The national master lay in the blood with complicated feelings of disappointment, despair, as well as some relief. Since he could no longer rewrite the fate of the tribes, he would be freed from the responsibilities.

“Perhaps Tengri had indeed abandoned us. If the previous Chanyu was still alive, how could he make such a mistake? The Golden Tribe is defeated. But are you really going to kill us all?”

He stared at Yu Lian and said in exhaustion, “Ning Que hated us because of Wei. But how about you? What happened between the tribes and the Wild People was already a thousand years ago.”

Yu Lian said nothing.

The national master panted and continued, “Don’t forget that you Wild People enslaved us for many years. I don’t think we owe you anything. And you’re not justified in doing so.”

“We want the grassland.”

“We can give it back.”

“You can’t afford it… We, Wild People, want it. The pack of wolves wants it. Our Youngest Uncle’s donkey and his horses want it. And Jun Mo will bring tens of thousands of slaves out of the underground world who would also want it… There are too many people longing for it.”

Yu Lian said gently and emotionlessly. Her hands were on her back. She stared at the vast grassland in the snow storm and recalled the homeless Wild People drifted miserably from one place to another throughout a thousand years.

“What about us?!”

The national master lost control and rebuked, “The Abbey Dean abandoned Taoism. Are we therefore no longer qualified for survival? Why do we have to die?!”

Yu Lian turned to him and seemed surprised by his question. She frowned and said, “Of course you deserve to live. Everyone is born equal. Any person who came to this world has the right to live. Therefore, the strongest would survive… You grew up in the Wilderness. How could you not aware of this rule? Have you ever seen tigers and wolves reasoning with rabbits? If you don’t want to be a rabbit, you have to learn to prey.”

It was a simple, unreasonable and brutal rule.

The national master paused for a long while and murmured, “But you don’t have to kill us all… do you? Like a thousand years ago, the people from the tribes, they could still be your slaves.”

He stared at Yu Lilan in begging. Yu Lian took a glance at Ning Que. Ning Que said nothing but kept looking toward the snowstorm.

“Our master told us that slavery is a very undignified existence. No one should enslave others, including other tribes. Therefore we, Wild People, will not keep you as our slaves.”

Yu Lian continued, “Therefore we could only kill you all.”

The national master lost his last hope. He shook his head and laughed bitterly, “If only the Headmaster knew you misinterpreted his words like this, would he be driven mad?”

Yu Lian raised her head to look into the sky for a long while. Then she said emotionlessly, “He was gone. If only what we did could bring him back to the human world, we would spare no effort.”

Ning Que also looked above toward the sky. There was snow, dark clouds, but no moon. He looked together with his Sister and recalled that he had said something similar previously.

The students from the Academy were indeed irritated by their irresponsible master, or more precisely annoyed and bored. Those felt bored the most were Ning Que and Yu Lian.

Throughout these years Jun Mo had been fighting against Buddhism in the West Wilderness and the Eldest Brother paid no attention to worldly matters as he always did. Everything in the Academy was taken care of by Yu Lian and Ning Que. It was exactly what their enemies were least willing to see.

…

…

Spring breeze blew gently and gradually carried away the smell of blood. Brooks in dozens of miles away to the west were all dried, and the oasis could no longer be found. The blood sacrificing array turned into some relics of broken carriages. Countless human bones were purified by Haotian’s divine flames. And the national master eventually closed his eyes.

Yu Lian turned to Ning Que and said, “I need to attend my wounds. I’ll leave the rest to you.”

In the previous fight she took the killing intent of the entire Golden Tribe Royal Court. Although Ning Que helped a lot she was still severely wounded. The victory came at great prices.

Ning Que thought about the most difficult part in their plan and said, “I’ll be waiting for you on Peach Mountain.”

Yu Lian turned and walked toward the heart of the grassland. She suddenly recalled something and stopped to ask, “When I was in the air you kept staring under my dress. What were you looking at?”

Ning Que laughed and answered, “My Sister fought courageously.”

