552 Meeting an Old Friend Under the Bamboos (2/2)

Ning Que had long known that the visitor who could arouse a solemn call of the Lanke Temple and the reception of Guan Hai must be of extraordinary origin. However, no matter how self-abased he was, with some narcissism and joy he had to admit an undeniable fact:

There was no other person in the world whose sect could be more powerful than his. To put it simply, no matter where he came from, the visitor who aroused the bell could never have a more powerful background.

That was why he was curious about who the guest was and why Guan Hai had chosen to leave him for the other. Hearing the anxiety in Sangsang's words, he felt funny and confused since Sangsang never cared about such things.

Sangsang whispered,”When Master Qishan comes out of seclusion, he will only choose one destined person to answer his questions. Today, the Wa mountain has seen so many people coming, among them lots of bigwigs. I wonder whether the Master will choose me as the destined person and cure my disease.”

Ning Que said with a smile, ”To be the destined person for a hundred-year-old monk? Forget it. It's enough to be my destined one. As for the others, you do not need to worry about them.”

Sangsang opened the front door of the carriage, looking at his profile, and said, ”I worry that you have to compete with many people like what you did in our childhood, or when you entered the Second Floor of the Academy.”

”Who would dare to compete with us? Even if a madman who is not afraid of death really beats us, will the Old Monk dare not to heal you? Besides, he has built a friendship with the Academy when he learned from the Headmaster. I come from the Academy with the Great Spirit while you come from the Divine Hall with the Haotian Divine Light. With the the personal letter written by my teacher, there is nothing in our way. He has to cure you regardless of his own ideas.”

The carriage drove along the peaceful mountain path; the sound of the wheels rolling on the slightly damp path was soft. Rather, Ning Que's disrespectful voice toward the Wa mountain drifted among the branches of the locust trees and other autumn trees, lingering for quite a long time.

...

...

The mountains were gentle, so the carriage was easy to drive on the mountain roads. But the distance between the two places became a little bit longer. When the morning fog cleared and the autumn sun emerged on the top of the trees, the black carriage arrived at the Jumping Tiger Stream.

The Jumping Tiger Stream had been a very famous scenic spot in the Wa mountain in those years. However, with more and more old monks choosing to live here in seclusion, the Lanke Temple monks made the Wa mountain's access more strict. It would only be randomly opened for a while each year. Since it was closed in recent days, there were no tourists by the stream.

But no tourists did not mean that there weren't any visitors.

Across the stone bridge over the stream, there were dense autumn woods. On this side of the bridge, a large green tree was standing on the vast stone region, under which was a small stone table.

Under the big green tree gathered a dozen people; some standing, some whispering, others keeping silent. Through the cracks among the crowd, an old monk in yellow monk's robes could be vaguely seen playing chess.

The black carriage stopped a distance away from the tree. Taking a glance from the distance, Ning Que sensed the aura, strong or light, in those people. So he was sure that they were cultivators from different sects.

Most people around the stone table under the tree focused on the game, while some were talking respectfully to a young noble in expensive clothes.

It was the noble from the South Jin Kingdom that Ning Que had met in the Lanke Temple yesterday morning. He was not surprised at the scene since he had guessed who he was. However, he just felt somewhat emotional when he thought that the ordinary cultivators in the world, who had no hope of achieving Taoism would have to end up devoting themselves to the imperial family, although they had cultivated for half their lives.

However, when he caught the sight of the familiar figure under a row of emerald green bamboos, dozens of feet away from the big green tree, he could not help the regret that he felt for the cultivators directing unto himself.

It was obvious that although many cultivators intended to approach the maiden under the bamboos, all they dared to do was to salute from afar out of reverence or other reasons.

So the maiden was just standing alone under the green bamboos.

She was as lonely and strong as a bamboo.

However, to Ning Que, she was just as vulnerable.

Having not met her for over a year, he found her much thinner than before.