CH 66

“Huang Huacan asked you to come here so that you can try and steal this Will?” Dan Yi asked, sipping at his tea.

Stealing…? Perhaps that was what it was, but to have it put so bluntly… Chen Zijian couldn’t help but feel rather awkward. He coughed once into a loosely clenched fist. “Grandfather wants to borrow it for a read, but the Suxin Sect is very unlikely to agree, so he was thinking of asking you, Palace Master, to help look for it. I just need to have a look and make a copy, that’s all,” he said. 

“The Sword Alliance doesn’t cultivate using ‘Tianyan’,” Dan Yi pointed out, glancing sideways at Chen Zijian.

Even if Zhao Hetian’s Will contained some great martial arts secret, it would be completely useless to the Sword Sects. The Qi Sects’ gongfa all originated from the Tianyan Wanxiang Gong, which was a completely different method of cultivation from the Sword Sects’.

Chen Zijian understood what Dan Yi was getting at. “Things that have reached their zenith often share many similarities. Lord Phoenix King, aren’t you interested to know what a martial art that has reached the pinnacle of cultivation is like?” he asked with a smile.

People often said that there was no limit to martial arts cultivation, but there was another school of thought that held that when one reached the pinnacle of cultivation, you would break through the void and become an immortal or a god. 

Dan Yi silently caressed the white jade flute hanging at his waist with his thumb for a moment. “If Zhao Hetian’s Will really exists, it would be a treasured artifact of the martial arts world. What are you intending to exchange with me for access to it?” he asked.

Chen Zijian smiled faintly, then took out a small porcelain bottle. He opened the cap and held it out to Dan Yi for him to see. In the sunlight, a small white worm could be seen inside. It lay still and silent at the bottom of the bottle until it saw the light come in from the top of the bottle. It then raised its head and opened its mouth, revealing fearsome-looking teeth. It closed its mouth again, then stared up at the people peering at it with two eyes that looked like small black beans.

“A bloodworm,” Dan Yi said. He recognised it immediately.

“Lord Phoenix King, you are indeed very well-read. It is, as you say, a magical bloodworm from the Western regions. It specialises in sucking human blood, and the blood it consumes remains fresh in its body for ten days,” Chen Zijian said, sealing the bottle again and keeping it in his clothes as if it were a fine treasure.

Dan Yi wasn’t the least bit interested in this. He didn’t really eat worms other than the jade bamboo worms and specially cultivated blackworms – those were particularly delicious. Other worms all had a rather gamey taste to them. This type of high-level bloodworm was particularly disgusting when eaten – it tasted of blood, and the mouthfeel of its flesh also wasn’t very pleasant…

Chen Zijian saw that Dan Yi wasn’t very interested in this bloodworm, but he wasn’t fussed at all. “I’m not sure if you’re aware, but the Emperor put a blackworm in Little Seventh,” he said.

Dan Yi subconsciously clenched his hands into fists at the mention of Chen Ziqi.

Chen Zijian’s keen eyes took in this small movement, and his confidence increased. He could take it slow. The Tiande Emperor’s grey-clothed mystery man had been by the Emperor’s side since before the Second Prince had left the palace. After investigating the fellow for a long time, he’d finally discovered that he was actually an expert at cultivating blackworms. He wasn’t able to find out where the grey-clothed man was from, however. 

These few years, the Tiande Emperor had planted blackworms in all of the princes whom he thought were a threat or of use. This included the Second Prince himself. The Second Prince had able people assisting him, so he found this out very early on. He’d looked for a bloodworm then so that he’d be able to preserve his life.

“The Emperor used the blood essence of nine people to cultivate that blackworm. He did that to make it extremely difficult to get rid of. If you don’t manage to gather the blood of all the nine people whose blood essence was used to cultivate that worm, even the Supreme Venom Master of the Ten Thousand Venoms Clan won’t be able to remove the blackworm. And if you use the wrong person’s blood, the blackworm will act up and kill its host instantly,” Chen Zijian explained.

He had expended a great deal of effort to find out who those nine people were. They were all ordinary eunuchs and palace maids, and it had been very challenging to find out their exact identities. He had only succeeded because he’d spent many years in the palace and had forged many connections then.

“Ha,” Dan Yi laughed coldly. His lovely phoenix tail eyes took on an icy cast. “Using Chen Ziqi to threaten me – you think that’s what would get my attention?” 

Jtfc Ilpljc ogbhf. Coafg rb wjcs vjsr bo afralcu atf kjafgr, tf kjr nfgs mfgajlc atja atlr cfk Jibev Ujijmf Zjrafg mjgfv jybea Jtfc Ildl nfgs wemt. Ljv tf uefrrfv kgbcu?

