CH 42

Chapter 42 – Bamboo Honey

“This qin is the one of the Cloud Palace’s treasures – the Jiuxiao Huanpei. It is able to call forth a hundred types of birds. Your Majesty, please don’t be alarmed,” Lan Shanyu explained, smiling. He turned back to look at the person playing the qin. 

Lan Jiangxue was wearing a lavish-looking robe today, and the robe’s long train fanned out beautifully behind him. The top half of his long, dark hair was tied up, and the rest flowed gracefully down past his shoulders. He didn’t wear any ornaments in his hair save a thin silver chain, which held a blue teardrop-shaped gemstone in the middle of his forehead. His long, slender fingers expertly plucked the strings of the qin, sometimes faster, sometimes slower, his motions as fluid as flowing water. The image he presented was as beautiful as a fine ink painting.

The Tiande Emperor calmed down and looked up at the sky full of birds. His eyes narrowed. The Cloud Palace really had a whole bunch of good things, even a qin that could call birds forth. If his High Priest would perform with the qin just once, he’d be able to stun all the officials of his Court into submission.

The thousands of birds in the mountain circled in the air with the music. Dan Yi got Chen Ziqi to stand next to Lan Jiangxue, and he himself stood in the centre of the raised platform. He suddenly raised a hand, and slowly drew a yin-yang symbol in the air. He then placed his hands in front of his body, his left hand below his right, channeling his qi between his palms. A moment later, his arms moved apart abruptly, like a giant roc unfurling its wings. Fiery red qi rose into the air from the space between his palms.

“Tweet~” All of a sudden, a phoenix call could be heard, and Chen Ziqi clearly saw a scarlet phoenix made of pure light rising from behind Dan Yi’s back. 

The movement of the thousands of birds in the sky suddenly became frenzied, circling round and round the raised platform at a frantic pace.

“Twang…” The song ended, and Dan Yi moved his palms together to stop the channeling of his qi. The birds in the sky scattered in all directions, and the sky was empty again, as if nothing had happened.

The Tiande Emperor’s hand gripped the armrests of his chair tightly.

High-level martial artists could make their qi manifest as external force when they had achieved a certain level of cultivation. Examples of external manifestations of qi included palm winds and punching winds. However, in order to make your qi manifest visually, this required an extremely high level of mastery of a superior martial art. The leaders of Qi Confederate and the Sword Alliance were both able to do so only after many decades of hard training.

Dan Yi, in contrast, was only sixteen years old, and was already able to make his qi manifest visually; this showed just how powerful he was. The Danyang Divine Martial Arts were truly as powerful as the legends said. The only other martial art in the world that could possibly rival it was probably the Divine Dragon’s Howl. The Emperors from a few generations ago were all said to be mighty pugilists, able to make their qi manifest as a shimmering green dragon.

If he could only become a martial artist of this calibre, the Imperial family wouldn’t continue its current downward trajectory.

After the ceremony, the Tiande Emperor started asking for a new High Priest. He was due to leave today, and now that he had seen Dan Yi’s power, he was even more determined to gain control over the Cloud Palace.

“The Lan family will only give up one member in each generation to be a High Priest. Now that Lan Jiangxue has gone over, the next High Priest should come from the generation below his, but…” Dan Yi’s voice trailed off as he frowned. A servant girl carried a child in her arms as she walked over. The child was very adorable, with fair skin like white jade and beautiful facial features. He looked to be only about three years old, and had a confused expression on his face. 

“Uncle, want carry!” the little child said happily on seeing Lan Shanyu, stretching out his arms.

Lan Shanyu walked over and took the child in his arms. He carried him to where the Tiande Emperor was and bowed respectfully. “The Lan family does not have many descendants, and this is the eldest child from the next generation. It’ll probably be at least ten years before he can assume the position of High Priest,” he said.

The Tiande Emperor nearly fell backwards in anger. “Dan Yi! How dare you go back on your word!” he shouted.

“Ah, how is this going back on his word? He’s agreed to give you a High Priest, it’s just that you have to wait a few years before you get him,” Chen Ziqi said innocently, popping up in their midst. He had no qualms about fanning the flames now. 

“You, be quiet,” the Tiande Emperor said, glaring at Chen Ziqi. He was so angry that his hands were trembling. He ground his teeth, then spoke to Dan Yi again. “Zhen wants a High Priest that can assume the position today! Or else, Little Seventh will be coming back home with me.”

