The smile in Sangsang's eyes was indifferent—There were many definitions for the word in the dictionary. For example, it could be someone who did not seek fame and wealth or it could be an unconcerned or apathetic behavior—All these definitions, especially the last one suited her; a person who was naturally oblivious.
Right now she was sitting by the window, looking at the Headmaster and Ning Que. She looked like the golden dragon, as it appeared from behind the burning cloud in the sky above the Wasterland, or the Divine Guard of Light looking down the Earth in the chariot. However, her position seemed to be even higher. As such, the indifference in her eyes fell into another field.
The word still had another meaning: keeping away from happiness, life, and all those things related to the happiness of the secular world. It represented holiness and solemnity that transcended the secular world.
The smile with the sense of indifference emerged in Sangsang's eyes and disappeared in a flash. It was so fast that even Sangsang herself did not feel its existence. Ning Que naturally missed it, but the Headmaster did not.
He stared at Sangsang silently for a long time until Ning Que felt that he was being a little weird; due to this, Sangsang looked confused and overwhelmed. Then he smiled and looked away.
The Headmaster's gaze landed on Sangsang's hand.
Her left hand clenched into a fist. Her hand had frequently made into a fist since their stay at the Lanke Temple, to their escape from the Chaoyang City in the Yuelun Kingdom and when they were taken in by the Desolate Man's tribe.
At the place where the Headmaster's gaze landed, Sangsang's left hand was opened, revealing what was in her palm.
It was a white chess piece.
The Headmaster looked serene, like an old pine tree that had gone through countless years.
But it was not calm in his eyes. Hundreds of millions of stars seemed to emerge from his black pupils and then began to move at random, drawing up numerous dense lines, which were finally merged into a bright spot of light.
It happened in a flash so no one could find what had happened in the Headmaster's eyes. Ning Que could not, nor could Sangsang. Even if everyone in the world stood in front of him, they would not be able to see it.
All of a sudden, the bright spot deep in his eyes suddenly exploded.
His eyes were closed and back to normal when they were reopened. The Headmaster's black coat remained motionless, his expression still serene, and his wrinkles contained rich wisdom.
Nothing seemed to have happened.
But everything seemed to have already happened.
The walls of the black horse carriage were carved with extremely complicated talisman arrays. They came from the South School of Haotian Taoism, made by Master Yan Se who had dedicated more than half of his life to it, and were difficult to break.
At the moment when the Headmaster opened his eyes again, the still arrays on the walls of the carraige suddenly became chaotic, as if being overly filled with a vast aura. The runes were shining with golden light and then died down.
The carriage was made of fine steel so it was horribly heavy. With the sudden failure of the arrays, the wheels immediately sank deeply into the soft spring land of the Wilderness, and the reins cut into the flesh of the Big Black Horse.
The Big Black Horse did not expect that the carriage would suddenly become so heavy. It rose its forehooves high into the air and knelt down with a rush, and then fell heavily onto the ground!
As mud scattered everywhere and dust flew, the Big Black Horse neighed in pain. The grass underneath was crushed into clusters and the wild flowers in the grass were scattered, floating up to the clouds along with the flying dust.
In the clear blue skies of the Wilderness, a few white clouds floated leisurely.
In the skies right above the black carriage, there was a rain cloud. When the flower petals floated up, rain fell down like a thin waterspout right on the carriage, as if someone were crying.
Looking up from the Wasteland, the sun just moved to the back of the cloud. Sunshine penetrated through from three cracks of the cloud, two on the top and one below, like a pair of eyes and a mouth. So the cloud was just like a pure face with a lovely smile.
The Headmaster was vexed and waved his hand, making the cloud disappear and the rain stopped. "Laughing and crying at the same time, are you sick?"
Ning Que did not know what had happened. "Teacher, it is Sangsang who is sick," he said.
The Headmaster looked at him and shouted, "Do you have medicine?"
