The Old Brush Pen Shop did not keep idlers, except for Ning Que.
Sangsang took in the old man and even persuaded him to start cultivating the Divine Skill. She sincerely called him her teacher. But thinking of the old man's cowardly appearance before they met, she arranged a lot of housework for him, so that he would not become the kind of old man who carried a teapot and walked around in the street, basking in the sun and picking his teeth, pretending to be pitiful and scolding his daughter-in-law.
The old man was not used to it at first. Since he left the small Taoist temple in the Kingdom of Song decades ago, he had never done such chores as washing dishes and wiping tables. Whether he was sitting on the throne or being imprisoned in the Secluded Prison behind the Peach Mountain, there were countless people serving him. As the Great God above the clouds, when had his hands ever been stained with water?
But now he had to learn these things, because it was Sangsang's request. He was Sangsang's teacher, and he also thought that a successor should learn to respect his teacher. But he was very clear that if he did not listen to this little girl, he might no longer be her teacher at any time, which was absolutely unacceptable to him.
Therefore, the most outstanding Great Divine Priest of Light in hundreds of years, who proudly betrayed the Divine Hall and single-handedly broke the Confinement Array set by the Great Divine Priest of Judgment, fell into the cage of life in front of Sangsang.
If the world's devout followers of Haotian Taoism knew what happened to the old man now, that he was doing chores in a shabby alley in Chang 'an City, they would probably faint with grief and indignation.
No matter how incredible it was, once it was done many times, people would get used to it and even start to enjoy it. It seemed that the Great Divine Priest of Light could not escape this natural cycle. The old man rolled up his cotton sleeves and stood by the stove, holding a loofah pulp in his hand and carefully washing the dishes. Because his movements were getting more and more skilled, and it seemed that he would not break the dishes today, he subconsciously became happy, and a childlike expression appeared on his face.
After finishing the housework arranged by Sangsang, the old man walked back to the front berth and put two square tables together to make a temporary bed. He took out a quilt from the corner behind the display shelf and laid it on the bed. He blew out the oil lamp and lay down to sleep.
The starlight of the winter night shone on Lin 47th Street through the lattice on the shop door. The old man looked at the frost-like starlight on the ground, pressed the corner of the quilt tightly, and let out a comfortable sigh.
He was very satisfied with his decision to leave Peach Mountain, very satisfied with his decision to come to Chang 'an, very satisfied with his current life. Therefore, he forgot why he left Peach Mountain, why he came to Chang' an, and even rarely thought of the black shadow. Perhaps he subconsciously wanted to extend his life a little longer.
To be able to find a successor was a happy thing, and to be able to find a successor like Sangsang was an indescribable happiness. The old man believed that there had never been such a person in Haotian Taoism in the past thousand years, and there probably wouldn't be another one in the next thousand years. Sangsang would definitely inherit his mantle and go further than him. She would eventually see the magical world that he had once glanced at with infatuation.
The old man felt that he was not far from death. However, before he died, he could already see the future after death, and it was a bright and beautiful future that made him exclaim in admiration. How could he not be happy?
Sangsang, who was in the house behind the shop, was also ready to sleep. She filled a bucket of remaining hot water and began to warm her feet. She kicked the water gently with her smooth and delicate feet, like a duckling playing in the pond.
A fourteen-year-old girl living alone took in an old man of unknown origin, and the old man had been peeping outside the Old Brush Pen Shop for many days. It didn't seem right, but Sangsang did it.
This didn't mean that Sangsang was a kind and gullible person. She might be kind, but she had been following Ning Que around in this world for so many years, so she knew how sinister people could be. The reason why she took in the old man was that she saw the holy light exuding from the old man's fingertips, and then she confirmed that she could help Ning Que fight after learning the Divine Skill.
This reason was very important. In the past ten years, it was Ning Que who fought and killed for her, and she could only hide under the big black umbrella, occasionally shouting. Now that she had become a big girl, she should be able to do more things, such as helping Ning Que fight and kill when necessary.
After getting along with the old man for a long time, Sangsang even developed a sense of closeness like family, because she could feel who was really good to her. She found that the old man treated her just a little less well than Ning Que.
"I don't know what young master is doing now. It's cold in the Wilderness, isn't it?"
Sangsang opened her eyes and looked at the roof, her little hand on the slightly cold brick bed, imagining Ning Que's life in the Wilderness. This was the longest time she had been separated from Ning Que, and she couldn't get used to it.
Because Ning Que was not at home, she felt that there was no need to warm the newly built brick bed in the north of the house, so she habitually began to be thrifty. These days, the amount of silver charcoal under the brick bed was pitifully small, and the surface of the brick bed was somewhat refreshing.
