Nightfall

Where, where have I seen you before? Ning Que looked at the sky and the Wilderness; he looked at where the light and darkness met and at the corpses that littered the ground. He recalled, that he had seen this in a dream.

Several years ago, when they traveled from the City of Wei to Chang’an, he had a discussion and studied about cultivation from Lyu Qingchen on his journey. That night, he had a dream.

That night when he slept, he hugged Sangsang’s cool feet. Perhaps because of this reason, the beginning of the dream he had was very odd.

He dreamt of a sea covered with white flowers. Perhaps they were lotus flowers. When the white flowers dispersed, the green of the sea waters could be seen. However, deep in the sea was a world made of thick blood.

The world of blood was filled with featureless faces. They were sorrowful and filled with fear. He was terrified in his dream. Then, he returned to reality which was on the Wilderness.

He was surrounded by countless corpses. The cavalry of the Tang Empire, warriors from the Yuelun Kingdom, archers from the South Jin Kingdom and many skillful grassland barbarians’ horse-riders. A large amount of blood flowed out from these corpses and dyed the whole wilderness blood red.

Then three columns of dark smoke appeared in the distance, as though they were alive and were coldly staring at the bloody scene that was happening on this side.

In the wilderness, many looked up to the sky in astonishment, as did Ning Que. He realized that while the sun blazed, its rays were dim as if the night was approaching. A patch of darkness loomed.

Sangsang stood on the snow lotus, holding a black chess piece in her palms. She looked at the terrifying West-Hill Divine Palace coalition army across her, as the cold aura in her body gushed forth to the world unceasingly.

The night flourished and the light in the south gradually dimmed. Darkness grew, and the Wilderness in spring grew colder and colder. The corpses lying in pools of blood gradually froze.

Ning Que felt a chill when he saw the image before him growing familiar. He was even more certain that what he had seen in that dream was what was happening today. However, there were some minute changes, such as, not seeing corpses of The Desolate in his dream, and that there was a blazing sun in it.

Then, Ning Que recalled that when he had ascended the mountain as a test to enter the Second floor of the Academy several years earlier; he had yet another dream just before the last rock.

He came to the Wilderness in that dream. There were numerous people who were looking up at the sky where the endless darkness was slowly pervading. Their faces were filled with desperation and fear.

In that dream, he spoke to someone.

The imagery of the dream had been seared in Ning Que’s memory and it frightened him. He had never told Sangsang about it, becoming his greatest secret, one that he subconsciously tried to forget.

Until today, when the dark dreams became reality.

Ning Que looked at Sangsang and at the swirling black aura around her. He trembled lightly. He only understood then, that the omen in the dreams were not about anything else but Sangsang.

He had stayed with Sangsang throughout this life, so the dreams stayed with him.

The first time he had dreamt this dark dream was in the horse carriage where he hugged Sangsang’s feet to sleep. Now that he thought about it, that was probably the night Sangsang awakened.

In that dark dream, he had seen three columns of black smoke. Sangsang should be one of them, then where are the other two terrifying black columns?

Ning Que looked around him but did not see any. He thought about it for a long while until the darkness in the sky gradually defeated the light in the south. However, he still did not come to any conclusion.

Suddenly, he turned around to see the Big Black Horse raising its front hooves and crouching in front of the black horse carriage like a dog. It looked up at the light and darkness in the sky pitting against each other and looked petrified.

Sangsang was standing right in front of the Desolate Man’s tribe, facing the West-Hill Divine Palace coalition army. She was looking very alone, and by her side, stood only Ning Que and the Big Black Horse. The cold aura spewing forth from her body stirred up the gravel and grass bits on the ground, enveloping him and the horse into it.

Ning Que froze up slightly, understanding that the other two black columns of smoke were him and the black horse carriage.

In that dream, he stood in front of the West-Hill Divine Palace coalition army and looked to the north. There, he saw three columns of black smoke. In reality, he stood in the north today and was part of the three columns of black smoke.

He turned out to be part of the three columns that brought fear and despair to the whole world.

However, he was standing in the south in that dream, so why was he standing here now? When had he switched camps, turning his back against the light and heading to the dark? When had he made the choice?

Had he made his choice as a child, at that moment when he waved his cleaver at the chamberlain in the woodshed? Or had he made the decision when he ascended the mountain to the Second floor of the Academy, when he killed the young master and chamberlain in the mirage and absconded into the darkness?

