Ning Que didn't lie to Ye Hongyu. He really took Sangsang to the House of Red Sleeves, but he didn't hang around in Dewdrop's yard, nor did he peep at the new Red Cards. Instead, he went to the top floor and sat in Mistress Jian's room. He rolled up his sleeves and started to attack the pot of mutton giblets soup.
The mutton giblets soup was made with excellent utensils, and there were more than ten plates of side dishes and vegetables. The steam was steaming and green. It was a wonderful atmosphere for the Winter Solstice.
Ning Que picked up a chopstick from the bowl, dipped it in the minced garlic, and put it into his mouth to chew. He put the Nine-river Double-distilled Liquor into his mouth. It was so spicy that he frowned, as if he had encountered a very difficult problem.
Mistress Jian took the towel from Xiaocao and wiped the sweat on her forehead. She looked at him and said, "I've brought the Empress's words. As long as you can spend today peacefully, the Empress is willing to pay any price you need. Of course, she will apologize to you again on behalf of Xiahou."
Ning Que pointed at his wrinkled brows because of the spiciness of the liquor and said, "The problem is that there is a knot between my brows that can't be stretched. I can't think it through."
"That's because of the spiciness of the liquor. You can't drink as well as Sangsang, so don't drink hard liquor."
Mistress Jian's words seemed to have a hidden meaning. After saying this, she was silent for a long time, and then cautiously and gently persuaded him again, "Great wisdom is to be able to endure and be calm."
Ning Que nodded and said, "I understand."
Mistress Jian comforted him with a smile, and then sighed and said, "Before you came, I was really worried that you would mess around like that guy in the past."
According to the Senior Brothers in the Academy, Mistress Jian should be Youngest Uncle's sister-in-law. In this case, she was the only one in the world who dared to call Youngest Uncle that guy.
"I'm not as capable as Youngest Uncle." He said with a smile, and then his smile gradually disappeared. He said, "If I were as capable as Youngest Uncle, I wouldn't have to endure anymore. Since I've entered the human realm, I must kill well. I can't let Master's prestige or Youngest Uncle's name be tarnished."
Mistress Jian frowned and said, "Entering the human realm is not to kill, but to understand."
Ning Que said, "Isn't killing also a kind of enlightenment?"
After saying this, Ning Que became drunk. It was unknown whether it was the double-distilled liquor from Hebei County that made him drunk, or he found that he was unable to tear apart the dense net of the powerhouses in Chang 'an, so he had to get drunk. Perhaps he just wanted to use the drunkenness to hide some of his thoughts.
As usual, after getting drunk at the House of Red-Sleeves, he slept in Dewdrop's courtyard. The bed was still warm and fragrant. Fortunately, there was not much of the smell of Yan Se's stinky feet.
Sangsang sat at the head of the bed, took a wet towel and put it on his forehead. She knew very well that Ning Que was pretending to be drunk, so she declined Dewdrop's suggestion to make soup to sober him up.
Ning Que did not dream in his tipsy state. He did not see the darkness in the distance, did not see the three extremely cold black smoke, and did not see the infinite light in the sky above his head. He just sank his consciousness into his sense of perception, all the way to the deepest bottom of the sea, and picked up those fragments of consciousness to feel them silently.
These fragments of consciousness were obtained after the bloody battle with Lotus at the Front Gate of the Devil's Doctrine last year. Before Master Lotus died, he forcibly transferred these fragments of consciousness into his sense of perception. Since then, he had been carefully feeling them, but he did not gain any concrete results.
However, he knew that these fragments of consciousness were very important, at least to him. Because in the north of the Hulan Sea, it was with these fragments of consciousness that he instinctively made a very effective dodge when facing Xia Hou's Mighty Iron Fist. He seemed to be able to guess Xia Hou's thoughts during the battle.
Drunk and lying on the warm bed, Ning Que's right hand unconsciously fell on his waist. There were a few hard things in his belt, the waist token of the Academy, and some other waist tokens.
These waist tokens in his belt seemed to give him some spiritual comfort, making his consciousness in his sense of perception become more and more peaceful and clear. At this time, he still did not have enough state to fully understand the deep meaning of the fragments of consciousness left by Master Lotus. However, he already understood how important these fragments of consciousness would be in the battle with Xia Hou.
At the Yanming Lake, Ye Hongyu once said that Grand Cultivators who entered the Knowing destiny State could sense the slightest changes in the Qi of Heaven and Earth. All the means of their opponents could not surpass their experience and perception. This kind of battle consciousness was the most terrifying part of the Knowing destiny State powerhouses.
Ning Que was now in the upper state of Seethrough. If he wanted to fight with a Grand Cultivator in the Knowing destiny State, the huge gap in battle consciousness alone would make him feel hopeless.
However, there were many fragments of consciousness left by Lotus deep in his sense of perception.
As the Great Divine Priest of West-Hill, the bigwig who was the protector of the Front Gate of the Buddhism Sect, he had already reached the peak of the Knowing destiny State when he was alive. If not for some very mysterious reasons, he would have already broken through the Five States and become a Divine Transcendence.
What kind of state did the fragments of consciousness left by Master Lotus reach?
Ning Que did not know. This kind of thing could only be found out in the battle.
