CH 23

Hadn’t Chen Ziqi already met with the High Priest? Why was he still going on and on about chickens?!

Dan Yi clenched his teeth. He rubbed the jade flute hanging from his waist. When he went back to the Cloud Palace, he was going to have a few words with Lan Qinghan. At the very least, he was going to correct this “chicken” misnomer!

At this very moment, the High Priest, Lan Jiangxue, courtesy name Qinghan, was examining the new set of robes hanging from his clothes stand.

The outermost robe was made of three layers of sheer silver organza, and it glistened softly in the moonlight. Below it, the complex cloud pattern he had drawn was sewn on the luxurious white brocade, and could be seen faintly through the sheer organza. The robe’s three-foot train flowed onto the floor like a white and silver river. It was a truly magnificent piece of work.

“Satisfied?” Lan Shanyu asked, smiling expectantly at the High Priest as he stood next to the clothes stand.

“Achoo!” The High Priest sneezed.

“What happened?” Lan Shanyu asked. He moved to lean against the short table in front of Lan Jiangxue, and supported his chin with a hand. “I’m right here. Who else would be thinking about you?”

Supposedly, when you sneezed, it was because someone was thinking of you.

Just as Lan Shanyu said this, he sneezed as well. “We’re done for. It must be the Young Master who’s thinking of us. Have you done anything wrong recently?” he asked cheekily.

There certainly was someone thinking about Lan Shanyu, but it wasn’t Dan Yi.

Linghe carried a bowl of warm water into the tent and set it down. She dipped a towel into it, wrung it out, then handed it to Dan Yi so that he could wipe his face. “This servant has surveyed the whole hunting ground. The Imperial family’s guards are very average. Ordinary people are unlikely to be able to get in, but there definitely are weaknesses in their defence that can be exploited. In my view, it’s best to inform Wing Leader Lan to send some people over,” Linghe said quietly.

Dan Yi thought for a second, then slowly shook his head. The Imperial family’s hunting ground was not any random place. If he summoned Cloud Palace guards here, he would be seen to be humiliating the royal family. Given how weak the Zhenlong Emperor was, he would certainly take great offence at such a course of action.

“Dan Yi,” Chen Ziqi called. He had investigated every last nook and cranny of their tent, and now bounded exuberantly to Dan Yi’s side. He saw that Dan Yi was still holding on to the jade flute even though they were here to hunt, and found this to be very curious. “I’ve never heard you play a single tune on the flute. Will you play one for me?” he asked.

Dan Yi waved a hand to dismiss Linghe, then pulled Chen Ziqi to bed.

“I’m not tired. Play a tune for me, please?” Chen Ziqi said, refusing to give up.

“… I don’t know how to.” Dan Yi’s face was expressionless.

“You don’t know how?” Chen Ziqi asked incredulously. He looked at Dan Yi in disbelief.

When he first saw Dan Yi in the Taiji Palace, he was dressed from head to toe in scarlet robes, with this white jade flute hanging from his waist, looking like a fairy child that had just descended from the heavens. When he gripped the jade flute tightly, everyone had tensed up in fear. At that time, Chen Ziqi thought that this smooth white flute had to be something that could do frightening things.

Perhaps it was a godly weapon that could rupture blood vessels with a single note, causing you to bleed out of every orifice in your body, or an ancient relic that had the power to summon a thousand birds when it was played. More likely though, Chen Ziqi thought it was used to summon the Cloud Palace’s people, and that playing it differently would summon different subordinates, like the Qugu Elder or the Ganshi Protector.

At least, that’s what the storytellers in Jiuru Town said…

But now, Dan Yi was saying that He. Did. Not. Know. How. To. Play. It!

“If you can’t play it, then what’s the point of carrying it with you?” Chen Ziqi asked with difficulty, finally retrieving the jaw that had dropped onto the floor at this astounding revelation. It was as if someone who carried a sharp abattoir knife with him every day suddenly said that he didn’t even know how to slice pork.

Dan Yi balanced the flute on his hand, looking at the tassel at the end of the flute sway gently. “To look elegant,” he said tonelessly.

Elegance…?

Chen Ziqi was confounded. After a heartbeat, he leapt up, circled Dan Yi and examined his face carefully with a tilted head, then circled him once more.

“What are you doing?” Dan Yi asked, looking at the fellow squatting nose-to-nose with him. 

“I feel like I never really knew you before today,” Chen Ziqi said seriously.

Dan Yi: “… …”

This was the perfect time for the Autumn Hunt. The trees and grasses were turning yellow and bare, and the game was fat and juicy. 

