69 The Flower Blooms on the Shore Astride II (2/2)
”That's because you're too impressive.” Ning Que replied seriously.
Nothing works better than flattery. Even the flimsiest ass-kissing would be useful, much less coming from a lad who seemed slightly childish and silly. Xu Chongshan's expression calmed and after coughing lightly, he said, ” You must know who Old Chao is by now, don't you?”
Ning Que furrowed his brows slightly, pretending to be dim. ”Is Brother Chao one of your men, general?”
”I don't have the guts to order Old Chao of the Spring Breeze Pavilion around. Also… don't call him Brother Chao in the future. The old people who used to call him that are mostly gone. We call him Second Brother Chao.”
Xu Chongshan said sternly. Following that, he thought about the battle in the spring rain and of Old Chao's evaluation of the lad. He started to find the lad less jarring and smiled lightly, changing the subject suddenly. ”Why did you help Old Chao last night?”
”He paid me five hundred silver taels.” Ning Que answered honestly.
Nobody would die for a person they had just met for five hundred silver taels. Much less a young lad of sixteen about to enter the Academy. Xu Chongshan did not believe his explanation and thus did not believe he did it out of greed. He felt that Ning Que was a sentimental person and began to see him in even better light.
”His Majesty likes the sentimental sort. So do I.” Xu Chongshan smiled. ”I am going to ask you a question next. That is... are you willing to sacrifice your name and even reputation for your country?”
Ning Que stiffened slightly. He furrowed his brows and thought for a long time. On one hand, he tried to guess the true reason behind the question. On the other, he did not understand why he had said ”even reputation”. Was it that one's reputation was more important than one's life?
It was a huge question that was broad, serious and one might even say sacred. However, it was also a question that one cannot wrap his mind around. He thought about it for a long time, and thought of the generals from Wei city, his brethren who had gone through life and death with him, and the passionate people of Chang'an. He ruminated over it seriously before answering, ”If I am forced to do so, my life, I can sacrifice…”
At this point, he thought of a certain scene from the night before, where Chao Xiaoshu left behind half his bowl of noodles reluctantly and wondered over to the grey walls of the shop with great loneliness. He hesitated before adding on another sentence. ”However, there are some things that cannot be sacrificed.”
Xu Chongshan looked at him sternly and realized that the lad did not make a decision immediately, but had thought over it carefully and seriously. The deputy commander was not angry about that, but was in fact glad that Ning Que had done so. That was because he knew that an answer that had much thought behind it was much more trustworthy than one given in the heat of the moment.
”You will be a member of the Tang Imperial Guards from today on.”
There were no other questions nor any tests. With just a short conversation between the two, Xu Chongshan had granted the young lad a place in the Tang palace guards. Chao Xiaoshu's guarantee played a part, but the larger part of the reason was because he really liked Ning Que's character, which could be seen from his answers.
Ning Que was speechless. He looked at the shiny wooden pass in his hands and at the identifier at the back and was silent for a long time before saying vacantly, ”Can one become an imperial guard just by participating in a fight?”
”The Fish-dragon Sect has been forced to the light by imbecilic officials. Don't look at me like that. The Emperor said so himself yesterday. That is why we need to arrange for more people to be in the dark.”
Xu Chongshan explained coldly, ”This is the highest glory for the people of Tang. Do not think of rejecting.”
”It is not a matter of rejection.” Ning Que said helplessly. ”The question is, what does the court need me to do? What can I do? The key thing is, I have to join the Academy's entrance exam soon.”
Xu Chongshan's expression altered slightly upon hearing the word ”Academy”. As someone of seniority in the guards, he knew what Chao Xiaoshu had encountered in his youth. It was because of the incident that these guards in the dark could enjoy the treatment that had now. He smiled warmly at Ning Que and said, ”Rest assured. You may enter the Academy if you can. You can work for the court once you leave the Academy. There is no conflict between the two.”
”You haven't said what I needed to do.” Ning Que asked persistently.
”Now that the Fish-dragon Sect is known to all, there will no longer be any problems in Chang'an's Jianghu.”Xu Chongshan said with knitted brows. ”Your task is simple. You just need to gather intelligence. Let's talk about your task in the future.”
If there are no longer any problems in the Jianghu, the biggest problem in the kingdom would be the world of cultivators. Ning Que played through the different scenarios as he thought about his impending entrance into the Academy and the deputy commander's unclear instructions. Is the court going after the Academy?
The wooden pass in his hands had become slightly damp from his sweat. But he knew that he could not reject this. He could only hope that the direction where things seemed to be going would differ from what he had imagined.