CH 37

The palanquin descended onto a flat platform, and when Chen Ziqi looked out, he suddenly felt like he had landed in paradise.

Beautiful pavilions and Chinese-style buildings peeked out between the lush greenery of Jade Mountain, and a light mist softened the colours of everything in view. Golden light spilled out from between the clouds, casting a warm glow on the rooftops scattered between the trees, making them look like they were gilded with a layer of liquid gold. 

The flat ground beneath their feet was a circular area about ten metres in diameter, and was made of high quality Han white jade. It symbolised the full moon. It didn’t have any ostentatious embellishments. There was only the words “栖台”, which meant “Roosting Platform”, carved in huge letters in the very centre of the stone.

One side of the Roosting Platform was a steep cliff, and the other side of it had a curved bridge that was built over the natural terrain of the mountain.

After passing over this bridge, the landscape suddenly opened up. A magnificent memorial archway stood at the head of the bridge, and on it was carved the following words, “The jade returns to the clouds; the twelve wings appear behind the golden flag”.

Beyond the archway was a flat piece of land, on which was planted a patch of luxuriant green bamboo. Many brown-clad workers walked into this forest, carrying boxes and baskets in all shapes and sizes. 

Chen Ziqi looked at them curiously. There were small red sandalwood boxes, large camphor-wood boxes, and screens made of jade and silk, just to name a few. In addition to these items, the workers also carried several sedans used to transport people.

“As you know, the fact that the Cloud Palace has a new master has not been officially announced yet. Nonetheless, some of the sects were anxious and sent over their congratulatory gifts in advance,” Lan Qinghan said, by way of explanation. He led them into the main palace.

The Tiande Emperor was displeased. The Master of Ceremony standing to his side noticed this. “Why is it that the representatives of the martial arts sects can disembark here directly?” he asked. Meanwhile, the Emperor, the Son of Heaven and the overlord of all the martial arts sects, had to walk here on his own two feet!

Lan Qinghan glanced at the sedans. Silk curtains shielded the interior of these sedans from view. He smiled rather sarcastically, then lifted a corner of the curtains with a flourish of his sleeve, revealing the scantily clad boys and girls sitting inside. “These are the beauties offered to the new Palace Master by the major martial arts sects, and they’re also considered part of the congratulatory gifts. Lord Master of Ceremony, surely it would not be appropriate for you to be brought to the storehouse on this sedan?” Lan Qinghan said, a contemptuous note in his voice.

The Master of Ceremony immediately went red in the face. “Ah… my mistake,” he said.

As Chen Ziqi looked at those pink-coloured sedans, he felt an odd tightness in his chest. He figured that that sinister thing in his chest must be acting up again, and regretted not drinking more of the Junshan Yinye tea whilst he was in the horse carriage.

The Cloud Palace’s main palace had high ceilings that stretched about ten metres above them, and the floor of the entire hall was covered in a plush, sky blue carpet. The Wing Leaders and the Deputy Wing Leaders of all the Twelve Golden Wings were standing at attention in the hall, twelve on each side. Lan Shanyu stood at the head of the column on the left, and he winked surreptitiously at Chen Ziqi.

Lan Qinghan led them into the hall, and all twenty-four people bowed in unison. 

The Tiande Emperor raised his chin slightly as he waited for the person sitting on the raised platform to greet him. The Master of Ceremony was a little nervous as he shouted, “Announcing the arrival of his Majesty the Emperor!”

A few breaths later, there was still no movement on the raised platform. The Master of Ceremony stood in place awkwardly, sweat running in small rivulets down his face and falling off his chin onto the floor with a clear “plop” sound.

Chen Ziqi’s gaze travelled beyond the group of Wing Leaders, looking at the person on the raised platform. In a flash, he felt that all the light in the room had been sucked toward the person sitting on the throne there.

Ktja kjr… Gjc Tl? Llr ojmf kjr ralii atf bcf tf gfwfwyfgfv, yea atf jlg tf ujnf boo kjr fcalgfis vloofgfca. 

Po bcf vfrmglyfv atf Gjc Tl bo j ofk sfjgr jub jr j ygluta oeii wbbc, atf Gjc Tl bo abvjs mbeiv bcis yf vfrmglyfv jr j yijhlcu rec.

His brilliant red huafu was secured by a black belt at his waist, and the long folds of his clothes cascaded elegantly toward the ground, spreading out on the sky blue carpet like lava from a volcano. He looked dangerous and bewitching all at the same time.