Yu Lian snorted at him, turned back and disappeared into the grassland.

Ning Que shook his head and put his iron blade back into the sheath. He turned upon hearing some intensive clops behind. Dust roared around Wei. Xu Chi and his cavalrymen from the Commander’s Barrack already finished the remaining grassland troops they encircled, and carried on to hunt for the retreating Golden Tribe Royal Court.

Although the cavalry of the Northern Battlefront Army escorted by hundreds of giant wolves from the snowfields were held back in the East Wilderness by Long Qing and the troops from the Divine Halls of West-Hill, Ning Que had nothing to worry because the Golden Tribe was already doomed.

Dust roared on the fields to the north of Wei. Deafening clip-clops prevailed while thousands of Tang cavalrymen darted toward the heart of the grassland in pursuit of Chanyu.

Ning Que looked at the scene silently until the fields were restored with tranquility. Then he turned to Wei again.

The snowstorm stopped and the dark clouds disappeared. The spring sun shone dazzlingly on the grassland. The yellow dust city seemed somewhat reborn. Or perhaps it was because of the hundreds of weeds grown out of the adobe walls in front of the city gate.

The vigorous wild plants were probably the biggest enemies for the adobe walls. It was strange that no matter what was mixed into the adobe or how firm it was tamped, nothing could prevent the weeds from rooting and growing.

Ning Que remembered clearly that when he served in Wei everyone from ordinary people to the soldiers in the city would go weeding in springtime under the guidance of General Ma, in order to prevent the walls from being ruined by the weeds.

The City of Wei had been occupied by the grassland barbarians for years who never care about the walls being ruined. The reviving weeds seemed to be claiming their victory over the efforts of Tang people in the past.

The blood in the city had dried. Bodies of the grassland barbarians were scattered and buildings were destroyed. Tang’s logistic forces were cleaning up the battlefield and no one noticed Ning Que.

He walked through the city, looked at the familiar streets and houses, and recalled the people and things in the past. He could almost smell the liquor and roasted chicken in the restaurant. But he did not enter the restaurant or General Ma’s house because he knew they were all gone.

By a brook around a quiet corner in the city, there was the courtyard he and Sangsang use to live in.

A hunting knife was half inserted into the wall. It was his knife. He looked at the knife for a while, then pushed open the door and got into the room. He frowned at the bedding left by the grassland barbarians. He threw them into the yard and prepared to burn them later on.

He found his bamboo sling chair, moved it into the yard, lay down and closed his eyes.

He could still feel the dazzling sunshine and closed his eyes tighter. He lay silently and almost fell asleep.

After a long while he woke up and opened his eyes. Looking at the familiar yard where he had lived in for many years, he reached out his hand in the air as he used to do. But unfortunately no one handed him tea.

When he raised his face no one placed a warm bowl on it. When he said he felt hot no one put her cold and fair feet into his arms. When he said he was hungry there was no noodle soup with fried egg served.

The City of Wei was still there, and so were the restaurant, the courtyard, and the adobe sleeping platform. The wooden case was still there facing the platform. The walls were there. The hunting knife was there. Even the bank notes were still in his hands.

But the person was gone. Everyone was gone. And so was her.

Ning Que lay on the bamboo sling chair, looked at the azure sky, and recalled a lot.

Before he left Wei, he told General Ma to stay young, stay alive, and wait for him. He also told the fellows that he would never return unless he was established. Now he was very well renowned as the most powerful figure in the world. He finally had the guts to come back. But it was too late.

The war between the Golden Tribe Royal Court and the Tang Empire would definitely turn the situation in the human world. But for him it had nothing to do with the world. It was just for the City of Wei.

He wanted the get Wei back and seek revenge. In the meanwhile he was looking for someone.

Time flew while he lay on the bamboo sling chair. It was a few days later.

Some clops and conversations were heard by the brook next to the courtyard.

Situ Yilan slightly nodded to the soldiers who saluted to her. She came to a barrack facing the courtyard, handed her horse to a guard, looked at the yard and asked, “What’s up?”

