CH 13

Qinggong was a martial art that relied on a combination of neili and muscular power. You had to push off something with your own strength, then use neili to enhance that movement. How far you were able to fly in one leap depended on the level of your neili and the strength of your body.

Leaping the length of the ten-foot yin-yang pit effortlessly like the leaders of the Qi Confederate and Sword Alliance was considered to be an extremely advanced skill. For younger martial artists, this was nigh impossible, unless they were qinggong specialists.

That said, the palanquin approaching in the distance completely shattered everyone’s understanding of what the limits of qinggong were.

The palanquin was covered in light blue silk, and was carried by four people wearing clothes of the same colour. From afar, they looked to be part of a massive blue bird in flight. They did not seem to need to push off anything solid, and appeared to simply fly to the front of the main hall.

A handsome, distinguished-looking man stood at the side of the palanquin. He was clad in a long sapphire blue robe with narrow sleeves. The buttons that fastened his sleeves were inlaid with sapphires, and he wore a long light blue outer robe with wide sleeves over the inner robe like a long open jacket. In his hands was a beautiful fan that had its guard and spines made entirely of jade. This man had previously been “flying” with the four palanquin bearers at the head of the palanquin, and had only fallen back to stand on the palanquin as it approached the Taiji Hall.

Chen Ziqi had previously watched the qinggong displayed by the two old men with open-mouthed admiration, but compared to these palanquin bearers, their skills seemed to be nothing. Chen Ziqi suddenly felt that there wasn’t anything outstanding about the leaders of the Sword Alliance and the Qi Confederate. Their qinggong couldn’t even match up to the qinggong of four random palanquin bearers!

“This is the secret technique of the Cloud Palace, the Cyclone Cloud Step,” the Second Prince said softly to his younger brothers. He could feel the envy and amazement of his younger brothers, and felt the need to explain this, so as to save some face for his maternal grandfather.

“They say this technique allows one to fly 90,000 li* in one leap, and I’ve seen for myself today that it’s true,” the Third Prince said, sighing enviously.

*T/N: One li is taken to be about 500m today. The distance represented by one li has varied considerably throughout history, however.

The blue-robed man didn’t seem to have any intention of greeting the crowd gathered at Taiji Palace. Instead, he bowed to the person inside the palanquin and raised the sheer silk curtains, which were made of material as delicate as cicada wings. “Young Master,” he said.

He was addressing the Cloud Palace’s Young Master, also known as the Shizi of the Phoenix King. This was the first time the Young Master had deigned to appear in the public eye. Everyone stared intently at the palanquin, watching with bated breath.

A few seconds passed in silence. Then, the delicate, three-layered curtains parted, and a boy in scarlet robes walked out regally. He looked to be only seven or eight years old, and had beautifully exquisite facial features. What was truly astounding about this boy, however, was his commanding presence; the force of his presence was so great that in the moment he stepped out, he seemed to draw all the light in the world toward himself. The crowd couldn’t take their eyes off him.

His lips were the colour of peach blossoms, his skin was as white as snow, and he had a pair of dark phoenix tail eyes* that sparkled like black onyx crystals.

*T/N: Large, almond-shaped eyes that tilt up slightly at the corners. Google 凤尾目 to see what this looks like.

In short, he was an incredibly handsome and regal-looking boy.

“This must be the Phoenix King’s Shizi?” the Zhenlong Emperor said, recovering his sensibilities.

“Dan Yi, of the Cloud Palace, greets your Imperial Majesty,” the young boy said. His voice was pleasing to the ear, but at the same time had a cold, commanding quality that inspired respect. There was none of the softness that one would have expected a seven-year-old boy’s voice to have.

After saying this, Dan Yi clasped his hands together at chest level, and bowed formally. He did not kowtow like the other distinguished guests did.

Chen Ziqi was dumbfounded. The Lin Guogong and the Wan Guogong had both kowtowed in a full greeting. How could this Shizi only do a half-greeting? 

The Crown Prince’s face had turned sour. Even his great-grandfather had to kneel – this Dan Yi was much too full of himself! “Shizi, why did you only do a half-greeting–”

“Shush! What do you know?” the Zhenlong Emperor cut him off before he could finish his sentence. He looked at Dan Yi appreciatively. “The Dan family is on equal footing with the Imperial family. It’s entirely appropriate for the Phoenix King’s Shizi to do a half-greeting.” This was a rule set by the first Emperor of the Dynasty.