Ning Que did not know whether to cry or to laugh. "Don't you have medicine?" he asked.
The Headmaster said more angrily, "She finished all the medicine. Why do you mention this?"
Ning Que had nothing to say. He thought that all his peers in the Academy knew that their teacher was not an otherworldly sublime being and had a temper, but his temper was quite unwieldy today.
"Teacher, what's wrong?" he asked anxiously.
After a short silence, the Headmaster suddenly said, "I'm a little hungry, what would you like to eat?"
Ning Que looked at the moist Wilderness outside the window, wondering what they could eat other than dry food in such a desolate place.
The Headmaster took a look at Sangsang and said, "Live well since you are alive. We should have some requirements for the quality of life. How can you eat casually? Let me take you to eat something good."
After getting rid of the dizziness caused by the tumble, the Big Black Horse confirmed that the carriage became light again and sped toward the north of the Wilderness under the guidance of the Headmaster. Nothing was heard along the way except for the whistling of the wind. The grass sparkled in the sunlight.
It didn't take long before the black carriage came to a meadow. Dozens of sheep were scattered around the meadow and several tents were found at the back. It looked like a Herdsmen's tribe, only it was much too small.
Ning Que got off the carriage. When he observed the sunshine's tilt angle; he was amazed to find the remaining snowy hills in the distance.
He looked at the length of the grass again and confirmed that the place was already in the far north of the Wilderness. But he was perplexed by how the carriage could run so far in such a short time.
From the tent, several herdsmen with dark complexion walked out. A hint of hurry was mixed with their alert expression. It seemed that these herdsmen seldom met visitors.
Ning Que did not know what the Headmaster would take them to eat. As an old saying went, a disciple should shoulder his own responsibility. Therefore, Ning Que walked to those herdsmen to see what food he could buy from them.
He could speak the Desolate Man's language on the Wilderness, and was even good at the languages of some remote tribes. However, he suddenly found today that he was unable to communicate with the herdsmen on the Wilderness.
"Stop showing off your insignificant skill."
The Headmaster walked out of the carriage and scolded him rudely.
The response of the herdsmen when they saw the Headmaster was very strange. They seemed to be touched and excited, and even more reverent. Two of them knelt down directly in front of the Headmaster to kiss his feet, while others ran to their tents to bring their family members to salute the Headmaster.
Then Ning Que came to know that those herdsmen had met the Headmaster before. He was curious about their nationality since they could not understand him. In addition, what made him more curious was how the Headmaster was going to communicate with them.
He had never thought that the Headmaster could not communicate with these herdsmen.
Because now he was more sure that the Headmaster was omnipotent.
Then the Headmaster began to communicate with them.
He pointed to the sheep on the meadow far away, and then spread out his hands to describe the size of a sheep. After that, he shook his finger in the air to simulate a flame, while muttering to himself.
"The sheep can't be too big, just about this size."
"The way to roast it... should be your famous style."
Ning Que was speechless again. How could he expect that the Headmaster should communicate in this way.
The Headmaster knew what he was thinking about. "As what I always say," he said, "there is no omnipotent person in the world. Even I could not master all the languages in the world. So what? Knowing a language is an insignificant skill. As long as you know body language, you will never starve and can always find something delicious wherever you go."
Ning Que was clear that it would be sheer self-abuse to reason with his teacher. Therefore, he was determined to give it up and asked his question, "Which palace does the tribe belong to?"
"None," the Headmaster answered, "These herdsmen have been nomadic for millennia in this bitter cold land, isolated from the outside. Their life is hard but quiet."
Ning Que said, "In principle, only these people would have it hard to multiply."
The Headmaster explained, "The Butcher once hid here for a period of time in those years. He must have used a secret method of theirs."
Ning Que was slightly shocked for he had heard the Headmaster mention the Butcher and the Drunkard.
The Headmaster said, "The roasted lamb leg made by the Butcher is the best. He has refused to see me for years and no one knows where he is hiding now. So the best roasted lamb leg is right here."