Lan Jiangxue came over, carrying his qin in his arms. He spoke softly into Dan Yi’s ear, and Dan Yi nodded slowly after a short pause.

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The Tiande Emperor considered this. The generation before last would be Lan Jiangxue’s grandfather’s generation. That generation would have accumulated many decades of power and experience, and to the Tiande Emperor’s mind, would definitely be even better than a young man. This was clearly a very good deal. In respect of what would happen after these ten years were up, well, he would cross the bridge when he came to it. 

Lan Shanyu passed the child to a servant, then smiled as he led the Emperor forward to the banquet hall, where he would also introduce the new High Priest to him. When the new High Priest and the Emperor first met, the Phoenix King was usually not present. This was symbolic; it showed that the High Priest’s new master was now the Emperor, and no longer had to answer to the Cloud Palace. It was a form of respect shown to the Emperor, and the Tiande Emperor was very pleased. Before he left, he looked at Chen Ziqi for a long time, thinking to himself that this move he’d made had been the right one.

Dan Yi led Chen Ziqi away from the platform, but before he’d taken a few steps, he suddenly blacked out for a second, and was about to collapse onto the floor. Chen Ziqi caught him with quick reflexes, and gathered him into his arms. “What happened to you?” he asked worriedly.

Dan Yi rested on Chen Ziqi’s shoulder, feeling a little embarrassed. “I used up all my neili earlier, and I’ve got no energy left,” he said, his ears slowly turning red.

Used up all his neili? Chen Ziqi rolled his eyes. “You haven’t reached the fourth level of cultivation, what were you playing at?” he said. He looked around. They were now standing in the corridor on top of the waterfall. Lan Shanyu and the rest of Dan Yi’s subordinates had accompanied the Emperor, and there was no one in sight. 

Chen Ziqi found this a little dubious. He clearly remembered seeing the Dark Cloud Envoy just a moment ago. Where had he disappeared to?

Without anyone to help, Chen Ziqi had no choice but to rely on himself. He tried to pick Dan Yi up, but his fourteen-year-old arms weren’t strong enough. He tried putting Dan Yi on his back, but Dan Yi’s legs were too long, and they dragged on the floor, making it impossible for him to carry him. He didn’t know what else to do, so he just supported Dan Yi over to the wooden bench flanking the corridor so that he could rest for a bit and get his strength back.

In the Danyang Divine Martial Arts, neili could only be externally manifested in visual form after one had reached the fourth level of cultivation. Dan Yi had only just mastered the third level of cultivation, and it took everything he had to successfully perform this fourth-level skill.

“This ceremony requires the external manifestation of neili, so I couldn’t take over the reins of the Cloud Palace until I at least mastered the third level of cultivation,” Dan Yi said weakly. He was so exhausted that his head was lolling on the railing behind them. 

The ceremony for the appointment of the Phoenix King was a very important one to the Cloud Palace. The thousand birds flocking to the phoenix was also their recognition and acceptance of the new Cloud Palace Master.

Chen Ziqi pulled Dan Yi over to rest on his shoulder. When he was feeling ill yesterday, this was what Dan Yi had done for him, and between good friends, there certainly had to be give and take.

The waterfall thundered down on the rocks below, throwing up little droplets of water that each created a tiny rainbow of its own. Chen Ziqi felt like they were suspended in mid-air even though they were actually sitting on a wooden bench. The two chatted cosily on that corridor amidst this beautiful scenery.

Meanwhile, the Tiande Emperor had been introduced to the new High Priest. 

“This is my grandfather. He should have been the Mingzong Emperor’s High Priest, but the Mingzong Emperor declined his services that year,” Lan Shanyu said, sighing a little as he gestured to the saintly-looking old man next to him.

The Mingzong Emperor was the Tiande Emperor’s grandfather, and it had been around fifty or sixty years since the Mingzong Emperor passed away. The Tiande Emperor looked the old man up and down. He had to be about eighty years old, surely? However, he looked to only be about fifty or so. He figured the High Priest probably had great martial arts capabilities, which allowed him to look young and have a long life, just like Luo Hongfeng and the other sect masters.

“My name is Lan Yu, and my courtesy name is Yunxian,” the Lan family elder said, stroking his long beard. He gave off a very learned air.

The Tiande Emperor was ecstatic. He felt that he’d just received a treasure. This old man had probably accumulated many decades of cultivation, and had to be even more powerful than Lan Shanyu. 

On the way back to the Capital, the Tiande Emperor specially invited Lan Yunxian to sit with him in the horse carriage, planning to have a deep conversation with him.

