Chapter 422 (1/2)

Chapter 422: The Vermilion Bird Recognizes Its Lord

It was raining, the pedestrians on the street went to find shelter, and the tourists from other counties also left reluctantly, leaving Ning Que alone . He stood silently before the painting of the Vermilion Bird .

He opened the big black umbrella, and rain fell on the tight umbrella surface, making a dull sound .

He looked at the Vermilion Bird painting that was gradually getting wet by the rain as he held the umbrella and recalled many things .

There was no need to mention the past . Today, in the Palace, her majesty's shocking half squat salute and General Xu s.h.i.+ both made him feel troubled . Xu s.h.i.+'s att.i.tude, especially, made him very uncomfortable .

This kind of discomfort was not anger, but was depression, because he had been a soldier of the Tang military . Like all officers in the City of Wei, Ning Que also treated the general of Tang Dynasty military as an idol . Whenever they mentioned the name of Defender-general of the State, they showed respect .

Ning Que remembered a certain statement about the needs of the spiritual level . He liked to defend the City of Wei and conquer the prairie with his comrades . He liked to be respected and even feared by the people in Chang'an . He liked the Senior Brothers and Sisters of the Academy . These were all very great spiritual needs .

So he wanted to be a good man, and he wanted to be appreciated by the army's vital minister like Xu s.h.i.+ . He did not want to be guarded against or be gotten rid of desperately . It was a pity that the world went against him .

The spring rain became heavier like a mess, which was just like Ning Que's mood at this moment .

The majestic painting of the Vermilion Bird was all wet by the rain . Its stately eyes seemed to be given life, and suddenly became vivid .

Ordinary people could not perceive the change in the Vermilion Bird painting .

However, Ning Que perceived it clearly . He looked at the Vermilion Bird 's eyes and felt the condensing air in the stone lines . He was clear about what happened .

Two years ago, when he first entered Chang'an City, he stood in front of the Vermilion Bird with Sangsang . He was once frightened by the chilling sensation of the painting .

Later, he knew that this Vermilion Bird painting was a Divine Talisman, which could automatically sense the enemies who invaded Chang'an City, and was able to destroy cultivators at the Knowing Destiny State .

At this time, the enemy Vermilion Bird painting sensed was, of course, Ning Que's big black umbrella .

With his cultivation state, Ning Que naturally was not able to resist the aura of the Vermilion Bird's painting . However, he withstood the spring rain and looked very calm .

Not because of the big black umbrella in his hand .

It was because of the pestle in his pocket .

Ning Que reached into his pocket, and held the array eye pestle wrapped in cloth . He looked at the Vermilion Bird picture that was ready to fight and said, ”Now, I will not be scared of you like a little bird in winter anymore .  I'm your master, what can you do to me?”

The lord of the Vermilion Bird could not be self-declared . The mantle was pa.s.sed down by Master Yan Se to him, confirmed personally by the Emperor of Tang, and finally accepted by that pestle itself .

The Vermilion Bird painting in the rain sensed a familiar atmosphere that had not been seen for many years from the person under the black umbrella .

A loud whistle sounded in Ning Que' sense of perception and it was sharp and high, mixed with doubts, a bit of dissatisfaction, sadness and calmness .

The rain washed constantly, and the chilling sensation from the Vermilion Bird's painting gradually faded away . In the end, it finally became quiet and turned into an ordinary stone painting .

Ning Que knew that this represented the Vermilion Bird's acknowledgment of his ident.i.ty .

The sad whistling in Ning Que's sense of perception was the Vermilion Bird's recollection of Master Yan Se .

Ning Que stood in the rain, holding the handle of the big black umbrella with his right hand, and the array eye of the G.o.d-stunning Array in his left hand . He had two opposing feelings, and he understood something .

The Vermilion Bird recognized his Lord in the spring rain . It meant that maintaining the big tactical array protecting Chang'an City became his responsibility . Since that moment, he became responsible for defending the Great Tang Empire .

He loved this land and this country . He also loved the calm and happy life, and the people living here, so he was willing to take this responsibility .

He was willing to do anything to maintain the peace of the Tang Empire, but this did not mean that he would sacrifice his life .

His left hand held the array eye pestle, holding the future of the Great Tang .

His right hand held a black umbrella, holding his own life .

Each hand had to be grasping tightly .

If there was a conflict between these, just like this lingering spring, what he needed to do was like using a knife to cut off the spring rain as he was in the old library, like the Headmaster's. .h.i.tting him with that rod at the Building of Pines and Cranes . He would destroy all the entanglements and dissatisfaction .

.

. . .

He had the conversation with the Headmaster of the Academy, on the balcony of the Building of Pines and Cranes that night . It went like this .

”The people I want to kill are very powerful and have great status, and some of them have tricky backgrounds that are hard to settle even for me . ”

”You don't look like someone who has no status . ”

”Because my teacher is great, so I'm very great as well . Even compared to the billionaire I want to kill, the status gap between us isn't large . ”

”So why are you worried? Just find a chance to kill if you wish to . ”

”My teacher didn't seem to mind that we students are not reasonable, but in fact he is very stubborn, and very reasonable . He always said that the law of the Tang Empire was of utmost importance . If so, how can we be unreasonable?”

”What's the relations.h.i.+p between being unreasonable and the law of the Tang Empire? Can't you kill someone without using crooked ways?”

At that time, Ning Que thought that he was talking to an ordinary rich man of Chang'an City . Now that he recalled the words of the Headmaster, that conversation had a new meaning .