613 The Cloud (2/2)

Sangsang said, ”If Tangtang's little wolf knew you ate wolfmeat, it would hate you.”

Ning Que said with a smile, ”Even the horse isn't afraid of it, let alone me. On the other hand, although they are both wolves—they are not siblings. Her wolf is a Snowfield Direwolf which differs from the one we ate.”

They drank up half of the soup and froze the rest outside the carriage. When Ning Que got in the carriage, he found Sangsang staring at the black chesspiece, so he asked, ”What are you thinking?”

Sangsang looked up him and answered, ”I'm thinking about the words you said on Tile Mountain.”

Ning Que said with a little surprise, ”Before we left?”

Sangsang nodded.

Ning Que said, ”Don't bother that. We now know that you are not sick and you are not going to die. It is just the sign left by Yama.”

Sangsang looked down at the black chesspiece in her hand and asked, ”If it is a sign, does it mean the revival of Yama's daughter?”

Ning Que thought it over and replied, ”Maybe.”

Sangsang tightly held the piece in her palm. After a long silence, she asked, ”What should I do if I relapse? Am I going to die?”

Ning Que held her in his arms and patted her back. He said, ”You are Yama's daughter. How will you die?”

Sangsang put her head on his chest and quaveringly spoke, ”I am worried... when Yama's daughter wakes up, I would be gone—Sangsang would not exist.”

Ning Que understood her words and held her tighter. He said, ”I don't know, but I think the Headmaster must have other ways to cure you.”

Sangsang looked up at him and asked, ”Do you really trust the Academy?”

Since he killed the first man in the woodshed of the Official of Counsel, for more than ten years, Ning Que never trusted anyone but Sangsang including when they were in the City of Wei. He was more suspicious than he looked – benign outside but cruel inside. Sangsang knew him very well, so she was confused as to why he trusted the Academy without faltering.”

”I have told you that the last of my trust I will set aside for my teacher. We are reasonable to trust no one, including my teacher, but after these years, I found that to be an overly-reasonable man was too tiring, too hard and too meaningless.”

Ning Que looked at the snow outside the window and said, ”Especially now—the entire world has already abandoned us. If we can not trust the Headmaster and senior brothers, we will be even more lonely.”

In late autumn, the wind and snow became less wild. More and more farmers, even a trade caravan, showed up on the roads. The further they went southeast of the Wilderness, the more people they saw. Since everyone was an eye of Xuankong Temple, Ning Que was having difficulties burying his whereabouts.

During the daytime, there were smoke signals, while at night—fireworks could be seen. The shortest way from the Western Wilderness to the Tang Empire was from the northeast of Golden Palace's territory to the south of Tang. However, the monks and cavalry of the Right King's Palace were all deployed in the northeast of the Wilderness.

Ning Que speculated that, in a further place, the army of Yuelun was waiting for them. Besides, considering the powerful cavalry of the Golden Palace, the northeastern route was too dangerous. The biggest trouble was, between the Palace and the Western Wilderness, a non-freezing marsh—too risky to go through.

These were not tough tests for Ning Que since he had changed his plan according to his speculation in Eldest Brother's realm. His recent journey towards the northeast was just to confuse the enemy.

He did not know that Eldest Brother had gone to Xuankong Temple, for a second time, to look for him. He did not know they were not alone, but he was clear that the best way to get off the current predicament was to be found by Eldest Brother.

He had no idea about the realm of Limitless and how to travel as an immortal who could fly with the wind. However, he trusted the Academy and his brothers, so he could come to a conclusion.

The people in Chang'an must have known they were in the Western Wilderness. Eldest Brother hadn't shown up just because he had not located their position yet. That meant the Limitless State was not free movement. It needed an accurate location in the sense of a map.

Therefore, his destination was the capital of Yuelun.

One beautiful day, what Ning Que had been worried about finally happened.

Sangsang's face became pale and she began coughing out cold air instead of blood or phlegm. Like melting ice, her body became more and more chilly.

A dark cloud came from no where and suspended itself in the sky above the black carriage.