Since they were leaving the pavilion, there was bound to be a farewell. Zeng Jing comforted his wife in his arms. His wife turned around from time to time and looked at Sangsang in the pavilion with teary eyes.
Sangsang was still expressionless. She looked down at the tears left by Zeng Jing's wife on her clothes. The tears quickly disappeared and no trace could be found.
Ning Que looked at the magnificent city in the distance and thought, "How can there be a perfect way to live up to both Chang 'an and Qing?"
On a threshing ground in a village dozens of miles south of the city, the Drunkard slowly put down his flagon and looked somewhere with mixed emotions. He was sad and confused.
On the cliff plateau of Peach Mountain countless miles south of the city, the Abbey Dean sat in a wheelchair and looked at the blue sky outside the stone window. He sighed with emotion and said, "It seems that Haotian really needs our help."
Long Qing asked, "What do we need to do?"
The Abbey Dean said, "Haotian knows very well what we should do. What we need to do is to prepare her for the future and welcome her arrival."
The city gate of Chang 'an was closed and there was no one around. It looked very lonely, but no one knew that at this moment, countless eyes were looking at the Farewell Pavilion in the south of the city.
Sangsang knew that many people were looking at her and waiting for her decision. But she did not care. She was Haotian, and no matter what she did, she did not need to explain to human beings.
The Big Black Horse pulled the heavy black carriage consciously.
Ning Que walked into the carriage and found that the Academy had prepared everything he needed. He took out something from a secret compartment and inserted it into the intersection of the talisman lines on the carriage wall. As a very faint light appeared, the talisman array on the wall of the carriage was instantly activated. The carriage made of iron and steel turned into a hair on the dust.
When Sangsang walked into the carriage, he was packing his luggage — the black arrow case, the black iron cutlass, the black umbrella, and the black carriage. It really looked like a world of night.
The black carriage drove through the straight and spacious official road, past the tombs of Yan Se and Wei Guangming, past the dry reeds that looked like wheat seedlings in spring, and came to the green meadow.
Behind the green meadow was a towering mountain. In front of the mountain was a unique and elegant building. In front of the building was a newly repaired stone archway, from which came the sound of reading.
"Do you want to go back to the Academy?"
Ning Que looked at the familiar house and asked Sangsang.
Sangsang didn't say anything and just shook her head.
Suddenly, the sound of studying in the classroom of the Academy stopped for some reason. Then, two extremely clear and distant sounds of flute and zither played harmoniously, as if they were welcoming a distinguished guest.
Ning Que walked out of the carriage and saw Senior Brothers Ximen and Beigong, who were holding zithers and flutes, Seventh Sister and the remaining Senior Brothers, Professor Huang He, and the female mathematics professor who was still wearing a blue gown today. Somehow, he felt his eyes moisten.
Sangsang sat in the carriage, quietly listening to the sounds of the zither and the flute. After a long time, she finally lifted the green curtain in front of the carriage and came to the meadow among the flowers and trees.
Many students of the Academy ran out and looked curiously and confusedly at the black carriage on the meadow, wondering who it was. It actually alarmed the entire academy.
These ordinary students in the front yard were newly recruited this year. Ning Que didn't know any of them, and no one knew him. He said to Fourth Brother, "I hope they can live longer."
In the war against the Tang Empire two years ago, all the students of the Academy, whether they were in the army or serving as officials in the harsh border commandery, suffered heavy casualties. He took Sangsang to walk in the human world and endured endless pain and torture without giving up. Naturally, he didn't want such a thing to happen again.
Fourth Brother looked at him and said, "That depends on you, Youngest Brother."
Ning Que said, "Please rest assured, Senior Brother. I will try my best."
Fourth Brother nodded with relief and then turned to look at Sangsang among the flowers and trees. He bowed deeply to the ground, and the disciples and instructors of the Academy at the back of the mountain of the Academy also bowed deeply to him.
Although they were hostile to Haotian Taoism, most of the Tangs were believers of Haotian. Therefore, no matter where Sangsang went, as long as they knew her identity, they would definitely bow to her and wish they could be as low as the dust.
After all, the Academy was the Academy. It was natural for them to bow to Haotian, but they wouldn't kneel because they used to live with her and because Haotian was their enemy.
When they bowed, they naturally couldn't play the zither or flute. The music had already stopped.
Ximen Weiyang held the zither in his arms. When he straightened up, his eyes were already red. He stared at Sangsang among the flowers and finally shed tears. He said, "Why are you still alive?"
Sangsang was still expressionless. She said, "I will never die."
At this time, Seventh Sister had already spread the flower cloth on the meadow and was putting the prepared food on the cloth. Hearing this, she hurriedly said, "Let's eat first. They have to continue their journey."
Just like in the shabby alley of Linkang City in the South Jin Kingdom, people who had lived in the Academy would always think that eating was more important than anything, even if it was Haotian.
Interestingly, Sangsang still seemed to have the habit of living in the back of the mountain of the Academy. Although she didn't say anything, she accepted Mu You's words and sat down beside the flower cloth.
