368 Chronicles of the Building of Pines and Cranes II (2/2)
”Haven't you seen the moon before? Poor old man.”
”As far as I can see, you are rich. Where does your money come from? I earned my money from the casino in Western City. Are you engaged in business with them?”
”Let me tell you one thing, this ugly cotton-padded jacket of mine is said to have been customized by my teacher.”
”The way that you're blowing your mustache is very funny.”
Ning Que mumbled continuously and pointed at the old man in the chair, and started laughing.
Suddenly there was a muffled thud.
Ning Que stopped laughing.
He covered his forehead and looked at the old man in shock and confusion.
The old man, with a thick and short wooden stick in his hand, looked at Ning Que and said furiously, ”So many superfluous words! You're driving me crazy. Look at you, how dare you want to kill Xia Hou!”
Not hearing that last sentence clearly, Ning Que turned his eyes back and fainted.
When he was about to lean backward and hit the ground in the veranda, there came a gust of wind.
With his jacket flying up and his steps silent in his sandals, Eldest Brother showed up on the veranda and supported the tottering Ning Que and caught hold of the falling wine urn.
Eldest Brother held Ning Que, who was now unconscious, and looked at the old man and asked, ”Teacher, what's the matter with Youngest Brother?”
The old man stealthily retracted the short wooden stick into his sleeve, made two coughs, and said, ”No big deal. He offended me just now, so I punished him with the discipline of the Academy.”
Seeing the short wooden stick, Eldest Brother was so startled that he nearly fainted because his teacher had once used that stick to banish the Taoist in indigo to the South Sea. So, he was afraid that after being hit by the stick, Youngest Brother would either be dead or become an idiot.
His face turned pale upon recalling this.
The old man noticed that his face was pale but did not realize that he was worried about Ning Que. He frowned and said, ”I told you ten years ago to keep a slower pace, so why are still rushing like this?”
Eldest Brother sensed that something went wrong with Ning Que earlier, so he rushed quickly to the veranda of the Building of Pines and Cranes regardless of what would happen to him. He asked the old man worriedly, ”Teacher, will Youngest Brother be OK?”
The old man glared at the fainted Ning Que and said, ”This boy is like your Youngest Uncle and has a strong body. He was stuck just once, he won't die so easily.”
Perhaps the old man also realized that these words were not that convincing, so then he coughed and explained seriously, ”Your Youngest Brother has consumed a lot today, it'll be good for him to sleep for a while.”
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Eldest Brother of the Academy had only one teacher.
That old man was, of course, the Headmaster of the Academy.
The words from the Headmaster of the Academy were even more useful than an imperial edict of the Tang Empire. And for Eldest Brother, who had the life-long respect for his teacher, what his teacher said was equivalent to the truth. If his teacher said that the night was white, then the night was white to him; if his teacher said that Haotian was black, then Haotian was definitely black to him; and when it came to Ning Que, he would be fine if his teacher told him so.
On the streets of Chang'an in the depths of the night, the Headmaster of the Academy walked forward slowly, elegantly stepping on the scattered dead leaves with his hands clasped behind his back. While the seemingly flustered Eldest Brother was following his teacher, carrying Ning Que on his back.
”You're right, there is always a different one among the thousands of lights.”
The Headmaster of the Academy looked at the dim light in the lane and looked at the Yulin Royal Guards patrolling afar. He said, ”Though your Youngest Brother is neither an uncontaminated lotus coming out of dirty mud nor a kind-hearted man, he does have some compassion in his seemingly cold-blooded body. The only thing is that he has hidden it too deeply.”
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