An assistant commander shook his head and answered, “He insisted.”

Situ Yilan said after a pause, “How many?”

The assistant commander replied, “There are some minor confrontations around the Seven Strongholds but nothing to be worried about. We are in control. There should be over forty thousands including slaves, women and children…”

Situ Yilan slightly frowned and asked again, “He still insisted no matter what?”

The assistant commander said nothing further. It seemed he was not against the order from the person inside the courtyard.

Situ Yilan stared at the courtyard nearby, and walked toward it after a moment of silence.

“It is a massacre,” she said calmly to Ning Que who was lying on the bamboo chair. Her voice was somewhat trembling.

Ning Que opened his eyes and said, “You’ve served in the army for years. Haven’t you ever seen a massacre?”

Situ Yilan kept quiet for a long while then said, “By rights we should not kill the women and children… Even the most brutal tribe from the grassland would never do so.”

“This was the place where I lived together with her for quite some while many years ago.” Ning Que stood up from the bamboo chair and pointed at the courtyard. Then he led her out of the yard, came to the street and started introducing everything inside the City of Wei in details.

“I knew everyone in this city. They all died in that war. The grassland people broke in and occupied the city. They raised their machetes and killed whoever they saw. Did they let go any women or children by then?”

Coming out of the city, he stood on the meadow and stared at the distinctive weeds on the adobe walls. He shook his head and said, “I was not trying to convince myself by recalling these facts, not to convince you or anyone else. I’m just telling you why I am so resolute. No one could ever stop me from the revenge.”

Situ Yilan followed his sight and looked at the City of Wei. She felt struggling when recalling the fellow soldiers and people died throughout the years. But she still hesitated, “This is not what the Academy taught us.”

“I’ve told you. No one could stop me from the revenge, even if the Headmaster were to come back.” Ning Que looked toward the moon rising from behind the evening glow, and replied after a long pause.

He pointed to the weeds on the adobe walls of Wei and said, “It might be sinful, but I don’t care. I just know that we have to cut the weeds and dig out the roots. Otherwise we would be in trouble sooner or later.”

…

…

In the following days, the blood of the grassland people flooded the entire grassland. After this battle, the winning Tang soldiers conducted Ning Que’s order like they did outside Guhe. They left no captives, or future troubles. They kept slaughtering until their sabers became blunt.

Ning Que and Situ Yilan came to the meadow outside of Wei again.

The Tang army assembled on the fields and looked at the two of them on the meadow with complicated feelings.

There was fanatical worship as well as chilling awe.

Being experienced elite soldiers, the tens of thousands of cavalrymen outside the City of Wei had went through killing and brutal slaughtering on the grassland. But they had never executed such a massacre.

The entire grassland seemed to have been irrigated with blood. It smelled bloody and pungent. Flies and mosquitoes were buzzing annoyingly.

The Tang army could not have stationed here without the arrays set by the masters.

The arrays could keep the flies and mosquitoes away and reduce the bloody smell. But they could not block the sight.

A dozens of miles to the north of Wei on a flat field, a small hill was formed a while ago. People could not see it clearly due to the distance. But it shone in the morning glow.

Everyone in the Tang army knew what it was. And they could not help feeling chilled whenever they looked at the hill. It was a pile of chopped heads of the grassland people.

Ning Que stood on the meadow and looked at the pile of human heads afar calmly. He felt no fear, no awe, or any abnormal mania. For him it was just something he had to do.

“They used to call me the the Woodchopper of Shubi Lake.” He stared at the vast grassland and said slowly, “Everyone, from the thieves to the cavalrymen of the Royal Court, was scared of my cavalrymen. Because … we were indeed good at killing.”

Situ Yilan said nothing. She could barely feel anything after these days.

Ning Que continued, “I’ve told people in Chang’an that the world did not witness me killing in the past. But they will do frequently in the future.”

Situ Yilan looked at the side of his face and said, “I hope it won’t happen ever again.”

Ning Que paused and said, “I hope so too. But it depends on whether the world will be on my side.”