905 Overestimating Oneself by the Yellow River (2/2)

Sangsang looked into his eyes and asked, ”Are you afraid that I might kill her?”

Ning Que replied, ”Why would you kill her?”

Sangsang said, ”Haotian doesn't need a reason to kill.”

Ning Que stared back at her and said after a moment of silence, ”Are you jealous?”

Nothing changed in Sangsang's expression. She said, ”You are afraid that I might kill her because in your subconsciousness you wish I would be jealous. That doesn't mean I actually have such low level emotions.”

Ning Que continued to stare at her and questioned, ”But you are being jealous.”

Sangsang did not reply to that.

”Otherwise you wouldn't have asked why I did not pick the Great River Kingdom.” Ning Que started laughing, as contented as the cat used to be in the Old Brush Pen Shop when it caught a mouse.

Sangsang smiled and said, ”Then are we going to the Great River Kingdom?”

Ning Que said, ”Can I oppose to that?”

Sangsang replied, ”Yes. But I won't take it.”

”Then let's go,” said Ning Que.

The big black horse listened to their conversation and felt bored. However, when he realized that he was about to see the mistress that he liked the most, he became excited and worried.

He worried for same reason that worried Ning Que. Sangsang was back into the human world. Ning Que would love to see her acting like a real human again. If she were to experience any human emotions, no one knew what she would do with them because she was the almighty Haotian after all.

...

...

They kept walking towards the south along the mountain trail. The snow storm gradually disappeared and the bright sun shone over hills and fields. It was very warm in the south, even during late winter.

After they came to the hills, Sangsang left the trail and walked south. No matter how rough the terrain was, Sangsang strolled as if she was walking on flat grounds, but for Ning Que and the horse it was very frustrating. He could not stop complaining, Who said I am the leader?

One day, they heard some thundering sounds coming from the front of the hills and felt moist air. It reminded Ning Que of the waterfall at the Back Hill of the Academy and his Second Brother's cozy courtyard. He wondered how massive that waterfall could be as they could hear it from such a distance.

Coming by the edge of the cliff, Ning Que realized that it was a massive river rather than a waterfall. The yellow river with plenty of water surged and roared through the black rocks and yellow fields. There was a huge drop in the valley that had made the surging yellow river into several wide falls. The water fell, thundered, and almost smashed the reefs beneath. This was the renowned Great River.

Standing in front of the yellow Great River and feeling the shivering of the rocks, Ning Que sensed the massive power that was carried in the river and was deeply shocked. Now he understood why the Great River could have helped the Great River Kingdom withstand the shrewd troops from the South Jin, and how Liu Bai reached his enlightenment with the river.

He recalled the previous autumn when that sword flew from the Sword Garret and arrived at Peach Mountain. When he was cleaning up the Divine Hall of Light, he found the ancient sword that was left by Liu Bai in a corner of the hall.

The Headmaster once used that sword to kill the Golden Dragon and Divine General. Liu Bai had integrated his spirit into that sword and challenged Haotian at Peach Mountain. That ancient sword had become the sword of the human world.

The sword was still there, but the people who had propelled it were all gone.

Looking at the surging yellow river and thinking of the predecessors, Ning Que felt a complex of emotions. When he turned to Sangsang, who standing beside him, he could not help but feel more complicated emotions and was left speechless.

Sangsang looked at a black reef by the river and said, ”This was the place where Liu Bai reached enlightenment.”

Heading toward south and coming to the place where Liu Bai found enlightenment, Ning Que realized why Sangsang had taken him there. He looked at a loom sword cut on the black reef and pondered.

After a while of silence he reached out his right hand in the moist air and got hold of his iron blade in the thundering sounds. He tried to grasp some blade intent at the place where the predecessor had reached enlightenment.

Sangsang said, ”You are a talisman master.”

Ning Que knew what she meant and replied, ”I can draw Talismans with my blade.”

Sangsang said, ”You look cheered up.”

Ning Que said, ”Coming to this site and thinking about the predecessors, one has to be inspired somehow.”

Sangsang commented, ”Human beings are always engaged in their useless emotions.”

Ning Que asked, ”Why else did you take me here?”

Sangsang replied, ”I took you here so that you could see even someone as strong as the Headmaster or powerful as Liu Bai was no match against me. You'd better give up.”

Upon hearing these words, Ning Que kept quiet for a long while.

He took her around the human world because he wanted to continue with what his Headmaster had tried — to humanize her. However what she had been thinking about was to make him into complete surrender.

”When Liu Bai started cultivation, he saw this yellow river.”

Ning Que continued, ”When I started cultivation, I saw an ocean. This means as long as I keep practicing, I would eventually surpass Liu Bai and achieve what he had failed to achieve.”

Sangsang mocked him. ”When you entered the Initial Awareness State, you saw the ocean because I was by your side that night. It does not mean you are talented in cultivation. Don't overestimate yourself.”

Ning Que was annoyed and replied, ”It's none of your business.”

...

...