Chapter 343 (2/2)

”I learned the Great Spirit that Youngest Uncle left behind. My body had changed because of it. This Great Spirit is just absorbing the primordial Qi from heaven and earth and then keeping it in one's body.”

Ning Que looked at her eyes that reflected the starlight. After a moment of silence, he continued. ”In other words, I am cultivating the Devil's Doctrine. To the world, I am a descendant of the Devil's Doctrine.”

It did not matter to Sangsang even if he was the son of Yama, not to say the descendant of the Devil's Doctrine. Would her young master not be her young master after cultivating the Devil's Doctrine? Sangsang paused for a moment and thought of an important question, asking, ”So... what teacher had said might be true. You are the son of Yama.”

”That's ludicrous.” Ning Que kneaded the silver piece into a ball and covered them with a blanket. He continued, ”Do not mention about ludicrous things like that. I want to eat noodles with fried eggs tomorrow.”

Sangsang answered gruffly in the blankets, ”Alright.”

Ning Que headed to the Academy the next morning after eating noodles with fried eggs with extra scallions, pepper, and egg. He boarded the horse carriage that Master Yan Se had bequeathed him. He had already paid to get rid of the one he had owned previously.

The horse carriage traveled through the meadows that glowed yellow in the winter sun. Upon arriving at the stone doors of the Academy, Ning Que leaped off the horse carriage and unshackled the big black horse, allowing it to roam freely. He carried his bags on his back and entered the Academy, seeking for what the instructor had instructed them about practicing at the frontier fortress.

Then he carried his heavy bags and walked past houses and through the narrow alley. He came to the edge of a wetland and looked at the listless fish swimming beneath the thin ice and at the dense forest afar that looked like swords. He had arrived at the old library.

The sights were familiar and held many good memories for him. Even though he had only been gone for half a year, he still missed it very much. The more he missed Chang'an, the less he trusted the City of Wei. He lifted his head to look at the old library and saw that the eastern windows were open as usual. Ning Que suddenly understood something, that the place he missed the most was home.

He crossed through the fog that enveloped the mountains and waved the last wisps of fog away with his right hand gently. He had arrived at the large platform on the mountainside. He looked at the green gra.s.s and trees that did not belong to the current season and at the silver waterfall in the distance. He could not help shouting loudly, ”I'm back!”

His shout reverberated in the empty back of the mountain of the Academy. After a long time, he did not receive any reply, and neither did his Senior Brothers and Sisters come to welcome him excitedly.

Ning Que could not help feeling a little embarra.s.sed. He walked down the mountain path and towards the mirror lake. The expression on his face became happier, and more lively. Even though his Senior Brothers and Sisters did not appear, he had heard someone playing music and singing in the forest. There were sounds of chess pieces landing on the board and the pounding of hoe digging into the ground.

There was a waterwheel by the creek, and the sound of metalworking rang in the house before the waterwheel. The monotonous and dry sounds have never stopped. Ning Que was slightly stunned for a moment. Then, he heaved the bags on his shoulders and walked even faster.

However, someone stopped him.

He looked towards where the voice came from and saw that the pavilion in the middle of the lake that had been collapsed by the first Primordial Thirteen Arrows had already been repaired. Seventh Sister looked at him smilingly and waved in greeting. Moments later, the solemn Second Brother and his funny crown walked out slowly.

slowly.

”Your performance during the practice was not bad.”

Second Brother stood by the lake with his hands behind his back. He looked at the view before him and said that in a calm tone.

At the back of the mountain of the Academy, getting the praise of Second Brother was harder than getting it from the Headmaster of the Academy or Eldest Brother. Ning Que could not help feeling surprised by the show of affection and did not know what to say.

”It's nothing killing Long Qing. Your Senior Brothers and Sisters had spent much effort making those Primordial Thirteen Arrows for you to kill that guy, so it is a given that you have done so, so you don't deserve the praise.”

Second Brother turned to look at him with a rare expression of approval on his face. He said, ”But killing Gu Xi in Tuyang City... you have done well. You did not care that you were in Xia Hou's city, and that it was the main camp of the Northeast Border Military, and you killed him with due reason. You have to know, that we disciples of the Academy care a lot about being reasonable.”

Ning Que had killed military advisor Gu Xi in Tuyang City largely because of the Great Spirit in his body. He thought that he was really crazy after the matter and was worried that Eldest Brother would teach him a lesson on the way back to Chang'an. He did not expect that Second Brother would hold such views.

As if he had guessed what Ning Que was thinking, Second Brother said after a moment of silence, ”I have always respected Eldest Brother, but what I respect, is his practice, his state of heart and morality. As for the way he deals with things and how he believes in forgiveness, I do not agree with them. If we really do good to those who do us a bad turn, what shall we do in return to those who do us good?”

Ning Que thought about it seriously. ”What do we do to those who do bad to us?”

Second Brother replied, ”We do a bad turn to them, of course.”

Ning Que praised him, ”Senior Brother, what you have just said is great. There is great meaning in simple words.”

Second Brother looked at him and said, ”This was what teacher taught us back then, so you are praising the wrong person.”

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