Nightfall
chapter-69

Forging an axe at the door of a blacksmith, selling liquor in front of Du Kang’s store, displaying one’s book collection at the Headmaster of the Academy’s doorstep were not acts of overconfidence. To think about it another way, when the blacksmith looked at the axe, Du Kang at the liquor, and Headmaster at the books, would they not also be overcome by the same itch that had overwhelmed Ning Que when they realized the person performing these acts might be one of the best in a field different from themselves in the secular world?

I want to craft a wooden bird to show that person how a plan should look like. I want to brew a delicious bottle of wine to show that person how the best blend of a dying kingdom should taste like. I want to write paragraphs of advice to show that person that this is how one should touch a person’s soul through writing. I want to write even more to show that person what words should look like. You have to listen to me, even if you are the emperor.

Ning Que was immersed in this bubble of happiness at that moment. He looked at the drying characters on the calligraphy paper and imagined himself as the emperor’s calligraphy teacher. He imagined himself hitting the emperor’s palm with his brush and lecturing him strictly.

“You wrote it wrong again! Hold out your hands to receive your punishment!”

He was very much satisfied with the six words that he had written. In fact, he felt that these were the best words he had written in the recent years. Other than using the best ink and paper and being in such a wonderful place like the imperial study, the most important reason was that he had accumulated a lot of itch within this room as the first seven words were written by the emperor.

He admired his handwriting with great interest. It was straight and wide, and looked rather impressive. He could not bear to destroy the paper and was prepared to keep it and steal it out of the palace once it had dried. However, a low angry voice sounded suddenly outside the quiet imperial study at this moment.

“Where did that rascal go?”

Ning Que looked up in shock to see a hand opening the doors to the imperial study.

His pupils shrank and in a feat of dexterity. He flicked his fingers lightly, allowing the drying paper to slide into the bottom corner of a shelf. He turned around quickly, clasping his hands together and pretended to be looking at the books on the shelf. The books on the shelf tilted into a different direction as he gathered his hands before him, successfully covering the paper. No one would notice that it had been touched.

A short but muscular middle-aged general entered the imperial study. He was wearing the uniform of imperial guards and had a black gold belt around his waist, indicating his high position. When his eyes landed on Ning Que who looked like a bookworm who was focused intently on the books, his yelled angrily, “Who in the world let you in?”

While Ning Que looked like he was lost in his own world, his ears were actually pricked up listening to every move behind him. His heart skipped a beat as he heard the voice behind him. There must be a mistake somewhere. Perhaps he had misheard the eunuch. He doubted that this was a plot to put him down, he was too small of a fry for them to try so hard to do so. Nonetheless, entering the imperial study without the emperor’s permission is a huge sin. He must not allow himself to get into such trouble.

He turned around like an adorable scholar who had been dazzled by the emperor’s private collection of books. Rubbing his eyes, he looked at the tubby guard standing at the door confusedly, “There was an edict telling me to come to the palace. Is there a problem?”

The tubby guard froze slightly. He must have never thought that a person caught red handed in the imperial study could ever be so calm. An expression of incredulity spread over his face as he palmed his forehead and muttered angrily to himself. “Old Chao, you bastard. You didn’t even teach him any rules beforehand!”

Ning Que walked around the desk and stood before it, bowing politely. He asked, “General, do you know Big Brother Chao?”

No matter how friendly Chao Xiaoshu had been at the Lin 47th street and at the Spring Breeze Pavilion, Ning Que had refused to call him brother. However, he had no qualms about saying it now to protect himself. Answering a question with another was his chosen form of attack. He’d be safe as long as the guard’s attention was deflected away from the imperial study.

After looking around to make sure that there was nobody, the tubby guard looked around the imperial study carefully. Upon confirming that nothing seemed amiss, he palmed his forehead once more, saying to Ning Que in anguish, “Get out of there you brat. I’ve been looking for you for an hour outside. How dare you come in here? Remember this. You haven’t been here today. Don’t you dare brag about this to anyone, or I’ll end you!”

Ning Que followed the ranting man out of the imperial study. They turned west and reached the guard’s duty room in the Spring Palace.

In the dark room, he finally realized that the tubby man with a Hebei accent was the deputy commander of the Tang imperial guards, Xu Chong Shan. He was also the man that Chao Xiaoshu wanted him to meet.

“His Majesty likes calligraphy and you happen to sell them. That’s how we managed to get you in without alerting anyone. But you brat, how dare you enter the imperial study! Do you really think you’re a calligraphy god? Did you think the emperor invited you to discuss calligraphy?!”

Xu Chongshan pointed at Ning Que’s nose while roaring angrily, spittle flying all over the place.

Ning Que rubbed his nose disgruntledly. The emperor did not invite him to discuss calligraphy, but he had already written some in the imperial study. What could they do to him? As he thought about the sheet of paper at the corner of the shelf, he ruminated over how he could bring it out of the palace.

