On the precipice of the Back Mountain of the Academy.
The Headmaster wore a black robe and sat on the edge of the cliff, looking at Chang 'an City in the distance. It was snowing heavily. From afar, it looked like Haotian was giving salt to the human world.
"Fifteen years ago, I sat here and looked at the woodshed of the Official of Counsel's Mansion."
The Headmaster said, "I saw your Youngest Brother walk out of the woodshed with a machete in his hand. I saw him grab a rope and hide in the well. I saw him climb over the wall and walk into the crowd. I saw him leave Chang 'an City … It was as if I saw your Youngest Uncle's appearance a long time ago."
Eldest Brother stood aside and asked, "How did Youngest Brother and Youngest Uncle resemble each other?"
The Headmaster shook his head and said, "I don't know. Maybe it's the strong desire for freedom?"
"I can understand why you said that about Youngest Uncle." Eldest Brother asked confusedly, "But what does the tragedy that Youngest Brother encountered have to do with freedom?"
The Headmaster said, "The so-called freedom is the right to choose. Choose to live, choose to die, or choose not to choose. Back then, your Junior Brother chose to pick up that hatchet and kill his housekeeper and his best playmate. At that moment, he took his first step towards freedom. "
Eldest Brother said honestly, "Teacher, I don't understand."
The Headmaster said, "You are the clearest stream in the world. You have been flowing freely in the mountains all these years. Maybe you have encountered dangerous shoals and reefs, but you have never encountered a real fork in the river. You have never encountered the choice that your Youngest Brother faced."
"No one is qualified to judge whether the choice your Junior Brother made back then was right or wrong. However, the fact that he was able to make this choice is already extraordinary. Just like your Junior Uncle back then, no matter what kind of situation they face, they will only do what they want to do."
Eldest Brother said, "That's why you want to take Youngest Brother in?"
The Headmaster said with emotion, "In the spring, when I met your Youngest Brother in the Building of Pines and Cranes and talked to him in the hut, I found that he was different from your Youngest Uncle. I felt sorry at that time."
"But that's how the world is. How can two identical leaves be found?"
The Headmaster looked at the snow clouds in the distance and Chang 'an City shrouded in the wind and snow. He said with relief, "But today, your Youngest Brother's choice still surprised me. I never thought that he would have the courage to challenge Xia Hou. I like the clumsiness in his choice."
He turned to look at his Eldest Disciple and said with a smile, "Among the Academy disciples, you are the clumsiest, so I like you the most. But in some aspects, you really have to learn from Jun Mo and Youngest Brother.
Eldest Brother solemnly accepted the advice, but looking at the wind and snow in the distance, he could not suppress the worry in his heart. After hesitating for a moment, he said, "If Youngest Brother really loses to Xiahou, what should I do?"
The words "if" and "really" in this sentence were very meaningful. This meant that in the eyes of the Eldest Brother of the Academy, Ning Que and Xia Hou were not powerless to fight.
"I don't believe in Heaven, nor do I believe in fate. I only believe in myself."
The Headmaster glanced at the dark winter sky and said, "Everyone can only believe in themselves. This is your Youngest Brother's own choice. It is his mockery and contempt for the Heaven's Way and destiny. Therefore, he needs nothing but a fair environment."
…
…
The dead silence in front of the imperial city lasted for a long time. The increasingly violent wind and snow covered the blood flag, making the big black umbrella sway slightly, and the people's faces seemed to be frozen.
Li Qingshan, the Nation Master of Tang, looked at Ning Que with a complicated expression and said, "Is that it?"
Ning Que did not say anything.
Li Qingshan sighed softly and shook his head helplessly. He said, "His Majesty said that if you insist on continuing this duel, then you must first hand over the item."
He reached out his hand to Ning Que and said, "You know what His Majesty said."
Ning Que raised his eyebrows and asked, "Why?"
Li Qingshan said, "Is this a personal grudge?"
Ning Que said, "Yes."
Li Qingshan said, "Since it is a personal grudge, how can you use the national weapon?"
Then he said seriously, "If this duel is over and you are lucky enough to survive, then I will return the item to you."
Ning Que looked at the thick snow under his feet. After a moment of silence, he took out an item tightly wrapped in cloth from his arms, but he did not hand it to Li Qingshan.
Li Qingshan frowned slightly and said, "Don't you even believe in me?"
"I have always believed in no one but myself. Sorry."
Ning Que said and then handed the item wrapped in cloth to Chen Pipi behind him.
Li Qingshan smiled bitterly and no longer cared about what happened in the venue, walking towards the imperial palace.
The people in front of the palace gate did not know what Ning Que took out from his arms, so they could not help but be curious. Xia Hou clearly felt the faint fluctuation of aura from that item. He frowned slowly and looked at Ning Que and said, "So the array eye is really in your hands. No wonder you are so bold to challenge me."
Ning Que said, "I have said before that I still have many powerful means."
