability.
These knights were the world-renowned Papal Guardians of the West-Hill Divine Kingdom, known as the world's most elite cavalry. The carriages that were qualified to be protected by them were undoubtedly bigwigs from the Divine Hall. It was still early at this time, but the carriages appeared on the road south of Chang 'an, indicating that they had left Chang' an as soon as the city gate opened.
If the team consisting of bigwigs from the Divine Hall and Papal Guardians were walking in other countries, it would definitely attract countless onlookers and cheers, and there might even be many believers kowtowing on the road. But now they were in the territory of the Tang Empire, and it was still early. No one on either side of the road looked at them, and no one offered pious tears. The team just moved forward silently and quickly, giving people a feeling that they wanted to leave as soon as possible at all costs.
Prince Long Qing sat in the middle of the luxurious yet solemn black and gold horse carriage. His calm eyes looked through the window at the Tang people's houses and the fields of rape flowers that looked like golden blankets. He listened to the sound of the horses' hooves and the knights' breathing. He felt the oppressive atmosphere and the strange silence. Suddenly, he smiled and said,
"When you came, the whole Chang 'an City was in jubilation. The believers, women and children lined the road to welcome you, and fruits and flowers were thrown at the carriages. But when you leave, you are so silent and even deliberately choose to leave when the city gate is open. Don't you think you are like a stray dog?"
Sitting opposite him, Priest Moli, the deputy head of the Revelation Institute, slightly changed his expression. He did not understand why Prince Long Qing would say such a thing. He forcibly suppressed his anger and said, "Why do you humiliate yourself like this?"
Prince Long Qing showed a faint expression of ridicule and said, "No matter where the Papal Guardians are in the world, they wear golden armor and shine like gods. But when you enter the territory of the Tang people, you have to take off your armor and hand over your spear. Otherwise, you are not allowed to enter. This … is a real humiliation."
Before Moli said anything, he continued with a smile, "Deputy head, do you know why I live in the Peach Alley in Chang 'an City?"
Priest Moli was slightly shocked. He did not know whether Prince Long Qing was trying to test him. But looking at his smiling face, he did not know why his heart became colder and colder. After a moment of hesitation, he honestly answered, "Because the Prince's Natal Item is the peach blossom."
"Yes, then do you know why I chose the peach blossom as my Natal Item?" Prince Long Qing asked.
Priest Moli shook his head. People in the West-Hill Divine Palace did not know the real reason.
"Because when the Headmaster of the Academy entered the West-Hill, he drank wine and cut down all the peach blossoms on the Divine Mountain. But no one dared to stop him."
Prince Long Qing looked out the window at the beautiful rape fields and said calmly, "This is the biggest humiliation that the West-Hill Divine Palace has suffered in the past hundred years. I chose the peach blossom as my Natal Item to remind myself not to forget this humiliation."
He continued indifferently, "This time, I lowered myself to accept the test of the Second floor of the Academy because I want to have the opportunity to learn from the Headmaster of the Academy. I hope that I can avenge this humiliation on behalf of the Divine Hall in the future. But I did not expect that I would be humiliated by Ning Que again."
Priest Moli wanted to comfort him, but found that he could not find any suitable words.
"You just said that I was humiliating myself … In fact, you are wrong. Humiliation has nothing to do with who initiated it. It only matters about strength. If I am stronger than others, then those words are ridicule. If I am weaker than others, then those words are self-humiliation."
"The Tangs can disarm my Apologetics Divine Army, the Headmaster of the Academy can cut down all the peach blossoms on the mountain, and Ning Que can force me to flee Chang 'an like a dog. It is not because they want to humiliate me, but because they are stronger in some aspects."
"But I am very grateful for this humiliation. Let me tell you a piece of good news. Maybe I have already taken that step. Now I only hope that Ning Que can really become strong quickly, so that I can have the opportunity to avenge this humiliation. "
Hearing this, Priest Moli was shocked and then ecstatic. He thought that if Prince Long Qing could enter the Knowing Destiny State during the journey, then the Divine Hall might forgive him for the humiliation he brought to the Divine Hall.
After repeatedly congratulating him, he had secretly made up his mind to hold on to the Prince's thigh more tightly in the future. Suddenly he thought of something and asked in a low voice, "Crown Prince Chong Ming has returned to the Yan Kingdom. The good news that the Prince has entered the Knowing Destiny State, should we send someone to inform the Emperor of Yan as soon as possible?"