Those beautiful phoenix tail eyes were no longer the clear and calm ones Chen Ziqi remembered; they now bore an imposing, savage look, bringing to mind a dragon diving into a dark abyss to collect its kill. It gave one chills just to look at him.

“You’ve come a great distance. Please, sit.” The regal voice that came out of those slender lips was captivating, and had a hypnotic quality to it, striking straight into one’s heart like the sound of Kunshan jade shattering. 

Chen Ziqi was a little stunned. Two years ago, Dan Yi’s voice was breaking, and it sounded very gruff and gravelly. He’d laughed at Dan Yi a lot back then. His voice now was so lovely that he couldn’t even recognise it.

Attendants came forward to place two chairs on the raised platform. Lan Qinghan raised a hand slightly, gesturing to the Emperor and Chen Ziqi to go up and sit.

“Outrageous! How could you not get up and bow to greet the Emperor?!” the Master of Ceremony said. He sensed the Emperor’s fury boiling next to him, and had no choice but to grit his teeth and voice this out.

“In this Cloud Palace, no one dares to ask me to bow in greeting,” Dan Yi said. He leaned his head on one of his hands, then released the full intimidating power of his aura. The unbearable pressure made the Master of Ceremony collapse on the floor in fright. 

The Tiande Emperor’s temples also broke out in cold sweat. He steeled himself, then concentrated on walking steadily up the raised platform and sitting down in the prepared chair. Chen Ziqi did the same, sitting in the chair that was furthest to the side.

“Zhen has personally come here to appoint the new Phoenix King. Is this how the Cloud Palace treats honoured guests?” the Tiande Emperor said, his expression furious.

“The Chen family ancestors and the Dan family ancestors agreed that they would follow the rules of the place they were in. When I was in the Imperial Palace, I followed the rules set by the Imperial family. Now that you’re here, you will follow the rules of etiquette set by the Cloud Palace,” Dan Yi said coldly. He didn’t look at Chen Ziqi even once during this whole exchange.

Lan Qinghan walked up the platform and stood to the left of the throne. 

Another man stood to the right of the throne. He wore a black, narrow-sleeved martial arts outfit, and silver vambraces set with black onyx stones. He was very tall, and the aura he gave off was frighteningly powerful. His eyes, which were as piercing as an eagle’s gaze, were currently looking fiercely at the Master of Ceremony standing behind the Emperor.

This Minister had ascended the platform with great difficulty, and his legs were now trembling like jelly. Right now, he felt like he was some sort of tasty live prey that the man in black was about to fall upon and rip apart any minute. He was so frightened that he nearly fainted dead away right then and there.

“Th… the appointment ceremony should be held on an auspicious day. I’ve checked, and tomorrow is one such auspicious day,” the minister said, shaking as he took out the edict appointing Dan Yi as the Phoenix King.

Dan Yi glanced at the minister, then raised a hand slightly. The Wing Leaders and their deputies all bowed in unison. “We take our leave!” they said as one. Twenty three people filed out of the hall, leaving only Lan Shanyu standing in place. 

A servant girl came forward to place small tables in front of everyone. Lan Shanyu personally brewed a pot of tea and poured out three cups for the Emperor, Chen Ziqi and Dan Yi.

“You may leave,” the Emperor said, dismissing the Master of Ceremony when he saw that Dan Yi had also dismissed subordinates.

The minister heaved a sigh of relief and gladly followed the servant girl out of the hall. The hall suddenly became plunged into silence.

Dan Yi brought his white jade teacup to his lips and took a sip. “I am not in a hurry to be appointed as the Phoenix King. Your Majesty just ascended the throne not too long ago, but has come here in such haste; I believe you’re not just here because of the appointment ceremony?” he said perceptively. 

The Emperor had originally intended to take things slow, and didn’t think that Dan Yi would broach the issue in such a direct manner. The Emperor thought deeply for a brief moment. “There are many matters of state to attend to because I’ve just ascended the throne, and I would not ordinarily be able to receive the High Priest personally. Since I am here, I intend to take the next High Priest back with me,” he said.

Chen Ziqi looked at the Tiande Emperor, who was sitting ramrod straight in his seat. He had to give it to the Emperor – even in this kind of situation, he could still speak in such a haughty, imperious manner! One could say that he really did have the constitution of an Emperor.

“Ha,” Dan Yi laughed coldly. “Your Chen family has refused to respect the commands of the Protector-God all these years. What’s the point of having a High Priest?”