“Zhen has just ascended the throne, and my power base is still unstable. I really need you to assist me in this regard. After we return to the Capital, I do request that you demonstrate a miracle to impress the officials of the Imperial Court,” the Tiande Emperor said sincerely.

“… …” Lan Yunxian didn’t reply, and merely continued stroking his beard.

“That year when the Mingzong Emperor declined to have a High Priest… it was not a wise move,” the Tiande Emperor said, thinking that he should address what happened back then. 

“… …” The Lan family elder took out a small comb from his sleeve and started combing his long beard carefully.

“High Priest! Zhen is speaking to you!” the Tiande Emperor shouted, finally unable to contain his frustration. He slammed his hand down on the table.

“Huh? What?” Lan Yunxian asked in confusion, putting one hand to his ear. He leaned closer to the Tiande Emperor. “My old self is getting on in years, and my hearing isn’t very good.”

Tiande Emperor: “… …” 

Dan Yi regained his spirits after an afternoon nap. They had steamed bamboo rice for lunch, and it was so delicious that Chen Ziqi ate two bowls all by himself.

“I’ve never seen bamboo produce rice before,” Chen Ziqi said, his face curious.

Dan Yi was originally going to bring him to gallivant around the Cloud Palace, but on hearing him say this, he turned and walked toward the mountains behind the Cloud Palace instead. There was a smaller mountain behind the Jade Mountain, and it was covered in lush bamboo trees. A suspension bridge connected the two mountains. This was the only way to get from one side to the other, and it looked rather scary to walk on.

Chen Ziqi had mastered the first level of cultivation of the Divine Dragon’s Howl, and was therefore able to use some qinggong, so running lightly across the bridge was not really a problem. However, looking at the deep ravine below the bridge still made his hair stand on end. 

Just as Chen Ziqi was preparing to grit his teeth and go for broke, he heard Dan Yi call out to him. “Qiqi, come over here!” Dan Yi said. He was already seated in a sedan and was waving him over.

So the Cloud Palace Master didn’t have to walk over himself! Chen Ziqi bounded over in a few leaps and squeezed into the sedan with Dan Yi. The sedan bearers used the Cyclone Step to float gracefully across the ravine.

“Actually, you can use the Cyclone Step to leap over with me, right? Why bother with the sedan?” Chen Ziqi asked, turning to look at Dan Yi.

Dan Yi’s ears turned red, but he showed no outward change of expression. “My neili has been exhausted,” he said. 

Chen Ziqi smacked his forehead. He had completely forgotten about that.

The small mountain was called Jade Bamboo Peak, and it was where the Cloud Palace planted bamboo and other crops. The lush green leaves made a rustling sound as they rippled in the wind, and the pleasant sound of running water could be heard from the forest as well, making the area feel very peaceful. Every now and then, a patch of pastel pink could be seen in the sea of green, and the colour was so contrasting that one’s eyes couldn’t help but be drawn to it.

“That’s…” Chen Ziqi walked forward a few steps, and could just make out people carrying a pastel pink sedan into the bamboo forest.

Pink sedans… the scene in front of the Cloud Palace entrance yesterday surfaced in Chen Ziqi’s mind. Those sedans were the ones that carried the beauties meiren gifted to Dan Yi by the various sects! Chen Ziqi frowned, then looked toward Dan Yi. “Your hou yuan is also on this mountain?” he asked. 

Dan Yi stared at him in confusion. “What hou yuan?”

“The beauties that other people gave you!” Chen Ziqi said, grinning mischievously, poking Dan Yi’s chest with his elbow.

After understanding what Chen Ziqi was saying, Dan Yi frowned for a second, then nodded seriously.

— 

The author has something to say: Mini-theater

Birdie Gong: I’ve received beauties as gifts from other people, and I’ve been found out by my wife! What do I do? This is urgent, hurry!

Lan Shanyu: This subordinate will take the hit for you – just say I’m the one who accepted it without your knowledge

Dark Cloud Envoy: This subordinate will go and dispose of them, so as to erase the evidence 

Qiqi: First, tell me, why did you put those beauties on the bamboo mountain?

Birdie Gong: To plant bamboo!

Qiqi: … and?

Birdie Gong: To raise bees! 

Qiqi: And?

Birdie Gong: I can’t say

Qiqi: (╰_╯)#

Birdie Gong: Alright, they also dig for worms _(:з」∠)_ 

Qiqi: … …