Chapter 788 (1/2)

Chapter 788: 788

Earlier, Ning Que left the Chao Mansion at the Spring Breeze Pavilion and headed for the Vermilion Bird Avenue . He left behind the worried Zeng couple and Old Master Chao who did not seem bothered at all .

Chao Xiaoshu left Chang'an with Liu V and the cavalry of the Valiant Cavalry Battalion . Yet, the Chao Mansion bustled with life as numerous decrees were issued from the house to every part of the city . Furthermore, they had also harbored dozens of refugees, so the Chao Mansion had been crowded in the recent days .

The Chao Mansion was quiet today because the servants and refugees in the house had heard a lot of deafening noises coming from the city since early morning .

They first heard bells ringing throughout the city, and then, they heard the wind howling and blades colliding followed by thunder, snow, wind and explosions . Then they saw the flaming snowy cloud in the sky .

They gradually grew afraid because they did not know what was happening . When Ning Que came and left, they found out that the battle was no longer confined to the mortal world, and they grew increasingly disconsolate .

There were government officials, war refugees, and brave members of the Fish-dragon Gang in the Chao Mansion . However, they were all ordinary people and did not have the means to join the battle .

The courtyard was shrouded in silence for a long time . Refugees held their children nervously for fear that they might make a sound . Meanwhile, the Old Master Chao and the Zeng couple sat by the desk with a myriad of expressions .

There were people who could bear it no longer, and the first person to stand was the one the Old Master Chao expected . He looked at the person and said, ”You should know very well that you'll die if you go . ”

Mr . Qi replied, ”Second Uncle, have I ever been afraid of death?”

Chen VII who had been standing silently by the windows turned around to look at his fourth brother . He frowned slightly in disapproval . Just as he was about to speak up to stop him, the old Master waved his hand .

”Go if you wish . Do you need my approval to seek your death?”

Mr . Qi smiled . He turned around and left the Chao Mansion with several members in black of the Fish-dragon Gang .

After a moment of silence, Chen VII said, ”It's pointless . ”

The Old Master Chao knew what he meant . The battle on the Vermilion Bird Avenue had long gone beyond the scope of the Five States . It was not a battle that could be influenced by efforts in secular world . Should the Academy fail to defeat that powerful enemy, not even the deaths of the Fish-dragon Gang and everyone in Chang'an would be able to stop him .

”All men need to be helped . Or perhaps, one should say, we all hope to be helped . ”

Old Master Chao said, ”Mr . Thirteen might not be ordinary like us, but I suppose he could use a little help from Chang'an citizens like us . ”

Chen VII said, ”It's pointless if our help is useless . ”

”Even if the Abbey Dean was really a deity who could kill us mortals with a single glance, would it be completely pointless if there is someone in the crowd who can make him take a second glance?”

The Old Master Chao's face was filled with calmness . He said, ”Even if it is just as you said, that our appearance is completely pointless, as long as we appear there, then it would be meaningful . ”

Grand Secretary Zeng Jing sitting by the desk was the first person to comprehend the statement . He nodded in approval .

”The Academy is the Academy of the Tang Empire, and the Tang Empire belongs to the Academy . The Tang royal family respects the Academy and devotes all its resources to it . But have you ever seen a single Tang citizen speak down to the Academy and treat them as their servants? Why is the Tang Empire so different from other countries who have been bullied by the Divine Hall? It is because of the rules set by the Academy and the Headmaster . Most importantly, it is because of the att.i.tudes of the Tangs . ”

The Old Master Chao said, ”We are nothing like the Yan Kingdom, the South Jin Kingdom or the Kingdom of Song who are the slaves of Haotian Taoism . We are the masters of this land, so we need to make it there, even if we may die . ”

Chen VII was the Strategy Counsellor of the Fish-dragon Gang and was versed in long-term planning . However, he rarely went up to a real battlefield to judge the situation and would often act before anything else . When he heard the old Master's words, he seemed to have thought of something .

”Since I have to die, I would of course die with the old, weak, and disabled . I have already lived for more than 70 years, now it's my time for it . ”

Old Master Chao shakily pushed himself up from the table, accepting the cane that his servant pa.s.sed him . Then, he walked out of the mansion with the help of an old servant .

Grand Secretary Zeng Jing said, ”I am old too, and should travel with Second Uncle . ”

Mrs . Zeng said, ”I am a useless woman, I should go there even more so . ”

Old Master Chao signaled for Chen VII to watch over the couple . He smiled and said, ”If Ning Que saw that his in-laws were tricked by me and sent to their deaths, he might quit helping me . ”

The Spring Breeze Pavilion was devoid of spring breeze today; there were only dancing snowflakes . The main gates of the Chao Mansion opened and the Old Master Chao brought his aged and weak servants, including some elderly refugees, into the streets .

The Old Master Chao held his cane in one hand and knocked on every door he pa.s.sed . He called for his friends and invited his companions, calling all the neighbors he had known over the years to come out .

”We only want the old, not the young . ”

The Old Master Chao said . His expression was not solemn nor sad . Instead, he said that with a smile, as if he was inviting old friends for tea and a chess session by the West Lake .

The old people in the neighborhood did not think anything of it either . The Tangs were of military stock and they had all been in the army when they were young . Their trip to the Vermilion Bird Avenue was like how they went up to a battlefield in the old days .

It was something very normal .

They felt as if they had returned to the Military camp in those exciting days .

Chen VII dealt with Mr . and Mrs . Zeng and ran after the old Master . He saw the valiant figures of several old men and their sons and nephews .

A bitter and slightly mocking smile appeared on his face when he saw this . He thought to himself that these people were really stupid to go there just to let the deity take a second look at them .

Although he thought so, he did not slow down . Soon, he reached the front of the crowd and took over the old servant to help the Old Master Chao .

He had no choice because he was one of the Tangs, which sometimes seemed so ”stupid and idiotic” .