Chapter 152 Fourteen years, last summer, today's steps
Chapter 152: Fourteen years ago, last summer, today I climbed the stairs
The hero is always the last one to appear.
On the battlefield filled with yellow sand, several generals fought with swords for a long time, either unable to do anything to the other, or beaten back by the opponent, then they saw a young silver-robed general in the side suddenly picked up the reins of his horse and charged towards him with a diagonal thrust.
He knocked all the enemies off their horses with his spear, and then stood in the field with the spear, his face illuminated by the twilight, showing off his coolness to the extreme.
In the rainy streets, gang boys slashed at each other with watermelon knives. The blood spurted out even more intensely than the rain. Dozens of corpses lay scattered from the West City to the South City. Only then did they see the man wearing a black windshield.
The ragged Jianghu boss held a steel knife in his hand, shouted and swung the knife out, like a blood dragon killing from one end to the other. There was no enemy in front of the knife, and there was no life under his feet. It was extremely powerful.
As for why the young man in silver robe and the big man in black didn't take action at the beginning, but had to wait for their subordinates and younger brothers to shed their blood for a long time before Shi Shiran walked out? Of course it's not because they are like storytellers.
Gentlemen all suffer from habitual procrastination, but it is because these pretenders know for sure that only by enduring the cruel and humiliating long wait in front of them can they highlight their final elegance.
After the second floor was opened, many people began to climb to the top of the mountain one after another, including the long-awaited Prince Longqing who had also set off. However, Ning Que remained unmoved and stood silently in the corner until this time.
He could explain his delay in moving as he wanted to analyze the problems that might be encountered during mountaineering by observing the experiences of young mountaineers. But deep down, he had to admit that the more important reason was that those
The young cultivators who were struggling on the sloping mountain road were not his subordinates, nor were they his generals. He did not care about the life and death of those people. Since he had no confidence in entering the second floor, why not
Enjoy the thrill of your final appearance?
The hero is always the last one to appear.
Even at the end of today's mountain climbing, the hero is still the aloof and perfect Prince Longqing, but at least at this moment, he wants to be the hero.
Ning Que's idea was perfectly realized. When he took the cake wrapped in Chu Youxian's handkerchief and Shi Shiran walked towards the back of the academy, countless pairs of eyes around the courtyard were attracted by his figure, and those eyes were full of countless emotions.
There are complex emotions, including surprise, confusion, and even more confusion.
It has been so long since the second floor was opened. Anyone with eyes can see that today's mountain climbing must be a victory for Prince Longqing. At this moment, how could someone be so ignorant and come out?
Interfering with the solemn and sacred scene of everyone waiting for Prince Longqing to shine?
"It seems that he is a student of the academy." The envoy from the River Kingdom looked at Ning Que's clothes and frowned and said, "Could this be a strong person hidden in the academy?"
"The six students from the surgery department are all on the mountain. Four of them have been carried back. Judging from the surprised expressions of the academy teachers, they don't seem to know what is going on."
Among the crowd gathered by the students in the academy, Zhong Dajun suppressed the shock in his heart. Looking at the back of Ning Que who was at the center of the discussion, he sneered and said with a sneer: "Why does he want to be so crazy? He thinks he has not been embarrassed enough this year.
?"
Situ Yilan subconsciously took a step forward, clenching her hands slightly in her sleeves, looking at Ning Que in front of her, with a look of curiosity and worry on her face. Although she knew that Ning Que was by no means as useless as her classmates talked about
It's despicable, but I really can't figure out why he wants to go hiking at this time, let alone why he believes that he can have a chance to enter the second floor of the academy.
Under the large golden parasol, Li Yu looked at the young man who was by no means unfamiliar, but certainly not very familiar, with a thoughtful expression. She thought of the scenes on the journey back from the grassland last year, and of Lu Qingchen.
The old man's firm words with a smile gave him strong confidence and hope for some reason, but he didn't even know where this confidence and hope came from.
Li Peiyan followed her gaze and looked at her with a serious and cold expression. As the prince of the Tang Dynasty, he really wanted to see a young man from the Tang Dynasty in the academy stand up and save some face for the empire, but he didn't want to do this.
