474 Hoisting the Flag (1/2)
Chapter 474: Hoisting the Flag
Translator: TransnEditor: Transn
On the cliff in the back of the Academy's mountain.
The Headmaster of the Academy in black overclothes sat by the edge of the cliff and looked in the direction of Chang'an from a distance. The snow looked like salt flowers spread by Haotian.
”Fifteen years ago, I was sitting here and watching the woodshed in the Official of Counsel's Mansion.”
”I watched him as he walked out of the woodshed, palefaced and holding a chopper. I watched him hiding in the well grasping a rope. I watched him climbing over the wall and walking into the crowd. I watched him leaving Chang'an. He reminded me of your Youngest Uncle from a long time ago.”
The Eldest Brother stood beside him and asked, ”What did my Younger Brother and Youngest Uncle have in common?”
The Headmaster shook his head and said, ”I could not tell. Maybe they were both eager for freedom.”
”I agree with you on my Youngest Uncle's part, but were freedom and what had happened to Younger Brother relevant?”
The Headmaster said, ”The so-called freedom, is your right to choose. Choose to live, choose to die, or not to choose. Your Younger Brother chose to take the chopper to kill the housekeeper and his best friend. At that moment, he had taken his first step toward freedom.”
The Eldest Brother said honestly, ”Teacher, I don't understand?”
The Headmaster said, ”You are like the clearest stream in the world and flowing among the hills freely. Maybe you have run into some shoals and reefs, but you never came across a real danger or faced the option your Younger Brother faced once.”
”No one was qualified to judge the choice Ning Que made at that time, but it was unusual for him to do that. Your Youngest Uncle made a similar decision in that year. No matter what happened to them, they both did what they wanted.”
The Eldest Brother said, ”That's why teacher took him as a disciple.”
The Headmaster sighed and said, ”In the spring, I met your Younger Brother in the Building of Pines and Cranes and had a talk with him in the hut. I was a little disappointed when I found he was different from your Youngest Uncle.”
”But that's how life is. How can two leaves be exactly the same?”
He watched the snow and the city with relief. ”However, today, his choice surprised me. I never expected he was brave enough to challenge Xia Hou face to face. I like the clumsy choice he made.”
He turned around looked at his eldest disciple and said with a smile, ”You are the clumsiest one among your brothers, but I like you the most. However, you need to study from Jun Mo and your Younger Brother about some of their ways.”
The Eldest Brother agreed with his teacher. He watched the snow and could not help worrying about his Younger Brother. He hesitated a while and said, ”If Younger Brother indeed loses to Xia Hou, what should I do?”
This was an interesting question. It suggested that in the Eldest Brother's opinion, Ning Que was not qualified to have a fight against Xia Hou.
”I don't believe in Heaven or fate. I only believe in myself.”
The Headmaster had a look at the grey sky and said, ”Everyone believes in himself. This is your Younger Brother' s choice, and this is also his ridicule and contempt toward fate. Except for a fair chance, he asked for nothing.”
The dead silence in front of the palace lasted for a long time. The snowstorm crumbled the bloody flag, swayed the big black umbrella and froze people's faces as well.
The Nation Master, Li Qingshan looked at Ning Que complicatedly and said, ”Is that all?”
Ning Que kept quiet.
Li Qingshan sighed and shook his head. He said, ”His Majesty said that if you insisted on fighting against him, you had to hand over the thing first.
”He said you know what he means.”
The tip of Ning Que's eyebrows slightly tilted up and he asked, ”Why?”
Li Qingshan said, ”It's your personal grudge.”
Ning Que said, ”Yes.”
Li Qingshan said, ”Since it is your personal grudge, you are not allowed to use it.”
Then he seriously said, ”If you are able to survive after the battle, you can get it back.”
Ning Que looked at the snow under his feet and did not say anything. After a while, he took out a thing enveloped by a piece of cloth, but he refused to hand it over to Li Qingshan.
Li Qingshan frowned and said, ”Can't you even trust me?”
”Except for myself, I trust nobody. Sorry.”
Ning Que gave it to Chen Pipi beside him and explained.
Li Qingshan smiled with a bitter expression and walked toward the palace.
People in front of the palace were curious about what it was. Xia Hou could clearly feel the fluctuation from it, so he frowned and said to Ning Que, ”You have the array eye. That's why you believe you are qualified to challenge me?”
Ning Que said, ”I said once, I still have many more powerful tools.”