238 Crooked Calligraphy (2/2)
He looked at Ning Que and said, ”In spring, you won against Prince Long Qing. It was an intolerable humiliation for a lot of people in the Divine Hall. But the whole Revelation Department probably felt very grateful for you.”
Ning Que thought of the Revelation Department Priest with silver hair but a young face. He frowned slightly and said, ”The Revelation Department Priest, how old is he? Is he stronger or weaker than Long Qing?”
If he could know this, he could roughly infer the true strength of the younger generation in the Divine Hall. The reason he wanted to know this was that he always tended to compare the Academy with the Divine Hall.
”The Revelation Department Priest Cheng Lixue should be just over thirty years old this year. And as for his cultivation state,” General Shu Cheng shook his head before continuing. ”Both the Military Ministry and Imperial Center Administration have only a rough estimate on the cultivation states of the Divine Hall people. Just like Prince Long Qing, everyone says he only needs one step to enter Knowing Destiny State. But no one knows how big that step is.”
Ning Que no longer thought about these issues. He looked at a quiet faraway tent. After a short moment of silence, he said, ”General, there's one thing I may need your help with.”
...
...
The disciples of Black Ink Lake walked on yellow winter grass towards their camp. Cat Girl saw Ning Que and the Tang general go into the Tang camp. She reluctantly took back her gaze. With knitted brows, she asked curiously, ”Brother Zhong... no, Senior Brother Ning had a strange expression when he finally faced Aunt Quni Madi. I don't know how to describe it.” ..
The girls thought of the previous scene. Aunt Quni Madi had been so angry that her body trembled. Her face had been dark, as if she was likely to drop down at any time. However, Ning Que had stood in front of her with a gentle smile, even raising his face instead of hiding or avoiding her. It was difficult to explain the temperament or feeling revealed from his body.
Cat Girl bit her finger and thought for a long time. She was suddenly enlightened. She clapped her small palms excitedly. Looking at her Senior Sisters, she said, ”I know, Senior Brother was really bitchy at the time... haha, but I like it.”
The Great River Kingdom girls were startled. Then they realized that the word ”bitchy” was indeed the best choice to describe Ning Que at the time. They could not help covering their mouths and laughing. They also liked his bitchy manner.
Only Mo Shanshan in front did not laugh. She did not have the slightest expression on her silent face.
Zhuo Zhihua looked at Shanshan and gradually hid her smile, showing a trace of anxiety.
Back at the camp, Mo Shanshan seemed to have completely forgotten the previous conflict and scenes in the tent. She calmly poured water, grinded an inkstone, wet her brush and sat in front of the desk, ready to write.
Zhuo Zhihua waved her sleeves to signal for the sisters to leave temporarily. She walked to the table and half sat with her knees bent. She looked silently at the expression on Shanshan's white cheeks. After a long time, she whispered. ”Why did you leave like that?”
Mount Mo Shan stiffened her right hand which held the brush slightly. After a moment of silence, she replied, ”Then how should I leave?”
She was Calligraphy Addict, a Hill Master with the highest status in Black Ink Garden under Mogan Mountain, and the last core Master disciple of Calligrapher Master Wang. But she was not old. In the eyes of Zhuo Zhihua, she was more like a childish sister who was addicted to Calligraphy.
Zhuo Zhihua quietly looked at her and gently said, ”Mr. Thirteen has helped us a lot all the way. Today in the tent if he hadn't shown up to defend us, I'm afraid Black Ink Garden would have more troubles. Even if it's not for his company these days, just out of gratitude, you should say goodbye to him.”
Mo Shanshan gently turned her wrist. The ink brush touched the yellow paper. She wrote a horizontal character stroke and whispered. ”I've never told anyone before, but actually, the Horse Gangs came for him. Since then, we have no reason to be grateful to him. On the contrary, it's he who has dragged us down. He should have opened his mouth to speak for us in the tent today.”
Zhuo Zhihua looked at the crooked horizontal character stroke on the paper. Zhuo Zhihua could not help laughing and immediately said with a soft sigh, ”You know it's not what I'm talking about.”
Mo Shanshan looked at the earthworm-like ugly characters on the paper, feeling slightly angry. ”Then what are you trying to say?”
Zhuo Zhihua looked at Shanshan's slightly annoyed eyes and said with a smile, ”I mean since you've secretly liked Sir Ning for so long, now that you've seen the real person, why not go tell him?”
Mo Shanshan was startled yet continued to bend forward and write. ”I don't know what nonsense you're talking about.”
Zhuo Zhihua smiled and said no more. She left the tent, leaving Mo Shanshan alone to contemplate.
Mo Shanshan did not think anything, for the thoughts in her mind had become a mess. She just unconsciously held the brush and kept writing. She opened her thin lips slightly. With annoyance, she muttered to herself. ”So you're that guy. But you've been hiding it from me. Why should I go talk to you? I can't be so bitchy... ”
As she murmured to herself, a touch of shame and annoyance appeared in her eyes at times. A slight blush also appeared on her heaved pink cheeks.
On the yellow paper were tangled ink characters, which were so ugly that even she could have written better when she was three years old.