1047 Down The abyss, By The Lagoon (1/2)

”That explains why. But what does that mean?” Although he had not found an exact answer, Ning Que did get one step closer to the truth, to what the Abbey Dean was thinking about. It might be a very small step, but indeed helpful.

If they had tried to contemplate with a normal mindset, neither he nor Yu Lian could have reached such a conclusion. Or more precisely, no one would have dared to conclude like that.

If Taoism wanted to weaken, or even ruin Haotian, then it was not just a betrayal. It would be a fundamental overturn of faith, which was neither logical nor reasonable.

Mistress Jian did not know what the Abbey Dean was thinking about. But she understood Ning Que's suffering and bewilderment. Therefore she tried to guide him with these unreasonable words. She was trying to apply Ke Haoran's sword, the most direct way of solving problems.

People always said that the scenery along the way were more important than the destination. But in most cases those words were merely self-consolation for those who did not have the guts to carry on.

When one looked back from the destination, one would find the scenery along the way more charming and clear. That rule applied to life as well as contemplation.

Ning Que looked back at woman's figure fading away on the mountain trail between the cliffs. He was certain that if she ever practiced cultivation she would definitely have reached the zenith. But she was never interested.

He was very grateful for her guidance, just as he was to what she did for him many years ago.

Ever since he came to Chang'an from Wei, she had been taking good care of him. She taught him a good lesson upon his first visit to the House of Red Sleeves because he reminded her of the young man on a small black donkey years ago.

Recalling their first encounter and the foolish things he did in the House of Red Sleeves, Ning Que was filled with emotions. It was because of her that no brothels throughout the country ever welcomed him. He used to have a lot of unspoken complaints, but now he felt nothing but gratefulness. He sighed over his former absurdity and laughed in self-mockery.

...

...

The Abbey Dean wanted to weaken Haotian.

Ning Que was certain about that. As for why, he could only make a wild guess. There might be a flash of an answer, but he was not able to grasp or believe it.

Even if the were to sun die out, life would continue.

If he could not figure out what the Abbey Dean was planning, then he would never be able to change the situation. The war between Tang and the entire world was launched again. Chang'an was enveloped in chillness and solemnity. Counties and prefectures constantly delivered supplies to the boarders. The Military Ministry ran twenty-four hours a day and dispatched orders to the troops throughout the country.

The world outside Tang was also in chaos. The death of Ye Su was a downthrow for the New Stream. But according to the report of secret guards, there was not a dramatic downsize of followers. It was believed that in a short while when they recovered from the grief the New Stream would gain an even quicker burst.

Whenever a war was launched, they had to win. It had always been Ning Que and the Tang's philosophy. However it was more difficult than ever to succeed this time.

The best selected Yulin Royal Guards were sent to the Verdant Canyon and ready to go further south to the Qinghe Prefecture. It seemed Chang'an was not worrying about the defense because Ning Que was there. But actually it suggested that Tang was under so much pressure that even the Yulin Royal Guards had to be sent to the battlefields.

Ning Que stood on top of the city wall. He watched the falling of snow and the marching troops of Tang. It came to him that it was also someone else's philosophy that she must win in every war.

Is Ye Hongyu really dead?

As for the Abbey Dean's style and capability, if he wanted to kill Ye Su he was definitely to take Ye Hongyu's life too. He would never spare her any chance of survival. And according to what he had sensed that night, she indeed had no chance.

There was the middle-aged priest, the Hierarch Xiong Chumo, and Zhao Nanhai from the South Sea.

When confronted with such enemies, even Ning Que might not be able to survive, not to mention her. But somehow he felt that Ye Hongyu was still alive. Because a woman like her should never have died a quiet death. He simply had some unreasonable confidence in her.

...

...

In the Divine Halls of West-Hill, there was nothing but silence. Countless divine priests and deacons were on their knees by the stairs. They looked extremely pale and sacred. Because thunders were roaring on top of the stairs.

The radiating light screen was shivering in the thunder, as if it would collapse any time. The lofty figure behind the screen was also shivering, probably because of anger or even fear.

