75 I Chopped A Mass Of Peach Blossoms that Spring III (1/2)

Having lived a hard life since childhood, Ning Que was considerably good at controlling his emotions, or one could say that he suppressed his real feelings, changing a look of sadness to joy. He seldom reflected those bygone days. Presently, he was in an Academy examination room, looking out of the window at the apricot and peach blooms, hearing surrounding whines about the comprehensive question. He could not help but recall those difficult days when he had studied hard on all subjects day in and out.

Thanks to those tough days, the right answer quickly flashed into his mind as the question was really simple to him, and he exclaimed, ”This is quite Er (a homonym for two and silly)!”

That was true indeed—the answer was just the ordinary figure ”two”.

Ning Que dipped the writing brush in an ink pad and meticulously wrote down on the paper: ”The Headmaster of the Academy drank two bottles of wine, and cut a mountain of peach blossoms.”

…

…

In a pavilion far away from the Academy, a Taoist priest perused over the black and white pieces on a chessboard and moved his right-hand fingers in the air, seeming as if he was playing piano or catching a breeze. Suddenly, his fingers paused, and a black chess piece jumped out of its bowl and sat on an intersection of vertical and horizontal lines.

As the leader of the Southern School of Haotian Taoism, and the Nation Master, it was no surprise to see Li Qingshan effortlessly and nonchalantly play like this. It was peculiar, however, that a deep frown grew on his brow, and it seemed that he was reluctant about playing with the monk.

The monk, known as Huang Yang, now lived in Wanyan Tower in Southern City, Chang'an. Rumor had it that he once went to the Unknown Place in the Wilderness and studied at the Upper Buddhism School. Then by chance several years ago, he met the emperor and they had been sworn brothers ever since. Consequently, he earned his shining title—Younger Brother of the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty. Yet, the monk lived a consistently ascetic life, reading and chanting translated Buddhist Scriptures in the pagoda, and seldom went outside.

Huang Yang peered at the chessboard quietly. Then following his gentle blink, a white chess piece rose and dropped onto the board, without a sound being heard. The white piece blocked the freedom of the black ones, and the captured black chess piece was removed from the board to where seven or eight of the pieces were piled up. None of his movements could be seen at all.

Of course, no one dared interrupt when the Nation Master and the younger brother of the emperor were playing chess. The ordinary monks and Taoist priests never had a chance to have a closer look at this scene, otherwise, they would have marveled at their extraordinary skills.

Li Qingshan looked at the black and white chess pieces, shook his head, and said, ”Since when is there such a rule saying that one guard should serve when His Majesty is in the palace, and when outside of the palace, two should serve? As if there were someone who dares to do anything to His Majesty, let alone at the Academy, which His Majesty visits. How could anything possibly happen there?”

Huang Yang smiled, looked into his eyes, and said, ”I don't know.”

Li Qingshan sighed and said, ”I believe you've heard about what happened to Chao Xiaoshu? It's a shame. Should he have entered the Knowing Destiny State 10 years ago, there would be no place for you and me to serve as guards for His Majesty.”

Huang Yang shook his head and answered, ”Whether no experiences are gained in the Jianghu world or the opportunity to realize the lake in the palace is had, even if you are a promising prodigy, no one can be sure that you'll enter the Knowing Destiny State.”

Li Qingshan disagreed. ”You were doing menial work in the pagoda, not knowing what really happened. Chao Xiaoshu would have been enrolled in the Academy and entered the Second Floor on his own. It would have been easy for him to enter the Knowing Destiny State if he was on the Second Floor and taught by the Headmaster of the Academy.”

Huang Yang remained silent for a while, then said gently, ”It was a blessing to be taught by the headmaster.”

Li Qingshang considered his clean-cut looks, then ridiculed himself, saying, ”Others thought that we never met each other in person, yet hadn't the slightest clue that we never met in the Academy.”

The monk was the rightful Buddhist protector while the priest was the leader of the Southern School of Haotian Taoism. No matter what they desired to do, their statuses would not allow them to enter the Academy. Even on commencement day when the emperor and all the officials were celebrating in the Academy, these two most respectable men could only sit far away from them and play chess.

”When will the headmaster be leaving?”

”After commencement day.”

”He did his best.”

Huang Yang looked at Li Qingshan quietly, and said, ”I still wonder how tall the Headmaster of the Academy is.”

After a long silence, Li Qingshan answered, ”My instructor once mentioned that he was as tall as several floors.”

Pausing for a moment, Huang Yang showed a genuine smile followed by a slow sigh. ”The Second Floor is high enough to enter, and taller than that... that's incredibly tall!”

…