Ning Que said smilingly, "The secret you mentioned, is it about procreation or roasted lamb leg?"
The Headmaster laughed while patting his thigh, "Both, both."
Sangsang poured two bowls of milk wine and offered them to the Headmaster and Ning Que.
The Headmaster took a sip and gave his compliments. Then he said to Sangsang, "Have a taste. It's good."
At this moment, the roasted lamb leg was done. A herdsman presented it with respect and then withdrew.
Ning Que did not how if he could describe the so-called best roasted lamb leg in the world. As he smelled its scent while looking at the enchanting grease over it; he could not help moving his fingers.
But at this time, he would never make a mistake. According to what he had been told by Chen Pipi and his Eldest Brother, he used a sharp knife to cut two pieces of mutton at the best part of the lamb leg and sent them to his teacher's mouth.
The Headmaster chewed the mutton, eyes closed. He held a bowl of milk wine with an intoxicated expression, ready to take a sip to neutralize the taste of mutton in his mouth.
"Something's wrong," the Headmaster suddenly opened his eyes.
Then he smacked his lips slightly like an old farmer who had just finished eating noodles by the roadside. He savored the taste in his mouth and his expression suddenly changed. He said, "The taste is not right."
Ning Que was startled. He cut another piece and had a taste, only to find it extremely delicious and pleasant. He almost chewed his own tongue and did not know what problem the mutton had.
He asked, "Teacher, what's wrong?"
The teacher said angrily, "Can it still be called mutton when it does not taste like mutton?"
Ning Que was completely confused and did not know how it couldn't taste like mutton.
The Headmaster fell into silence suddenly and looked at the roasted lamb leg with a sigh.
Then he looked at Ning Que and shook his head with another sigh.
Sangsang did not know what was going on, so she asked in a low voice, "Would you like a bowl of mutton soup?"
The Headmaster was vexed, "How can I drink the soup if I cannot even eat the mutton?"
The smile in Sangsang's eyes was indifferent—There were many definitions for the word in the dictionary. For example, it could be someone who did not seek fame and wealth or it could be an unconcerned or apathetic behavior—All these definitions, especially the last one suited her; a person who was naturally oblivious.
Right now she was sitting by the window, looking at the Headmaster and Ning Que. She looked like the golden dragon, as it appeared from behind the burning cloud in the sky above the Wasterland, or the Divine Guard of Light looking down the Earth in the chariot. However, her position seemed to be even higher. As such, the indifference in her eyes fell into another field.
The word still had another meaning: keeping away from happiness, life, and all those things related to the happiness of the secular world. It represented holiness and solemnity that transcended the secular world.
The smile with the sense of indifference emerged in Sangsang's eyes and disappeared in a flash. It was so fast that even Sangsang herself did not feel its existence. Ning Que naturally missed it, but the Headmaster did not.
He stared at Sangsang silently for a long time until Ning Que felt that he was being a little weird; due to this, Sangsang looked confused and overwhelmed. Then he smiled and looked away.
The Headmaster's gaze landed on Sangsang's hand.
Her left hand clenched into a fist. Her hand had frequently made into a fist since their stay at the Lanke Temple, to their escape from the Chaoyang City in the Yuelun Kingdom and when they were taken in by the Desolate Man's tribe.
At the place where the Headmaster's gaze landed, Sangsang's left hand was opened, revealing what was in her palm.
It was a white chess piece.
The Headmaster looked serene, like an old pine tree that had gone through countless years.
But it was not calm in his eyes. Hundreds of millions of stars seemed to emerge from his black pupils and then began to move at random, drawing up numerous dense lines, which were finally merged into a bright spot of light.
It happened in a flash so no one could find what had happened in the Headmaster's eyes. Ning Que could not, nor could Sangsang. Even if everyone in the world stood in front of him, they would not be able to see it.
All of a sudden, the bright spot deep in his eyes suddenly exploded.
