Nightfall

Sangsang didn’t know how to play chess and had a terrible start. No matter how hard the old man contemplated, he still couldn’t change her inferior position. As the game progressed, it was obvious that the black pieces were of the upper hand and about to win. However, there was no hint of pride on Chen Pipi’s face. He looked extremely serious and earnest; his temples were even sweating profusely. The sweat dropped continuously down along his chubby face.

On the contrary, the old man appeared to be calm and relaxed. He drank the tea Sangsang handed him and put down his pieces casually, sighing. "I haven’t touched chess pieces for fourteen years. I’m afraid I’m quite unfamiliar with them now."

Hearing the words "Fourteen years", Chen Pipi had to wipe the sweat off his face. Although he pretended to be calm, inside he was groaning and yelling, "It’s him! It’s him!"

The old man raised his head and smiled at him, asking, "I told you to put down your piece. Why do you want to leave?"

Chen Pipi answered respectfully, "Because you are stronger than me. I can’t defeat you, so I’d rather leave."

Looking at the sweat falling down from his face, the old man smiled and asked, "What are you afraid of?"

"I’m afraid of you." Chen Pipi replied honestly.

The old man shook his head and sighed, "The reason I spent my whole life serving Haotian, was not to frighten others."

After a moment of silence, Chen Pipi answered, "Often your original intention and the result can’t be matched."

The old man looked at him. He opened his mouth abruptly and said, "Your surname is Chen?"

Chen Pipi replied, "Yes, I’m Chen Pipi."

The old man nodded and said, "You know, I was newly released. But in prison, I had already heard you escaped from the Abbey and are now a disciple of the Headmaster of the Academy?"

Chen Pipi stared at the pieces on the chessboard and said, "Yes."

The old man smiled, "Then why are you afraid of me? Even though you are not a core disciple of the Headmaster of Academy, I wouldn’t treat you roughly for the sake of the Abbey. Anyway, Peach Mountain is not far from the Abbey."

Chen Pipi raised his arm again to wipe the sweat off his face. He forcibly suppressed his nervousness and put down a black piece on the chessboard, without uttering anything.

The old man looked down to see the piece and slightly waved his head, saying, "It’s said that living in this world is like playing chess. But I say it is like the chess lines rather than the pieces. No matter how far they are from each other, they will eventually meet."

Chen Pipi smiled bitterly. "I’d rather be a chess piece. Black and white never touch each other."

The old man replied, "It just so coincidental that I came across a monk from Xuankong Temple yesterday."

Chen Pipi thought this was strange. He asked, "A monk from Xuankong Temple actually appeared in Chang’an? And now?"

The old man answered, "He is blind, and may restore his soberness in several days."

His calm ordinary tone actually shocked Chen Pipi. He rubbed his head in rage and glared at the old man. Trembling, he shouted, "See?! See?! You want him blind, then he is blind, though he is from the Temple. Even if I’m from the Abbey, so what? It’s unlucky for me to meet you, yet you tell me not to be fearful. Are you kidding me?"

The old man smiled and said, "The monk is a bastard of the Manjusri preaching. You are totally different from him."

Hearing this, Chen Pipi gradually withdrew his anger and restored his silence.

The old man asked, "How is the abbey dean recently?"

Chen Pipi shook his head, "I don’t know because I’ve been in the Academy. Perhaps he is still on his tour."

The old man nodded and said, "He usually stays at the south side of the sea."

Sangsang approached with her new urn. Preserved meat was still hung on the pine branches in the backyard. She had used big firewood which could help fire smaller, so she could relieve herself temporarily. She came to ask her teacher for his opinion, "What do you think of this new urn?"

The old looked up and asked curiously, "What’s it for?"

Sangsang replied, "For stewing chicken soup."

The old man was confused. "Don’t we already have one?"

Sangsang explained, "It is too small. I’m afraid that when young master comes back, it will not be big enough to make chicken soup for the three of us."

The old man knew how important young master was to Sangsang. Hearing her answer, he realized that the girl still wanted him to stay once her young master returned. He had experienced and seen all the vicissitudes of the world as Great Divine Priest of Light, yet still felt somewhat warm in his chest. He was feeling incredibly happy.

Then he remembered something. He looked at Chen Pipi on the opposite side of the chessboard, slowly furrowing, and said, "Do you know my girl disciple or... her young master?"

The question shocked Chen Pipi, and he was stunned and even speechless. The greatest Great Divine Priest of Light of the West-Hill Divine Palace over the past century actually took Ning Que’s darkish handmaiden as his disciple?

Understanding his shock, the old man smiled and said, "It is all by Lucky Chance, nobody can explain why."

Chen Pipi carelessly wiped the sweat off his face and then rubbed his palm against his thigh, in an attempt to rid himself of his confusion. He then said, "Her young master is my Younger Brother."

Now it was the old man’s turn to be shocked. He looked at Sangsang, confused. The successor he’d met by Lucky Chance was actually the handmaiden of a core disciple of the Headmaster of Academy. How could their lives be arranged by such fate?

