People were about to die. The night was still cold before dawn.
However, the snow lake was extremely bright. Haotian's Divine Flame continued to burn on the ice surface and in the lake water, releasing clouds of water vapor. One could faintly hear the sound of boiling, like a hot spring in the morning.
Xia Hou was covered in blood. His scattered white hair was stuck to the shape of a withered willow. He looked at Ning Que with his dim eyes full of deep confusion. He said in a hoarse voice, "You were only four years old at that time … Hatred … is not easy for a four-year-old to remember. Do you really hate me so much?"
The cold wind blew on his face. The smile on Ning Que's face gradually disappeared. He said a few words.
"The four years in Chang 'an when I was a child were the happiest days of my previous life and this life. At that time, I didn't need to think or learn anything. I only needed to enjoy the love of my parents, play with my playmates, and secretly read the books of the general. Unfortunately, those days were destroyed by you."
"In the eyes of others, I lived a good life these years. But only I know how painful and unhappy it is to struggle to live every day. So of course I hate you."
"No matter what I've done over the years, the housekeeper and the young master who I killed in the woodshed will never come back to life. The people who died in the General's Mansion will never come back to life. My parents will never come back to life. My best days will never come back to me … So, no one or anything can stop me from killing you. I want them to know that it's worthwhile for me to wield that knife. I also want you to know that I'm avenging my parents. My father's name is Lin Tao, and my mother's name is Li Sanniang."
Xia Hou looked down at the knife wound on his chest and abdomen. He suddenly asked, "How does it feel to have your revenge?"
Ning Que said, "It feels good."
Xia Hou raised his head and felt a little confused. He said, "How does it feel?"
"I don't know what kind of feeling it is. Anyway, I feel very relaxed. I always feel that the world has become different after your death. I am no longer the same person I was in the past 15 years."
Ning Que thought for a while and said, "I understand why I feel relaxed. Because after your death, I can have more time to write calligraphy to earn money, instead of writing many boring talismans every night. After your death, I can often go to the House of Red Sleeves to listen to music, instead of listening to Senior Brother's music at the back of the mountain of the Academy. "
"After you die, I will still cultivate, but I won't be doing it to make myself stronger like I did in the past years. I will do it purely for my interests and hobbies, or to satisfy my desire to seek Tao. After you die, I won't have to stare at your back and wait for the battle in the City of Wei or Chang 'an like I used to. I can go to the great river of the South Jin Kingdom, to the East Sea of the Divine Hall, and to see the world and the people living in it."
He looked at Xia Hou and said very seriously, "After you die, I won't have to think about killing you anymore. Only then can I obtain true freedom and do what I want to do."
Xia Hou laughed. His laughter was very sad, and his expression was very strange.
"Freedom …"
Xia Hou looked at Ning Que with eyes full of pity and mockery. He said, "As a disciple of the Orthodox Faction, you have been deeply involved in the Devil's Doctrine, just like how I betrayed the Devil's Doctrine … You have already followed my old path, and are destined to struggle for survival in the gap between light and darkness. How can you obtain true freedom, and naturally, you won't have any happiness."
Ning Que used the podao as a crutch, supported his weak body, and stood up with difficulty. He looked at Xia Hou and said, "The Academy is not the Enlightenment Doctrine, and I am not you."
Those who did not have a deep understanding of the Academy could not understand the true attitude of the Academy, especially the Headmaster of the Academy towards the Devil's Doctrine. Ning Que never worried that he would become the hero in the story.
"The Academy is indeed not the Enlightenment Doctrine. With the Headmaster of the Academy's breadth of mind, he would not care about what his disciple cultivates. But you are indeed not me. You are simply … not a human."
The light in Xia Hou's eyes, which had been dim like a firefly that could be killed by the cold wind at any time, became bright at this moment. He said sternly, "You are the Son of Yama!"
Fifteen years ago, the Divine Priest of Light thought that the Son of Yama had been born in the Xuanwei General's Mansion, and the West-Hill Divine Palace had instructed Xia Hou to carry out a purge. That was why there were so many stories and tonight's bloody battle.
Before Xia Hou died, he recalled the doubts of tonight's battle. Those who were not there but had arrived through Ning Que became more and more convinced of this judgment.
He looked at Ning Que and smiled strangely. He cursed with resentment, "Haotian above, you, the Son of Yama, will one day be burned to ashes by Haotian's Divine Light, just like me."
"I am the Son of Yama, which probably makes it easier for you to accept the fact that you will die in my hands … But unfortunately, I have nothing to do with Yama."
Ning Que said, "And each of us will die eventually, and we will all be burned to ashes by Haotian's Divine Light. So your curse means nothing to me."
"You are really not the Son of Yama?"
Xia Hou murmured, "If you are not the Son of Yama, how could you escape from Chang 'an at such a young age? If you are not the Son of Yama, how could you surpass the state and defeat me? How could I die today? "
His cheeks were as wrinkled as a willow tree that had been split open by lightning, full of confusion and unwillingness. If Ning Que was not the Son of Yama, how could he have such great luck and such an incredible Lucky Chance that allowed him to cross states to challenge and kill the powerful Ning Que?
