Chapter 204 (1/2)
After Ning Que left, the young girls from the Great River Kingdom were talking about the previous events with excitement. With her feet bathing in the hot spring, Cat Girl said happily, ”Brother Zhong was actually a disciple from the Academy. No wonder he was so good!”
Zhuo Zhihua glanced at her with a smile, ”I already guessed that. After all, the Hill Master ordered us to treat him with great hospitality. If anyone else had come, she would have sent them away.”
She sighed, ”Thanks to him, we needn't give up this spring. The Yuelun Kingdom and Yan camp should be sufficiently intimidated, so won't send people to force us to leave.”
Still thinking over the details of the fight, Cat Girl raised her head, her feet playing with the water, and asked out of curiosity, ”Brother Zhong defeated that awful monk without using any of the cultivation techniques he has learned. I can't sense any fluctuations in his Psyche Power. Is he still considered a cultivator?”
Zhuo Zhihua was taken aback a little, but then said, ”The rumors say that there are no talented people in the Academy this year. Even the most advanced student of the course of magic skills, Mr. Xie, only just achieved the No Doubts State. Perhaps Brother Zhong was unable to cultivate because he was not in that course?”
She hesitated, because she didn't really believe that any average student who couldn't cultivate could kill a monk from White Tower Temple only with the help of normal weapons.
The yellow cloth curtain was hidden in a secluded area. The hot spring sporadically let out clouds of steam that lingered in the air. The suns.h.i.+ne filtered through the woods, covering everything with a glimmering light. A girl in white was writing slowly, as if she heard nothing of the conversation. As her pen moved, her silky-smooth black hair fell from her shoulders.
Suddenly, the peace was broken by the arrival of a letter from the Yan camp.
Having considered the different techniques usdd by other cultivators, Ning Que believed in the principle that any cultivation that can't help you beat your enemy is worthless. He was among the best, especially when he confronted a less well-trained cultivator, but his state of cultivation was still just average.
If he was asked now to go back and redo the b.l.o.o.d.y fight at Spring Breeze Pavillion with Chao Xiaoshu, it would be far easier to fight against the swordsman from South Jin and the monk of Yuelun Kingdom, and if he was asked to again kill the Sword Master at the cottage beside the lake, he wouldn't suffer any terrible injuries.
But of course, if he met the most powerful Grand Cultivators of Knowing Destiny State, Prince Long Qing, or w.a.n.g Jinglue, he knew he would be defeated immediately without any chance of victory, no matter how fast he reacted or how threatening his fighting methods were.
Even if it happened in the Wilderness, Ning Que knew how he would react. He had some techniques he could use to save his life, such as his excellent ability for Talisman Taoism, or the silk purse Master Yanse had given him, or even the Primordial Thirteen arrows which contained the concentrated wisdom of all the students at the back mountain of the Academy.
After his calm and objective a.s.sessment of his ability, Ning Que could clearly see how dangerous a trip to the Wilderness would be. He knew that it was very unlikely that he would be able to get the Tomes of the Arcane from any of the more powerful cultivators, who would surely be the best of the best in combat. However, there was still the distinct possibility to hinder them without drawing attention to himself and causing some trouble for Xiahou.
He was going to hide his real ident.i.ty and treat this trip like a holiday. If he did infuriate an unworldly sublime being and had no chance of escape or place to hide, he would resort to his last two ways to save his life, which he had wanted to keep secret.
”Sir, you said you want to go alone? I will not let you unless I am dead.”
The man who dared to speak was a captain of the General's Mansion, but actually, he was also a secret guard of His Majesty. At this moment, his face was full of anger and determination. He swung his sword around elbarotely before pressing it against his own neck.
”If you are so determined to go to the Wildness alone, you must kill me first.”
Looking at his captain, Ning Que shook his head helplessy.
The administrative divisions of the Tang Dynasty were very clear and with strict boundaries. Although the Imperial Center Administration and the secret guard were both directly controlled by the King, there was no interaction between them. Thus, the captain had no idea why Ning Que wanted to go into the Wilderness.
Ning Que cared more about how he could Travel through the Wilderness in a way that would be safe and easy to withdraw from than about the captain's opinions. The most direct way would be to travel to the palace, then cross the Hulan Sea and find the Desolate man's tribe, where he can enlist thousands of the best soldiers. But with such a grand escort, it would be impossible to look for the Tomes of Arcane without general Xiahou discovering his actions.
It would certianly be heroic to go through the Wilderness alone. However, even though he was very confident in his ability and his familiarity with the Wilderness, he knew he would be easy to take down. After all, going towards the palace was like telling the Judicial Department of the Divine Hall and all the spies from the competing parties just how confident he was.
Only a sun that never set was justified in such confidence. If he showed up with such an image, he would immediately attract everyone's attention, and his true ident.i.ty would be discovered. If the other parties knew that he represented the will of the Tang Dynasty and the Academy, even if they didn't kill him, they would have thousands of ways to restrict his movement, leaving him no possibility to reach his goal.
That was what the General's Mansion at Tuyang city had done, giving him soldiers to escort him, who actually hold him back, travelling around the outskirts of the Wilderness. That was what the captain, with his knife on his shoulders and his angry expression, was doing right now. Ning Que looked at him, frowning, thinking about other things.
”What would be the best way to travel through the Wilderness?” he asked.
The captain was saddened. He had put his sword to his neck, but his master didn't care at all and insisted on continuing to the Wilderness. He even asked for his advice! Maybe it would take a serious injury to get his master's attention.
Suddenly, Ning Que's face lit up, as he remembered the yellow cloth curtain at the lake. He raised his head and said to the captain, ”There is a student of the Academy, Zhong Dajun. He is training at the frontier fortress. He is currently at Chengshan Camp, where we has been for a couple of days now. I want you to imprison him. He must not be allowed to have any communication with anyone. You must do this without giving any notice. Can you do that?”