248 Someone in the Mountain (2/2)

Ning Que explained calmly, ”Because I wanted to try writing my own fire talisman and see how strong it would be. But I wasn't certain if it would burn, which was why I used the grass as fuel. It seems that it didn't work, so you have to help again.”

Ning Que was really shameless to be able to speak about his own incompetence in such a calm manner. However, the Big Black Horse who had tried his best to suppress his need to hurry while erasing all traces of their journey got even sadder.

Mo Shanshan did not notice the shamelessness in his statement. After a moment of silence, she sighed. ”I grew up in the Ink Lake and was brought up by Teacher Qu. He had never allowed me to explore the secular world. If not for the edict of the Divine Hall and that I've grown up, I might not have left the mountain.”

Ning Que could see, from her description, an old Grand Cultivator watching a child of five or six by the lakeside, sternly ordering her to clear her heart and hold a pen.

Mo Shanshan looked at the mountain ranges a distance away and said quietly, ”The three addicts of the world are addicted to Talisman Taoism and Calligraphy. They are addicted to cultivation and to plants. If they really wanted to enter the human realm, they would be easily defeated by a clever and artful person like yourself.

Ning Que shook his head and said, ”I am not being humble, but even if I were more sly and practical, I would never be able to beat you guys. One's state can easily defeat all plots.”

Mo Shanshan softly replied with her head lowered. ”I have suddenly understood something. I don't understand the things of the secular world. Lu Chenjia is like me, she might not understand as well. If I were the person sitting on the horse carriage on the meadow and the people who were being attacked by the Horse Gang were from the Yuelun Kingdom, perhaps I might not be bothered either.”

Ning Que looked at the strands of hair that strayed in the wind by her face and said, ”No, you are different from the Flower Addict. She is addicted to flowers and can think of people as fertilizers or mud that will benefit her flowers. You may be addicted to calligraphy, but the world you see is a normal world. You do not think of the blood we ordinary people shed as ink to use.”

Mo Shanshan thought that his description was gory but appropriate. She lifted her head and looked into his eyes and said seriously, ”Am I really different with the Flower Addict?”

”Of course.” Ning Que smiled. ”Even though both of you are ignorant, you are kind and ignorant.”

Ignorance was not gory, but not completely appropriate either. Nobody would like to be called ignorant. Mo Shanshan furrowed her brows while retaining a trace of happiness in her eyes. She asked, ”Are you joking?”

Ning Que wanted to say that he was being truthful. But when he looked at the beautiful face before him, he nodded.

Mo Shanshan turned around and did not say anything else. Her thin red lips were pursed and her cheeks puffed out. She was not trying to control her anger, but her laughter instead.

”If only... you weren't such a liar. Of course, you are already very good, because you know how I feel, which was why you lied.”

Mo Shanshan lowered her head and continued walking as she thought to herself. She did not leave any trace of her steps in the snow even though she stepped in it. She did not intend for it to happen, but she felt that she was really floating in the air.

...

...

Back at the tents, Ning Que and the woman from the Desolate Man tribe entered a serious discussion. He asked her to do some things. The woman who participated in the Winter Etiquette and followed the rules of never returning to her tribe left her child to the young man and woman from the Central Plains and returned to her tribe.

After two days, the woman brought back relatively bad news. Ning Que did not care because he knew that it was a difficult thing trying to gain the trust of the Desolate Man tribe as a person from the Central Plains.

It was lucky that he still managed to gain some rather useful information. For example, he knew of recent happenings such as the traveling merchants from Tuyang City and how the Desolate Man tribe had taken over the Wilderness.

The temperature dropped as they left the winter forests and headed north. This could be because they were about to enter the foothill in the extreme north of Tianqi Mountain. Mo Shanshan's roan horse would definitely not be able to bear the cold. As such, they left it with the mother and son from the Desolate Man tribe.

Once they had bidden their farewells, the two teens and a black horse began on their journey once more.

Mo Shanshan asked, ”What shall we do next?”

Ning Que replied, ”We shall enter the mountain.”

Mo Shanshan was slightly shocked. She asked, ” Are the Tomes of Arcane in the mountain?”

Ning Que looked at the snow-capped peak in the distance and stayed silent for a while before saying, ”I am not sure. But I am sure that someone from the Divine Hall is on the mountain.”

...

...

There were no plants due to the extreme cold and high altitude. The mountain gales were extremely strong, blowing away all dust and snow on the ground, revealing the back rock beneath.

There was a young man dressed in the robes of the Judicial Department standing on the cliff protruding from the black rock walls. He looked at the clouds, wind, and snow afar as if he was part of the rock wall.

Even goshawks would not have been able to get onto the cliff he was standing on. However, it posed no difficulty to him. There was not a trace of pride on his pale flawless face because he was Prince Long Qing.