Because of the Rite to Light, powerhouses like the national master of the Golden Tribe Royal Court and Qi Nian of the Xuankong Temple had come to the Divine Halls of West-Hill. Ning Que would not be able to resist any one of them. That was why he had kept a low profile and spent most of his time in the Revelation Institute. He did not even go to the precipice.
According to his style of doing things, he should not have put himself in such a dangerous situation. In fact, according to his original plan, he would only stay for a month at most after sneaking into the West-Hill Divine Palace. He would start his attack before the Rite to Light officially started. However, he did not expect the situation to change so suddenly. Chen Pipi was imprisoned in the You Prison by the West-Hill Divine Palace, so he could only wait.
Before he left Qinghe Prefecture, he had told Wang Jinglue that he would be back in a month at most. Now that it was autumn, he could not leave. He had to send another message to Qinghe Prefecture to ask Wang Jinglue to wait a little longer. As for Wang Jinglue's arrangements, he had no choice but to ignore it for the time being.
It was already night. He returned to the Revelation Institute and took out his arrow box and iron cutlass. He walked along the path behind the Revelation Institute to the front yard of Peach Mountain. The front yard of Peach Mountain and several Divine Halls on the peak formed a straight line. The front yard was extremely wide and could accommodate tens of thousands of believers at the same time. It was the place where the Rite to Light would be held. The deacons of the Divine Halls were tidying up the place. Not far away, several high-level Array Tactical Masters were reinforcing the front yard. They must have arranged some dazzling miracles for the Rite to Light.
Ning Que was wearing the uniform of a servant of the Revelation Institute. He looked like a servant in black and did not attract any attention. Although the front yard of Peach Mountain was heavily guarded, his speed and reflexes had long surpassed that of ordinary people. He sneaked into the forest on the left and buried the arrow box and iron cutlass in the soil on the side of the yard.
He brushed off the dirt on his clothes and looked at the countless torches in the night. He looked at the nervous deacons of the Divine Halls and imagined the grand scene of the Rite to Light in a few days. Even he began to feel nervous. Then he looked at the four Divine Halls on the peak and frowned slightly.
Tonight, he did not look at the Divine Hall of Light. Instead, he looked at the black Divine Hall of Judgment on the edge of the cliff. The Divine Hall of Judgment was a little far from the other three Divine Halls. It was cold and lonely.
His last resort was the Seat of Heavenly Black Jade in the Divine Hall of Judgment. However, it was too risky for the woman on the Seat of Heavenly Black Jade. Therefore, he could not make up his mind. As time went by, Chen Pipi was about to be burned to death.
He heard that Ye Hongyu had been meditating in the hall ever since she returned to Peach Mountain from Chang 'an. He had not seen her since he came to the West-Hill Divine Palace. Since he could not meet her by chance, he had to go and have a look.
…
.
It was already autumn in Qinghe Prefecture.
Wang Jinglue received the secret letter from Chang 'an and was silent for a long time. Then, he put on the bamboo hat again and left his residence in the carriage. He came to an ordinary house in Yangzhou City.
Wang Jinglue Academy kept coughing. He stood outside the door for a while to make sure there was no ambush. Then he walked into the house and put the medicine on the table. He asked, "What do you think?"
A young man was lying on the bed. His thin cheeks were very pale and he looked very haggard. The smell of medicine in the house could not completely cover the smell of blood behind the bed.
There was a pile of gauze stained with blood behind the bed.
The man was Cui Huasheng. He was a member of the Cui Family. His wife, Qiu Fangwu, was the youngest daughter of the former Ruyang Zhizhou of the Tang Empire. On the day of the rebellion, the Qiu Family was destroyed by the rebel army and his wife died on the spot.
Cui Huasheng was so angry that he made a speech in Yangzhou City. Finally, he was punished by the Cui Family. He was beaten in the family temple and hung on a pillar for three days before he was released.
The family rules of the Qinghe clans had always been strict. If Cui Huasheng was not the nephew of the clan leader, Cui Shi, he would have been beaten to death. Even so, he was severely injured. Even though he survived, the wounds on his body never healed. He could only lie on the sickbed and suffer like this.
Cui Huasheng looked at the man in the bamboo hat and said in a hoarse voice, "If I want to go to Fuchun River and enter the Cui Garden, it is not difficult, but I need time."
Wang Jinglue took off his bamboo hat and said, "Why do you need time?"
Seeing him take off his bamboo hat and reveal his true face, Cui Huasheng trusted him more. He said, "It takes some time to pretend to be remorseful and admit your mistakes. Otherwise, no one will believe you."
Wang Jinglue nodded and said, "That makes sense. I was worried that I would appear too stiff. Fortunately, we have more time now."
Cui Huasheng said, "Cui Shi's birthday banquet is over. There are still some days before the next Cui Garden banquet."
Wang Jinglue calculated the time and found that it coincided with the Rite to Light. He said, "That's just right."
Cui Huasheng seemed to have thought of something and coughed again. After a while, he calmed down and looked at Wang Jinglue and asked seriously, "Aren't you worried that killing too many people will force the Divine Hall to fight?"
Wang Jinglue thought that as long as Ning Que fought at the Rite to Light, the war that had stopped for more than half a year would definitely start again. What was there to worry about?
…
…
The Tang Empire had just recovered from the war and was not ready to fight against the whole world again. It still needed some time to prepare psychologically and in terms of resources.
