490 The Same World, the Different Thoughts (2/2)
But maybe the Master of the Devil's Doctrine had gone past this state? Perhaps he could already shelter the light of Haotian and set up his own world in nature by just waving his light cicada wings?
That would explain why the sounds in the Winter Forest could escape the eyes of the Mr. First of the Academy and him and why the people around the lake didn't notice him at all.
The Twenty-Three-year Cicada Cultivation should be so powerful!
Thinking of that, Ye Su's face turned pale. But then he became very confused and felt there was something wrong about it. He tried to feel the aura left in the snowy forest and became silent again.
While Ye Su was silent, Eldest Brother had a talk with Qi Nian. Qi Nian was mute, so the conversation was more like a peaceful but authoritarian announcement from Eldest Brother. No one knew what they had said, but it could be guessed that the talk was about Ning Que.
Under the snowy bridge, the soldiers from the Yulin Royal Guards were extremely tired. It was not because they had to stay up all night, but because that they felt humiliated when Ning Que blocked them away from the fight and they could only hear the sound of the fight but couldn't get involved in it.
Xu Shi walked to the bridge and turned around in front of Second Brother. He held on to the snowy railing and looked at the ice on the river. ”Am I really that old?” He asked.
Second Brother straightened his body and gently swept every snowflake on him away. After making sure that there was no crease on his uniform, he said, ”You are old.”
Xu Shi did not become angry, he said peacefully, ”The Academy is a place where miracles happen. Ning Que has done a thing no one could ever expect. But do you think it is fair?”
Second Brother walked to him and looked at the river.
The snow on the surface of the lake was blown to the banks of the river by the heavy wind last night. The ice on the surface of the lake could roughly reflect everything. Second Brother examined the position of his crown in the reflection on the ice and made sure it was not perfectly straight. Then he nodded with satisfaction, ”I am the fairest in the world.”
The wrinkles on Xu Shi's face were very deep. And when the wind blew, he looked much older. ”Jun Mo is as righteous as an ancient gentleman, of course no one dared to doubt you. But last night, Ning Que used his little handmaiden's ability to deal the final strike to Xia Hou. That was two people fighting against one. Is it fair?”
Second Brother said, ”My Youngest Brother is a Talisman Master. The rules in the cultivation world allow people to have escort servants when having a fight. So of course it is totally fine.”
Xu Shi thought about the brightness on the cliff last night and the sound of weapons colliding together. He said with his eyebrows frowned, ”But Ning Que is not a simple Talisman Master. And Miss Sangsang is the only successor of the Great Divine Priest of Light. She is not an escort servant either.”
Second Brother replied, ”A Talisman Master is a Talisman Master. Even though Youngest Brother also cultivates talisman and martial arts together, if he calls himself a Talisman Master, then he is one. As for Sangsang, even though she will become the Great Divine Priest of Light of the West-Hill one day, she can still be an escort servant of Youngest Brother as long as she wants to.”
Xu Shi said with a serious looking, ”I never knew that Jun Mo was so unreasonable.”
”I care about reasons and etiquette the most in the world. Of course I am good at using all means to make my behavior plausible. So I can always be an unreasonable speaker and an unreasonable fighter.”
Second Brother continued coldly, ”When Daoshi Monk challenged the Academy, he had an escort servant. Your Military Ministry offered him the challenge certificate and the place to fight. Since you have never mentioned that fight was not fair, you shouldn't accusing this fight of being unfair. If you insist your opinion, the Academy does not mind to ask the Military Ministry to teach us what fairness really is.”
After these words, he walked to the other side of the bridge. In the morning light, his tall crown had a long shadow, so long that as if it could carve on the deep snow.
Looking at him leaving, Xu Shi didn't say anything.
When he left, the bridge was completely different. For a whole day, Xu Shi didn't have the chance to enjoy the views from the bridge because he turned himself into a picture and no one dared to add more to it.
An officer walked to Xu Shi and murmured something to him.
Xu Shi said hoarsely, ”General Xia Hou contributed to our country, of course we will bury him well. As for his funeral, the Imperial Palace will arrange it. The Military Ministry just needs to be prepared and that will be enough.”
The atmosphere in the Palace was very tense. There was no eunuch or palace maid around the snowy palace, so only a few people could hear the weeping of the empress. And apart from the Academy, these people were also the only people who knew that the empress was Xia Hou's sister.
Not far away from the Imperial Palace, the atmosphere in the Princess Mansion was totally different. After the Taoist man left with his yellow oiled-paper umbrella, an exceptionally joyful and complicated atmosphere started spreading around the passages.
Li Yu stroked her chest and looked at the teacup in front of her. She tried really hard to calm herself down to believe that Ning Que really had defeated Xia Hou! Thinking about the great benefit this thing had brought, even though she was normally a calm person, it still made her dizzy. And the news that Ning Que was still alive made her loosen up suddenly.
Li Huiyuan was sitting next to her. He looked a little confused. Of course he knew that it was good news that Xia Hou was dead and it was beneficial to him. But he couldn't understand why his sister and the officials were wild with joy. Would everything be fine after the empress lost her support in the military? But no matter what, he just wanted to go to sleep after staying up for the whole night.
Li Yu waved her hand to make these officials leave, but she didn't allow him to leave.
The room was quiet.
Looking at her beloved brother, Li Yu's clear eyes became moist. She said with a shivering voice, ”The throne of Tang will be yours, brother.”