Chapter 223 (2/2)
The commander of the cavalryman of Divine Hall was in a peaceful state. Just by one sentence, he left out his fault of taking no action and being a bystander when the camp was severely attacked before. After showing his respect to the Calligraphy Addict Mo Shanshan by greeting a bow with hands folded in front, he said, ”My lord is sitting in the horse carriage on the meadow now, and she ordered me to invite Hill Master to meet there.”
The west Papal Guardians were directly administrated by the Judicial Department. His lord was certainly that Flower Addict, she wasn't the Tao Addict Ye Hongyu. Mo Shanshan knew it clearly, and she also knew the Flower Addict was in the meadow.
”Ordered by the Divine Hall, Black Ink Garden has the responsibility to escort provisions to palace. Thus, I had better stay here to perform my duty.”
Mo Shanshan said, looking at the commander on the horse.
The commander just smiled and said, ”My lord and Hill Master haven't seen each other for several years, so she is deeply looking forward to meeting you.”
The word was peaceful and emotive, but also naturally exuded a kind of forceful invitation.
Mo Shanshan looked at him and said expressionlessly, ”She could have come here to meet me just now, if she really wants to gather with me. Since she chose to stay on the meadow, I think there is no need to meet me right now.”
The word was peaceful and ironic, but also directly exuded a kind of stronger toughness.
The commander felt a little annoyed and just silently looked at her who was sitting in the front of the horse carriage. No one knew what he was thinking of, but finally he just turned around to leave without saying any words.
When he arrived at outside the camp, a cavalryman of Divine Hall came to in front of his horse, with two podaos in his hand.
The commander looked at the complicated lines and patterns engraved on the two podaos. Though he couldn't understand the meaning immediately, yet as a mighty cultivator in Seethrough State, he instinctively and amazedly sensed the beauty and state hidden in it.
As he was ready to take these two podaos as his trophies and intended to carefully study it some day, there was a clear yet very angry sound coming from a not-far distance.
”They are ours!”
Cat Girl angrily glared at the commander on the horse, with her face full of sweat and her clothes filled with dirty dust and blood. Obviously, she had been looking for these two podaos outside the camp for a long time.
The commander just slightly laughed and got ready to leave with his horse rein gently pulled. He absolutely didn't care about the sound.
Cat Girl sprinted to in front of his horse like a gust of wind. With holding her ebony thin handle and staring at him, she refused to get out of the way and undisguisedly showed her hatred in her clear eyes.
Several cavalrymen of Divine Hall rudely came to her and tried to push her away.
With a 'Ling' sound, Cat Girl unsheathed her sword and didn't any fear as she was facing several cavalrymen of Divine Hall who were much taller than her. She said in a slightly tremble yet indignant voice, ”You have already cut the heads of Horse Gang down, and now you still want to rob our weapons?”
The commander of cavalryman of Divine Hall coldly looked at her and said, ”Students of Black Ink Garden use either talisman or sword. When do you begin using podao?”
Noticing the quarrel here, other students of Black Ink Garden, including Zhuo Zhihua, rushed to the spot. When they saw their pet.i.te younger sister being surrounded by these shameless cavalrymen of Divine Hall, their anger, which had been suppressed long, quickly erupted. With the sound of unsheathing swords intensely heard in the air, the students of Black Ink Garden were at a military confrontation with the cavalrymen of Divine Hall.
The atmosphere suddenly became extremely tense. The tired students of Black Ink Garden didn't retreat half a step by virtue of their steadfast and tough spirit, although both the strength and the number of cavalrymen of Divine Hall were in the lead.
A winter wind blew in the meadow. Mo Shanshan came at a slow but confident pace, with her white dress waved by the wind. Her facial expression and eyes were indifferent. Impatiently looking at the cavalrymen of Divine Hall and the commander on the horse, she coldly said, ”My fellows of Black Ink Garden can use podaos if we want. Do we have to report such kind of thing to the Divine Hall?”
The commander silently looked at her and then suddenly said, ”Hill Master's words seemed a little rude and unreasonable.”
Mo Shanshan said, ”Will the present Divine Hall think a steal also have a point?”
The commander felt slightly sullen and insulted. Looking at her and other students of Black Ink Garden who were holding swords in front of his horse, he coldly said, ”How irreverent you are to compare the Divine Hall with a steal! Do you want the Judicial Department to ask Master of Calligrapher how on earth he teaches disciples?”
Mo Shanshan peacefully replied, ”On behalf of my teacher, I am waiting for the guidance of the G.o.d of the Judicial Department.”