Chen Pipi stared intensely at the chessboard. He suddenly clenched his jaw and opened his mouth, saying, "I know it was him that defeated you and imprisoned you in You Prison. When I was young he often told me that you were actually the greatest one on Peach Mountain. I can’t understand why you don’t take action. It’s rare for you to see me in this world."

Sangsang began to notice the strange atmosphere on both sides of the chessboard. She stared curiously at the two, holding her new urn.

After a pause, the old man put down a white piece on the chessboard and said peacefully, "That’s the abbey dean’s affair. Moreover, you can’t change your relationship with him. So it has nothing to do with you at all."

He raised his head, looked at Chen Pipi and curiously asked, "You think I’m a cruel killer?"

Chen Pipi smiled bitterly, "Great Divine Priest of Light is peaceful and pure. You are known as being closest to Haotian in spirit. But as it is known to all, you are not an ordinary Great Divine Priest of Light. Those killed by the hierarch of the Divine Hall, the Great Divine Priest of Judge and the Great Divine Priest of Relation twenty years ago, are still nothing compared to the number of people killed by you."

The old man sighed slightly and said, "You’re talking about those two things that happened more than ten years ago."

Chen Pipi raised his head slowly and looked bravely into the bright black eyes of the old man. He seemed to be able to see through the world. Chen Pipi’s braveness came from his honesty. He said, "Headmaster and Eldest Brother are both absent. But now that I know you are in Chang’an, I have to make you stay. Otherwise, I won’t be able to face Second Brother back in the Academy."

The old man shook his head and said disapprovingly, "Headmaster of the Academy I remember, from before I was imprisoned, was not that kind of moral vendors. There is no need for you to restrain yourself like this."

Chen Pipi replied honestly, "If I dared to allow you to leave Chang’an City with strained eyes and not say a word, Second Brother would beat me to death if he found out."

The old man sighed, "He is not young anymore, why is he still so bad-tempered?"

Chen Pipi said with sincerity, "Or perhaps, you will allow me to call Second Brother to come see you?"

The old man shook his head with a smile, thinking to himself, " The shamelessness of this kid is somewhat lovely. " After a short contemplation, he turned back to Sangsang and said with unwillingness, "I’m leaving."

Holding the new urn, Sangsang stood by for a long time. She could not understand their words expect the last few sentences. She was aware that the old man who taught her Divine Skill was actually the Great Divine Priest of Light of West-Hill Divine Palace, and she could vaguely figure out that the whole world seemed to be searching for him.

The new urn didn’t fall from her arms and break into pieces. She held it tightly in her little hands because it was the only way to suppress the shock she felt.

The old man looked at her and suddenly he said earnestly and seriously, "The shadow of Nightfall has left Chang’an, and the Academy has found me. So I have to leave. Do... do you want to go with me?"

Sangsang looked at the large urn with her head lowered. She inhaled the scent of fresh sand and didn’t answer him. The old man treated her well. He was lonely and seemed to have put his life’s last hope on her shoulder. The old man expected her to leave together with him. She was well aware of these things, but she had her own reasons to stay.

She looked up at the old man and answered, "I have to wait for my young master at home."

The answer was within the old man’s expectation. He smiled, with bitterness.

Just then, a gust of vexed scolding was heard from outside Old Brush Pen Shop, "Who knows when your young master, the silly thing, will return? But I’m curious, who dares to take away the handmaiden of my disciple?"

"Click! Click!" The torn shoe soles stepped on the ground. The loose greasy Taoist robe, came in along the wind with a foul smell. And then an old taoist priest sailed in, his triangle eyes showing something obscene and furious.

When he caught sight of the figure beside the chessboard, under an ordinary cotton-padded jacket and bent like an ordinary old man, the obscene expression in his eyes suddenly disappeared. It changed into a flowing stream at a high peak, quiet to the extreme.

Dead silence would be found before every storm.

Wei Guangming, the Great Divine Priest of Light that had escaped from the Peach Mountain, had lived peacefully in an inconspicuous calligraphy store in an inconspicuous alley of Chang’an for some time. And then on a common winter day, he met Master Yan Se.

One was the Great Divine Priest of Light whose power over the past century was the most unfathomable in West-Hill Divine Palace. The other was the Divine Talisman Master who had gone the farthest on the road of Talisman Taoism. One was a traitor of Haotian Taoism, and the other was the Minister of Offerings of South School of Haotian Taoism. Such an unexpected and unreasonable encounter would startle even fate itself. What would it lead to?

There was a long deadly silence in Old Brush Pen Shop.

Master Yan Se looked at the old man.

The old man looked at Master Yan Se.

Sangsang stared at the two of them.

Chen Pipi stared at the chessboard in front, with cold sweat running down like raindrops.

...

...

Master Yan Se sighed and lamented, "I have been looking for you for many days."

The old man sighed and lamented, "I’ve been hiding myself from you for many days."

Master Yan Se continued his lament, "I don’t want to meet you in this way."

The old man also continued his lament, "I don’t want to meet you either."

Then Master Yan Se withdrew his lament and looked at his long-gone old friend. Calmly, he said, "Now that we’ve met, we have to do our duties besides talking about the old days."

The old man stood up and bowed to his old friend, peacefully saying, "Please."

...

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