Nightfall

After the second day of classes, when the bell rang, the students did not leave the study room as cheerfully as they usually did. Instead, they turned a succession of shocked and puzzled faces toward the door. Xie Chengyun and Zhong Dajun were standing by the door, with several companions. They were Grade A Dormitory students and had no reason to be here today.

Classes had been ongoing for more than a month, and classmates gradually became familiar with each other and each dormitory came together collectively. Although there were no disputes among them, it was only natural that they had opposing attitudes. When they saw Xie Chengyun, Zhong Dajun, and the others at the door, the students of Classroom Three were not only curious but also vigilant.

Mr. Xie from the South Jin Kingdom had not gone upstairs for days, so he had had a good rest and his face was no longer as pale as it was before. He walked slowly with his companions to the back of the study room, calmly suffering the suspicious and prudent gazes from the Classroom Three student’s, he then took out a letter from his sleeve and handed it over, seriously and solemnly.

Ning Que kept watching the door quietly, thinking that the person Mr. Xie was looking for might be Jin Wucai or someone in the front row who might be the daughter of one of the Chang’an nobles. He speculated a romantic scene would play out, but he never expected that Mr. Xie was actually walking straight to the rear of the study room, towards him.

After taking a short moment to contemplate, he stood up and smiled at him. He looked at the brown envelope, and then asked, "This’s an invitation or... You’d like to invite me to dinner?"

Xie Chengyun took one glance at Zhong Dajun who was standing beside Ning Que, whom he turned to with a severe countenance and calmly said, "It’s not an invitation, but a challenge. I’d like to set a gentleman’s agreement with you to see who will pull the top spot in the semester exam of the Academy, which is about to start in a month. Since it’s an agreement between two gentlemen, I won’t profit at your expense. It’s limited to the three courses that you got A+ in the academy entry exams."

Ning Que’s total results on the academy entry exams were not that eye-catching, but being that he got A+ in three courses, driving, toxophily and mathematics, made him abruptly overshadow the prominent young talents, Xie Chengyun, Zhong Dajun and Wangying. Their so-called disgust and unwillingness started from that moment on. In addition to the later resounding competition of going upstairs together, Xie Chengyun, the talent of the South Jin Kingdom, who had been prominent since childhood had to admit that he kept losing to the ordinary Bordertown soldier. Xie Chengyun, who came to Tang Empire bearing the glory of his families and even the South Jin Kingdom wouldn’t allow himself to keep losing. Besides, due to the instigations of Zhong Dajun’s and other companions’, he decided to take the chance to win back the elegant demeanor that had always belonged to him.

Naturally, the semester exam was the best chance.

Ning Que never thought that it was possible. He had not been involved in such games for many years, and hadn’t held grudges over exam results. To be more accurate, he had never met a classmate who could challenge him in his studies since his first grade of primary school, when he was beaten severely with a mop by his mother, after which he always got full marks.

More crucially, he got used to fatal challenges involving swords, life, and death in this lifetime; but these young classmates still remained at this level, which inevitably made him feel funny and naive, so he could not help laughing. Looking at Xie Chengyun, he wanted to say something, but he found it hard to make it clear to a guy who was from a noble family.

A brief moment of silence and a gentle smile meant different things to different people. Zhong Dajun fretfully asked with a sneer, though he clearly knew Ning Que was not a coward, "Are you afraid?"

The Classroom Three students fell into a moment of silence, and then broke into a whispering discussion after realizing that the Grade A Dormitory students were here to hand in a letter of challenge. Though Classroom Three students feared the well-known guys such as Xie Chengyun and Zhong Dajun, they still could not help getting annoyed on hearing Zhong Dajun’s mockery and provocation. They then all shouted one after another, "Ning Que, accept his letter!"

Situ Yilan stood up, gave a glance at Ning Que, and was ready to say something. Ning Que, however, shook his head to stop her. He accepted the letter naturally and stared at Xie Chengyun, and asked. "Although it is neither a duel in cutting sleeves nor a deathmatch in cutting palms, it’s certainly about winning or losing. If you insist on using this naive way to win back your lost dignity, I think you should make a relevant bet."

He added with a smile, "The bet can’t be too much. If the loser can hold up the old library’s large pillar and shout out loud ’I love the Empress’, then I will withdraw in advance."

After these remarks, the study room burst out into an exaggerated laughter. Xie Chengyun also laughed and said, "It is a match between gentlemen and what we want is to improve our studies. All the loser has to do is to invite the opposing side to dinner."

The bet was nothing but a meal. It was the so-called grand plan with little skill. Hearing Xie Chengyun suddenly changed the original bet, Zhong Dajun who was standing behind him seemed angry. Classroom Three students, however, considered Xie Chengyun’s proposal absolutely graceful and were more affectionate towards him.

But Ning Que dismissively shook his head, and smilingly said to Xie Chengyun in a slight voice, "Gentlemen’s agreement... Am I not a gentleman if I don’t accept your challenge? Though I’m not actually a gentleman and never expect to act as a gentleman, I think you are far from being a gentleman to force me to yield to your words in this way."

