616 Two Autumns (1/2)
Chapter 616: Two Autumns
Translator: TransnEditor: Transn
There was only Sangsang in the portrait pasted everywhere in the city. But both the Buddhist Sect and the Taoist Sect knew that Sangsang was accompanied by Ning Que and the conspicuous black carriage which was impossible to be disguised.
Since the black carriage was the legacy given by Yan Se, the Buddhist Sect and the Taoist Sect believed that Ning Que would never be willing to leave it. Taking advantage of this thought, Ning Que left the black horse and the carriage outside of the city and went into the city with Sangsang.
He chose to hide temporarily in Chaoyang City in order to wait for the Eldest Brother. In addition, Sangsang's condition was not stable, so he was worried that she would not last if they kept fleeing for thousands of miles.
Even if he could not meet Eldest Brother, he would still have to go to Chaoyang City. He believed in the theory that one was safer while closer to danger, and was confident about his talent for hiding. Besides, he hoped that Buddhist temples here could help Sangsang's illness.
Carrying Sangsang in Chaoyang City, Ning Que found his goal very soon. It was a shabby courtyard near the Imperial Palace of Yuelun Kingdom, from where one could see the famous White Tower Temple. But it was located in a noisy and messy rundown area where one could easily hide.
The most important and decisive reason for picking up this small courtyard was because it was so shabby that its door was covered with dust, which displayed that it had not been inhabited for a long time. In addition, it was as quiet as a haunted house.
Ning Que did not inquire about the story of the courtyard. Because any relationship with someone else would lead to an unpredicted result. He snuck into the state office of the Chaoyang City to investigate the record. Just as expected, there was a bloody massacre in the courtyard last year.
After the death of the owner in the massacre, his successor who was obsessed with Buddhism refused to take the courtyard ridden with sin and grievance. So the courtyard became state-owned, although no one would like to buy or rent it, even monks and mercenary officials had no interest in it at all.
Of course, Ning Que would not rent it. When the night fell, he, carrying Sangsang on his back, climbed over the wall in the alley without much effort and went through the main building to the front of the bedroom in the backyard.
It was dim and quiet on his way to the room. The black blood was still on the old bricks on the ground and the walls, which was scalp tingling even for a butcher who was not unfamiliar with blood, not to say an ordinary people. No wonder everyone shrank away from the courtyard and would rather abandon it than accept it.
Having seen so many dead people and much more horrifying scenes since childhood, Ning Que and Sangsang were not afraid of it at all, without even a slight change in their expression.
There was no blood in the bedroom, only a bed and a table covered with dust. After thinking for a moment, Ning Que went out of the courtyard again. When he came back, there were beddings and mattresses in his arms and plaster required by the woodworking in his hand.
After a brief sweep, Ning Que laid the thick and soft cotton bedding on the floor and put the new pillow on it. Then he went to the abandoned well in the courtyard, from which he fetched some water to make plaster. He sealed up the windows with plaster without leaving any cracks and hung a thick black cloth on the window and the door.
When it was completely dark, he dropped the two cloths, then went out of the room and said ”Ok.” As a tiny sound of striking fire came from the room, he observed carefully, found no light leaking out from the room and nodded.
This was the ability he had developed when he was ambushing the boar in the snow at night in the Min Mountain with Sangsang. The boar was very sensitive to light and the smell of humans, so he learned how to build a temporary spot in the snow from which no light or smell could leak out. Therefore, it was quite easy for him to do this presently.
The night was dark and the yard was still gloomy. No one dared to approach. Even if someone did, he would see no trace of people but a common shabby scene.
The Buddhism Sect was looking for the black carriage everywhere, trying to find Ning Que and Sangsang. Countless powerhouses of Haotian Taoism were lurking in the woods on the way to the Tang Empire. However, no one would expect that the Daughter of Yama was in a courtyard near the White Tower Temple.
A black crow landed on the tree in the yard and looked up at the star.
Sangsang's portrait could be seen everywhere in Chaoyang City. People gathered in front of every temple, listening to the stories told by monks about the Underworld, the last words of Buddha and the appearance of the Daughter of Yama. The people of Yuelun had varied expressions, some terrified and others indignant. The instruction of Buddha, to not be angry, was completely left behind by them. Gradually, the crowd became increasingly agitated. They waved their fists and said that they were going to find the Daughter of Yama and burn her to death.
As Ning Que went through the street, he was not influenced by the angry discussion and the vicious curses of the crowds. Soon he arrived at the concierge.
The Tang Empire's diplomatic envoys to Yuelun Kingdom were all in the concierge. He did not go inside but stood in a quiet alley, listening intently to what happened inside the walls, and made decisions later.
”This is not a matter of self-preservation, nor surrender, but right or wrong. As the leader of the world, the Tang Empire has no need to care about the pressure of the Yuelun Kingdom. Even the West-Hill Divine Palace could not force us to give in. I will never stand by to watch the world going to death. This is the duty we Tang Empire should shoulder.”
Standing outside the wall quietly for a long while, Ning Que heard the most valuable words, which were said by the Tang Empire's envoy to Yuelun. He slowly lowered his head, and then turned away.
The look on Ning Que's face told Sangsang that the situation was not good. As she held his hand, Ning Que managed a smile, ”It's ok. I'm just a little surprised at something I heard.”
Sangsang asked, ”What is it?”
”Guess how long has it been since we left the Lanke Temple?” Ning Que asked.
Sangsang thought for a moment and said, ”More than one month at least.”
”No. It's been a year.”
Ning Que caressed her little cool face and said, ”One year has passed before we've known it. So I am patient enough to get through another half year. I'm going to take you to read Buddhist sutras in the White Tower Temple tomorrow.”
For the first half of their lives, they led a vagrant life, full of hardships and misery. However, it was due to those hard days that they could become who they were today, with courage, persistence, indifference, and patience unimaginable for ordinary people.
In the depths of the snow-covered Min Mountain ten years ago, when Ning Que was ambushing the boar in a snow cellar with Sangsang, a winter bear which woke up with alert appeared unexpectedly. After a dainty repast of a boar, the winter bear seemed to find that there was other food around, thus it refused to leave the snow cellar and stayed there for several days by eating the remaining flesh of the boar.
At the time, Ning Que was not strong enough and Sangsang was still a six-year-old little girl, so it was impossible for them to beat a greedy bear. They could do nothing but hide in the snow cellar, waiting and praying.
The prayer to Haotian would never be answered, but the unusual endurance of waiting eventually succeeded. In the end, the bear left sulkily, unable to endure hunger anymore. Ning Que climbed out of the snow cellar with Sangsang who was on the brink of death on his back. They had stayed in the snow cellar for four days and nights.
Since Sangsang and he could survive in that case, how could they fail to live now? Ning Que thought to himself while looking at the increasingly thicker clouds in the clear autumn sky outside the window.
A black crow cawed on the tree in the small courtyard. It was extremely unpleasant to hear.