Xia Hou slowly stroked the armrest of the chair, as if he did not notice that there was nothing there. He said, "Now that the array eye has been taken, you still insist on killing me?"
Ning Que said, "You have killed a lot of people, and so have I. People like us should be very clear that there are many ways to kill people."
Xia Hou said indifferently, "You know you will definitely die, but you still insist on killing me. Is it for revenge? Can a four-year-old boy have such a long memory? Can you remember the faces of your parents? I don't believe it at all. I think you just can't get rid of the psychological shadow of that year. "
Hearing this, Ning Que said, "I have to admit that my hands are very uncomfortable with young master's blood. I can't wash them clean no matter how I wash them. My fingers are always sticky. Maybe I do have a psychological shadow. I used a hatchet to kill people for the first time, and then I got used to using a knife."
He looked at Xia Hou and said, "But so what? What's the point of saying this? "
Xia Hou slightly raised his eyebrows and showed a look of ridicule and contempt on his face. He said, "At least it can prove that your revenge is not as great and righteous as you think."
"Great and righteous?"
Ning Que shook his head and said, "After escaping from Chang 'an, I have imagined countless times over the years. One day, I will meet an extraordinary person in the mountains and inherit a peerless skill. What will I say before I break into the military camp to kill you?"
"I will ask you why you are so cruel and murderous. I will say that killing you today is to seek justice for the ghosts in the General's Mansion, the burnt corpses in the villages in the Yan territory, and all the innocent people who died. The list is very long, and I added a very good friend to it at the end."
Speaking of this, he looked at Xia Hou and said with slight mockery, "These are some very awe-inspiring and righteous words, but … what does it have to do with me?"
The cold wind and snow attacked his body. Ning Que covered his mouth with his fist and coughed twice. Then he spat a thick phlegm into the snow. The yellow phlegm was very eye-catching in the clean snow.
"I have killed no less people than you, and I have also done many evil things that others can't imagine. My hands are never clean, and I am not a messenger of justice."
He looked at Xia Hou and said, "No matter how many innocent people you kill, it has nothing to do with me. As long as it has nothing to do with me, I can even applaud you. But since you have killed my family, I will naturally kill you. This is a matter of course, and I don't need any other reason."
Xia Hou was silent for a long time, and suddenly said, "A little interesting."
Then he stood up from the chair.
It was as if an indestructible mountain had suddenly appeared in the snowstorm.
"Come and kill me."
He finally said, "Or be killed by me and end your painful life."
…
…
The city of Chang 'an at dusk was like falling into the eternal night. The thick snow clouds covered the last afterglow and the sky full of stars. It was dark beside Yanming Lake, and only the distant torches illuminated the falling snow, turning the dense and whistling snow into the human world starlight.
Xia Hou looked at the closed courtyard door in front of him expressionlessly. He reached back and took the military flag from his bodyguard. He walked to the front of the courtyard door, holding the military flag in his right hand and pointing it down.
His movement was very casual. The ground in front of the courtyard door was hard stone. When the flagpole fell, the stone ground was broken into pieces, splashing countless gravel, and the end of the flagpole was deeply inserted into the mud.
Xia Hou slowly loosened his palm. The flagpole was firm as if it was born from the ground. The blood-red military flag fluttered in the sky full of snow, engulfing all the night.
This blood-red Royal General Flag had accompanied Xia Hou for many years.
Whether it was fighting with the Yan Kingdom army or the cavalry of the Left King's Palace, this flag had always been flying in the Northeast Border Military of the Tang Empire.
Over the past few decades, this blood flag had never fallen.
Just like the powerful man under the blood flag.
The bodyguards at the periphery of Yanming Lake, the vigilant ministers, and the local government runners of Chang 'an Local Government who maintained order, all looked at the blood flag in the night and had a strong feeling.
Tonight, this blood-red flag would still not fall.
Xia Hou walked up the stone steps.
Then he pushed open the courtyard door.
So he walked into the night.
…
…
Ning Que was not in the house by Yanming Lake.
He and Sangsang were standing on Yanming Mountain on the south bank, overlooking the distant opposite bank.
Sangsang held the big black umbrella to block the increasingly violent snow.
In the eyes of the world, Ning Que's most powerful cultivation state was Talisman and Arrow. To fight with Xia Hou, a powerhouse at the Peak state of Martial Arts, it was natural for him to keep a distance.
Although Xia Hou did not know where Ning Que was at this time, he could guess it. However, as proud and confident as he was, he did not care about it at all.
But tonight, the wind and snow were strong and the night sky covered the stars. In the cold winter, Yanming Lake was like a frozen inkstone. No matter how sharp Ning Que's senses were, he could not see the scene on the opposite bank.
If he could not see, then how could the Primordial Thirteen Arrows hit the enemy?
…
…
(That's all for today. I need to sort it out and delete some. Two chapters tomorrow.) (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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