She took out the talismans left by Ning Que from the cabinet and carefully stuck them on the outside of her underwear. Logically speaking, except for Ning Que, no one else could stimulate the heat in these failed fire talismans, and he obviously forgot about it. But for some reason, perhaps because she began to cultivate the Divine Skill, her little body gradually warmed up.
The winter of the 14th year of the Tianqi era came earlier and colder than usual. Sangsang raised her little hand to her mouth and gently breathed out two hot breaths. Looking at the mist in her eyelashes, she thought of something. After a moment of hesitation, she took out Ning Que's bedding from the big cabinet, opened the door and walked into the front bed, and gently covered the old man with it.
A warm bed was the most insidious enemy of getting up. So the old man woke up late the next day. Looking at the bright sky outside the shop, he was shocked to think that he had forgotten to line up to buy the hot and sour noodle slice soup.
When he hurriedly got up to wash up, he saw a piece of paper pressed down by a stone on the small stool by the well.
On the paper was Sangsang's young but beautiful handwriting.
"I just remembered that a sister asked me to go to her house for dinner at night. She will probably be there all day. Teacher, you don't have to wait for me to eat. If you get up late and can't buy the noodle slice soup, you can go to the shop next door to eat. I told Aunt Wu."
…
…
The snow on the black tiles of the South School Abbey of Haotian Taoism was quietly looking at the red palace wall not far away in the morning light.
Li Qingshan, the Nation Master of Tang, coughed slightly and looked at the files on the table. He frowned slightly.
The official of the Imperial Center Administration who came to report bowed and said seriously, "Mr. Thirteen has left the palace and must have entered Tianqi Mountain. I don't know if he can find the Front Gate of the Devil's Doctrine. As for the Tomes of Arcane … Nation Master, if the imperial court does not send masters there, I'm afraid it will be difficult to get it in front of the Divine Hall."
Li Qingshan shook his head and said after a moment of silence, "When His Majesty sent Ning Que to the Wilderness, the imperial court did not know about the Tomes of Arcane. Later, they decided to let him have a try. It has nothing to do with the imperial court or the South School or the Imperial Center Administration. This is the idea of Mr. Second of the Academy, so it is the Academy's business. You don't have to think too much."
There was no need to think too much, because it was meaningless to think too much. The Tomes of Arcane in the Wilderness was enough to attract the attention of too many forces, especially the West-Hill Divine Palace. It was obvious that they had made sufficient preparations for this. Although the intelligence said that the Hierarch Lord and three Great Divine Priests were still in Peach Mountain, who knew whether people from the abbey would go there or not?
Facing such a situation, the Tang Empire could only defeat the Divine Hall and get the Tomes of Arcane if they launched an all-out attack. However, it was obvious that the imperial court would not do this. The Academy was the right way to go. However, Li Qingshan also did not understand why the Academy would put all their hopes on Ning Que. After all, that guy's state was really terrible.
Li Qingshan did not spend too much time and energy on this matter. He began to read other files sent by the Imperial Center Administration. Now he was completely focused on searching for the traces of the Great Divine Priest of Light. The Headmaster of Academy was traveling far away, but there was such a powerful and terrible Great Divine Priest lurking in Chang 'an City. Both His Majesty and himself would feel very uneasy.
The ambush in the late General's Mansion ended in failure. Although the empire did not suffer any loss, the South School of Haotian Taoism and the military had been conspiring for a long time, but they got nothing. It could be called a fiasco.
In that battle, Li Qingshan did not fight with the Great Divine Priest of Light face to face. But he knew that he lost, and the way he lost made him feel very humiliated. If he knew that the Great Divine Priest was washing dishes at this time, would he feel better?
Where on earth are you hiding?
Stepping on the ebony floor, the Nation Master slowly walked out of the hall. He stood by the railing and watched the withered flowers and snow for a long time. Then he flicked his sleeves and left the Southern Gate Temple. His eldest disciple, He Mingchi, hurried to follow him. He glanced at the clear sky and thought that it probably would not snow today, but he still clamped the Yellow Paper Umbrella under his armpit.
On the top floor of Wanyan Tower Temple.
Monk Huang Yang was transcribing Buddhist scriptures when he heard the sound behind him. He looked back and saw Li Qingshan's slightly haggard face. He sighed in his heart and stood up to greet him. He looked at his tired face and said, "According to the Great Divine Priest of Revelation, the" Ming "Handscroll should be resurrected in the Wilderness and can't get away from the location of the Front Gate of the Devil's Doctrine. But a few days ago you calculated it, and the location indicated on the map by the cinnabar pen was the Hulan Sea. There is still some distance between the two places."
It was quiet at the top of the pagoda. Huang Yang did not have the habit of ordering the little monk around, so the conversation between the two could not be heard by others.
