Nightfall

The most powerful man in the world raised his head and looked at Eldest Brother. He said warmly, "Could I ask, Mr. First, that if you were me, what would you choose to do?"

Eldest Brother did not fall silent or smile. Instead, he looked at a tree in the Winter Courtyard silently, as if he was thinking about what had happened to him many years ago. He said, "If I were you, I would have killed as many as I could."

Xia Hou laughed out loud when he heard his reply. "Hahaha, Mr. First, you are a person of high status, and you have the backing of Headmaster of the Academy. Would there be anyone who would dare disrespect you in this world?"

Suddenly, his expression calmed and he said coldly, "But I am just a member of the Devil"s Doctrine, and my sect had long been destroyed. I am a dog that had lost its home... and became a dog to another household. I had only one choice."

"It is difficult to be a dog too."

Xia Hou adverted his gaze and struck the table lightly with his fingers. He said, "Dogs have owners, and while I look like a strong dog that can bite anyone I want, I do not know who my owner is."

"I am a visiting professor at the West-Hill Divine Palace. I am the general of the Tang army. I cannot betray either the Divine Hall or the Tang empire. So what benefits can I bring to them?"

"I can only continue fighting and conquering. I have gained territory for the Tang empire and destroyed enemies so that the emperor will not suspect me. I have to listen to the secret orders of the Divine Hall at the same time and help them settle issues within the empire that they cannot so that they will continue to trust me."

"Living like this is really miserable. His Majesty would not trust me fully and the Divine Hall kept me at arm"s length. Meanwhile, disciples of the Enlightenment Doctrine like Tang wanted to kill me. That"s the first thing they will do when they enter this world."

"I am a traitor. I became a traitor the moment I left the Front Gate. From this side of the river to the other one and then turned back. This isn"t the switch between light and darkness but the attempt made by the darkness to continue living in the brightness of the light. It pants and searches in the light for hope and a chance to live on."

"Sometimes, I think that death is not what is truly scary. What is scary is the past that weighs down on your back. The past that you do not want people to know about. When you carry the past for too long, they begin to grow on your body and in your heart. There is no way to lighten that burden, and you can only dream of pulling them out of yourself."

"We always have to look forward. It was obvious that His Majesty didn"t want to use me anymore when he sent the Academy to the frontier fortress to practice. If there is no use for a dog, it could be killed anytime. I have only managed to stay alive in the Central Plains for so many years and attained my position through many struggles. I do not wish to be killed."

"How can I avoid being killed? I can only do that if I"m no longer a dog. How can I stop being a dog and become the owner of that dog? You have to have power. Many say that I, the general, am the most powerful man in this world. However, you know very well that this power is but just a power of the world and is not anything special. I still have a chain tied around my neck."

"That was when I thought of the Tomes of Arcane. I wanted to gain power that is not of this world. I want to break that chain and not have to struggle between the two sh.o.r.es of the river and gain true freedom."

Eldest Brother and Ning Que did not interrupt his long speech, but listened silently. They heard the muddled history and they listened to the general"s recounting of his hidden anger and resentment, and they listened to the struggles that not many knew of.

Eldest Brother looked at him and asked gently, "Why are you telling us this?"

Xia Hou smiled and drank his cold tea. He sighed softly and continued, "I do not say this in hope of changing anything. It is just that these words have been tucked in my heart for many years and there was no opportunity to tell anyone about this. There are not many who are qualified to listen to what I have just said, and Mr. First, you are undeniably qualified for it."

Eldest Brother lamented, "Since it will not benefit you, why bother saying so much?"

Xia Hou looked at him with grave eyes. He said, "I have once thought of asking to meet Headmaster of the Academy then and ask him to help me escape the pain and confusion. I thought that the Academy was the legendary place that would teach anyone no matter their background. Since they could produce someone like Mr. Ke, it wouldn"t be hard to help a disciple of the Devil"s Doctrine. However, Headmaster of the Academy refused to meet me, but only had His Majesty send me two words. I still do not understand what they mean."

Eldest Brother asked, "What were the two words?"

Xia Hou replied, "Do Nothing."

Eldest Brother fell silent for a moment before smiling. There were many conflicting emotions hidden behind his smile. There was pity, some regret, and undisguised compa.s.sion.

"Judging by your recent actions, it seems that you have really yet to understand what Headmaster of the Academy meant."

"Please, enlighten me."

"Doing nothing, means that nothing should be done. General, your thoughts, and actions have been shown ever since you came to the Tang after leaving the Devil"s Doctrine. You have used your martial strength and violence in war so that you could stay firmly entrenched in the great river and to not bring trouble to the person behind you. But have you ever considered, that things might have gone better if you had not done anything right from the start?"

Eldest Brother spoke slowly and raised his hand to stop Xia Hou from speaking. He continued, "Let"s talk about what has happened to saintess Murong Linshuang. The deceased emperor was very angry after receiving the letter from the hierarch and was prepared to meet at the West-Hill for war. But you were worried that person"s ident.i.ty would be revealed and killed Murong in order to gain the trust of the West-Hill. How could you then blame the empire for not helping you?"

