Chapter 553 (1/2)

Chapter 553

Chapter 553: Blunders by the Stream and I Don't Want to Miss It

Translator: Transn Editor: Transn

Under the effects of the talisman array, the black horse carriage traveled along the mountain path silently and easily as if it was ushered along by the wind . There were many horses grazing on the gra.s.sy slopes by the stream . They hid the sounds of the Big Black Horse's clopping hooves . The dozens of cultivators under the large tree did not notice Ning Que and Sangsang' arrival .

The girl standing at the bamboo walls noticed, though . She had already entered the Knowing Destiny State and was very aware of the slight changes in the Qi of Heaven and Earth around her . Furthermore, she was the most gifted Talisman Master in the world and was now a Divine Talisman Master . How could she not notice the talisman aura that the black horse carriage gave off? Or perhaps, she had been looking out at the mountain path silently all this while in the hopes of seeing someone .

Joy appeared in the girl's eyes when she saw the black horse carriage pulling up in the distance . Then, her eyes grew dull and listless before evolving into serenity . She slowly walked up in that direction .

There were many people silently observing the girl on the stone plains by the brook . This included many cultivators, and the n.o.bleman they surrounded . As the girl took off from the green bamboo wall and walked toward the black horse carriage, their gazes flickered in confusion .

Some of them wondered who was in the black carriage, to be able to make the world-renowned Calligraphy Addict move from her spot and welcome them . Some of the smarter ones, and those who were familiar with the Tang Empire had already guessed the truth . Their faces were painted with shock .

Ning Que had not noticed the expressions and reactions of the cultivators under the tree . He only looked at the girl quietly heading towards him . He watched as she got closer; he watched her face, which he had not seen in a long while and rarely thought of, but had not forgotten . As her face grew clearer with her approaching, he began to grow more and more nervous .

The girl had slimmed down a lot, but she was still as beautiful and captivating . He looked at her slender and fine, black eyebrows, her eyes which were as clear as the autumn lake and her long and thick lashes . Her thin red lips were tightly pursed and her hair cascaded behind her back like a waterfall . Her long white dress was like a dandelion, which fluttered as she moved . Her simple, but clean cloth shoes would show outside of her dress and then float back under it like leaves being blown by the wind . She seemed not to have changed at all .

In the past six months, Ning Que would often receive letters from the Great River Kingdom . The letters seemed to carry the scent of the Ink Lake; written with a delicate script, they were about mundane life and never about relations.h.i.+ps .

He would pa.s.s the letters to Sangsang or throw them away after reading them . He would also reply to them, but he rarely wrote much and would more often send calligraphy works that he was satisfied with .

After confirming that he would come to the Lanke Temple to partic.i.p.ate in the Yue Laan Hungry Ghost Festival, Ning Que had once considered that the Calligraphy Addict would definitely be invited . Furthermore, she might actually turn up . He had often pondered over how their reunion would be like . He thought about what she might say and what he should say . However, the more he thought about it, the more confused, nervous and helpless he felt . So he decided not to think about it and even forget the whole incident until she appeared before his eyes again by the mountain brook .

Ning Que did not know what to do as he looked at the slowly approaching girl . He hoped that a sound would emerge from the horse carriage behind him . He hoped to hear Sangsang pretend to cough, or even the slight rustle of her clothes so that he could calm down and make his expression more indifferent .

Mo Shanshan approached the horse carriage . The Big Black Horse realized that she was the beautiful lady owner he had first acknowledged and liked very much . He dipped his head and whinnied, seemingly overjoyed .

Mo Shanshan gave him a small smile and patted him on the head . The Big Black Horse attempted to wriggle his entire big head under her palms and b.u.t.ted her warmly . He looked really ridiculous .

Ning Que patted his back, silently warning him not to get overly excited and lose his composure . He was also warning himself at the same time .

Sangsang did not make a sound in the horse carriage .

But Ning Que had already calmed down quite a bit . He put his hands together and greeted Mo Shanshan with a bow .

Mo Shanshan returned the greeting and saluted the black horse carriage . She said calmly, ”Greetings, Lady of Light . ”

Sangsang's voice finally drifted from the horse carriage as she replied, ”Greetings, Hill Master . ”

The first greetings of both girls were both serene and courteous . Ning Que listened to Sangsang's calm and warm voice and was speechless . Her tone was like that of the bigwigs in West-Hill Divine Palace .