Prince Long Qing slightly laughed at himself and said, "What's the point of letting my father know about this? Fighting for the throne? Is the throne of the Yan Kingdom more attractive than the Haotian Great Way? "
Priest Moli sincerely suggested, "But the throne should originally belong to you, Prince."
"It is mine, and it will always be mine."
Prince Long Qing recalled the illusions he had seen on the back of the mountain of the Academy, especially the great light and great fear he had seen in the last few steps on the edge of the cliff. His face was slightly pale, and then he resolutely said, "Anyone who wants to take away my things will die."
He withdrew his hand from the window, and did not know when there was a pink peach blossom between his fingers.
He casually inserted the peach blossom on his lapel, wondering if there was a transparent hole under the petals that were full of vitality.
Prince Long Qing looked at the smoke from the houses outside the window and the rape flowers in the fields. After a long silence, he calmly smiled and said, "In a few years, I will pull down all these ugly Tangs' houses and eradicate all the rape flowers in the fields. Then I will burn them all. I will burn away the evil and filth, and burn away a holy and bright world."
…
…
The horse carriage stopped by the meadow outside the Academy as usual. Ning Que got off the carriage and found that the atmosphere in the Academy today was very different from before. There were still many students standing in the distance, looking at him and discussing. However, the disdain and disgust in their eyes had long been replaced by shock, envy, and a touch of regret.
Under these gazes, Ning Que walked into the Academy and nodded slightly to Chang Zhengming who was beside the stone steps. Then he saw a little attendant standing in the morning light and waving to him. He could not help but be slightly startled.
The little attendant had delicate features, and his little face was very tender, as if it was made of pink and jade. He looked at Ning Que walking toward him, and then he very respectfully bowed and said, "Young Master, I am the attendant of my young master. I have been ordered to bring you up the mountain."
The little attendant had to put on the airs of an old master. Ning Que could not help but laugh and asked, "The question is who is your young master? And why do you call me young master? "
The little attendant chuckled and touched his head. He explained, "My young master is the second son, and the way I address him is the rule set by my young master. You are the youngest one in the Back Mountain, so I have to call you young master."
Ning Que asked with great interest, "Then … which Mr. Chen Pipi is?"
The little attendant answered in a childish voice, "He used to be young master. Now that you are young master, he is Mr. Twelve."
Ning Que was startled, and then he shook his head and said with a smile, "That fat man and young master … it sounds a little strange."
The little attendant said seriously, "Actually … I think so too."
…
…
The path that Ning Que took to enter the Back Mountain of the Academy today was certainly not the one that had tormented him half to death. The little attendant took him to a secluded alley and went up from a stone path beside the old library. Then they stopped in front of the thick fog that covered the mountain.
"Young master, there is also a path on the second floor of the old library. But young master said that today is your first day here, so please go this way."
Ning Que looked at the fog in front of him and subconsciously thought of the fog on the long mountain path the day before yesterday. His body slightly stiffened. After a moment of silence, he looked at the little attendant and asked gently, "Is there … anything strange in the fog?"
The little attendant laughed and said, "Of course not. I often walk."
…
…
There was indeed nothing strange in this mountain fog, such as the bamboo leaves that turned into flying swords, the mountain springs that turned into waterfalls, and the small ponds that turned into seas.
This mountain fog was very strange. Ning Que walked only a dozen steps and actually walked to the mountainside of the Academy's Back Mountain.
He waved his sleeves and brushed away the last few wisps of fog in front of him. He could not help but be stunned by the mountainside scenery in front of him which was like a fairyland under the morning light.
Looking from the direction of the Academy, there was actually such a large flat cliff facing the east side of the steep mountain.
On the cliff plateau, there was a mirror-like lake, blooming wildflowers, tranquil grass, and towering ancient trees.
There were thousands of kinds of flowers, including peach blossoms, but they were inconspicuous among them.
Under the towering ancient trees, there were more than ten simple houses, with smoke curling up from the chimneys.
Behind the houses, there was a silver line pouring down from the cliff. It was actually a waterfall in the far distance.
A flock of black birds were chirping and flying between the cliff and the waterfall.
In the morning light, such a beautiful scene came into his eyes. Ning Que was stunned and did not know what to say.
Feeling the quiet Qi of Heaven and Earth and the smell of life in the Back Mountain, a strong thought came into his mind.
— No matter who wants to destroy such beauty, I will definitely destroy you first.
…
…
(Modified 201112110408) (To be continued. If you like this work, please come to Qidian.Com to vote for me. Your support is my greatest motivation.)
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