1046 Looking Up To Sky (1/2)

It was undoubtedly a great pressure for Ning Que to confront that powerful priest in an indigo gown for the whole night. His clothes were soaked by sweat and then frozen by the cold wind repeatedly.

The Abbey Dean left Peach Mountain and suddenly appeared in Chang'an, which was naturally shocking. But what frightened Ning Que more was that how could the Abbey Dean restore his Ocean of Qi and Mountain of Snow?

Although they hadn't engaged yet, Ning Que clearly sensed that the Abbey Dean had regained all his power. He even felt that the Abbey Dean perfectly blended into Heaven and Earth and feared that he would lose the opponent's position if he were to blink.

They confronted each other for a whole night, which gave Ning Que much time to think. He thought a lot but couldn't get any answers, for he couldn't understand what happened to the Abbey Dean. Then he could only focused on calculating the current situation on Peach Mountain and the Song Kingdom based on the Abbey Dean's arrival.

The peace negotiations have obviously failed. Is it true that the Abbey Dean wanted Ye Su dead? Then what about Ye Hongyu? Is the Abbey Dean not worried about the split of Taoism? Is he so confident to defeat the Academy?

Ning Que was happy to see the split of Taoism, so he ordered Chu Youxian and Chen Qi to send messages to Ye Hongyu. But the current situation unsettled him since everything fell out of his calculation.

The snow kept falling. The city gate was closed, and the Tang army guarding the city had been withdrawn.

All of a sudden, the Abbey Dean looked to the direction of the East Sea. Ning Que also took a glance at the east.

The Abbey Dean never said a word ever since last night, but at this moment, his opened his mouth calmly. ”You said that you want to have a talk with the world. I also want to have a talk with you.”

Ning Que did say that he wanted to have a talk with the world, but in a certain sense, he only wanted to have a talk with the Abbey Dean. The Abbey Dean said he wanted to have a talk with Ning Que, but what he really wanted was a talk with the whole world.

The Abbey Dean pushed his wheelchair over the cliff and went down Peach Mountain, proving that his Ocean of Qi and Mountain of Snow was recovering and that he would soon be as powerful as he was in the past. This was a crucial moment.

At this moment, the first sentence he said to the world was simple, but it was like a thunder.

He withdrew his sight from the east and said to Ning Que who stood on the city wall, ”Ye Su is dead.”

Ye Su is dead, or I killed Ye Su. Ning Que was silent, revealing no anger or sorrow. He even didn't ask how he died. Just one moment ago, he also sensed something changed between Heaven and Earth by the East Sea and heard something vaguely.

His silence didn't last for too long. He sighed and then laughed bitterly, for he felt lost and didn't know what to think.

”Then is Ye Hongyu dead too?” He was not asking the Abbey Dean, but more like asking himself with a strong negative attitude. But actually he knew clearly that Taoism would definitely kill Ye Hongyu before killing Ye Su.

Ye Su was the founder of the New Stream, and Ye Hongyu was the Great Divine Priest of Judgement of the Divine Hall of West-Hill. The two were powerful enough to change the course of history and used to be the Academy's hope. But at this point, the hope had become an illusory bubble. He didn't know what to do except to stay silent.

Even if Ye Su was killed by Taoism, like what Yu Lian had calculated, he would think it was not a great loss to the Academy and the Great Tang, instead it probably would benefit the spread of the New Stream.

But he was more aware that many things could not be calculated objectively and calmly. If Ye Hongyu was dead for real...

The Abbey Dean just looked at him quietly.

One night passed and the string had penetrated Ning Que's skin. Three fingers of his right hand began to bleed, and the blood dyed the string red, falling down the wall like rains and falling on the snow.

There were many reasons why he didn't shoot the Abbey Dean. The most important one was that he wanted to hold on to his last hope. He could not shoot if he was not absolutely sure that Thirteen Primordial Arrows would kill the Abbey Dean.

There might be many different endings for something that hadn't happened, but there was only one conclusion for something that had happened, such as the deaths of Ye Su and Ye Hongyu.

But when would the confrontation end? Was it necessary for Ning Que to shoot the priest in the indigo gown until the seas dried up and the rocks decayed?

How long did the Abbey Dean plan to stand in the snow? Did he really want to block Chang'an by himself? What was his intention of leaving Peach Mountain except for killing Ye Su?

Ning Que could not figure it out. But he knew that his will would be destroyed by the Abbey Dean if the confrontation continued, even though the Abbey Dean was doing nothing except standing there quietly. Or, maybe destroying his will was also one of the Abbey Dean's intentions. Since Ye Su was already dead, the most crucial moment had passed.

Ning Que made a move which he never thought he would do. He withdrew the arrow. With his action, the ice on his shoulder broke into pieces and the snow on his clothes fell down.

The Abbey Dean revealed praise in his eyes. But Ning Que looked indifferent.

Ye Su was dead. The Abbey Dean had achieved his most important goal.

Ning Que suffered a big defeat. If the confrontation or battle had to continue, he could only use this method to drive himself and Chang'an into a tight corner and then try to survive this desperate situation.

He put the iron bow on his back, leaving the gate of Chang'an unguarded.

The Abbey Dean could enter Chang'an if he wished to achieve more goals. But Ning Que didn't think that the Abbey Dean would take the risk after Ye Su died.

A few years ago in Chang'an, Ning Que destroyed the Abbey Dean's Ocean of Qi and Mountain of Snow with tens of thousands of knives. He was confident that he still could do the same at this moment.

He did not regret that he didn't shoot his arrow toward the East Sea last night, for he got distracted by the Abbey Dean. But at this point, he could focus on dealing with the Abbey Dean.

The Abbey Dean smiled at Ning Que and turned around, ready to leave.

Ning Que looked at his back and said, ”I will figure out what you want to do.”

The Abbey Dean didn't look back, and replied, ”You know where to find me when you figure it out.”

...

...

Ye Su was gone, but the wind and snow still went on.

Ning Que no longer sat on the city wall, for he needed to figure something out.

The unexpected decision Taoism made puzzled him, but he didn't feel frustrated. The process of history always spiralled up, and war never went off smoothly.

He walked down the wall and then wandered silently on the streets of Chang'an.

He went to the Wanyan Tower to see the statues. He went to South Gate Abbey and meditated in a Taoist hall paved with black stones. He did not go to Lin 40th Street but chose the Yanming Lake. He sat by the lake and looked at the lotus in the snow lake, looking like a cold statue and gradually covered with snow.