…
…
After waking up, Ning Que felt refreshed and sober. After confirming that his body and spirit were in the best state of his life, he left the House of Red Sleeves with Sangsang.
The wind and snow in Chang 'an were heavier than in the morning. Like goose feathers, they danced restlessly and then fell, dyeing the whole city white. Holding the dirty big black umbrella, Ning Que and Sangsang walked in this plain world of ice and snow, like a dazzling drop of ink.
The common people in the city were celebrating the festival. Accompanied by the mellow smell of mutton giblets soup, the thick snow on the eaves seemed to have become freshly cooked mutton slices. The nobles also celebrated the festival. However, there was no noise coming from the quiet and solemn mansions in the North City.
Ning Que knew why. The officials in the mansions were all going to the imperial city to see Xia Hou off. They might even send the general out of Chang 'an.
He held the handle of the big black umbrella in his right hand and held Sangsang's hand in his left. They walked in the wind and snow, in the beautiful atmosphere of the marketplace and the noble atmosphere of the North City. He was silent.
In the summer of the 15th year of Tianqi era, Chang 'an had been peaceful for a long time. The people in the city, including the Senior Brothers and Sisters in the Academy, probably thought that the peace would continue. They all thought that Ning Que had given up the idea. No matter how they looked at it, they could not find a suitable way for him.
It was impossible for Ning Que to give up. Just like what he had said to Sangsang in the summer, if he did not kill Xia Hou, Xia Hou would really be old. Revenge itself was not important. What was important was that he had to give an account of his life. Without this account, his life would not be complete.
He might die because Xia Hou was indeed very powerful. In the Wilderness, even Eldest Brother said that he was not sure that he could kill Xia Hou. But he did not think that he would die. Except for the Headmaster of Academy, no one in the world knew better than him that he was very powerful now.
Life was like a puzzle. Ning Que had solved many puzzles in the past 15 years. The purpose of solving the puzzles was today's battle, and he firmly believed that he would win.
…
…
The imperial city was shrouded in heavy snow.
The red palace wall was particularly eye-catching in the snow.
The atmosphere in front of the imperial city was different from the cold wind and snow. Dozens of luxurious horse carriages were waiting outside the square in front of the palace. A few hundred feet ahead of the jade fence of the moat was the palace gate. There were many people there.
Prince Li Peiyan came. The Defender-general of the State Xu Shi, the Grand Secretary and the ministers came. Except for the Prime Minister who was recuperating from illness, all the bigwigs of the imperial court and the military of the Tang Empire appeared in front of the imperial city. They were here to see off General Xia Hou.
Looking at the tall figure slowly walking out of the gate of the imperial city, the bigwigs' faces showed complicated emotions. Some smiled comfortingly, some sighed, and some were sad.
This was the first general of the Tang Empire to retire in the Tianqi era. Looking back more than a hundred years, he was probably the only general who had given up his military power without any reason.
Xia Hou slowly walked out of the gate. Looking at the bigwigs and colleagues who had been with him for decades, his solemn face was also very complicated.
Leaving the imperial palace and going to his hometown, he was no longer a general, but a farmer retiring in old age. He was indeed a little reluctant. He was reluctant to give up the power to hold a killing knife in his hand. He was reluctant to give up the iron cavalry in the military camp. He was reluctant to give up the days of watching swords by lantern at night.
What was most reluctant was that the law of the Tang Empire could not shake him, the enemy's army could not defeat him, and even the West-Hill Divine Palace quietly indulged him. But he was forced to leave this prosperous stage.
However, since the founding of the Tang Empire, there were not many ministers who could receive such an honor. Not to mention that a traitor of the Devil's Doctrine could become a visiting professor of Haotian Taoism, a general of the Tang Empire, expand the territory, kill countless people, and retire peacefully. This was a very perfect life.
Xia Hou was very satisfied.
In the quiet city gate, he walked out of the palace and walked toward the bigwigs who were looking at him with a smile. With every step he took, his whole body relaxed a little.
Walking out of the city gate, his military boots squeaked on the snow. Xia Hou frowned slightly. He did not return the salute to the prince who personally welcomed him, but looked to the south of the imperial palace.
The prince's expression changed slightly and he turned to look.
The people at the palace gate all found something strange and turned to look in that direction in confusion.
Old General Xu Shi suddenly coughed painfully. In the sky full of snow, his white eyebrows looked like two pieces of sticky snow that refused to fall. He was a little angry, but also a little helpless.
In the sky full of snow, a big black umbrella slowly walked over.
There were two people under the black umbrella.
The black umbrella was very big and its surface was very thick. No matter how strong the wind and snow were, it could not invade it. The heavy snow fell on the oily surface of the black umbrella, but did not stick to it. Instead, it seemed to be a little afraid and slid to the sides.
Looking at the big black umbrella slowly in the snow, Xia Hou did not know why he felt completely relaxed. It was not until this moment that he realized that he had actually been waiting for the arrival of this person.
…
…
(The traditional version has been published. Today I received the sample book. I like it very much. Thank you to the students of the publishing house. My friends from Taiwan, I wonder if you have seen it. In addition, about understanding this song, the singer of China Voice did not sing my favorite song. I still like the version with Yang Zongwei's broken voice the most …) If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for it and vote for it. Your support is my biggest motivation.)
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