Ye Hongyu jumped into the abyss. The Hierarch and Zhao Nanhai were certain that she would be dead. But they still sent many people down the abyss to locate her body. It was extremely dangerous to go down the abyss among the cliffs. The person in charge was a powerful Knowing Destiny figure from the South Sea. He led many other powerful men from Taosim and searched for over ten days down there. Even powerful as they were, only one fifth of them were able to come back to Peach Mountain. But most importantly, they were not able to bring back the body the Hierarch had asked for. Instead, they could only bring back very bad news.

The Hierarch was furious. And his voice thundered throughout the Divine Hall. People by the stairs were scared and restless. They did not dare to say anything or know what punishment they were facing.

After a long while, the Hierarch calmed down and his voice became normal. Only his closest subordinates could tell that he was still anxious.

”Find her, and kill her, whatever it takes.”

...

...

The Divine Halls of West-Hill could not locate Ye Hongyu's body down the abyss. But they did see a few wheel tracks and human footsteps. It was shocking.

It could only mean that Ye Hongyu was still alive. She jumped down the abyss and fell into the clouds. Everyone thought she was definitely dead. Yet she survived. She did something that only Haotian was able to do.

But how?

It had to be explained from the beginning since half a year ago. When a letter was sent out via a secret channel from the Divine Hall of Judgment and delivered to a person elsewhere. It was an invitation.

To make a long story short, it actually started the night when the Hierarch Xiong Chumo, the middle-aged priest and Zhao Nanhai sieged Ye Hongyu.

The day before, Chu Yoxian and Chen Qi made an impassioned speech in the Divine Hall. They sent an invitation to Ye Hongyu on behalf of Ning Que and conveyed the contempt to the Divine Halls of West-Hill from the Academy and Tang.

Because of Ye Su, also because of her assumption of the Abbey Dean's plan, Ye Hongyu did not accept Ning Que's abrupt invitation. But instead of killing them, she sent them to the Secluded Pavilion.

The Secluded Pavilion was the place where the Divine Halls of West-Hill kept all the traitors and captives from the Devil's Doctrine. It was intensively guarded and enveloped in countless killing arrays. Throughout the years, no one except for the former Wei Guangming had ever left this prison alive. Even Ning Que was not able to get Chen Pipi out when he was imprisoned here.

Chu Youxian and Chen Qi was sent to the darkest and narrowest cell behind the iron fence in the Secluded Pavilion by black-robed deacons from the Divine Hall of Judgment. They were not hoping that they could ever get out of Peach Mountain again. They knew they were either facing death sentence or lifetime imprisonment. Either way it was desperate.

Fortunately no one came for an inquest from dawn to dark. They were exempted from the renowned brutal tortures in the Divine Hall of Judgment.

They figure it out pretty quickly. They were exempted from the tortures that would have made them commit suicide only because of Ye Hongyu.

Either today or tomorrow, she would probably execute Chu Youxian and Chenqi ruthlessly. But she would not torture them. That was the best generosity she could spare them.

She did not accept Ning Que's invitation. But it seemed she did not want to irritate him either.

Chu Youxian and Chen Qi sat in the cell and looked at the rock walls silently. There was nothing else except for a bucket of fresh water. No one ever delivered any food.

There was no torture, horrible punishment, or any attention. A long wait was also a kind of cruelty. Not knowing when they would be killed was making Chu Youxian even more anxious and restless. Colors were drained further from his face.

Compared to him, Chen Qi thought more. Since no one ever came to them, he wondered if Ye Hongyu was waiting form them to commit suicide by knocking their heads against the wall. Extreme quietness always made people think wildly, especially for someone like him who was good at plotting. The more he thought about it the more certain he became.

Ye Hongyu's generosity and mercy was simply to give them a chance to commit suicide.

He told this to Chu Youxian and made him even paler. Immediately upon hearing this, Chu Youxian asked what they should do: to kill themselves right away or wait for another day?

But Chen Qi did not hear his question because when Chu Youxian said so, they heard a horrifying bang outside their cell and completely covered Chu Youxian's most courageous question of his life.

Together with that horrible bang came a quake. Even the cell deep inside the mountain was severely shaking. Water splashed out of the bucket.

Chu Youxian hold against the wall and could barely stood steadily. He felt dizzy.