They hadn't seen Chang 'an for a long time. The black horse carriage traveled slowly on the Vermilion Bird Avenue. Ning Que and Sangsang lifted the curtains and looked at the familiar street view.
Just like under the Divine Palace of the Mausoleum, no one in Chang 'an noticed the black horse carriage, as if they couldn't see it at all.
From the Vermilion Bird Avenue to the east, the buildings gradually became shorter, and they arrived at the Eastern City.
The horse carriage entered the long-awaited Lin 47th Street and stopped in front of the Old Brush Pen Shop.
The quarrel between Mr. Wu and his wife still echoed in the fake antique shop next door. There were still oil stains left by the hot and sour noodle slice soup stall at the entrance of the alley.
With a creak, the door of the Old Brush Pen Shop opened. Ning Que and Sangsang led the Headmaster into the backyard to rest. They heard a cat meow and a shadow flashed over the wall.
He looked at the wall and smiled. Then he went to the well to fetch water and cleaned up with Sangsang for cooking. This was the first time the Headmaster came to the Old Brush Pen Shop, so he had to have a proper meal.
A few simple dishes of vegetables and meat were quickly prepared and placed on the table in front of the shop. The Headmaster took a few bites with his chopsticks and showed a satisfied expression. Sangsang, who was very nervous, heaved a sigh of relief.
After the meal, Sangsang stood behind the Headmaster and massaged his shoulders. The atmosphere was very peaceful and comfortable. However, Chang 'an in midsummer was always annoying. Ning Que took a fan and stood in front of the Headmaster.
As he fanned, he asked, "Why didn't you take the" Ming "Handscroll back?"
The Headmaster said, "When I was reading in the Zhishou Abbey, I didn't think about stealing it. Naturally, I wouldn't take it back now. I thought it would be good to leave it for that guy's disciples. Later, when your Youngest Uncle destroyed the Devil's Doctrine, I didn't want Haotian Taoism to take it back, so I took it back."
They didn't stay in the Old Brush Pen Shop for too long. After drinking tea, the Headmaster left with the two and continued to wander in the horse carriage. As they strolled, they arrived at the Northern City of Chang 'an and could vaguely see the imperial city.
It was midsummer, and the heat in Chang 'an was unbearable. There were not many people on the street, but the trees were very lively. They were lush and luxuriant. It was very beautiful against the palace walls.
"After the Tang Empire defeated the Empire of the Desolate, the West-Hill Divine Palace had no choice but to acknowledge the status of this country and acquiesced to its uniqueness. The other countries were influenced by the Tang Empire and began to revise their laws. Haotian Taoism and cultivation sects gradually returned more power to the hands of ordinary people."
The Headmaster looked at the Imperial Palace not far away from the window. After a moment of silence, he said, "This is a very good thing. Ordinary people don't know how to cultivate Taoism and have less awe. Instead, they can find a way to balance the conflict of interests. However, ordinary people also have one drawback, and that is that they age too easily and their lifespans are too short. "
"Emperor Li is good at strategy and military command, but he is an ordinary person after all. He will also grow old, and when he is old, he is easily confused, and sometimes his ideas will conflict with mine. During those years, I built an Academy in the south of Chang 'an and studied there. I didn't want to see him, lest he got angry. "
Ning Que was curious about how the story of the founding emperor of the Tang Empire and the Headmaster of the Academy would develop. He asked, "What happened next?"
The Headmaster said, "Later on, Emperor Li was really muddle-headed. I don't know where he heard the rumor that in order to live forever, he needed to eat my flesh. He actually wanted to deal with me."
Ning Que asked worriedly, "Then what did you do?"
The Headmaster said, "Haotian wanted to eat me, but I didn't let it, let alone Emperor Li. When he wanted to deal with me, I went into the Imperial Palace and killed him."
Ning Que said in shock, "You killed him just like that?"
"What else can I do if I don't kill him? Did you want the three departments to hold a trial and sentence him to death by a thousand cuts? "
"Teacher … that's not what I meant."
"Anyway, the first emperor of the Tang Empire was killed by me just like that. Although I didn't feel sad, I still felt a little regretful. So I thought of an idea — I will teach the new emperor. In this way, even if the new emperor is confused, he will not want to eat my flesh."
Ning Que thought that this was probably the historical reason why the Academy had such a high status in the Tang Empire.
"The new emperor is a very filial child. Very good." The Headmaster stroked his beard and said with satisfaction.
Ning Que thought silently, "Teacher, you killed his father and could kill him at any time and set up a new emperor. What else could poor Emperor Taizong do except to be filial to you?"
"The subsequent emperors of the Great Tang were all outstanding, and the bloodline of the Li Clan was something to be proud of. After everything was on the right track, a lazy person like me naturally didn't want to bother with the matters of the court. From then on, I never stepped into the Imperial Palace again."
The Headmaster's gaze passed through the window, through the lush green trees, through the hot Golden River, and fell on the vermilion palace wall. He looked calm, but deep in his eyes, there was a hint of sadness.