“Ah, so that’s how it is; I apologise for my ignorance,” the Crown Prince said, shooting Dan Yi a friendly smile.

Dan Yi didn’t respond. His face remained coldly regal, and he pulled out a small white flute from his belt, holding it in one hand. He raised that hand slightly, and the four palanquin bearers left with the palanquin, disappearing in a flash.

“This must be the new head of the Peacock Wing – I believe we met at Jade Mountain last year.” Luo Hongfeng, the Qi Confederate’s head, spoke up to try and lighten the mood. He was speaking to the man in blue behind Dan Yi.

“Sect Leader Luo has a good memory. This one’s name is Lan Shanyu, and I have indeed been recently promoted to head the Peacock Wing,” he said, smiling disarmingly.

“You don’t look like you’re much older than sixteen or seventeen – such an accomplished young man,” the leader of the Sword Alliance, Huang Huacan, joined in the conversation as well. He bent his head to look at the small little Dan Yi.

Lan Shanyu laughed. “I’m not worthy, but our Young Master saw fit to bestow this honour on me,” he said. He picked Dan Yi up and carried him, so that he could be on eye level with the other men. His Young Master was still a child, and so couldn’t stand shoulder-to-shoulder with these men physically, but it seemed entirely inappropriate for them to look down at him when they spoke.

Everyone present was confounded when Lan Shanyu said that his appointment to the Peacock Wing had been Dan Yi’s decision. Dan Yi immediately went up in their estimation, and everyone looked at him with newfound respect.

The Cloud Palace had twelve divisions, called the Twelve Golden Wings*. Each division had a different purpose, overseeing different aspects of the Cloud Palace’s work. Of the twelve, the Peacock Wing* was one of the most prestigious and important divisions, and eight-year-old Dan Yi clearly had control over it if he was able to decide who the head was.

*T/N: The actual Chinese name for Twelve Golden Wings and Peacock Wing actually translates into Twelve Golden Feathers and Peacock Tail Feather respectively. It sounds really pretty in Chinese, but a bit stupid in English, so I’ve turned the feathers into wings instead, given that we’re dealing with a bunch of birds here. Also, “wing” is a loose synonym for “division”, which is basically what these are. 

Everyone had assumed that the Young Master of the Cloud Palace wasn’t anyone of note because he was still young, but it was clear now that he held real power within the organization.

“All the guests have arrived – shall we begin?” the Zhenlong Emperor said, coughing politely to end this rather disconcerting conversation. He gestured for everyone to move into the main hall to observe the ceremony.

The Crown Prince’s appointment ceremony was a simple one. He had already paid his respects at the Imperial Ancestral Temple in the morning, so all that remained was the proclamation of the Imperial edict appointing him to the position, and for him to receive the guan* that signified his position as Crown Prince*.

*T/N: The equivalent of this in English is to crown him, but the Chinese don’t use crowns per se, so I chose not to translate it that way. I have also given up trying to describe the guan in English in the main text – this is a hair ornament that ancient Chinese wore. The men usually bun their hair into a tight little bun at the top of their head, or wear their hair in a high ponytail, and the ornament is what you see in front of the bun or ponytail. It encircles the bun or ponytail and is usually held in place by a hairpin that pierces through the bun. The type of guan you wear often signifies rank, especially within the Imperial family. Commoners do not wear guan; it is usually only worn by the nobility or other people of importance.

Chen Ziqi knelt in the centre of the hall, watching the Emperor personally secure the golden dragon guan on the Crown Prince’s head. The Crown Prince was only sixteen, meaning that he had not come of age and ordinarily could not wear a guan. However, being appointed as the Crown Prince meant that he brought forward his coming of age, and could therefore wear the guan moving forward.

Chen Ziqi was rather envious of this. Wearing a guan meant that one was an adult. If he came of age, he would receive a fiefdom, and could bring his mother to his fief to live. He would live free and unbridled, own a chicken farm, and breed hundreds of thousands of divine chickens…

Everyone’s eyes were fixed on the Crown Prince; only Dan Yi’s were locked on Chen Ziqi. When he saw the envy in Chen Ziqi’s eyes, he felt a little prick of pain in his heart.

“What is it, Young Master?” Lan Shanyu asked quietly, looking at Dan Yi’s furrowed brows in concern.

Dan Yi’s slim, elegant lips pressed together in a straight line. He looked at the young and naïve-looking Chen Ziqi, and rubbed the jade flute between his fingers in contemplation. “Benzuo is planning to stay in the Imperial Palace for a while. After the ceremony ends, you may return to the Cloud Palace on your own,” he said.