His eyes were closed and back to normal when they were reopened. The Headmaster's black coat remained motionless, his expression still serene, and his wrinkles contained rich wisdom.
Nothing seemed to have happened.
But everything seemed to have already happened.
The walls of the black horse carriage were carved with extremely complicated talisman arrays. They came from the South School of Haotian Taoism, made by Master Yan Se who had dedicated more than half of his life to it, and were difficult to break.
At the moment when the Headmaster opened his eyes again, the still arrays on the walls of the carraige suddenly became chaotic, as if being overly filled with a vast aura. The runes were shining with golden light and then died down.
The carriage was made of fine steel so it was horribly heavy. With the sudden failure of the arrays, the wheels immediately sank deeply into the soft spring land of the Wilderness, and the reins cut into the flesh of the Big Black Horse.
The Big Black Horse did not expect that the carriage would suddenly become so heavy. It rose its forehooves high into the air and knelt down with a rush, and then fell heavily onto the ground!
As mud scattered everywhere and dust flew, the Big Black Horse neighed in pain. The grass underneath was crushed into clusters and the wild flowers in the grass were scattered, floating up to the clouds along with the flying dust.
In the clear blue skies of the Wilderness, a few white clouds floated leisurely.
In the skies right above the black carriage, there was a rain cloud. When the flower petals floated up, rain fell down like a thin waterspout right on the carriage, as if someone were crying.
Looking up from the Wasteland, the sun just moved to the back of the cloud. Sunshine penetrated through from three cracks of the cloud, two on the top and one below, like a pair of eyes and a mouth. So the cloud was just like a pure face with a lovely smile.
The Headmaster was vexed and waved his hand, making the cloud disappear and the rain stopped. "Laughing and crying at the same time, are you sick?"
Ning Que did not know what had happened. "Teacher, it is Sangsang who is sick," he said.
The Headmaster looked at him and shouted, "Do you have medicine?"
Ning Que did not know whether to cry or to laugh. "Don't you have medicine?" he asked.
The Headmaster said more angrily, "She finished all the medicine. Why do you mention this?"
Ning Que had nothing to say. He thought that all his peers in the Academy knew that their teacher was not an otherworldly sublime being and had a temper, but his temper was quite unwieldy today.
"Teacher, what's wrong?" he asked anxiously.
After a short silence, the Headmaster suddenly said, "I'm a little hungry, what would you like to eat?"
Ning Que looked at the moist Wilderness outside the window, wondering what they could eat other than dry food in such a desolate place.
The Headmaster took a look at Sangsang and said, "Live well since you are alive. We should have some requirements for the quality of life. How can you eat casually? Let me take you to eat something good."
After getting rid of the dizziness caused by the tumble, the Big Black Horse confirmed that the carriage became light again and sped toward the north of the Wilderness under the guidance of the Headmaster. Nothing was heard along the way except for the whistling of the wind. The grass sparkled in the sunlight.
It didn't take long before the black carriage came to a meadow. Dozens of sheep were scattered around the meadow and several tents were found at the back. It looked like a Herdsmen's tribe, only it was much too small.
Ning Que got off the carriage. When he observed the sunshine's tilt angle; he was amazed to find the remaining snowy hills in the distance.
He looked at the length of the grass again and confirmed that the place was already in the far north of the Wilderness. But he was perplexed by how the carriage could run so far in such a short time.
From the tent, several herdsmen with dark complexion walked out. A hint of hurry was mixed with their alert expression. It seemed that these herdsmen seldom met visitors.
Ning Que did not know what the Headmaster would take them to eat. As an old saying went, a disciple should shoulder his own responsibility. Therefore, Ning Que walked to those herdsmen to see what food he could buy from them.
He could speak the Desolate Man's language on the Wilderness, and was even good at the languages of some remote tribes. However, he suddenly found today that he was unable to communicate with the herdsmen on the Wilderness.