The black horse carriage slowly moved away from the Imperial Palace. When it reached the bustling area, it moved forward under the lazy gaze of the shop assistants and stopped in front of a shop named Chenjinji Cosmetics Store.
The Headmaster walked into Chenjinji Cosmetics Store and bought a big box of powder for Sangsang.
"Teacher, why do you spoil her so much?"
Ning Que looked at Sangsang's small face, which was covered with powder, and could not help laughing. He said, "My Sangsang is becoming whiter and whiter."
Sangsang bowed her head shyly and thanked the Headmaster.
The Headmaster smiled and waved his hand, indicating that he did not mind.
The black horse carriage left Chenjinji Cosmetics Store and continued southward on the straight and spacious Vermilion Bird Avenue. This time, the carriage passed by the famous Vermilion Bird stone painting.
The wheels of the carriage rolled over the flagstones. The tourists from the Tang Empire were looking at the Vermilion Bird painting under the scorching sun with umbrellas. Suddenly, a gust of wind blew and they squinted their eyes.
Amidst the wind, the eyes of the Vermilion Bird painting moved slightly, as if it was coming to life. But after a moment, it lost all its liveliness, as if it had lost its soul.
In the dark carriage, a little bird with a bright red body suddenly appeared.
The little red bird moved around on the floor, and its movements were a little clumsy. It looked very cute, but its red feathers seemed to contain a very scary power, which made people shudder.
"Chirp chirp."
The little red bird walked in front of the Headmaster and chirped twice.
The Headmaster stretched out a finger and gently touched its head.
The little red bird rubbed against the Headmaster's finger and turned, looking very happy.
"This … is the Vermilion Bird?"
Along the way, Ning Que had heard and seen many shocking things. Now he knew that Chang 'an City and even the God-stunning Array were all his Headmaster's tricks. At this time, when he saw the Vermilion Bird suddenly appear in the black horse carriage, he was still shocked but not panicked.
He imitated the Headmaster and carefully tried to touch the legendary Vermilion Bird.
The little red bird suddenly turned around and stared into Ning Que's eyes. It looked very dignified, with vigilance, disgust, contempt, and disdain in its eyes.
Ning Que recalled the time when he and Sangsang held the big black umbrella and looked at the Vermilion Bird painting in the rain. He also recalled the time when he was seriously injured and lying under the Vermilion Bird painting. He hurriedly tucked the big black umbrella under his buttocks.
The little red bird turned its head to look at Sangsang, and its eyes suddenly became very confused.
…
…
The black horse carriage drove out of the South Gate of Chang 'an and headed for the Academy.
Ning Que had followed this road to the Academy to study and cultivate in countless mornings over the years. He was very familiar with the scenery on both sides of the road, so he looked away after a few glances.
He wanted to ask the Headmaster about the changes in the Academy over the past thousand years, but then he realized that there was no need to ask. The Academy could have many deans, but there was only one Headmaster.
"You are the first and current dean of the Academy. What have you been doing over the years? If you really don't want to care about the world, why did you come out and take over the Academy again? "
"I have been very busy over the past few hundred years. I remember when I was in charge of the library in the West-Hill Divine Palace and I liked reading. Now that I have the Academy, of course I have to go around the world to collect books, which is very time-consuming. "
The Headmaster said, "And don't forget that I have been flying in the sky for so many years to prepare for this. It took me even more years to make up my mind. In the process of traveling around the world, I have searched for the legendary Underworld, the edge of the world, for delicious food, and for some people. It took me a lot of time. "
Ning Que asked, "Who are you looking for?"
The Headmaster said, "I want to find some people like me."
Ning Que asked, "Have you found them?"
The Headmaster said, "I found the Drunkard and the Butcher. From them, I learned more about Haotian and the Everlasting Night. So I wanted to invite them to do something together. "
Ning Que asked, "They didn't agree?"
The Headmaster nodded and said, "Yes."
"Then what did you do?"
"I fought with them."
"Who won …" Ning Que waved his hand and said, "Sorry, this is a stupid question."
The Headmaster sighed and said, "Of course they couldn't beat me. What annoyed me was that they still wouldn't listen to me."
"What do you want to do?" Ning Que asked.
The Headmaster looked at Ning Que and said, "Didn't you ask me what I have been doing all these years?"
Ning Que nodded.
The Headmaster said, "These years, I have spent most of my time thinking about a problem."
Ning Que asked, "What problem?"
The Headmaster said, "How to defeat Haotian."
It became very quiet in the black horse carriage. Only the Headmaster's voice seemed to be floating and falling on the floor. The Vermilion Bird's scorched footprints were as light as water.
This cultivation journey had already revealed the truth. The Headmaster and his disciple had discussed more specific problems. However, when this sentence finally appeared so clearly and simply, it was still shocking.
Ning Que was silent for a long time. He raised his head and asked, "Master, have you thought of a way?"
The Headmaster said angrily, "If I have thought of a way, why am I still in this horse carriage?"
…
…
(The first chapter. There are two more chapters today.) (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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