687 The Headmasters Story Part 1 (2/2)

Ning Que thought that one's love for his country could not be insulted indeed.

The Headmaster said again, ”I am a very ordinary person...”

Ning Que thought to himself that this statement was a slap to everyone's face.

The Headmaster did not know that Ning Que was adding lines to his statements in his heart and he continued, ”I was an ordinary person, so I behaved like one. I studied since I was young, and I had learned how to tell right from wrong. Then, I took the exam and after much difficulty, became an official. However, after just one case, I was forced to resign because I offended nobility.”

Ning Que asked curiously, ”What case was it?”

The Headmaster said a few sentences, and judging from his expression, he still felt resentful about what had happened then.

”They just chopped off his head like that? Did you have evidence?” Ning Que asked carefully.

The Headmaster said, ”I didn't have evidence, but everyone knew that he was an evil man.”

Ning Que said sarcastically, ”You trialed a case without evidence. I wonder how the law of the Tang Empire comes first became a rule of the Academy. Teacher, why did you kill that man? Did he offend you?”

The Headmaster said angrily, ”Say, Haotian has no evidence either, why did I have to go against it?”

Ning Que said somewhat anxiously, ”That's because you don't like Haotian, either.”

The Headmaster paused. After a long silence, he suddenly laughed, saying, ”Perhaps you were wrong. I was still young then, and my temper was rather bad.”

Ning Que was chuffed, and did not forget to reciprocate. He laughed loudly and said, ”Teacher, you are now over a thousand years old, but your temper doesn't seem to have gotten any better.”

The laughter then halted as Ning Que rubbed the bump on his head caused by a rod. He felt like an idiot, for he knew that his teacher had a bad temper. Why did he say all that nonsense?

...

...

The black carriage arrived at the bottom of the Peach Mountain.

Ning Que grew anxious, excited and was filled with anticipation. However, what disappointed him was that the priests and deacons who hurried by them did not notice the black horse carriage. The Headmaster also did not seem like he was there to cut down peach blossoms again. He ordered the horse carriage to stop under a tree for shade.

”I was stripped of my position and had nothing else to do. I managed the family affairs but it did not feel right. Furthermore, the world was in chaos then, so I decided to live in seclusion.”

”I remember that I was already more than 30 years old then. But for some reason, I suddenly developed an interest in the Classics of Haotian Taoism. I started to read and cultivate and successfully reached the Initial Awareness State and then the Perception State.”

”Just as I said earlier, I was an ordinary person. My understanding and potential were all ordinary, just like ordinary cultivators. I broke the realms step-by-step and reached the No Doubts State. I got stuck there.”

”To ordinary people, even the ordinary cultivators look impressive. That was why I was satisfied with my cultivation progress. And even though I was stuck and could not move forward, I thought that was usual.”

”My family had been against the stripping of my post. But after I could cultivate, their attitudes toward me changed significantly. They sent me to the Peach Mountain to become a deacon.”

The Headmaster pointed at the Divine Hall outside the window and said, ”After coming to the Divine Hall, the leading priest asked me what I wanted to do. I thought then, that my family must have spent a lot of money. They should have just bought me another government post with that money.”

Sangsang nodded frantically as she thought that the money would have been better off spent on cosmetic powder.

Ning Que felt that the Headmaster was right, so he grew even more curious about his teacher's choice. He asked, ”What did you choose?”

The Headmaster said, ”I thought that since I enjoyed reading Haotian Taoism Classics, I wanted to manage the library.”

Ning Que slapped his thighs heavily and said, ”That's a great choice!”

The Headmaster glanced at him curiously.

Ning Que praised, ”The strongest and most powerful people who go against the Heavens would definitely have been librarians. Teacher, I bet you were fated to go against Haotian since then.”