"Stop showing off your insignificant skill."
The Headmaster walked out of the carriage and scolded him rudely.
The response of the herdsmen when they saw the Headmaster was very strange. They seemed to be touched and excited, and even more reverent. Two of them knelt down directly in front of the Headmaster to kiss his feet, while others ran to their tents to bring their family members to salute the Headmaster.
Then Ning Que came to know that those herdsmen had met the Headmaster before. He was curious about their nationality since they could not understand him. In addition, what made him more curious was how the Headmaster was going to communicate with them.
He had never thought that the Headmaster could not communicate with these herdsmen.
Because now he was more sure that the Headmaster was omnipotent.
Then the Headmaster began to communicate with them.
He pointed to the sheep on the meadow far away, and then spread out his hands to describe the size of a sheep. After that, he shook his finger in the air to simulate a flame, while muttering to himself.
"The sheep can't be too big, just about this size."
"The way to roast it... should be your famous style."
Ning Que was speechless again. How could he expect that the Headmaster should communicate in this way.
The Headmaster knew what he was thinking about. "As what I always say," he said, "there is no omnipotent person in the world. Even I could not master all the languages in the world. So what? Knowing a language is an insignificant skill. As long as you know body language, you will never starve and can always find something delicious wherever you go."
Ning Que was clear that it would be sheer self-abuse to reason with his teacher. Therefore, he was determined to give it up and asked his question, "Which palace does the tribe belong to?"
"None," the Headmaster answered, "These herdsmen have been nomadic for millennia in this bitter cold land, isolated from the outside. Their life is hard but quiet."
Ning Que said, "In principle, only these people would have it hard to multiply."
The Headmaster explained, "The Butcher once hid here for a period of time in those years. He must have used a secret method of theirs."
Ning Que was slightly shocked for he had heard the Headmaster mention the Butcher and the Drunkard.
The Headmaster said, "The roasted lamb leg made by the Butcher is the best. He has refused to see me for years and no one knows where he is hiding now. So the best roasted lamb leg is right here."
Ning Que said smilingly, "The secret you mentioned, is it about procreation or roasted lamb leg?"
The Headmaster laughed while patting his thigh, "Both, both."
Sangsang poured two bowls of milk wine and offered them to the Headmaster and Ning Que.
The Headmaster took a sip and gave his compliments. Then he said to Sangsang, "Have a taste. It's good."
At this moment, the roasted lamb leg was done. A herdsman presented it with respect and then withdrew.
Ning Que did not how if he could describe the so-called best roasted lamb leg in the world. As he smelled its scent while looking at the enchanting grease over it; he could not help moving his fingers.
But at this time, he would never make a mistake. According to what he had been told by Chen Pipi and his Eldest Brother, he used a sharp knife to cut two pieces of mutton at the best part of the lamb leg and sent them to his teacher's mouth.
The Headmaster chewed the mutton, eyes closed. He held a bowl of milk wine with an intoxicated expression, ready to take a sip to neutralize the taste of mutton in his mouth.
"Something's wrong," the Headmaster suddenly opened his eyes.
Then he smacked his lips slightly like an old farmer who had just finished eating noodles by the roadside. He savored the taste in his mouth and his expression suddenly changed. He said, "The taste is not right."
Ning Que was startled. He cut another piece and had a taste, only to find it extremely delicious and pleasant. He almost chewed his own tongue and did not know what problem the mutton had.
He asked, "Teacher, what's wrong?"
The teacher said angrily, "Can it still be called mutton when it does not taste like mutton?"
Ning Que was completely confused and did not know how it couldn't taste like mutton.
The Headmaster fell into silence suddenly and looked at the roasted lamb leg with a sigh.
Then he looked at Ning Que and shook his head with another sigh.
Sangsang did not know what was going on, so she asked in a low voice, "Would you like a bowl of mutton soup?"
The Headmaster was vexed, "How can I drink the soup if I cannot even eat the mutton?"