Since time immemorial, every Imperial dynasty had organised an Autumn Hunt. The Zhang Dynasty placed particular emphasis on martial arts, and the Autumn Hunt had even more significance as such. It was not just a hunt that was organised – there was also a martial arts competition that the guards participated in. If they had a good showing, they would earn a place in the rankings, and have a higher chance of promotion.

The important ministers in the Imperial Court all had strong ties to the big martial arts sects. Only the Emperor’s honour guard was trained personally by the Imperial family and had no ties to any sect. The ones competing in the Autumn Hunt’s martial arts competition were mainly all from the Jinwu Guards.

Di Yeqing, who had not made an appearance for quite some time, was also among them. 

On the first day of the Autumn Hunt, Chen Ziqi and the other princes watched the martial arts competition from the viewing gallery. After the competition was over, the princes could each pick the Jinwu Guards they wanted to accompany them on the Hunt.

“Big brother Di!” Chen Ziqi waved enthusiastically at Di Yeqing.

Di Yeqing was standing on the martial arts stage. He didn’t acknowledge Chen Ziqi, though it could have been because he was too far away to hear. His gaze didn’t shift away from the Emperor on stage with them.

“Who’s that?” Dan Yi asked, frowning. He hadn’t seen Chen Ziqi talk to that man before.

“Di Yeqing. He’s the one who escorted me and my mum from Jiuru Town,” Chen Ziqi said, pursing his lips. “Why’s he ignoring me?” Di Yeqing was the first person from the palace he had become familiar with.

“He’s part of the Emperor’s honour guard. If you’re close to him, he might die for it,” Dan Yi said, a slight chill in his voice.

Chen Ziqi’s eyes suddenly came alight again now that he understood the situation. “Oh, so that’s how it is. I won’t speak to him in future, then,” he said.

Dan Yi thought that Chen Ziqi would feel disappointed after hearing his explanation. Who knew that this fellow’s reaction would be like this? Chen Ziqi was now watching the martial arts competition in excitement. Dan Yi felt like he was wasting his energy worrying about Chen Ziqi.

The competition ended quickly, with Di Yeqing emerging as the victor.

The rankings were released, and the princes were allowed to select the guards they wanted in order of their age. The top three were naturally taken by the Crown Prince. By the time Chen Ziqi was allowed to pick his guards, the ones that had made the rankings list had all been selected by the older princes.

The good thing was that even the unranked guards were very skilled, so even if he got the very worst of the lot, they should still be enough to protect him on the hunting grounds.

“What danger could there be on this mountain?” Chen Ziqi asked the guards by his side.

“Replying to Dianxia’s question, the hunting grounds were already cleared of dangerous animals half a month ago. Even if there are one or two left, the five of us together can certainly take down one bear. Please do not worry,” one silver-armoured Jinwu Guard said.

Chen Ziqi relaxed on hearing this, but Dan Yi frowned.

To hunt, one had to ride a horse to do so. The younger princes didn’t know how to ride horses, so they were given ponies to ride on, and these ponies were led by a guard. Chen Ziqi and Dan Yi each got a docile little pony.

They had eight guards with them in total, and two of them were leading the ponies. Another two carried a bow and arrows and walked on foot. The remaining four rode on tall stallions, with two moving ahead as lookouts and two bringing up the rear.

“Everyone’s practised their archery for quite some time now. Shall we have a competition today to see who nets the most game?” the Crown Prince asked his brothers. As he spoke, his eyes were fixed on Dan Yi.

As the heir apparent, he had to get on the Phoenix King’s good side. Perhaps it was because they had too much of an age gap, but Dan Yi was completely disinterested in talking to him. The Crown Prince was not too worried nonetheless. He was sure that he could come up with a plan to get close to Dan Yi. This Autumn Hunt was a good chance to curry favour with Dan Yi; he was young and intensely competitive. If Dan Yi didn’t manage to shoot enough game, he could secretly pass some of his own kill to him. Dan Yi was a kid after all – he would certainly think well of the Crown Prince for doing something like that. Or so the Crown Prince thought.

Dan Yi looked at the Crown Prince. He thought that the Crown Prince must still be sore that he had lost to him that day on the archery grounds, and probably wanted to get some of his face back. With these thoughts in mind, Dan Yi agreed to the Crown Prince’s challenge.

“Dan Yi, let’s go shoot some pheasants,” Chen Ziqi said, tugging on the pony’s ear excitedly. 

“Sure,” Dan Yi said warmly. He walked off with Chen Ziqi in tow.