There are too many variables.
Priest Mo Li did not think that Ning Que was qualified to be a variable. He glanced at this ordinary student and stopped caring. Prince Longqing had already entered the thick fog on the mountainside. Maybe he would successfully reach the top in the next moment.
In his opinion, no matter what the purpose of this student's standing up at this time, whether it was to impress the public, or whether he had received instructions from people in the academy, he could only serve as a more perfect foil to set off Xiling Shenhui and the prince.
For people whose will is not firm and whose mind is easily shaken, eyes have weight, especially when the scrutinizing and doubtful eyes of so many big figures around the academy shipyard are focused on one person, and they may even crush a thin student.
collapse.
But for Ning Que, the eyes of others are the most weightless and powerless existence in the world. No matter how many pairs of eyes gather together, the same is true. What he wants to do has nothing to do with these people, so the emotions in these eyes have nothing to do with it.
He has nothing to do with it.
The academy professor who was responsible for presiding over the opening ceremony of the second floor today stood expressionlessly beside the front road of Shiping. He had already known that Ning Que was a student of the academy through the professor's introduction, and also knew the rumors about this person in the past year.
.
"Why?" asked the professor.
Ning Que smiled honestly, clasped his hands and asked, "Isn't allowed? I didn't hear that there is a time limit for registration in the rules you mentioned earlier."
"Indeed, not really. I just heard that you pretended to be sick and gave up the exam last year because you were afraid of losing to your competitors. So I don't understand why you went hiking today."
"If abandoning the exam and climbing mountains are logically contradictory," Ning Que looked at the professor and explained with great respect and seriousness: "Then I dare to climb mountains today, just because the rumors in the college and the accusations against me are all false.
of."
Seeing that this ordinary student dared to talk in front of him, the professor smiled slightly, and his two eyebrows dyed with silver frost fluttered in the spring breeze, looking quite happy.
But he did not get out of the way. Instead, he continued to ask with a hint of interest: "But I still want to know why you want to climb the mountain today."
Ning Que smiled and replied: "If it were the people from the Xiling Temple or the envoys of the Yan State who came to ask, I would definitely give an answer that would shock them all, but since it is you who asked, of course I have to answer honestly... I have to climb the mountain.
, naturally because I want to climb mountains.”
The professor laughed, stroking the gray beard under his chin, shaking his head and exclaiming: "What a great answer. This is the best answer I have heard in the past few years."
Then he looked at Ning Que and asked curiously: "If the person asking the question were those magicians in Xiling or those in the Yan Kingdom, how would you answer?"
"If they asked me why I wanted to climb mountains, I would say..."
Ning Que smiled sheepishly and said, "Because the mountain is right there."
The academy professor was stunned for a moment, his fingers stroking his beard were slightly stiff, and then he burst into laughter. He looked at Ning Que with a teachable look and praised, "This is also a good answer."
"Go ahead." The professor smiled and said, "It's just that the mountain road is dangerous and rugged. If you suddenly feel that you don't want to climb any more halfway up, just come down. If anyone dares to laugh at you, I will make the decision for you."
Ning Que smiled, bowed his head to the ground, and said goodbye.
The professor watched him walk into the quiet alley, gently stroking his beard, thinking that after all, not all academy students in this class were trash, and nodded with satisfaction.
Ning Que was very familiar with the road up the mountain, at least the part of the road before going up the mountain. He was familiar with the laneway, the wetland, the bamboo forest, the small building, the scenery along the way, and the bluestone by the lake. He remembered his footsteps. When he came to the old foot, he looked up and waved.
Said hello.
The chubby Chen Pipi leaned against the window and waved his hand downwards. He didn't want Prince Longqing and the climbers to see him, and those people wouldn't be able to see him. He wanted Ning Que to see him, and Ning Que would naturally be able to see him.
.
"If you really can't climb up, don't be brave." Chen Pipi kindly reminded.
"Can you say something auspicious?" Ning Que looked up at him and said, "Why is it that no one, including you, thinks that I can climb to the top of the mountain?"
"The mountain road is so easy to walk on." Chen Pipi spread his round hands and said sincerely: "What's more, compared to Long Qing, you are really just a kitten or a puppy."