But the Academy was ready for it. They believed that as long as Ning Que could carry out the plan perfectly, the West-Hill Divine Palace would not dare to start a war. What really worried the Academy was the Drunkard and the Butcher, the two swords that had been hanging outside Chang 'an. But it was also because of this that the Academy was determined to carry out the plan. Only by doing so could they stop the two from fighting, even if it was only for a while.
Eldest Brother was not at the back of the mountain of the Academy. He should still be in the palace, presiding over the restoration of the God-stunning Array. Fourth Brother and Sixth Brother were also there as assistants. Third Sister Yu Lian had gone far away after the battle. The rest were still in the long process of healing. Now the back of the mountain of the Academy was under the command of Second Brother.
Jun Mo was a swordsman. If he wanted to protect the back of the mountain of the Academy, he had to sharpen his sword. That was why he had been sitting under the waterfall behind the courtyard to sharpen his sword these days.
He had been sharpening his sword day and night. Now he had worn through more than ten hard stones, but he still could not calm down. It was like the sleeve on his arm swaying in the wind.
Mu You walked to the lakeside with the food box in her hand. She looked at his empty sleeve and his neatly combed gray hair. She felt a little gloomy. Then she said gently, "The Headmaster once said that Pipi was happy and knew his destiny. He must be blessed in this life. Youngest Brother is in the Peach Mountain. You must save him."
Jun Mo could not calm down. It was not because of his gray hair and broken arm. It was not because he had no hope of reaching the state of the Headmaster or the Youngest Uncle. It was because Chen Pipi was going to die.
In the back of the mountain of the Academy, he had taught Chen Pipi a lesson the most. He had hit him with the academy rules the most and talked to him the most. He had a close relationship with Chen Pipi.
The Rite to Light was about to begin. Chen Pipi was going to die. But he could only sit by the lakeside and sharpen this seemingly unbreakable iron sword. How could he be calm?
"There are many powerhouses in the Divine Halls of West-Hill. I heard that the Hierarch has recovered his state. There are also the swindlers from the Golden Tribe and the Bald Ass from the Xuankong Temple. Even though Senior Brother's plan seems to be flawless and Youngest Brother's execution is top-notch, we did not know that Pipi was in the Peach Mountain. That's why I am worried."
Mu You knew that no matter what she said, she could not cheer him up. She put the food box on the rocks by the lakeside and said, "Eat first. Remember to go home tonight. It's cold outside."
Jun Mo was not used to the word "go home". But he knew what he had to do. He stood up and said, "Thank you for your hard work these days. I will … go home tonight."
…
…
After eating, Jun Mo continued sharpening his sword. The hard bluestone surface was ground into fine powder by the iron sword. The powder floated on the surface of the water. That was probably the strong foam.
Two young men came to the lakeside and brought him water. At the same time, they carried the food box back to the small courtyard.
Looking at Jun Mo's lonely back, they hesitated. Finally, Li Guangdi mustered up his courage and said, "Teacher, I heard from Eldest Uncle that if you read more Buddhist scriptures …"
Li Guangdi and Zhang Nianzu had not officially started cultivating since they were sent to the Academy. They had not reached the Initial Awareness State and were just ordinary people. But after spending a lot of time with the Uncle Masters in the back of the mountain, they vaguely understood some principles of cultivation. Or rather, they only vaguely understood some words. Seeing their teacher being distressed by sharpening his sword by the lakeside, they were very anxious. They even tried to give Jun Mo some ideas.
Li Guangdi's voice became smaller and smaller because he himself felt that he was talking nonsense. Moreover, they knew from the Fifth Uncle that their teacher hated Buddhism and monks. It was said that the stone statue of Buddha on the Wa Mountain that crushed the Lanke Temple was cut down by his teacher with his sword. How could he ask his teacher to cultivate in Buddhism?
Jun Mo did not look back or get angry. He said, "When we get to the small town, listen to Chao Xiaoshu. Even though you haven't started cultivating, you are disciples of the Academy. You can't bring shame to the Academy."
Many years ago, when Ning Que took the students of the Academy to the Wilderness for practice, he said the same thing. The request was simple, but it was also very stressful.
The two young men thought about the upcoming journey and the things they had to do. They were a little afraid and looked at their teacher's back reluctantly.
Zhang Nianzu hesitated and said, "Teacher, this time we may not come back alive … Don't worry, we are not afraid, and we won't bring shame to the Academy. It's just that …"
Jun Mo did not let his disciple finish his words. He turned around and looked at them and said, "As long as you want to live, you will. Even if Haotian asks me, this is the only answer I can give."
That night, Jun Mo stopped sharpening his sword and returned to the small courtyard.
Mu You made supper for him and brought breakfast the next morning. She sent Zhang Nianzu and Li Guangdi out of the Cloud Gate Array and to the front of the Academy. She kept reminding them.
The two young men knelt down and kowtowed to her.
Li Guangdi said, "Masteress, you'd better go back early. I am still worried about the teacher."
Mu You smiled and touched his head. She did not leave until the horse carriage left the meadow. Since she was the masteress, she had to act like one.
When she returned to the small courtyard at the back of the mountain, she realized that she should have come back earlier, just as Li Guangdi had said.
She looked at the grey hair on the ground and was extremely shocked. When Jun Mo raised his head from the well, her body swayed and she almost fainted.
Jun Mo was very particular about his appearance. His hair was always neatly combed, no matter if it was black or gray. The ancient crown was always straight.
Now his hair could no longer be combed as meticulously as before. He could no longer wear the iconic ancient crown, because he had cut off his hair.
…
…
(Try to finish the next chapter before 4: 30.) (To be continued.) If you like this work, please come to Qidian.Com to vote for me. Your support is my biggest motivation.)
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