“He’ll be crying later, when he finds that he can’t get any kill,” Yao Guang sneered. He had waited until Dan Yi was out of earshot before saying this. Ever since he had been hit by Dan Yi, the place between his legs twinged painfully every time he set eyes on him.

“Be good to Dan Yi. You’ll need to make a name for yourself in the martial arts world in future, so you can’t afford to offend the Cloud Palace. You never know when you’ll need them,” the Crown Prince admonished.

The Crown Prince left with his crew to an area that was known to have more game. The Second and Third Princes remained at the starting point for a while.

“Where shall we go?” the Third Prince rubbed his hands together eagerly, preparing to go all out.

“Let’s… follow them,” the Second Prince said, narrowing his eyes at the two children walking in the distance, a light smile playing about his lips.

“Huh?” The Third Prince was confused. “What’s the point of following two kids?”

“Didn’t you hear what the Crown Prince said?” the Second Prince asked. He adjusted his vambraces. “There’s no telling when you’ll need the Cloud Palace’s help in future. Between the future Phoenix King and ten fox pelts, which do you think is more worthwhile?”

As such, Chen Ziqi’s group found themselves accosted by the two princes and their guards. 

“Little Seventh, where are you headed?” the Second Prince asked, smiling in a friendly manner.

“We’re gonna look for pheasants,” Chen Ziqi said, waving the one-jun bow in his hand excitedly.

“Pheasants? This place is a lowland, and there aren’t many pheasants here. I did find many pheasant eggs in a forest around here last year though. Do you want go check that place out?” the Second Prince asked in his most cordial tone.

Chen Ziqi eyed the Second Prince a little suspiciously. Why was he being so helpful? He then looked over at Dan Yi. “Dan Yi, do you want to go there?” he asked.

Dan Yi was observing the birds flying in the clear blue sky. He turned to look at Chen Ziqi. “I REALLY WANNA HUNT SOME PHEASANTS” was written all over Chen Ziqi’s face. Dan Yi nodded helplessly, indicating his agreement to look at the place the Second Prince suggested.

“Caw! Cawww–” A crow flew overhead, calling out ominously.

Dan Yi suddenly reined in his horse and stopped walking.

“What’s up?” Chen Ziqi asked, turning to look at him.

Dan Yi looked up at the trees around them. Deep in the forest, a cloud of birds suddenly burst out of the branches in unison. Quick as lightning, Dan Yi dragged Chen Ziqi onto his horse, and pulled out the white jade flute at his waist.

Before the Second Prince could react to Dan Yi’s queer behaviour, what looked like hundreds of withered leaves whizzed through the air like arrows. These sharp leaves were aimed right at them!

“Dianxia, take cover!” A few guards immediately drew their swords to counter the strange leaves. The leaves made a metallic ringing sound when they came into contact with the steel of the swords. 

The Second Prince’s horse was unfortunately hit, and it whinnied in panic as it reared onto its hind legs with the Second Prince still clinging to its back. They could see clearly now that the things being shot at them were not leaves at all, but throwing knives made of brass, with five pointed corners that could pierce deeply into human flesh with ease.

The Second Prince’s horse was frightened now, and it started to run away in a frantic, haphazard manner. The Second Prince gasped in fright, but held on tightly to the reins. His guards chased after him. The Third Prince was frozen to the spot and didn’t know what to do.

Two black shadows suddenly leapt out of the flurry of leaf-knives. “Hold on tight,” Dan Yi said to Chen Ziqi. He pulled the reins of his pony out of the guard’s hand, then dug his heels hard into the horse’s sides. 

Author’s note: Mini-theater

Qiqi: Hey, did you see that cliche scene that’s full of dog’s blood*?

*T/N: In TV dramas, a dog’s blood scene is one that is super cheesy, cliche or ridiculous.

Birdie Gong: Which scene?

Qiqi: The one where both the Gong and the Shou are being chased by assassins, end up trapped in a cave, get naked to perform healing martial arts, and then do things repeatedly

*T/N: What this is in Chinese is 酱酱酿酿, which in common usage means “doing things repeatedly”. In the context of what Chen Ziqi has said, this has some sexual innuendo. The literal meaning of the Chinese words is “sauces and condiments”.

Birdie Gong: … First you need to have a cave. Secondly, you need to have the right conditions to “do things repeatedly”

Qiqi: But we have the conditions. We can hunt a pheasant, then roast the bird repeatedly in all sorts of sauces

Birdie Gong: Err wait, what is this roasting the bird that you’re talking about

Qiqi: Eating wild game?

Birdie Gong: … …