Ning Que was too lazy to pay attention to him, waved his hand and walked towards the old side. Suddenly something occurred to him, he stopped, turned around and asked unwillingly: "Is there really no back door?"
Chen Pipi held up the window lattice and shouted loudly: "Die."
Ning Que shook his head with a smile and continued to move forward. When he walked around the old village, he discovered that there really was a back door - he had spent a whole year in the old village. He had seen the scenery upstairs and downstairs.
Walking around, I clearly remember that there used to be a gray and dilapidated wall here, but now it is a door.
Behind the door is a path paved with bluestones, flanked by green bamboos. It gradually climbs upward until the bamboo forest slides into the dense forest and green grass on the mountainside in the distance.
After walking through the door, Ning Que walked up the mountain along the path in the bamboo forest.
Nothing unusual happened. The mountain road gradually went upwards with his footsteps, carrying his body higher and higher, gradually crossing the wall below and higher than the picturesque bamboo forest. When he turned back, he could faintly see the distance.
Those people in the academy.
The mountain road ahead became narrower and narrower, and the large bluestone slabs were replaced by smaller stones. There was not a single bird chirping in the forest beside the road, making it eerily quiet.
As soon as his right foot stepped onto the mountain path paved with fine-grained stones, Ning Que's brows suddenly tightened, and his face instantly turned as pale as snow. An indescribable and severe pain struck from the sole of his foot as he stepped on the surface of the mountain path.
Mind!
The sudden pain caused his legs to weaken and almost fall, but he forced himself to hold on the ground, stood up again with a groan and looked towards the mountain road.
Among the green forests beside the road, you can see the moss-covered cliffs. If you look carefully, you can probably tell that the crack-like lines under the thick moss are actually some large characters carved on the stone.
The cinnabar red painted between the writing strokes has long faded into obscurity under the influence of wind and rain for countless years.
"What a powerful mental attack. These must also be the words left by the Talisman Master..."
Ning Que's brows were furrowed tightly as he stared at the stone carvings on the cliff in the forest. His hands hanging by his side were trembling slightly. At this moment, hundreds of thousands of invisible steel needles were piercing the soles of his feet. If
When ordinary people encounter this kind of pain, they would have fallen to the ground, holding their heads and crying. However, although his face was white and his hands were trembling, his consciousness was extremely clear, and this kind of pain had no impact on him at all.
Previously, he was looking at the mountain road from a distance in the academy. He saw Xie Chengyun and others walking on the mountain road extremely hard and slowly. He couldn't see their expressions but could vaguely sense their pain. Ning Que was wondering what kind of things were going on on the mountain road.
However, he did not expect that the assessment on the second floor of the academy would be so overbearing and barbaric, with such powerful talismans being used from the very beginning.
Now he finally understood why those outstanding young monks from all over the world turned into puppets and walked so slowly on this mountain road - under the magic of the cliff charms, any natural environment around the mountain road
The environment may become a danger that prevents people from climbing mountains. You can't avoid it, you can only force it through!
Ning Que frowned tightly, looking at his right foot that had fallen on the small gravel mountain path, and suddenly smiled nervously. He exerted force on his waist and abdomen, leaned forward, and lifted his left foot that was behind him.
, stepped on the fine gravel road.
He stepped hard and hard, as if he was going to break the mountain path paved with fine stones.
Countless invisible thin needles poked out from the cracks in the pebbles, and penetrated deeply into the soles of the feet through the hard soles of the boots. The momentary numbness was quickly replaced by extreme pain, and then clearly passed into his legs.
in mind.
Ning Que's face became paler, but his frown gradually relaxed. He took a deep breath as if he was enjoying himself, moved his hands and walked forward.
Either intentionally or unintentionally, either with full concentration or quietly watching with peripheral vision, or with genuine concern or just curiosity, or with a mocking attitude of watching a good show, when Ning Que walked up the mountain path and appeared in the academy for the first time, many people were shocked.
They were all looking at Shandao and Ning Que's every move.
People watched Ning Que step onto the mountain path, and saw him fall to the ground after taking only one step. They couldn't help but shake their heads, and some people laughed mockingly.