General Xia Hou, who had been arrogant and tyrannical for decades, looked like an old man spitting saliva at the village entrance looking for the thief who had kicked open the widow's door last night before he died.
Then he raised his head, looked at Ning Que, and said painfully, "I don't want to die."
Ning Que said, "I want you to die."
No one wanted to die.
Most people died unnaturally because other people in the world wanted them to die.
Xia Hou did not want to die. He wanted to live and continue to have glory and power.
Ning Que wanted him to die very much. He wanted to dig out his lungs, rack his brains, and be heartbroken for 15 years.
That was why Xia Hou died.
Xia Hou's body, which was still as burly as a mountain, fell straight backward, dispersing the fog-like steam around him. He fell into the lake with a bang, splashing water everywhere.
The top layer of the cold lake had been boiled by Haotian's Divine Flame and kept rolling. It looked like a hot spring in the valley of the Yan territory, or a big pot of clear soup.
Xia Hou's body floated in the boiling lake with his eyes wide open. A trace of doubt and unwillingness could still be seen on his bloodstained face, and the skin on his thin cheeks gradually became strangely red.
Many years ago, in the military camp at the foot of Min Mountain, the former saintess of the Devil's Doctrine, Murong Linshuang, danced the Devil's Dance, which shocked the world. Powerhouses of the West-Hill Divine Palace gathered, and sword radiance crisscrossed the mountains and rivers. Xia Hou did not hesitate and cooked her to death, resolutely betraying the Devil's Doctrine and joining Haotian Taoism.
That was the most important turning point in Xia Hou's life. However, he probably did not expect that he would be cooked by the boiling water after his death, just like that woman.
If there was a Heaven's Way, then this was the so-called cycle.
…
…
Looking at Xia Hou's body bobbing up and down in the boiling lake, Ning Que suddenly said, "Who said that mutton giblets must be eaten on the Winter Solstice? Who said that you can't stab someone to death without a spearhead? "
This was what he said to Ye Hongyu by the mutton giblets pot in autumn. Ye Hongyu understood the first part of the sentence, but did not understand the second part.
Today was the Winter Solstice, and it was the time to eat mutton giblets soup. The snow lake was full of warm and humid water vapor, and standing on the lake was like standing next to a pot of mutton giblets, or like the steam-scrubbing room in the courtyard of the House of Red Sleeves. The first person Ning Que killed for revenge, the censor Zhang Yiqi, died in that place.
Ning Que felt very warm, very calm, and very relaxed at this time, as if all his pores had relaxed in the steam-scrubbing room, and then he ate a big pot of mutton giblets with coriander and fermented bean curd sauce.
"Who said that the gatekeeper's son can't take revenge? Who said that the Seethrough State can't cross the state to kill the Knowing Destiny State? "
He turned around and walked towards the south bank of Yanming Lake. Occasionally, he raised his arm to wipe his face. It was unknown whether he was wiping away the dust or tears, but his face, especially the corner of his eyes, became very red.
Sangsang had already gone down the cliff and came to the snow lake. Her thin body was already very weak at this time, but she still had to hold the big black umbrella and drag the heavy arrow box, which seemed to be more and more strenuous.
Looking at the figure in the sparse snow in front of them, the two quickened their steps at the same time. When they met and looked at each other's familiar face, they had mixed feelings and did not know what to say.
So they did not say anything, and Ning Que held Sangsang in his arms. He hugged her so tightly that their faces were squeezed together, and with tear stains, they looked a little funny.
Ning Que's face was a little red and hot, and Sangsang's face was very pale and cold. Their faces were pressed together, and they both felt very comfortable, and then calm.
…
…
By the bridge on the west bank of the lake, Chen Pipi loosened his tightly clenched hand and patted the railing lightly. There was a blood mark on the railing. He had been too worried for Ning Que when he was watching the battle, and he was so nervous that he actually cut his hand.
Tang Xiaotang glanced at the green robe on the other side of the bridge, and held Chen Pipi's hand, walked out of the pier, and walked towards the two hugging on the snow lake.
Ye Hongyu stood on the wooden bridge and looked in the direction of the snow lake, without any emotion on her face. Then she closed her eyes, and her beautiful thin eyebrows slightly furrowed, as if she was thinking about something.
In the snow hall of the palace, the Empress stood expressionlessly at the threshold.
Her gentle face was already covered with tears. The Emperor gently hugged her from behind, wanting to give her some comfort. More and more tears flowed from her eyes, and she wanted to break free from his embrace.
His Majesty hugged her tightly, and the Empress struggled angrily, but in the end, she could not break free. This was not because she was too sad, or because she had no strength. She turned around and threw herself into the warm embrace of her husband, crying silently to her heart's content, and the front of her imperial robe was soaked.
Under the snow pavilion outside the hall, the Nation Master, Li Qingshan, looked in the direction of the Yanming Lake in the south with a complicated expression. Master Huang Yang withdrew his palm from the ancient bell, and the bell gradually stopped ringing.
The whole Chang 'an City was quiet.
The whole world was quiet.
In the winter forest on the east bank of the Yanming Lake, the cicadas suddenly chirped again. The sound was sad, but it was full of joy.
…
…
(There is one more chapter.) (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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