"Nothing is permanent in this world. If you meet it with indifference and do nothing, perhaps all your troubles that followed the incident would not exist. It was a pity that you were too worried about that person and continued making mistakes and you are now at a stage where these mistakes are irreversible."

Xia Hou clenched his fists tightly and said sharply, "But Headmaster of the Academy did not say anything then!"

Eldest Brother regarded him coldly and said in a grave manner, "What right do you have to have the teacher speak up for you? How did you know that he would not if the Divine Hall had really acted? Do not forget, that if it were not for the fact that teacher had agreed, your sister would not have become the empress of Tang!"

All were silent in the Winter Courtyard. Everyone in the General"s Mansion had already been sent away and did not hear what Eldest Brother had said. Ning Que, who had understood what Eldest Brother had meant, lowered his head and stared at his teacup unmovingly. Only his trembling right hand revealed how he truly felt.

The empress of Tang was Xia Hou"s younger sister! She was of the Devil"s Doctrine as well!

A thin branch in the depths of the Winter Courtyard seemed unable to withstand the atmosphere or the snow on its branches. It broke loudly and landed in the snow. Eldest Brother pushed his teacup further away and raised his head to look at Xia Hou calmly, "If you"re done, I shall continue with something you do not like to hear."

Xia Hou squinted slightly. His fingers that had been striking on the table had long stopped.

Eldest Brother asked, "Whose orders did the Horse Gang ambus.h.i.+ng the grain army on the gra.s.sland act on?"

Xia Hou answered, "Mine."

Eldest Brother asked, "The Tang cavalry of over a thousand by the Hulan Sea, who sent them?"

Xia Hou answered, "Me."

Eldest Brother asked, "Who wanted to kill my Youngest Brother on the mountain path?"

Xia Hou replied calmly, "Still me."

Eldest Brother fell silent. Then, he looked at Xia Hou and said, "If so, you should retire."

Was General Xiahou old?

Whether it was the civil and military officials in Chang"an or the emperor, or the hundreds of millions of civilians in the world, or the Great Divine Priests of West-Hill Divine Palace, n.o.body would think so. Xia Hou was at the Peak state of Martial Arts at the peak of his life. There were no signs of withering in both his energy and will. Many thought that he would take the place as the strongest general in the world once General Xu s.h.i.+ steps down due to his old age and ailing body.

However, the ordinary looking scholar dressed in old robes and tattered shoes had told him that he was old right here in the general"s own mansion in the quiet and cold Winter Courtyard, and had told him to retire.

Numerous lead-colored clouds gathered upon the skies of Tuyang City and loomed over the Winter Courtyard when the words left Eldest Brother"s lips. The sky grew gloomy and the trees in the courtyard seemed to grow older before their eyes.

Xia Hou squinted at Eldest Brother.

He asked only one question after answering many. "Is Mr. First going to interfere withto interfere with court matters?"

Those qualified to know about the inhabitants of the back of the mountain of the Academy in the Tang empire knew that the Academy was forbidden from interfering with politics. This was the iron-clad rule that Headmaster of the Academy had set for himself and all his disciples of the back of the mountain of the Academy. If there was no such rule, neither the teachers of the Academy or His Majesty in the palace would know for sure who ruled the empire.

Even though there were many in the secular world who have not heard of Headmaster of the Academy, n.o.body would dare to defy him. To be more accurate, the court officials, taoist priests, and monks who knew him would not dare to defy him. The Peach Mountain at the West-Hill Divine Palace going bald in a day that year was proof enough of this. Fortunately, Headmaster of the Academy traveled around the world from time to time, and it seemed that he did not speak without thinking.

Headmaster of the Academy had said that those from Academy could not interfere with court affairs. Over the years, numerous court officials have been cultivated, and the Academy had never interfered with the court affairs even though they were most qualified to do so. Those from the back of the mountain of the Academy was no exception.

Today, Eldest Brother had said that he would have the Xia Hou, the Tang general, retire. Was this considered interfering with court affairs?

Xia Hou had managed to respond indifferently as a general of Tang and facing the pressure of the Academy. He was indeed a powerhouse at the peak. He possessed the confidence and strength that not many did and was a power that inspired awe in others.

However, just a sentence of Eldest Brother was sufficient to destroy all the strength that Xia Hou possessed.

"Headmaster of the Academy did not allow Academy to interfere with court affairs because he thought that they were not important. Cultivators should try their best to stay away from it. He wouldn"t even blink even should the empire fall. You are a visiting professor of the Divine Hall and should know about what happened to him on the Peach Mountain. That"s why you should know what are important matters to him. You secretly gathered the Horse Gang in the Wilderness behind the backs of the imperial court and the Divine Hall is but a small matter. You tried to steal the Tomes of Arcane is also trivial. You were a disciple of the Devil"s Doctrine does not matter. What you have done over the years are but trivial matters to Headmaster of the Academy. But your attempt on the life of the Youngest Brother in the Academy is an important matter."

Facing major events with silent grace was a quality that every powerhouse should possess.

However, in the face of the important matter to Headmaster of the Academy, even the strong Xia Hou had to consider seriously. He did not think for long. The black tea that was the color of blood in his teacup had not even cooled. He looked at the Winter Courtyard that had accompanied him for many years with regret.

"Since I am old, I shall retire."