397 If the Heavens Way Really Exists (2/2)

The Headmaster of the Academy left the platform. In the following nights, Ning Que sat between the cliffs and thought about the Headmaster's words. He carefully recalled the three months in the cliff cave and absorbed what he had grasped in those days.

At dawn, Sangsang came to the platform, helped him to clean up and pack all their stuff. They walked down the narrow stone path to the foot of the mountain.

Along the way, they saw the old beautiful sceneries, the steep stone path, and the waterfalls falling into the sea of clouds.

Walking a few steps eastward along the canyon, they saw the figure of Chen Pipi.

And then the senior brothers and sisters.

All disciples from the Second floor of the Academy came here to welcome their younger brother.

Tang Xiaotang ran towards them. She took some stuff from Sangsang, gave Ning Que a stern look, and led Sangsang to the front hand in hand.

Eldest Brother gently smiled at Ning Que, and said, ”You have worked so hard these days.”

Ning Que greeted them with a bow with his hands folded in front and said to the crowd, ”Senior Sisters and Brothers, how are you all doing?”

The crowd happily surrounded him and expressed their congratulations.

Eleventh Brother sent him a bunch of flowers which made Sangsang a little bit upset.

Ninth and Tenth Brothers started to play their lute and flute elegantly.

Fifth and Eighth Brothers found themselves idle and it was not a right time for chess. So they had nothing to do but congratulate Ning Que again and again.

Sixth Brother patted Ning Que's shoulder as a kind of comfort. But his iron-hammering hand almost killed Ning Que. And Seventh Sister affectionately pinched his face, which almost made it bleed.

Second Brother standing at a distance seemed a little bit awkward. Looking at Ning Que's nervous gaze, he slightly nodded and gave him a rare smile.

...

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The back of the mountain today was full of laughter and cheers. In the airy thatched cottage, Seventh Sister, Tang Xiaotang and Sangsang had prepared a hearty meal.

The meal was to celebrate Ning Que's improvement, the ending of the cliff cave life, as well as the teacher's return from pilgrimage which in fact had been three months ago. More importantly, it was Ning Que's apprentice ceremony, meaning that he had formally become a disciple of the Headmaster of the Academy.

He knelt down before the Headmaster and respectfully kowtowed three times. But his body was too strong due to the Great Spirit; the three kowtows cracked the blue bricks on the ground without making his forehead swell or bleed. There was just some dust on it.

Ning Que thought it was a great pity that he could not show his sincerity and flatter his teacher.

He stood up, took a cup of tea from his Third Sister, and handed to the Headmaster with both hands. The Headmaster slowly took a sip of the tea, completing the apprentice ceremony. It was very simple.

Seventh Sister came to Ning Que with a pile of clothes in her hands, and asked, ”Brother, which color do you like?”

Ning Que was a bit amazed, he looked at the clothes and found that they were all Academy uniforms worn in spring. Compared with the front Academy uniforms, the uniforms of the Second floor were almost the same except for their colors.

He looked at his brothers and sisters and found that their selections were rather random. Third Sister wore her light cyan baggy uniform while Eldest Brother still wore his old clothes. The others wore uniforms of different colors. Some were red, some were grey.

Seventh Sister noticed his hesitation, and jokingly said, ”Be cautious, you have only one chance.”

Ning Que subconsciously looked at Sangsang. Since they left Min Mountain and came to the City of Wei, it was always Sangsang who decided what they wore.

Sangsang nodded.

Ning Que understood and said, ”Senior Sister, I want the black one.”

Seventh Sister smiled and said, ”Good choice. You are the first person to choose this color at the back of the mountain. As a saying goes, the man dressed entirely in black is always a good-looking man. But some idiot would never understand.”

Second Brother behind the Headmaster became somehow serious.

Looking at Ning Que who was putting on his black uniform, the Eldest Brother sighed.

The Headmaster gently stroked his beard, and asked, ”Why black?”

With the help of Sangsang, Ning Que buttoned up and sincerely replied, ”I do not need to wash it too often.”

He was not joking. It never occurred to him or Sangsang that wearing black would make him good-looking. They cared more about how much water and soap could be saved.

Eldest Brother was stunned.

The Headmaster suddenly stopped stroking his beard, and shook his head with a smile.

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