“Gb sbe xcbk ktja tjr tjqqfcfv ab atf qfbqif ktb vjgfv ab atgfjafc wf ater ojg?” Gjc Tl jrxfv, atja mglrq, wfrwfglrlcu nblmf bo tlr yfmbwlcu vffqfg jcv wbgf wfcjmlcu klat fnfgs kbgv.

Just as the words left Dan Yi’s mouth, a black shadow leapt down from the rafters, and a large, coarse hand grabbed hold of Chen Zijian’s neck like an eagle’s talons would grip its prey.

“Those who disrespect the Palace Master shall die!” Diao Lie declared. He was wearing black from head to toe, and half his face was hidden by the shadows. One fierce eye was fixed on Chen Zijian’s neck, as if he were trying to decide where exactly on his neck to strike. 

Chen Zijian immediately turned pale. One of his hands instinctively went to the treasure sword at his hip, and he had to suppress a strong impulse to unsheathe the sword. Pulling out a sword in front of Dan Yi was an extremely dangerous thing for him to do. Huangshan’s sword style was a restrained and moderate one, and cultivating it required a great deal of time. Even though the Second Prince had practised it for more than ten years, he had only made very minimal progress. On the other hand, the Danyang Divine Martial Arts was the kind that was very powerful even at the first level of cultivation. In addition to that, Dan Yi had this big, burly fellow standing guard in front of him, and he too looked to be a master martial artist. If they actually got down to fighting, the Second Prince would certainly be very much worse off.

Even the Suxin Sect now dared to attack a King. It went without saying that the Cloud Palace, which was much more powerful and influential, would kill a King without a single thought.

“It is I who was too hasty. Palace Master, I ask that you do not be offended,” Chen Zijian said, softening his tone immediately. When Diao Lie released him, he didn’t bring up blackworms again and tried to discuss the terms upon which the Cloud Palace would obtain Zhao Hetian’s Will for him.

Dan Yi didn’t care to discuss anything with the Second Prince any more. He refused to agree to take on the Second Prince’s business and unceremoniously tossed Chen Zijian and company out of the Cloud Palace. 

King Wan stood with his hands behind his back at the foot of Jade Mountain, looking up at the Cloud Palace, which was shrouded by mists and foliage. He was fuming. To say nothing of having failed to squeeze some benefits out of the Cloud Palace – he’d offended Dan Yi on top of that! Dan Yi actually didn’t care about whether Chen Ziqi lived or died… Was the Tiande Emperor right, after all? Was Chen Ziqi nothing but a plaything to Dan Yi?

After getting Chen Zijian out of the Cloud Palace, Dan Yi walked casually to the Wutong forest to look for his Qiqi. The bamboo platform was empty, save for a half-open novel lying face-down on it. Dan Yi picked it up. It was a book about the legend of the “Feathered Ones”.

A long, long time ago, there lived magical creatures called the Feathered Ones. They had long wings growing from their backs and could fly in the sky. A farmer was working diligently in the fields one day when he saw a Feathered One descend from the sky. The Feathered One was a man, and when he saw that the farmer was very handsome, he immediately pressed the farmer down and did things associated with birds and bees. After that, the Feathered One flew back to the heavens. The farmer’s belly grew bigger and bigger with each passing day, and half a year later, his stomach hurt so badly he thought it would split open. It felt like something hard was going to come out of it. The farmer was in such great pain that he cut his lower body open, and gave birth to a little snake.

Dan Yi pressed his lips together, then went off to look for Chen Ziqi. As he expected, Chen Ziqi was in the room where Wu Bujian and Tu Buxian were nursing their injuries. 

At this time, Chen Ziqi was sitting by Tu Buxian’s bed, and one of his hands was grasping Tu Buxian’s bird claw-hand, which had yet to change back into a human one. “What kind of bird are you?” he asked. Based on that claw-hand, it looked like he was some kind of eagle or other predatory bird.

Tu Buxian had been completely shell-shocked by Chen Ziqi’s actions, and it took a while for him to collect himself. “I’m… a vulture,” he said, a little embarrassed. His claw-hand couldn’t turn back into a human hand for the time being because the bone was broken and had yet to heal.

“That’s weird. Dan Yi said that wings were hands,” Chen Ziqi said, scratching his head.

“My hands are claws, but Wu Bujian’s hands are wings,” Tu Buxian said, heaving a sigh of relief now that he knew his Palace Master had already told Chen Ziqi the truth about their kind. Since this was the case, he happily sold out his partner Wu Bujian. 

Chen Ziqi understood. “Then, do you two also go to the farmlands to…” he began.