Li Qingshan shook his head and said, "After all, the Tomes of Arcane is a sacred relic of Haotian Taoism. The imperial court really has no reason to take action. Our South School is in an even more awkward position. Now that the Academy has taken it over, I will no longer care about this matter."
Huang Yang looked at him quietly and suddenly said, "Are you going to care about that matter all the time?"
Li Qingshan said calmly, "The Divine Priest of Light is in Chang 'an. His Majesty will not allow the Divine Hall to send people here. That is my responsibility. As the Nation Master of Tang, I have the responsibility to protect the empire and this capital."
Then he looked at Huang Yang and said seriously, "You have to be careful these days."
Monk Huang Yang put his palms together and said slowly, "What kind of person is the Divine Priest of Light? I am just a nobody who has nothing to do with the world and hides in a shabby pagoda copying scriptures. Why would he want to come and verify his cultivation with me?"
After saying this, he walked to the edge of the pagoda and looked at the magnificent Chang 'an under the clear winter sky. He said calmly with a smile, "If he really dares to come, although I am incompetent, if he does not show his real power, there is no reason to erase me from this world quietly. At that time, the big tactical array of Chang' an City can suppress him in an instant."
Now, neither the West-Hill Divine Palace nor the Tang Empire knew why the Divine Priest of Light came to Chang 'an City after escaping from the Peach Mountain. If it was because of the prophecy and the old matter more than a decade ago, it did not make sense. If he wanted to harm the Tang Empire, then Li Qingshan and Huang Yang monk were undoubtedly the most likely targets.
In this case, Huang Yang monk's previous words had the compassion and fearlessness of feeding a tiger with his own body. Li Qingshan looked at the old monk's robe and shook his head after a moment of silence. He said, "We are too passive. We must find him first."
Monk Huang Yang turned around and found that there was a chessboard in front of Li Qingshan. Li Qingshan was reaching for the chess box.
He was slightly surprised and said, "Are you going to make a divination again?"
Li Qingshan put his right hand into the chess box and touched the slightly cold chess pieces. He nodded.
Monk Huang Yang frowned and said, "Your divination ability is at the cost of your lifespan. Why do you do this?"
Li Qingshan said calmly, "These days, Senior Brother has been looking for the Divine Priest of Light in Chang 'an City. Until today, he has still found nothing. He has taken such a big risk, so I have to do something."
Master Yan Se was the most powerful Divine Talisman Master in the world. Even in the West-Hill Divine Palace, he could be on an equal footing with the Hierarch Lord and the Great Divine Priest. Wei Guangming was the most powerful Divine Priest of Light in hundreds of years. No one in the world knew who was more powerful. However, this kind of search and encounter was extremely disadvantageous to Divine Talisman Masters.
The crisp sound was like the spring rain coming to the world ahead of time.
Dozens of chess pieces jumped and spun on the chessboard. Then, they calmed down and stopped moving.
Li Qingshan had casually pulled out these chess pieces from the box, but it was very strange. There was only a single white piece, while the rest were all black. The black, matte stone chess pieces piled up silently on the left side of the chessboard, surrounding the white piece in the centre.
Li Qingshan looked at the chessboard in silence for a long time. Then he said, "He is still in Chang 'an, not far from us."
…
…
Chang 'an City seemed to have been stimulated by something this winter and became as moody as summer. It had been sunny last night and this morning, but after a while, the sky was covered by gray clouds and snowflakes were falling.
He Mingchi looked up at the sky and heard the footsteps in the tower behind him. He quickly took out the Yellow Paper Umbrella from under his armpit and opened it. Looking at the Nation Master's cheeks, which were even more haggard than before, he could not help but feel nervous.
Returning from Wanyan Tower to Nanmengui, He Mingchi went straight to the kitchen and personally watched the handyman brew the medicine. As the eldest disciple of the Tang Nation Master, he did not have a very good aptitude for cultivation. He knew that he could not persuade his teacher not to waste his mind and even his lifespan to perform divination, so he could only do what he could.
He held the boiling medicine bowl and slowly walked into the quiet Taoist Temple.
Li Qingshan sat by the window and looked at the flying snow outside. He did not look back when he heard the footsteps. He waved his hand to let him put down the medicine bowl.
He Mingchi did not put down the medicine bowl. Instead, he knelt beside him and raised the medicine bowl with both hands, silently and stubbornly asking his teacher to take the medicine first.
Li Qingshan sighed helplessly. He took the medicine bowl and drank it slowly. Then he sighed and said, "You are so silent and stubborn. Even if you are in charge of the Imperial Center Administration, you are not suitable. If I die in the future, what will you do?"
…
…
(Beautiful Monday morning, please vote for Jiang Ye's youngest and freshest recommendation, dear big guy.) (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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