Ximen Weiyang wiped away the tears on his face and sat by her side. Picking up a pair of chopsticks, he placed all of the vinegar-soaked cabbage heads into his own bowl. Then, he continuously sent them into his mouth. Only when his cheeks were bulging did he remember that he should chew them a bit.
He chewed hard, and the cabbage heads in vinegar made a crunching sound between his teeth. It was unknown whether it was too sour or something else, but he frowned and seemed to be in pain.
Sangsang was a little unhappy, which made Ximen Weiyang happy. He didn't care whether you were Haotian or not. As long as you thought about it, you would turn into ashes. Anyway, you wouldn't be able to eat happily today.
The farewell meal was not the last meal, so there was no need to eat miserably. However, it was impossible to eat happily in such a situation. If it weren't for the fear that they would never see Ning Que again, people in the back of the mountain of the Academy wouldn't have invited Sangsang to dinner. It was quite possible that they would treat her to a few cuts.
The picnic among the grass and flowers soon ended. Sangsang returned to the horse carriage, and the onlookers gradually dispersed. Ning Que finished talking with his Senior Brothers and Sisters and was about to leave. However, Seventh Sister Mu You pulled him aside and whispered something to him. Ning Que couldn't help but frown when he heard what she said.
"Which direction are we going?"
He asked Sangsang when he entered the carriage.
Sangsang said, "To the west."
After a moment of silence, Ning Que asked, "Why does everyone have to go to the west?"
Sangsang said, "Has Jun Mo gone there?"
Ning Que said, "Second Brother is going to cultivate Buddhism. Why are you going to Xuankong Temple?"
Sangsang didn't explain.
Ning Que thought of the lament he felt when he looked at Chang 'an City from afar. He vaguely felt that everything was destined. How could there be a perfect law in the world? Could it be Buddhism?
The iron wheel rolled on the stone path among the meadows silently.
The black horse carriage went to the west, as if it wanted to go back in time.
Just as Ning Que and Sangsang set off, someone had already arrived in the west.
…
…
In the extreme west of the Wilderness, there was a boundless cliff.
The cliff led to the bottom of the earth. It was extremely steep, spanning many miles.
In the middle of the cliff was an extremely deep sinkhole, and at the bottom of the sinkhole was an extremely vast field.
In the middle of the field was an extremely majestic mountain.
If this mountain was on the ground, it might be higher than Tianqi Peak. However, because it was located in the sinkhole, one could only see the verdant peak from the ground.
There were countless ancient trees on the giant peak, giving it a dense green. Hidden among the trees were countless yellow temples and Buddhist halls. These temples and Buddhist halls together formed the Unknown Place of Buddhism: Xuankong Temple.
The Drunkard stood on the edge of the cliff and looked at the giant peak in the distance. He looked at the peak that was parallel to his line of sight. After a long silence, the expression on his face gradually became cold.
In terms of cultivation time, the Buddha was later than the Drunkard and the Butcher. However, in terms of the foundation he established in the human world and the state he reached, the Buddha was far better than the Drunkard.
As the Abbey Dean said, the Drunkard and the Butcher cultivated their desires, and they had cultivated to the extreme of human beings. But the Buddha cultivated himself, and when he reached Nirvana, he had already surpassed human beings.
When the Buddha was still preaching, the Drunkard had never been to Xuankong Temple. After the Buddha reached Nirvana, he had visited twice, but he had never entered, just like he had never entered the Divine Halls of West-Hill.
He had always felt a little uneasy.
Looking at the yellow temples and halls among the peaks, the uneasiness in his heart became heavier and heavier. He vaguely felt that the Abbey Dean's thought had revealed an unimaginable truth.
A clear and distant bell suddenly rang in a temple among the giant peaks. The bell rang through the forest and swept over the eaves. It took a long time for the bell to reach the Wilderness beside the Giant Sinkhole and into his ears.
…
…
There were two roads from Chang 'an to the Western Wilderness. One was to go straight west, cross the Pamir Mountains, enter the Yuelun Mountains, and then go straight up to the Western Wilderness. The other one was to go north to the Wilderness, and then go straight west.
Sangsang said to go west, but did not say how. So Ning Que chose to go north first, because there were many familiar sceneries and things along the way. He thought she would be touched.
They went all the way north. The black horse carriage passed through Hebei County and went straight to Min Mountain. They passed by the road where he found her, and the forest where the old hunter used to live, but her expression did not change at all.
Ning Que was not disappointed. He believed that one day, Sangsang would be touched by the memories, and her humanity would triumph over divinity, and she would become a real human being. At that time, he would be able to sing with her.
Of course, they would not sing Black Pig, but the poem that was used to kill people.
Ning Que kept this optimistic thought, or hope, until the horse carriage passed through the Northern Mountain Road and came to the familiar earthen city. Then he realized that everything had changed.
…
…
(Please allow me to wish Miss Dobe a happy wedding … and today.) (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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