Was it when he got to know that Sangsang was the Daughter of Yama in Lanke Temple, or when he did not hesitate to walk into the Light of Buddha and opened the Big Black Umbrella. Could it be when he was running for his life in the Wilderness, or was it when he butchered the innocent masses in Chaoyang City…

He made a decision in his dream.

And in reality, he made the same choice.

Ning Que remembered that the dark dream had occurred again.

It occurred in Chang’an when he first started to cultivate and was able to sense the Qi of Heaven and Earth. He was so moved that he teared up and then hugged Sangsang until he fell asleep.

He would dream whenever a big change in his life occurred. There was also a dark dream in the peaceful sleep he had. In that dream, darkness eventually occupied the skies above the Wilderness. A pure night covered the sky and he watched as the Everlasting night approached. When the cold defeated light and heat, thunder cracked above the skies.

The thunderous crack spread throughout the world as many on the Wilderness were hit by it. They groaned in pain, while those who were still standing were like statues, staring up at the sky in confusion.

Just at where the thunder sounded, pure holy light shone and encapsulated the night sky. Above the distant firmament, in the brightest and centermost position was a massive golden door. And when it slowly opened, a huge golden dragon which was poking its head out could be faintly seen.

Indeed, if the dreams were about things that were about to happen in reality and symbolized the war between light and darkness, then the night that Sangsang brought into the world would not be able to win so easily.

The sky in the south was already dim and the massive and terrifying Golden Dragon’s head had yet to appear.

Panic occupied Ning Que’s body and mind as he looked up at the sky in astonishment. He stared at the gloomy southern sky and wondered if he would really see that later.

The night came from the north and the light in the oppressed south grew dimmer and dimmer, eroding the country of light inch by inch. The white clouds that had previously been swallowed up by the light showed up again.

The edges of the white cloud suddenly brightened up and were even brighter than when the Hierarch of the West-Hill Divine Palace used his divine staff to send out a pillar of light. The edges did not seem as if they were inlaid with gold, but looked as if they were burning up!

It was as if a burning sun was hiding close behind the white cloud.

A thunderous roar of lightning sounded from high above the sky!

There was a thunderous boom!

The thunderbolt hit the Wilderness, and the muddied ground coated with congealed blood splashed up, spraying up to knee-height before descending as if the heavens were raining down blood.

The bodies of the Desolate Men and the West-Hill Divine Palace coalition army soldiers also leapt up as if they had been resurrected. Then, they fell heavily to the ground again with horrifying cracks as their bones broke and flesh was squashed.

Hundreds of thousands of people in the Wilderness felt an intense pain in their eardrums due to the thunderous roar. They knelt on the ground in pain while those who were closest to the center of the battlefield were killed by the earthquake!

This was true thunder. The sound of heaven’s thunder.

Compared with the thunder that came from above the sky, the sound of swords, arrows, impacts, and shrieks that sounded from time to time in the bloody war on the Wilderness before seemed so weak.

The thunder that Ye Su had summoned with his wooden sword as he tried to kill Tang was like firecrackers that children played with, compared to this thunder. It was not even worth mentioning and seemed ridiculous by comparison.

To heaven, everything that happened in the world was ridiculous.

The thunder rang in the sky from behind the clouds. The white cloud grew brighter and brighter, and even the thick center looked as if it was about to burn up, spreading light and heat to the ground.

People knelt on the ground of the Wilderness and looped up in astonishment. They could not see what was happening behind the cloud and did not know what had happened or what was about to happen.

Only Ning Que seemed to vaguely understand what was happening behind the white cloud.

He had seen these things happen in his dark dreams.

The thunder was the exact sound of that door opening.

A heavy golden door was slowly opening behind the cloud right now.

Behind the golden doors, was Haotian’s holy world of light.

Ning Que felt cold all over and began to tremble. He was like an ice statue and pieces of ice kept falling off him. His body and soul were overtaken by fear.

He was the only person on the Wilderness who knew what was about to happen. And only he knew the truth, which was why he was lonely and fearful, resulting in his descent into despair.

He looked at Sangsang and screamed at her with all his might. However, his voice would not travel due to the brightening rays and Sangsang did not hear him.

He ran at his fastest speed to the black horse carriage and pulled the Big Black Horse up. He drove towards Sangsang, wanting to escape with her. However, just then, the white cloud in the south suddenly dimmed.

It wasn’t the cloud that had dimmed, but something had appeared before it, temporarily overshadowing the light in the Wilderness because it was brighter than everything else.

A large Golden Dragon’s head emerged from the cloud. It looked indifferent as it stared down at the Wilderness.