Just as he was at a loss on what to do, Sangsang's voice rang from the horse carriage once more . ”Young master, I am a little tired . I wish to rest in the horse carriage . ”

Ning Que understood that she was giving him a chance to speak with Mo Shanshan alone . After a moment of silence, he hummed in agreement and walked up to Mo Shanshan . He said, ”Shall we walk to the stream and look around?”

The Big Black Horse kicked his hind legs lightly as it watched the retreating backs of the young man and woman walking towards the mountain stream . It neighed and thought to himself that they were indeed an inborn pair . Of course, Sangsang was great, but why didn't that stupid Ning Que take them both? If humans needed to marry if they wanted women, then he could just marry the two of them . The fellow looked rather accomplished, would anyone dare to stop him? The Big Black Horse thought to himself, that he had had a female companion in the southern military camp, but he had not s.h.i.+rked away when he saw the beautiful white horse in the Wilderness and went up to her . You really needed courage to love indeed . . .

Just as the Big Black Horse was ridiculing Ning Que, feeling that he was quite pathetic and wanted to spur him on out of pity, Sangsang suddenly asked him something .

Sangsang asked, ”Do you know Miss Shanshan well?”

The Big Black Horse froze and knew that Sangsang had seen how intimately he had behaved with Mo Shanshan . He suddenly grew terrified .

As Master Ning's beast and as a pet in the Old Brush Pen Shop and Yanming Lake, he was more aware than anyone that the woman of the house was the one in charge . This had nothing to do with Sangsang's ident.i.ty as the West-Hill Divine Palace's Lady of Light . The world had been like that even when she was a handmaiden .

In such a situation, the Big Black Horse knew that he would only seem like he was covering something up no matter how he tried to explain . He might die a terrible death . So, he smiled at the horse carriage and wagged his tail, trying to look like an idiot and b.u.t.ter up to Sangsang .

. . .

. . .

There were many horses grazing on the gra.s.sy slopes by the stream . They probably belonged to the cultivators who had come to visit the mountains . Not far away there were some wild mountain goats playing . The two parties remained silent, and all was fine .

Ning Que and Mo Shanshan came to the stream silently . However, the atmosphere hanging around them was not as peaceful as that on the gra.s.s slope . While nothing happened, not all was fine . There was an awkward and uneasy tension between the two .

However, the silence had to be broken . If Mo Shanshan had to make the first move, even Senior Brother from the Academy would mock him for years once he found out no matter how much of a pacifist he was . Furthermore, it wouldn't be very manly of him . So Ning Que looked at her and asked, ”How have you been in the past year?”

The two had exchanged letters over the past years . Even though they wrote about everyday things, they would still mention how they were doing . Was there any need for Ning Que to ask? Ning Que had asked such a question in a serious tone after a long silence . This could only prove that his brain wasn't performing very well .

”I have been writing, cultivating and have broken through a realm . ”

Mo Shanshan did not smile nor was annoyed . She answered calmly and seriously . Her expression was serious and her gaze focused when she spoke; it made the simple answer feel like a ritual .

Then, she smiled and asked, ”How about you? You didn't mention much in your letters . ”

”Same here . I have been writing, cultivating and have broken through a realm . ”

After a pause, Ning Que smiled bitterly, ”And I've killed a few people while doing that . ”

Mo Shanshan looked into his eyes seriously when she heard that . She ascertained that her perception earlier was indeed right, and said happily, ”When did you break through? This is indeed worthy of congratulations . ”

Ning Que looked at her and gave her a slight smile . He said, ”You have already become a Divine Talisman Master in the Spring . I am lagging behind you by quite a lot, what's there to be happy about? Now that I think of it, the letter that you left behind before leaving Chang'an had a lot of predictions . I am still crawling up the mountain stream with difficulty while you have already seen the magnificent river . ”

Mo Shanshan smiled slightly and said, ”But you have now seen the scenery at the peak . ”

”Yes, the scenery here is good indeed . ”

Ning Que s.h.i.+fted his gaze from the foot of the cliff to the peaks of the Wa Mountain .

Mo Shanshan suddenly thought of the thing that had worried her the most after they parted . She asked, ”I was shocked to hear that you wanted to battle with Xia Hou . No one in the Great River Kingdom, including my teacher, thought you would win . ”