“Qiqi!” Dan Yi hurriedly interrupted, stopping him from finishing the question.

Chen Ziqi threw down Tu Buxian’s claw the moment he saw Dan Yi and scampered over to his side. “Old Second’s gone?” he asked.

“Nn,” Dan Yi said, tugging him away from this room that reeked of medicine. Just as they were leaving, they met Elder Mu, who was here to check on his patients. 

Elder Mu greeted the both of them politely, then walked into the room in a leisurely manner.

They heard Tu Buxian immediately say, “Elder Mu, my internal injuries aren’t serious. Can’t you let me go back and recover on my own?”

“Absolutely not. Lie down. If you try and recover on your own, it’ll take forever.”

“Ow ow OW OW!” Anguished yells could be heard coming from the room. “Weren’t you supposed to rub it? Why are you pounding – OW OW OW OW!” 

“Pounding on it makes it heal faster.”

After that, the thudding sound of a palm hitting someone’s chest repeatedly could be heard.

Chen Ziqi listened to these frightful sounds and couldn’t help rubbing his chest self-consciously. Thankfully, Dan Yi had healed his internal injuries, or he’d be suffering the same fate.

“What’s wrong?” Dan Yi asked. He saw that Chen Ziqi was holding his chest and immediately wanted to know what was wrong. 

“Nothing…” Chen Ziqi said, looking at Dan Yi. He saw that Dan Yi’s eyes were looking intently at him, and his heart couldn’t help fluttering a little. He draped his arms over Dan Yi’s shoulders playfully. “I don’t want to walk any more.”

The place where the Cloud Palace subordinates were treated for injuries was quite out of the way, and there were no waterfalls here. The air was dryer here, and injuries generally healed better where the air was dry.

Dan Yi looked curiously at Chen Ziqi. He somehow felt that Chen Ziqi had become more sticky recently… was it a side-effect of using the Phoenix Returns to the Heavens to heal his injuries? Whatever it was, Dan Yi was very happy about it. He set Chen Ziqi on his back, then piggy-backed him up the mountain path.

“What did Old Second want with you?” Chen Ziqi asked, leaning forward comfortably on Dan Yi’s back as he looked around in a leisurely fashion. He reached out to pluck a long strand of foxtail grass and held it between his teeth, using the fluffy end to brush Dan Yi’s chin. 

Dan Yi felt very ticklish, and he couldn’t help shying away. “He wanted me to look for Zhao Hetian’s Will. He said it’s hidden in the Suxin Sect,” he said.

“A Will?” Chen Ziqi said, chewing thoughtfully on the foxtail grass stem. He couldn’t help cursing. “F*ck your granny, Chen Zijian. I don’t believe you weren’t involved in this fiasco!”

“You know your paternal granny is the same as his, right?” Dan Yi said blandly.

“Then I’ll f*ck his maternal granny!” Chen Ziqi declared. 

“… …”

Dan Yi didn’t know what to say. That foxtail grass started wiggling again, this time at his ear. Dan Yi shook the naughty creature on his back, then smacked him on his bum. “Behave!” he admonished.

“We had a bet, remember? Old Second came – that means I won, doesn’t it?” Chen Ziqi asked, rubbing the part of his bum that got smacked.

As they were talking, the Wing Leader of the Crane Wing came forward to speak with Dan Yi. The Crane Wing Leader was wearing robes like a Taoist master’s in black and white. She was tall and thin, and walked in a languid, elegant manner. When she saw that the Palace Master was carrying Chen Ziqi on his back, she froze, then bent at the waist in greeting. “Palace Master, the arrangements for the Yangchun Banquet are all in order. Do you have any instructions for the event tomorrow?” she asked. 

The Yangchun Banquet? Chen Ziqi jumped down and stood on his own two feet, then thought about that arrogant Qing Clan woman who said that she would be showcasing a dance at the Yangchun Banquet.

“Add a seat next to mine. Qiqi will be going as well,” Dan Yi said, holding Qiqi tight to make sure he didn’t fall off the stone steps they were on.

The author has something to say: Mini-theatre

Qiqi: Are you one of the Feathered Ones? 

Birdie Gong: Guess

Qiqi: I suspect not

Birdie Gong: Why not?

Qiqi: The Feathered Ones can get a guy pregnant, but you can’t 

Birdie Gong: You and I haven’t done anything relating to the birds and the bees, so how do you know I can’t?

…Birds bees birds bees birds bees…

Qiqi: Now that we’ve tried, what’s the answer?

Birdie Gong: The answer is, you need to try it a few more times to find out 

Qiqi: →_→ Scram