Nightfall
chapter-542

A man who could make Ning Que feel threatened would, of course, be extraordinarily powerful. The man must at least have crossed the threshold to the Knowing destiny State. In fact, Ye Hongyu’s bodyguard was one such powerful Grand Cultivator. Ning Que thought of the dozens of powerhouses in the Seethrough realm who surrounded the palanquin silently. Other than the shock due to the number of powerhouses hidden in the Haotian Taoism, Ning Que also finally realized how powerful Ye Hongyu actually was.

There were a spiral corridor and staircase within the white temple. The red light of the setting sun shone through the stone windows, refracting on the stone steps and exuding a warm aura.

Ye Hongyu lifted her blood-red robes, revealing a white pair of ankles. She did not care how unladylike she looked at the moment. She walked up the steps lightly, with her casually tied black hair swinging behind her. She looked like the country girls in the southern parts of the Tang Empire who lifted their skirts up as they stepped in baskets of grapes.

Ning Que followed behind her. He was not intoxicated by the seduction of this picture, but he had to admit that it was very beautiful.

Ye Hongyu would not allow her subordinates or believers see herself acting like a child no matter how she was the Tao Addict of the pastor that she was the Divine Priest of Judgment. She would not deliberately let off her aura of seduction. She would only show her true self before those she trusted and those she deemed as worthy opponents.

The most beautiful girl in Haotian Taoism glowed with divine light, one could not look at her directly. However, when she took off that gleam and showed her true self, she seemed even more captivating.

Ning Que knew that she was not seducing him deliberately. However, he knew that the seduction that had slipped through unknowingly were like robes raised by the passing wind, revealing the silhouette beneath. It was the most seductive sweet honey on earth.

He did not wish to taste this honey though. He moved his gaze from Ye Hongyu’s figure to the priests from the Judicial Department outside the temple. He asked, “Who is the muscular man beside the palanquin?”

“Luo Kedi.”

Ye Hongyu stood on the stone steps and turned around. Her red robes swung open with her motion, turning into an oval flower that bloomed with the wind. Then, they closed and wrapped around her naked legs.

Ning Que was stunned and speechless when he heard the name. He had heard, while in the Academy, that there the commander of the divine guard was called Luo Kedi. Luo Kedi was very powerful and was the most trusted subordinate of the Hierarch Lord.

Ye Hongyu could guess what he was thinking. She said indifferently, “He is a dog of the hierarch. The hierarch would not allow me to kill dogs, so he lent me the dog for a couple of days.”

“You’ve got guts.” Ning Que walked up the steps and looked at her. “I heard that you have injured him badly once. I did not imagine that you’d dare to keep him by your side. He is after all a Grand Cultivator in the Knowing destiny State. If you really force him to his wits end, he might bite you.”

“Regardless of whether he is in the Knowing destiny State or is an ordinary person, once he becomes a dog, he would have to stay a dog forever. Why would it matter whether he is my dog or the hierarch’s? And how would a dog dare to disobey its owner?”

Ye Hongyu looked at Ning Que and said, “As for guts, you are the gutsy one. You allowed Sangsang to appear in a Taoist Temple in the Kingdom of Qi while the Haotian Taoism was unprepared.”

Ning Que frowned slightly and said, “What do you mean?”

Ye Hongyu turned down the quiet corridor and said, “The previous Divine Priest of Light was the most extraordinary figure in the West-Hill Divine Palace in a hundred years. He could hold his ground even against Divine Lord Lotus. However, he had always been low-key and did not show off.”

Ning Que thought silently, more than ten years ago, the Divine Priest of Light had caused a massacre in Chang’an and the village in the Yan territory. How could she say that the man was not a show-off?

Ye Hongyu knew of his origins and did not pursue this further. She said, “Over the past decades the Divine Priest of Light had gained several exceptional subordinates in the West-Hill Divine Palace. They hold important positions in the Peach Mountain, or have been stationed in temples around the world just like the red-garbed priest you met earlier. The Divine Priest of Light has many who are loyal to him, and can even compete with the Hierarch Lord.”

Ning Que asked, “What does this have to do with Sangsang?”

Ye Hongyu slowed down and said, “The Divine Priest of Light had been imprisoned for decades. Those loyal to him had endured many difficulties in the Divine Hall. Many were killed or sent to the peripheries. However, it is admirable that their loyalty has not wavered.”

“The Divine Priest of Light was able to escape the You Prison to Chang’an because of his loyal subordinates. It is a pity that he died in that fight together with Master Yan Se. His loyal subordinates did not manage to welcome a new era even though they had waited for decades until the world found out that the Divine Priest of Light had a successor.”

She turned to look at Ning Que and said, “There are many in Haotian Taoism waiting fervently for Sangsang to return to the West-Hill Divine Palace. And there are many who are vigilant against and fear her return. The Hierarch Lord and I thought that since the Great Divine Priest of Revelation had said that it would only happen in three years…”

Ning Que reminded her, “Two years have passed.”

Ye Hongyu continued, “… The Divine Hall would have time to prepare, making the path for Sangsang to take her place as Divine Priest easier. However, no one expected you to allow Sangsang to appear in a temple in the Kingdom of Qi so much earlier. Therefore, many problems might appear earlier as well.”

Ning Que slightly frowned and asked, “Will her path to succession be very troublesome?”

Ye Hongyu said, “The succession of the Divine Priest of Light has always been decided by the previous generation. Even a thousand years ago, when that Great Divine Priest of Light betrayed our sect and set up the Devil’s Doctrine, he was the one who chose his successor. That is because only the Great Divine Priest of Light is closest to the light.”

“Sangsang has been chosen by the previous Divine Priest of Light, so everyone in the West-Hill Divine Palace knows that only she will become the next Great Divine Priest of Light. However, some people will not be satisfied with this and even if they dare not do anything disrespectful, they might still try something.”

