614 The Trailing Shadow (2/2)

Moments later, he returned to the hollow and entered the carriage. Sangsang looked at his expression and seemed to have understood something. She smiled lightly and asked, ”How did my portrait look?”

Ning Que took out a sheet of paper and spread it out in front of her. He said, ”Look for yourself.”

He had entered the border earlier and quickly verified what had happened lately. Sangsang's warrant and portrait were hung everywhere in the little city's streets. Sangsang's identity was written on it as well.

The paper was fresh – must have been stuck on less than five days ago. Sangsang looked at the frail little handmaiden in the portrait and realized that it is indeed very uncanny. She praised, ”Yuelun Kingdom's artist is indeed amazing.”

The portrait had even managed to make Sangsang's withered hair lifelike. Ning Que pointed to the words written beside the little handmaiden's cotton skirt in the portrait and said, ”It is an artist from West-Hill Divine Palace. Of course he is amazing.

Sangsang said in resignation, ”So the Divine Hall wants to capture me as well.”

Ning Que smiled and said, ”We both know people in the West-Hill Divine Palace. If they really want to capture you, they might as well ask Ye Hongyu to do it. She would make it quick on the account that we are friends and might not torture us with fire.”

Sangsang said softly, ”It's not funny.”

Ning Que did not say anything else. He drove the Big Black Horse out of the hollow and around the city at the edge toward the eastern hills of Yuelun Kingdom. Sangsang thought to herself, ”Isn't the capital of Yuelun City in the south? Why are we heading east?” Even though she was bewildered, she believed in Ning Que. She was also very tired, so she did not ask.

A few days later, the black horse carriage having traveled so quickly, it almost flew, arrived at the eastern side of Yuelun Kingdom. Ning Que got the Big Black Horse to stop when he saw the mountains and cliffs in the distance. They were still quite a distance away from the border.

They would see the Tang Empire after crossing the mountains and cliffs. Ning Que had seen on the map that the Zhenxi General's Mansion was about 400 miles away in Zhezhou City. At the Big Black Horse's speed, they would need less than a day before he could see the Tang military flag, provided no one tried to stop them.

He knew very well that there would be many cultivation powerhouses hidden in the route from Yuelun Kingdom to the Tang Empire. That was why he had never considered this route since the very beginning. However, knowing was simply knowing. He could see his own country just a short distance away, how could he feel content before he saw it with his own eyes?

”Don't force yourself. Let go if you feel that it is too much.”

In the horse carriage, Ning Que looked at Sangsang gravely. Sangsang nodded lightly, taking the torn and tattered big black umbrella from his hands. She held it tightly with her right hand and slowly shut her eyes. She did not open the umbrella.

Moments later, her face grew paler and her lashes fluttered like leaves blown about by wind among the snow. Her right hand, which was holding the handle of the umbrella, began to tremble, causing her frail body to do the same.

Sangsang suddenly coughed, and Ning Que did not hesitate to reach out to grab the big black umbrella from her. Then, he hugged her to his chest and rubbed her back. Her breathing calmed again after some time.

Sangsang lowered her head onto his chest and shut her eyes. Her body trembled slightly, either from the cold or from fear. With a tired, weak voice she said, ”There are many people. Powerful people.”

Ning Que remained silent and continued hugging her.

After some time, Sangsang opened her eyes and said softly, ”I don't dare to open the big black umbrella. My health isn't good now, so I can't see clearly. Let me try again later.”

Ning Que said, ”It is enough to know that there are people ahead of us.”

Sangsang replied, ”But we don't know where they are from.”

Ning Que said, ”The West-Hill Divine Palace... no, I should say, they are from Haotian Taoism.”

He sat by the window and took out his spyglass. He looked at the cliffs and mountains in the distance. He watched silently for a long while until the skies turned dark, but he finally saw several glints that came from swords.

Ning Que thought of that story from many years ago as he watched the glinting light from the swords in the dark mountains and cliffs. Saintess of Diabolism, Murong Linshuang, had danced in Tuyang city and sword light glinted in Min Mountain. Several powerhouses of Haotian Taoism ignored the wrath of the Tang Emperor and forced Xia Hou to cook his lover alive.

That was just a war between Haotian Taoism and the Devil's Doctrine. Now that Sangsang was the Daughter of Yama, this was a war between Haotian and Yama. Ning Que knew that what he was facing was much more dangerous than what Xia Hou had. Ye Hongyu was definitely here, did the Great Divine Priest of Revelation come? What about the Hierarch Lord?