Nightfall

It was the first rain in the Hebei Province since the drought. The rainwater was cold and when Ning Que found the small girl underneath the pile of corpses, she was purple and was about to die of coldness and hunger. Since that rain, Ning Que had concealed many psychological shadows in his heart. As Sangsang almost died many times during her childhood years, that shadow only grew heavier and he concealed it even deeper.

As time passed, Sangsang got sick less frequently and even though the doctor who followed the army couldn’t dispell the cold aura inside of her, he had given her medicine for it. Besides ensuring that there was hard liquor by her side, she was made to do housework constantly to exercise her muscles and get the blood flowing. Ning Que almost forgot about this.

Especially when Sangsang first started her cultivation of the Divine Skills of the West-Hill Tao Sect, the cold aura within her was like a thin layer of snow in spring. Ning Que thought this meant she was cured but who would have thought that she would relapse again and so seriously this time. It was even more dangerous than the few times when she was young.

The shadow concealed within the depths of Ning Que’s heart arose again; he thought hard during the journey and was constantly worried. The Headmaster couldn’t treat her disease... could the Lanke Temple really treat it? Was Sangsang’s illness really just an illness or were the two of them destined to have a cold future?

Because of these shadows, since Sangsang was very young, Ning Que had never discussed with her such things. Now, Sangsang seemed to want to say something but he didn’t want to listen.

He didn’t want to listen but Sangsang wanted to speak.

"Young Master, do you know why I have been constantly staring at you?"

For some reason, Sangsang had started calling him young master again.

Ning Que laughed and said, "Because I look good."

Sangsang said, "You are not even the former Prince Long Qing, why would you be worth staring at?"

Ning Que said somewhat angrily, "I have told you not to bring this up again."

Sangsang knew he was pretending to be angry to cover up something and she said softly, "You know why."

Ning Que knew but he didn’t want to say it; he looked like a small rash boy now. Stubborn, innocent, immature, easily angered and easily brought to tears.

At this moment, Sangsang looked like a sensible older sister. She stared at him quietly and gently said, "I am afraid that when I die, I won’t be able to see you again."

Finally hearing that word from her mouth, Ning Que shuddered slightly.

Sangsang looked at the grave in front of them and asked curiously, "Where do people go after they die? Whether it’s turning into ashes, rotting away or being sealed in stone. Is that still me?"

Ning Que didn’t want her to hold onto such emotions for a long time, as shouldering such emotions or thinking about such things wasn’t healthy for a gravely sick person. Hence he wanted to change the topic but it was a little hard.

"Some say that when death comes, one becomes nothing. Others say that after dying, you go to the Underworld."

"I’d rather go to the Underworld."

Sangsang looked at him seriously and said, "The Underworld sounds scary but I can wait for you there."

Ning Que looked at her slightly pale face. He took off his coat to wrap it around her shoulders and said softly, "The people in the Underworld will forget what happens in this world. By that time you wouldn’t remember me so you shouldn’t go."

"What does dying feel like?"

Sangsang looked at him and asked. She wasn’t sad or scared; she was only curious, like a child.

She was skinny and having Ning Que’s coat around her, she did look like a kid that had stolen adult clothes. She looked a little hilarious yet a little cute at the same time.

"Your face is a little pale from the cold, let’s go back." Ning Que said.

It was deep in the autumn season now but the surroundings of the Lanke Temple weren’t very cold. Sangsang’s face had turned a little pale but not from the cold but rather, from the cold aura within her.

Sangsang knew this clearly as she extended both hands in front of Ning Que.

Ning Que shuddered as he thought back to many years ago when Sangsang was still a small girl and when she would sometimes look at him in a spoiled manner. He felt a sharp pain in his heart as he blew a few breaths of warmth onto her palms.

Sangsang took back her slightly warmer hands and placed them on her cheeks, saying a little regretfully, "Since young, you have called me a little brat. I know I am little dark colored; you have always said that being a little whiter would cover up my ugliness and you want me to be whiter. Since coming to Chang’an and spending so many silver taels on the powder at Chenjinji Cosmetics Store, it was all in vain. Now that I’m really white, you aren’t happy."

Ning Que hugged her even tighter and said, "Whether you are dark Sangsang or white Sangsang, so long as you are as money-loving and fierce as before, you will make me happy."

Listening to these words, Sangsang laughed happily, showing off two pearly white teeth. She looked like some small animal in the forest of Min Mountain and was incredibly cute.

Sangsang was incredibly cute now; she always was.

That was because she didn’t feel the need to act cute in front of Ning Que, much less act cute for anyone else. Now, she wanted to make Ning Que feel that she was more adorable.

"You haven’t answered my previous question."

"What question?"

"What does dying feel like?"

"I have never died, how would I know? Should I dig Youngest Aunt out from her grave to answer you?"