Ning Que asked, “What would they try?”

Ye Hongyu said, “The West-Hill Divine Palace governs all believers of Haotian. It is the holiest and also the filthiest place. Anything can happen here.”

Ning Que was silent for a long while after hearing that.

Then, he said, “I don’t care what internal problems the Haotian Taoism has and how filthy it is, but I have to remind you that once Sangsang goes to the West-Hill, you all have to make sure that she is safe. This applies to the Hierarch Lord, the Great Divine Priest of Revelation, and yourself.”

Ye Hongyu frowned slightly, displeased with his attitude.

Ning Que looked at her and said, “Because she is my wife and I am a disciple of the Academy. If anything happens to her, or if she is displeased, I will be very unhappy.”

Ye Hongyu looked at him and said mockingly, “And who exactly are you?”

Ning Que replied seriously, “My Second Brother likes Sangsang a lot.”

Ye Hongyu was silent.

Ning Que patted his shoulders, not caring what kind of furor this would create if anyone outside the temple saw this. He said consolingly, “Of course, the Academy would not just create a fuss. As you know, we are not unreasonable.”

Ye Hongyu looked up at him and said quietly, “I can’t imagine you’re still so shameless. Do you really think that you can use Jun Mo and the Academy to scare this God?”

“Calling yourself God is a little…”

Ning Que suddenly stopped because he could see the powerful Divine Light glinting, burning like little fires in Ye Hongyu’s beautiful eyes. The Divine Light seemed to have come from a faraway holy land and represented the will and existence of a magnificent being. It frightened him, physically and mentally.

He groaned and forced his eyes to look elsewhere.

After a moment, cold sweat soaked through his shirt. He knew that if he really looked into the light in Ye Hongyu’s eyes, his psyche would be incinerated.

He thought fearfully, could this be the legendary power granted to the Great Divine Priests of West-Hill?

Ye Hongyu walked towards the room that was deep in the stone corridor.

Ning Que rubbed his eyes and followed after her as he complained angrily, “Did you really want to kill me just now?”

Ye Hongyu said, “I did say at the Yanming Lake that I would kill you the next time we meet.”

Ning Que mocked her, “You also had said so in the Wilderness too. Then, you ran to Chang’an to live under my roof and eat my food. I don’t see you feeling embarrassed about that.”

Ye Hongyu said, “The day will come.”

Ning Que frowned, and asked suddenly, “Why do you insist on killing me?”

Ye Hongyu said, “Because I hate you. I have never seen someone as shameless as you.”

Ning Que said, “There are many others who are more shameless than I am out there. This is not a reason.”

Ye Hongyu stopped, and after a moment of silence, she said, “There will eventually be a confrontation between the Haotian Taoism and the Academy. I have already told you that out of all of the Headmaster’s core disciples, you are the only one who understands a true battle. That is why in the eventual war, you are the most dangerous enemy to Haotian Taoism. That is why I want to kill you.”

Ning Que said, “Should I be proud that the Great Divine Priest of Judgment is so vigilant against me?”

Ye Hongyu continued forward and said, “You could also be sad about it.”

Ning Que mocked her, “Would you be able to kill me?”

Red robes swung in the gentle breeze. Ye Hongyu answered matter-of-factly, “Of course.”

Ning Que’s smile looked awkward as he said determinedly, “You should be able to see that I am very powerful now.”

Ye Hongyu did not turn around, but said blandly, “I am even stronger now as well.”

Ning Que felt ashamed and irritated as he said, “Do you want to try and kill me now?”

The two had arrived at a quiet room.

Ye Hongyu turned around and looked at him, “I have said before at the Yanming Lake that I will spare you once if I have the chance to kill you. These are two promises I have made to you. We shall count today as the first.”

Ning Que shook his head firmly, “This doesn’t count.”

Ye Hongyu said, “It counts if I say so.”

Ning Que said, “It doesn’t count if I say it doesn’t.”

Ye Hongyu said, “It counts if I say…”

She suddenly realized how childish and lame they were and did not continue.

Ning Que pushed open the tightly shut doors and said, “Please enter.”

Ye Hongyu looked at Sangsang who was asleep on the bed. She looked at Sangsang’s pale face and said suddenly, “Why should I help you?”

Ning Que said, “She is the future Great Divine Priest of Light of West-Hill Divine Palace.”

Ye Hongyu said, “She is your wife, not mine.”

Ning Que grew angry.

Ye Hongyu said to him with an inscrutable expression, “Don’t pretend to be angry before me. You know that it is useless.”

The flaring aura on Ning Que subsided and he asked helplessly, “What do you want?”

Ye Hongyu extended a finger and looked at him, saying, “Count this as once.”

Ning Que understood that she meant that she would count this as one time where she would spare his life.

He did not hesitate to extend his finger to hook it around hers. “Deal.”

Ye Hongyu tilted her head slightly and considered their linked fingers thoughtfully. She then shook her head and walked into the room.

It was deep in autumn and the sun had set early, enveloping the entire capital of the Kingdom of Qi in a vibrant red.

The priests and guards of the West-Hill Divine Palace guarded the four walls of the white temple. They looked at the tightly shut temple doors and thought nervously about what might be happening inside.

Then, rays of light emerged from a room in the Taoism Temple. It was the pure and holy Haotian Divine Light that burned through the windows.

The sun had set.

And a new sun emerged in the capital of the Kingdom of Qi.

Those outside the temple felt the solemn and benevolent aura in the Divine Light as they knelt down one after another. Those who saw the new sun just as the last of the twilight faded all knelt in that direction, praying in awe, it didn’t matter whether they were the Qi empress in the palace or the devout believers living in the city.