The Tiande Emperor nearly choked. He had previously thought that it wasn’t necessary to have a High Priest either, and it was only after he became Emperor that he knew how important the Protector-God was to the Imperial family. Thinking this, he couldn’t help but ask a question that had bothered him since he was a little boy. “Does the Protector-God on Zhanghua Pavilion really exist?” he asked. 

He didn’t believe in the Protector-God before, but after he became Emperor, he saw how the important families of the empire continued to fear the Protector-God. These were the same families that had become harder and harder to control with the Imperial family’s power alone; he needed at least the semblance of the Protector-God’s approval in order to make them fall in line. That was when he started to suspect that perhaps his disbelief in the Protector-God was misplaced.

Dan Yi lowered his eyes and refused to reply.

The Tiande Emperor ground his teeth. “Dan Yi, you’re being too much!” he said angrily. All his martial artists had been refused entry and were still at the foot of Jade Mountain. He had no choice but to endure Dan Yi’s rudeness given the situation, but he absolutely could not endure Dan Yi treating him as if he did not exist!

“Your Majesty, you’ve asked a heaven-class question. If you wish to know the answer, you can use one of the sandalwood tablets you received previously,” Lan Shanyu said, smiling affably at the Emperor. 

Chen Ziqi’s heart thudded in his chest as he turned to look at the Tiande Emperor. This was such a frivolous question – surely the Emperor wouldn’t use one of those three precious heaven-class tablets on it?

To his surprise, the Emperor impulsively pulled out a wooden tablet from his sleeve and slapped it down on the table.

Lan Shanyu went forward and inspected the wooden tablet. The back of it had the word “Heaven” carved on it, and the front had the Cloud Palace’s signature cloud pattern. It was unmistakably authentic. He smiled, kept the tablet in his sleeve, then nodded towards the White Cloud Envoy, Lan Qinghan. “A heaven-class question has been asked: Does the Protector-God on Zhanghua Pavilion exist?”

“Yes,” Lan Qinghan replied, his voice measured. “The Protector-God has always existed. The Chen family has not been able to master the Divine Dragon’s Howl for generations because it has offended the Protector-God.” 

The Tiande Emperor’s hand quivered, spilling the tea in his teacup onto his sleeve. “How could it be…” he muttered, though in his heart, he fully believed it.

When the Cloud Palace answered a heaven-class question, the answer was always true.

“Actually, when I was the High Priest, I said this very often, but the previous Emperor refused to listen, and the new one didn’t believe me,” Lan Qinghan said, a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

The irony. Free advice was not heeded, and it was only when one had paid a huge price to get the exact same information did one believe it. 

The Tiande Emperor was rather flustered. He now understood why previous generations of the Imperial family had obeyed the Cloud Palace without question. Having a High Priest was the equivalent of having free access to heaven-class answers!

“Father Emperor was muddle-headed. Zhen knows it’s difficult to compensate Mr Lan for past wrongs, but asks that he forgive and forget,” the Tiande Emperor said, standing up and clasping his fists respectfully in Lan Qinghan’s direction. He turned to look at Dan Yi. “Cloud Palace Master, I hope you will be magnanimous and give me another High Priest. This round, I will certainly give the High Priest the honour and respect he deserves.” As he said this, he shot Chen Ziqi a meaningful look.

Chen Ziqi got to his feet reluctantly. He was basically the Emperor’s puppet now, and had no choice but to do as the Emperor commanded. He coughed lightly, then opened his mouth to speak. “It is said that the country cannot be without the High Priest even for a day. Please let us know what conditions you have in order to send another High Priest to the palace,” he said.

Dan Yi looked long and hard at Chen Ziqi, then turned to the Emperor. “That year, when your Father Emperor asked Lan Jiangxue to be his High Priest, he gave five cities in exchange for this request,” Dan Yi said. “What have you to offer this round?” 

Five cities… The Tiande Emperor’s face darkened immediately. There were fewer and fewer cities that the Imperial family had not already given out as fiefs, and asking him to give up five cities now was like asking him to cut out a part of his heart. He took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down. “What do you want?” he asked in a barely audible voice.

Dan Yi raised a slender, fair-skinned finger, then pointed it at Chen Ziqi. “Him,” he said simply.

The author has something to say: Mini-theater

Tiande: ( ⊙ o ⊙ ) I never thought that it’d be more valuable to sell a brother than to sell off land!

Qiqi: Are you dumb? I was yours to begin with, why don’t you at least ask him for some money?

Birdie Gong: What did you just say?

Qiqi: Are you dumb

Birdie Gong: No, the part after that

Qiqi: Why don’t you at least ask him for some money

Birdie: No, the middle part

Qiqi: (hides his face)