Xie Chengyun felt slightly awkward and did not say anything.

...

...

The challenge from Xie Chengyun, who was one of the South Jin Kingdom talents, caused a sensation among the Academy students. Rather than hurrying to go home or to dinner, the Classroom Three students all excitedly stayed behind. They, all imbued with collectivism, discussed the possible results and offered advice to Ning Que. Situ Yilan even came up with the idea that she would ask the Military Ministry’s Marksman to give Ning Que some special training, who seemed unexpectedly calm and at ease, who apologized and left the study room with a smile on his face.

Things such as life and death were greatly feared, while the rest were not that terrible. Acting in earnest might be in vain and even be ridiculed. For Ning Que, who had experienced too much fear of life and death, Xie Chengyun’s serious letter of challenge was just a naive trick that would make people laugh.

The reason he accepted this letter was not because he wanted to review the past nor to regain the glory of ranking at the top of the school list, but because he did not have the energy to chat with these lads. His entire focus was now on the upstairs of the old library and on the humble mountain where there were no orifice grottos.

He went upstairs once again and respectfully saluted the eastern window. He then walked towards the western window and stopped at the bookshelf to pick out the thin book, within which he found no messages left by the mysterious guy, so he put the book back with a regretful sigh. He then took out the Wu Shanyang’s Theory on Haoran Sword from the third shelf and sitting cross-legged on the floor began to read.

...

...

If a rugged and inaccessible mountain was lying in front of Ning Que, what he was doing now would be the things that the foolish old man did. Even if he couldn’t climb over the mountain, he would still dig a few tunnels in the middle.

No one knew how many pairs of sandals were buried and how many hoes were broken while the foolish old man tried to remove the mountain. He was a guy of great perseverance. Even though he dug out numerous tunnels on both sides of the mountain, had an indestructible body and kept at it for millions of years, without the knowledge of modern engineering, it was all futile.

Most of the time, the idea that man could conquer nature was an ideal wish that could inspire mankind to move forward at the spiritual level. Yet in specific cases, not all the things could be completed perfectly relying merely on perseverance.

Let’s get back to the foolish old man who was worshipped by Ning Que and many heroes. When people questioned him, he would say that he had endless children and grandchildren and that they would finally finish removing the mountains since mountains were always standing there. This remark was really refreshing, vigorous, and vaguely complied with the true meaning of the question whether to chop the peach blossom for drinking wine. The question was put forward by the Academy’s Headmaster. This was the so-called infinite. Nevertheless, the foolish old man did not know a brutal truth that "mountains sometimes could grow taller."

After a few days, the ink like a sword pierced his heart.

The Haoran Sword calligraphic style dismantled in Yong’s Eight Strokes Calligraphy was like numerous sharp swords that transversely and vertically plugged into Ning Que’s body. And numerous invisible holes were poked out. Yet those holes quickly collapsed without leaving any channels.

In order to pierce through those blocked channels, Ning Que made painstaking efforts with severe moral and mental depreciation. He didn’t faint again, but with the increasing frequency of meditation and forcibly mobilizing the Psyche Power to tear down the mountains, his face became paler and paler, and his throat became drier and drier, while his ears began to hum. The pain in his chest was strong enough to kill countless talents like Xie Chengyun.

The injured lungs started to affect his breathing, so his cough at night got louder and huskier, which sounded unpleasant and affected Sangsang’s sleep. Finally, he was sent to the medical hall after spitting out blood one morning. He was checked in as a TB patient and the doctor then arbitrarily prescribed some tonic drugs and told Ning Que to have a good rest, instead of going to the brothel, but the doctor didn’t say more after charging twenty tales of silver.

Having paid such a hefty price, that mountain, that humble mountain, or that Snow Mountain was still silently standing there in Ning Que’s body. It was really true, the mountain always collapsed when he was trying to dig at it, and it stood firmly still when he was trying to remove it.

One night, Chen Pipi finally completed the tasks of learning the Rituals of the Yin sacrifice process. The task was arranged by his Second Senior Brother. Chen Pipi came to the old library once again in the starlight and opened the thin book. He nearly cried out in shock when he saw the sonorous and forceful declaration left by Ning Que.

He pointed at the sentence with his lips quivering, and angrily whispered, "You’re really an idiot ah? Except for the West-Hill Divine Palace which applies the brilliance of Haotian to help people push through their acupoints by spellcasting the Grand Spiritism, who can change his fate in defiance of nature in this world,? You want to get your acupoints on your own! You are extremely arrogant and foolish!"

Chen Pipi got more furious, thinking of the long-lost Peach Hill in West-Hill, and then shouted, "It will cost the three Great Divine Priests’ half a lifetime of cultivation to spell cast the Grand Spiritism. Who in this world is worth such a big price? You know, I, as a genius, was only fed a few Heavenly Power Pills in those years."

He felt pity for Ning Que’s misfortune and felt angry for his absurd struggle. He took up the pen and finished a stroke with resentment and annoyance. "If one could get the acupoints open as he wished, then everyone in the world would be a cultivator. You idiot!"