Tang Xiaotang walked along the lake bank to the wooden stack.
After being teased by Sangsang, Ning Que found himself as embarrassed as Chen Pipi, and therefore urged her to keep Tang Xiaotang company.
So only three people remained under the lakeside willow.
Chen Pipi looked at the disappearing figure of Tang Xiaotang, and shouted ruefully, “Are you mad at me for this?”
Without turning around, Tang Xiaotang answered him with a crisp voice which then echoed above the water.
“I got mad because a glimpse of her could make you run away. I am not afraid of her. But you, a man who has reached the Knowing Destiny State, are so scared of her. Shame on you.”
The little girl, who had been fighting with Snowfield Direwolves and the monsters in the Hot Sea since childhood, had an optimistic fighting spirit shown everywhere from her shoes to her black swaying pigtail behind. It was so hard for her to understand Chen Pipi’s fear.
Chen Pipi looked down to see his toes but could only see a bulging belly. He could not help but feel upset. After a long silence, he murmured, “I always had higher cultivation levels than her since childhood, but I could never defeat her in a real battle.”
Ning Que looked at him with sympathy, and asked, “Don’t you know she is here with me?”
Taking a glance at Ye Hongyu under a willow, Chen Pipi said peevishly, “I would not be here if I knew.”
Ning Que asked puzzledly, “Didn’t Senior Brother tell you?”
Chen Pipi shook his head.
Ning Que said sympathetically, “What a bunch of bad guys.”
Ye Hongyu left the willow and walked towards them.
And Chen Pipi turned around and walked towards that willow.
The two brushed past, and Ye Hongyu asked with a little smile, “Don’t you want a chat with your old friend?”
Without looking back, Chen Pipi waved his hand and said, “Maybe later, later.”
Ning Que remarked, “It seems that he is really too scared of you. He didn’t even dare to make his favorite shameless pun before you.”
Ye Hongyu did not care about that shameless guy at all.
What she was concerned about had nothing to do with Chen Pipi, or his relationship with Tang Xiaotang. She said coldly, “I did not expect the Academy would take in a sinner from the Devil’s Doctrine.”
Ning Que was not surprised at her response. After all, she had wholeheartedly devoted herself to Taoism. He smiled and asked, “Why not?”
There was some arrogance in his words.
Facing the woman, Ning Que was definitely not powerful enough to be arrogant, but in the recent six months, he had known about the Youngest Uncle’s joining the Devil and experienced his teacher and Senior Brothers’ disregard of his own joining. He had understood the Academy’s attitude and known it was powerful enough to be arrogant.
Ye Hongyu said indifferently, “Since the Academy is involved, my opinion does not matter at all. But have you all ever thought about the consequences if this matter is known?”
Ning Que said, “So what? As long as the Academy denies it, who can prove it? Does the West-Hill Divine Palace dare to search the back of the mountain?”
“Haotian has countless devout believers who do not need evidence. One word from the Divine Hall would be enough for them.”
Ye Hongyu continued, “The Headmaster may not care about the West-Hill Divine Palace, but the inquiries and wrath of countless believers are troublesome. He cannot just kill them all.”
“If the Divine Hall really convinces the world that the Academy has kept a sinner from the Devil’s Doctrine, then the war that you mentioned yesterday will come earlier, which is certainly not what the Divine Hall wants to see.”
Looking at her beautiful eyes, Ning Que suddenly realized something, and he said, “Since the teacher and Senior Brothers had let Chen Pipi bring Tang Xiaotang here, they never tried to hide it from you. Instead, they want you to know it and pretend to know nothing.”
“I do not know how to pretend. I just know.”
“Since you are loyal to Haotian Taoism, you should know what is the best for the Haotian Taoism as well as the Academy.”
Ye Hongyu looked down at the bluestone seams and the blue mud. After a long silence, she said, “You are right.”
Then she looked up at Ning Que, and said, “Then what happened to her and the fatty?”
Staring at the little girl at the center of the lake and the stout man who was running after the girl while telling jokes, his heart softened, and he said, “Please also forget this.”
Ye Hongyu stood beside him. The interesting scene did not seem to amuse her. A look of seriousness appeared on her face and was gradually getting colder.
“If you know where he comes from, then you should have realized how many people would die once the Haotian Taoism finds out about it.”
…
…
A messy fight between two powerhouses of a new generation was avoided along the Yanming Lake. Chen Pipi and Tang Xiaotang returned to the Academy at dusk and did not meet Ye Hongyu again.
After dinner, Ye Hongyu politely thanked Sangsang and gave her compliments. And then she entered her room with a dry robe in hand.
“It seems that she did not live very well during the past six months in the West-Hill Divine Palace.”