Ning Que made a tasteless joke before realizing it wasn’t very funny. He lowered his head and looked at an autumn worm that had died in the grass under his foot. After a long moment of silence, he said, "Actually I do know... death, is something very uncomfortable, so don’t die."

Sangsang looked at him and said seriously, "Okay, I will try not to die."

Ning Que rubbed her head and said, "Let’s work hard together."

A thin mist blanketed the forest and suddenly, a droplet of water fell, then many droplets. They were very thin and small, and were almost powder-like as they landed on his face and eyes, lightly soaking them.

Ning Que said, "Let’s go back."

Sangsang shook her head and said, "I would still like to wander around."

Ning Que said, "You can’t get wet now."

Sangsang took down the big black umbrella from behind her back and said, "It will be hard even if I want to get drenched."

Ning Que smiled, taking the big black umbrella and opening it. Holding her hand, they walked over to the front hall of the Lanke Temple.

It had started to rain in the morning at the Lanke Temple and as the mist dissipated, the temple and pagodas that were in the mist had become visible again. The Buddha Country had returned to the mortal world.

Ning Que looked at the ancient temple in the mild autumn rain and at the Buddha statue at the peak on the back of the mountain.

The material used to build the Buddha statue was some form of precious white tough stone; the handiwork was rough yet smooth. At the moment, the rainwater was falling peacefully on the face of the statue, almost like tears and added some sadness to it.

From this far, the face of the Buddha statue could still be seen clearly; one could only imagine how big the statue was. When a disciple looked at it from the bottom of the mountain, it was easy to have a feeling of worship and respect.

He pointed at the giant Buddha on the top of the mountain and said, "Legend has it that this was the Buddha that started Buddhism."

Sangsang looked at him and asked, "Should we pray? We can do so from here too."

"Buddha is a person, so am I. Buddha has seen the ’Ming’ Handscroll, so have I. Why should I pray to him?"

From the main hall, the sounds of people and carriages could be vaguely heard. It was dawn and the Lank Temple wasn’t accepting guests now, so it must be someone like Ning Que; an ambassador or a representative from a cultivation sect, residing in the temple temporarily.

Ning Que didn’t take special notice of these people and said, "Of course, if Buddha really can do his thing and get you treated, it wouldn’t be a problem for me to worship him for 3 days and 3 nights."

Suddenly, a voice came from the main hall.

"To seek treatment, one needs to be devoted when praying to Buddha. Do you think Buddha is a doctor that you can find anywhere? If you are not sincere enough, even if Buddha can treat your wife’s sickness, he wouldn’t."

Numerous luxurious horse carriages made a detour from the main hall of the Lanke Temple. This voice was filled with criticism and was cold at the same time. It was from one of the horse carriages.

Ning Que had assumed that only those who believed in Buddhism from the Yuelun Kingdom would say such words but as his gaze landed on the few luxurious horse carriages, he realized that the other party was from the South Jin Kingdom.

Even though the autumn rain was falling, riding a horse carriage in an ancient temple seemed a little obnoxious. Since they were residing temporarily in the temple, they were not commoners.

Looking at those carriages, Ning Que thought in his heart that if these people weren’t diplomats from the South Jin Kingdom, they must be disciples from the Sword Garret. Whatever the case was, they weren’t people that he wanted to see now.

The carriage which the voice came from stopped not far away from the two of them. The curtain was lifted and a slightly pale but young and handsome face peeked out.

The young man looked over at Ning Que displeasingly and said, "In a Buddhist Temple, one should respect Buddha. If you don’t even know such principles, I have no idea why the monks of this temple would let you stay here."

Ning Que asked, "Do you know me?"

The young man said with a tinge of sarcasm, "Do I need to know you?"

Ning Que grunted and said, "I thought that you had recognized me, hence you said such words for me to hear and to apologize to me sincerely just to befriend me."

Hearing these words, the young man was shocked for a moment before understanding what Ning Que was trying to say. He asked incredulously, "You mean you think that I approached you on purpose?"

Ning Que laughed and said, "Indeed recently there have been many people who have been using many unusual methods to approach me. I thought you were intentionally criticizing me with such thoughts too. Who knows if that isn’t the case."

There was a hint of sneering within these peaceful words.

Since Sangsang had fallen ill, Ning Que wasn’t very stable emotionally. After the battle at Red Lotus Temple, because of those unusual happenings, his emotions had sunk to the rock bottom. Even though breaking the realm into the Knowing Destiny State had brought about slight happiness, he still needed an avenue to release his emotions.

At this moment, he saw these few carriages and the voice from that carriage.

The young man was incredibly angry as he shouted at Ning Que across the window, "Who do you think you are!"

Ning Que was overjoyed at these words. He cocked his head and clasped the big black umbrella on his shoulders as he rolled up his sleeves.

At this moment, a hand appeared from the carriage window and pulled the young man back inside.

Ning Que was disappointed as he thought to himself, ’Who was this boring and uninteresting person?’