Though the commander clearly knew the Calligraphy Addict was pretending to be spirited right now, he still didn't dare to offend her. Staring at the young female Talisman Master's eyes, he suddenly said, ”Hill Master was instructed by the Divine Hall to escort provisions to the palace, which was relative to the peace negotiation of both sides. However, the provisions were completely destroyed now. I don't know how Hill Master will explain the accident to the Divine Hall and the joint army. If the peace negotiation of both sides was broken due to it, I wonder whether Hill Master could be responsible for it.”
”How to explain to the Divine Hall and the joint army is my affair, which is none of your business,” Mo Shanshan, with her eyebrows slightly blinking, gently said, ”Even if I don't explain, it is impossible for you to kill me here...”
Raising her head and silently looking at the eyes of the commander, she said, ”Or kill all people here.”
The commander of the cavalryman of Divine Hall slightly frowned.
After gently stroking her hair to behind her shoulders, she peacefully said, ”Now that you are unable to kill us all, what are you still doing here? Put down the podaos and leave right now.”
After a long silence, the commander randomly threw the two podaos on his saddle to the ground. He looked at her with smile and then said, ”Hope I can meet Hill Master again in the palace.”
Cat Girl sheathed her sword, pushed away the cavalrymen of Divine Hall in front of her, and then rushed to beside the commander's horse to pick up the two podaos. She tightly held them in her arms, as if they were her babies, and stared at the cavalrymen in vigilance.
Without replying the commander's invitation, or threat, Mo Shanshan directly turned around and walked back to the camp.
In the late winter Wilderness, the sun would disappear soon after it appeared along southern low sky. The battle began in the early morning, but when they finished clearing up the battlefield, it was nearly at dusk and the light had become dim.
An intense clop on the meadow sounded like a thunder, and then the sound gradually lowered. The cavalrymen of Divine Hall, escorting Aunt Quni Madi of Yuelun Kingdom, the young girl in the horse carriage and other figures of Revelation Inst.i.tute and White Tower Temple, continued their trip to the palace, leaving lines of smoke and dust.
The blood-like dusk covered the camp, making those bloodstain on the ground and carriage boards more ill-favored. The broken carriage boards, carriage debris and dry gra.s.s were piled up together, as if they would be burned up under the setting sun.
After a while, these things were indeed ignited. By virtue of of the wilderness wind, the fire became fierce all of a sudden and gradually engulfed the dead bodies.
With the ”pipipapa” sound, some pictures of melting, blacking and distorting, which could make people extremely frustrated and complex, were hazily seen. The air began pervading a disgusting and terrifying empyreumatic smell.
The survivals around the cremation ground all lowered their heads and began chanting the song of Haotian Taoism together. With the monotone syllable repeated again and again, they prayed that the souls in the fire could successfully go back to the arms of Haotian. At the beginning, the sound was noisy and irregular, but gradually it became more and more regular, making the atmosphere full of depression and sadness.
Ning Que didn't get off his horse carriage due to serious wound. He pulled aside the carriage curtain, silently looked at the distant flame and listened to people's low chanting voice. Suddenly he raised his head to look at the high and far sky.
The sky in the Wilderness was still clean as he usually knew. Right now, however, it was naturally divided into two totally different worlds under the s.h.i.+ne of setting sun. One side near the night was as blue as ocean, while the other next to the day was blazing like a fire.
In this world, he couldn't explain why all he saw and heard in Chang'an in his childhood was the belief to Haotian. What's more, his master, Master Yan Se, was a Minister of Offerings in the South Gate of Haotian and was a Great Divine Priest who had a seat in the West-Hill Divine Palace.
Therefore, he naturally believed in Haotian as most people did in the world.
At this very moment, however, in front of the countless souls in the fire and under the ocean-and-flame sky, Ning Que's view to this world was gradually and irresistibly changing.
People gathered on the meadow again and spent a long and cold night here. The next early morning, tens of survived cavalries from Yan Kingdom carried their injured fellows southward. They were a direct army of Prince Chongming, and they clearly knew why the cavalrymen of Divine Hall behaved as onlookers when they were attacked yesterday. In such situation, even if they went to the palace, they knew they couldn't get any justice at all, even might possibly be punished by the Divine Hall. Thus, they naturally chose to return home.
None of the students of Black Ink Garden of Great River Kingdom went back with Yan's cavalries. Instead, they set off northeast to the palace of Left-Tent by taking two horse carriages and several horses.
Looking at the desolate scenery outside the carriage window and the left snow in the thin gra.s.s, Ning Que coughed and then took out the handkerchief that Sangsang prepared. After wiping the blood on the corner of his mouth, he turned around and asked the young girl in white opposite to him, ”Why do you still go to the palace?”
”After all, an explain is needed on the issue of the provision team, and...”
With her eyes slightly lowering and her eyebrows gently shaking, Mo Shanshan said after a long silence, ”I'm very angry.”
Looking at her, Ning Que smiled and then said, ”I find I kind of like you.”
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