Ning Que said while looking at her disappearing figure at the corridor.
Sangsang casually asked while clearing the table, “How do you know?”
Ning Que watched the mess on the table and said, “She really enjoyed the horrible food and thanked you.”
Sangsang felt a little uneasy and said, “I should have cooked. She thinks I made these dishes and must think I am a terrible cook after this meal.”
Ning Que said, “You are my handmaiden. You can only serve me. Why should you care about other outsiders? Besides, you are the inheritor of the Divine Priest of Light, which means you have a higher status than her in the West-Hill Divine Palace. So she should be the one to serve you.”
Without saying anything, Sangsang made him a pot of strong tea and started to wash dishes.
Sitting by the window near the flower stand, Ning Que looked up at the darkening sky with the teapot in his hand and gradually frowned.
He was thinking about something.
Why did the people at the back of the mountain deliberately let Ye Hongyu know the existence of Tang Xiaotang? Was it really a declaration of their extreme arrogance, or an early signal to show their respect for the West-Hill?
He did not get anything until the tea got cold. At last, something suddenly occurred to him. Most people at the back of the mountain including his teacher and senior brothers were all simple and naive. They had no potential for plotting. They let Chen Pipi bring Tang Xiaotang here because they simply wanted Chen Pipi’s families to get the news through Ye Hongyu.
…
…
In the following days, the bank of Yanming Lake was very quiet. After two rainfalls, the summer heat lessened somewhat.
Ye Hongyu stayed all day in her room. No one saw her except at meal time and no one knew what she was doing in that dark room.
When she sat at the table, she became more silent, and Ning Que had noticed her languishing and pale face, making him alert in secret.
Zeng Jing, Grand Secretary of the Imperial Library, had visited once with his wife. After seeing the lakeside house, the couple was impressed by Ning Que’s work and were delighted to find there was no maidservant in the house. They believed their daughter was doted on and would live happily with Ning Que in the future.
Before leaving, Mrs. Zeng took Sangsang in her arms emotionally and praised Ning Que. She told Sangsang to visit her often, and the next day, she sent a dozen of maidservants to them.
Watching the plain-looking and unresponsive maidservants in the courtyard, Ning Que could easily understand Mrs. Zeng. He amusingly wondered what Mrs. Zeng would do if Ye Hongyu attended dinner. After all, she was a very beautiful girl. It must be completely different.
The lakeside house was very large so these servants would not make it crowded at all. Sometimes Ning Que and Sangsang did not notice them. However, Sangsang was not accustomed to being served, so most maidservants stayed away from where she and Ning Que lived. The side hall and study remained quiet.
Time flew at a sluggish pace. As midsummer approached, the lake breeze was getting hotter and the sound of cicadas louder. There were now three residents in the lakeside house, but only two of them were really living their lives.
Ye Hongyu still spent the whole day sequestered in her room like a ghost.
One day, Ning Que returned from the Academy and took a cold shower. While Sangsang dried his body with a towel, he asked about Ye Hongyu and learned that she did not have her dinner that night. A strange look appeared on Ning Que’s face.
Ning Que had always admired the Tao Addict. In his eyes, only people like her or himself could probably survive should the world be destroyed. Besides, she was not his friend, so he did not care about her whether she lived or died.
However, he could not let her continue to isolate herself and become an idiot at the end.
That would be a great pity.
…
…
The sounds of cicadas seemed to get louder and louder. Her room was next to a bridge, so she could hear the water patting the bank and bridge pillars.
Ning Que walked along the stone path into the sequestered yard and gently knocked the door.
It sounded like she was arranging something.
The door opened. A pretty but extremely pale face appeared before Ning Que’s eyes.
Under the twinkling stars, her face seemed more haggard.
Ning Que was astonished and asked, “Are you sick?”
“You are sick.”
Ye Hongyu stared at him without expression and said, “What’s the matter? I’m busy now.”
Without answering her, Ning Que walked straight into her room and looked around. He did not find anything suspicious but unexpectedly noticed that her bed was very tidy as if nobody had slept there.
“Have you got any sleep these days?”
“Meditation is enough for me to refresh. Sleep will waste my time.”
“Meditation and sleep are not the same. I know it better than anyone in the world. What do you really want to do? Why are you in such a hurry?”
Ye Hongyu said weakly, “I already told you that I left West-Hill and came to Chang’an to get more time. Time is very important for me right now.”
Ning Que turned around to look at her eyes, and said seriously, “I don’t care about your life and I do know some bigwigs in the West-Hill Divine Palace want you dead. But I would be in great trouble if the Tao Addict dies in my house. I don’t want any trouble.”