Priest Mo Li was talking indifferently with the envoy of Yan State. He seemed to be completely unconcerned about what happened on the mountain path. However, after seeing Ning Que fall, he couldn't help but shake his head in contempt, as if a monk like him had seen it.
After such a long time, I still vaguely guessed what kind of restrictions the academy had placed on the mountain path. At this time, seeing Ning Que being suppressed so miserably by Fu Li, it was confirmed that he had at most entered the realm of no confusion - no confusion? In the academy's magic department, he was probably pretty good.
level, but just relying on this level to expect to hold back for a few days and then become a blockbuster? It would be too wishful thinking.
Where the students of the academy were, Zhong Dajun pointed to the mountain path and sneered: "Grandstanding is just grandstanding. He only wants to attract attention, but he doesn't think about how much damage it will bring to the reputation of the academy by acting like a fool and making a fool of himself."
Seeing Ning Que fall on the mountain road, Situ Yilan was so frightened that she took a breath of air-conditioning. After listening to the ridicule, she couldn't help but glared at him angrily. She took Jin Wucai's little hand and took two steps forward.
The classmates in the academy have distanced themselves even further.
"Your hands are a little cold." Jin Wucai looked at her worriedly and said. Although the wine-sacrifice granddaughter was more worried about Xie Chengyun who was still walking hard on the mountain road, she was inevitably a little worried about the female companion beside her, because she looked rather nervous.
There doesn't seem to be any chance.
"It's okay, I just can't see the faces of some people." Situ Yilan glanced at the chattering classmates behind and said with a sneer: "Even if Ning Que can only take one step on the mountain path, he can't even dare to try."
He who tries is stronger.”
Jin Wucai looked at the mountain road hidden in the forest in the distance and said worriedly: "But looking at the situation now, I'm afraid Ning Que will never be able to take another step."
Situ Yilan did not answer her words, but just looked at Shandao intently, silently cheering for the friend who had been forgotten by the academy for a long time in her heart. Suddenly, a look of surprise filled her beautiful cheeks, she pointed to the distance and jumped slightly.
He stood up and said loudly: "Look! Look! Ning Que is starting to leave!"
Many people in the academy noticed what happened on the mountain path. They watched Ning Que climb up with difficulty. After a moment of pause, he moved his left foot and took a step forward.
Then Ning Que took the second step, the third step, but the fourth step... Although it was obvious that his body was shaking a little and he was walking very slowly, he could feel that he was walking more and more steadily, as if he was walking deeper and deeper with each step.
Stepped deeply into the hard mountain road!
I don't know who among the students in the academy let out an exclamation.
A young official from the Ministry of Rites of the Tang Dynasty stood up and looked at the mountain road with excitement on his face. He didn't know who the young student was on the mountain road, and he didn't believe that he could defeat Prince Longqing and reach the top of the mountain, but he felt that it was random.
As the young student walked, the previously suppressed pride and confidence returned to his body.
Chu Youxian was taking out the second pack of snacks in the corner and was about to eat it. His mouth opened wide in surprise, but he forgot to put the pastries in. He looked at the figure in the mountain path and suddenly realized that he seemed to have never really known him.
Li Yu looked at the mountain road and smiled slightly after a moment of silence.
Chen Pipi leaned against the old window and looked in the direction of the mountain road and said with emotion: "You are so cruel. Speaking of which... can you find anyone in this world who is more cruel to yourself than you? I don't know how far you can go.
?I still don’t know.”
After saying this, he closed the window and woke up. He lay on the stretcher and looked at the vague figure on the mountain road. He subconsciously rubbed his eyes. After seeing clearly, he still couldn't believe himself.
the picture seen.
Wang Ying looked at the figure that had disappeared into the forest and murmured in shock: "Ning Que? How could it be him? Why did he come up the mountain? He...he...why is he still humming?"
From the front of the mountain road, Ning Que could faintly hear the self-composed children's song for the frontier. His voice was hoarse, powerful, and as stubborn as life.
"I have a knife, I can cut all the grass in the mountains..."
"I have two knives, I can chop off the heads of my enemies..."
"I have three knives to cut away all unpleasant things..."