Xu Chongshan was tired after yelling at him and placed his hands on his thick waist. Panting slightly, he said, “Let’s get down to business.”

Ning Que smiled in agreement. “Please, go ahead.”

Xu Chongshan looked at him weirdly. “Look at you, grinning away so happily. You don’t seem at all like what Old Chao had described.”

“That’s because you’re too impressive.” Ning Que replied seriously.

Nothing works better than flattery. Even the flimsiest ass-kissing would be useful, much less coming from a lad who seemed slightly childish and silly. Xu Chongshan’s expression calmed and after coughing lightly, he said, ” You must know who Old Chao is by now, don’t you?”

Ning Que furrowed his brows slightly, pretending to be dim. “Is Brother Chao one of your men, general?”

“I don’t have the guts to order Old Chao of the Spring Breeze Pavilion around. Also… don’t call him Brother Chao in the future. The old people who used to call him that are mostly gone. We call him Second Brother Chao.”

Xu Chongshan said sternly. Following that, he thought about the battle in the spring rain and of Old Chao’s evaluation of the lad. He started to find the lad less jarring and smiled lightly, changing the subject suddenly. “Why did you help Old Chao last night?”

“He paid me five hundred silver taels.” Ning Que answered honestly.

Nobody would die for a person they had just met for five hundred silver taels. Much less a young lad of sixteen about to enter the Academy. Xu Chongshan did not believe his explanation and thus did not believe he did it out of greed. He felt that Ning Que was a sentimental person and began to see him in even better light.

“His Majesty likes the sentimental sort. So do I.” Xu Chongshan smiled. “I am going to ask you a question next. That is… are you willing to sacrifice your name and even reputation for your country?”

Ning Que stiffened slightly. He furrowed his brows and thought for a long time. On one hand, he tried to guess the true reason behind the question. On the other, he did not understand why he had said “even reputation”. Was it that one’s reputation was more important than one’s life?

It was a huge question that was broad, serious and one might even say sacred. However, it was also a question that one cannot wrap his mind around. He thought about it for a long time, and thought of the generals from Wei city, his brethren who had gone through life and death with him, and the passionate people of Chang’an. He ruminated over it seriously before answering, “If I am forced to do so, my life, I can sacrifice…”

At this point, he thought of a certain scene from the night before, where Chao Xiaoshu left behind half his bowl of noodles reluctantly and wondered over to the grey walls of the shop with great loneliness. He hesitated before adding on another sentence. “However, there are some things that cannot be sacrificed.”

Xu Chongshan looked at him sternly and realized that the lad did not make a decision immediately, but had thought over it carefully and seriously. The deputy commander was not angry about that, but was in fact glad that Ning Que had done so. That was because he knew that an answer that had much thought behind it was much more trustworthy than one given in the heat of the moment.

“You will be a member of the Tang Imperial Guards from today on.”

There were no other questions nor any tests. With just a short conversation between the two, Xu Chongshan had granted the young lad a place in the Tang palace guards. Chao Xiaoshu’s guarantee played a part, but the larger part of the reason was because he really liked Ning Que’s character, which could be seen from his answers.

Ning Que was speechless. He looked at the shiny wooden pass in his hands and at the identifier at the back and was silent for a long time before saying vacantly, “Can one become an imperial guard just by participating in a fight?”

“The Fish-dragon Sect has been forced to the light by imbecilic officials. Don’t look at me like that. The Emperor said so himself yesterday. That is why we need to arrange for more people to be in the dark.”

Xu Chongshan explained coldly, “This is the highest glory for the people of Tang. Do not think of rejecting.”

“It is not a matter of rejection.” Ning Que said helplessly. “The question is, what does the court need me to do? What can I do? The key thing is, I have to join the Academy’s entrance exam soon.”

Xu Chongshan’s expression altered slightly upon hearing the word “Academy”. As someone of seniority in the guards, he knew what Chao Xiaoshu had encountered in his youth. It was because of the incident that these guards in the dark could enjoy the treatment that had now. He smiled warmly at Ning Que and said, “Rest assured. You may enter the Academy if you can. You can work for the court once you leave the Academy. There is no conflict between the two.”

“You haven’t said what I needed to do.” Ning Que asked persistently.

“Now that the Fish-dragon Sect is known to all, there will no longer be any problems in Chang’an’s Jianghu.”Xu Chongshan said with knitted brows. “Your task is simple. You just need to gather intelligence. Let’s talk about your task in the future.”

If there are no longer any problems in the Jianghu, the biggest problem in the kingdom would be the world of cultivators. Ning Que played through the different scenarios as he thought about his impending entrance into the Academy and the deputy commander’s unclear instructions. Is the court going after the Academy?

The wooden pass in his hands had become slightly damp from his sweat. But he knew that he could not reject this. He could only hope that the direction where things seemed to be going would differ from what he had imagined.