“The Imperial Palace is not well appointed. I think it best if I remain with you, Young Master,” Lan Shanyu said. He thought for a bit. “The Peacock Wing has a division in the Capital. I can manage affairs from there.”

“That should work,” Dan Yi agreed, inclining his head slightly.

After the appointment ceremony was over, the various sects presented their congratulatory gifts to the new Crown Prince, and the celebratory banquet began.

The Zhenlong Emperor sat on his throne on a raised platform, with the Crown Prince on his left and Dan Yi at his right. The two Guogong sat below the dais, one on each side, in the seat closest to the throne.

Other than the two Guogong, other heads of major sects were also titled. The Sword Alliance’s three major Sword Sects, and the Qi Confederate’s four Qi Sects all held hou* peerages.

*T/N: A hou peerage is one level below a gong peerage. Roughly equivalent to a Marquis.

The three Sword Sects presented their gifts first, followed by the four major Qi Sects. This was Chen Ziqi’s first time seeing the Jiyang Sect’s head, Yao Xiong, in the flesh. 

Yao Xiong was tall and had a thickly muscular body. The Jiyang Sect only took in male disciples, and the martial arts was extremely masculine in nature. Even the way they spoke was masculine; deep and sonorous, like a great bell in a belltower.

“Why isn’t anyone from the Arcane Sects here?” Yao Xiong asked after presenting the Jiyang Sect’s gift. He wanted to try and impress the Qi Confederate’s Head, and thought to do so by getting some information from the Cloud Palace. He turned to Lan Shanyu, who was standing next to Dan Yi. “Lan louzhu,* would you care to explain?”

*T/N: Louzhu literally means owner/master of a building. It refers to Lan Shanyu’s position as the head of the Peacock Wing.

Chen Ziqi blinked. Didn’t his Imperial Uncle say that the Cloud Palace had nothing to do with the Arcane Sects? He raised his head to look curiously at Dan Yi. Coincidentally, Dan Yi was also looking straight at him.

Wow, this fellow is really good looking! Even better looking than yours truly! Chen Ziqi thought to himself, pursing his lips. 

When Dan Yi noticed that Chen Ziqi was looking at him, he sat up slightly, a little self-conscious. He didn’t look away, but held his gaze and raised a wine cup in his direction, toasting him silently.

Chen Ziqi was surprised for a moment, then raised his own cup in response. The young princes were not allowed to drink strong liquor, and his cup held a mild, sweet wine made of green plums. He took a sip of the wine, biting down on the edge of the wine cup as he did so, thinking to himself that this Young Master wasn’t as cold and aloof as he presented.

Beansprout: WTF, guys, you’re less than ten years old, you really shouldn’t be drinking. To any readers under the drinking age in your country, please don’t follow the terrible example of these ancient Chinese, lol.

No one else noticed the exchange between Chen Ziqi and Dan Yi. They were all looking intently at Lan Shanyu. Part of the reason why people feared the Cloud Palace was because the Arcane Sects secretly recognized the Cloud Palace as its leader and took orders from it, even though the Cloud Palace had never openly admitted to this. Today, the Young Master of the Cloud Palace had attended without any of the Arcane Sects in tow; had the Cloud Palace lost control over the Arcane Sects?

Lan Shanyu’s expression did not change. He lowered his gaze, pouring a cup of fruit wine for his Young Master before replying. “There are many clans that practice the arcane arts. Offhand, there’s the Qugu Elder of the Thousand Poisons Clan, and the Ganshi Protector of the Stone Corpse Clan. Which one does Sect Leader Yao wish to meet?”  

*T/N: Qugu means “insect expelling”, and ganshi means “corpse chasing”. I felt these just didn’t translate too well, and so kept their names in Chinese for now. The Qugu Elder and the Ganshi Protector are both the leaders of their respective clans.

Upon hearing these names, the audience shivered in fright. Yao Xiong was also dumbstruck.

“Tell me who you wish to meet, and I’ll summon him here,” Dan Yi said. He placed the jade flute in his hands on the table. The flute made a bright, crisp clinking sound as it made contact with the tabletop. It looked as if Dan Yi could pick it up at any moment and summon the King of Poisons together various undead creatures to the ceremonial hall just by blowing a tune on it.

“No- no- no need, it was just a casual question! I’m not on speaking terms with them,” Yao Xiong stammered. He didn’t dare to say a word after that.