A tall figure walked along the well-lit corridors of the damp and chilly dungeon. He was wearing casual robes of pale yellow embroidered with dark coiling dragons in silver thread. The guards on both sides bowed down at the sight of him and greeted, âYour Royal Majesty.â
The man stopped in front of the cell at the end of the hall and glanced inside. âHow is it?â he asked.
One guard opened the door and went inside to drag up the prisoner bound in chains, then raised one of his arms. âYour Royal Majesty, the fingers of the right hand and the bones in his arm have all been broken. Please take a look.â
The arm wasnât visible when hanging, but now it seemed completely boneless when lifted up. Some kind of torture had been used to crush all the tendons and bones inside, leaving nothing intact. The victim opened his eyes, but his expression showed no pain or fear. His eyes even shone with some disdain as he said smoothly, âKing of Nine Provinces, are you satisfied?â
The prisoner was below him, so the king only loomed at him from above. âChu Zhishi, you seized the chance to cripple my sonâs right hand in the past. Now youâve trespassed on the kingâs grounds, so your crimes are great indeed.â
Chu Zhishi barked out a laugh and raised his voice. âI am a figure beyond the mortal plane. I only respect Heaven and Earth, not some royal authority.â
âThere are many people beyond the mortal plane, but only your daoist sect is this rude and arrogant,â the King of Nine Provinces shook out his sleeves. âCome out.â
The guard obeyed orders and left the cell before locking the prison door.
âIf you like the Buddhist sect so much, you can just shave your head and be a monk. Why waste words?â Chu Zhishi leisurely leaned against the stone wall, his voice light. âThis city lord has no spiritual power right now, so kill me if you want.â
âNo rush. I was planning to vent by summoning my son here tomorrow to see you,â the king restrained his expressions and narrowed his eyes. âNow this king has changed his mind.â
He spun on his heel to leave, instructing the guards, âMake sure to cripple his left side tomorrow too.â
âYes, Your Royal Majesty.â
The guards escorted the king out before grabbing a food box and a water jug to stuff inside the prison bars. âDaoist Chu, eat some. TomorrowâŚwonât be easy to bear.â
âI made it past today, so why should I fear tomorrow?â Chu Zhishi looked at him unimpressed, but clicked his tongue at the sight of the food box. âEvery meal is different, thatâs the only thing I appreciate about the King of Nine Provincesâ estate. Come, letâs eat together. Shame we donât have wine.â
âDaoist Chu, you didnât make a sound even when your right hand wasâŚdone like that. This humble one really worships cultivators for being so powerful. ButâŚâ the guard looked around him before lowering his voice. âBut you really will lose out if you fight with His Royal Majesty. Why donât you flatter him a few words first. Didnât that girl escape today? Isnât it better to hold out until she brings someone to rescue youâŚmmph.â
Chu Zhishi had used his left hand to stuff a chicken drumstick into the guardâs mouth. âDo I need you to worry about it? Go on, leave, find some wine.â
The guard removed the chicken leg and wiped his mouth. âThen Daoist Chu, you have to remember to take this one as a disciple after getting out.â
Chu Zhishi tore off the other drumstick and didnât look up. âWhether or not I remember depends on the taste of the wine you give me.â
Someone said, âYouâre still thinking of drinking at a time like this.â
âOf course. I canât miss out on either meat or wine,â Chu Zhishi declared before his head jerked up with a start.
The prison doors were wide open and the young guard had been knocked unconscious on the ground. Before him stood two figures: Tantai Meng and Xie Zhiwei.
Chu Zhishi took some time to process the scene before he stammered, âSecâŚsecond senior brother? I-itâs you?â His grip loosened and the drumstick fell on the ground and was stained by the straw on the floor.
Xie Zhiwei only sighed. âI didnât expect it to be you either.â
Since Xie Zhiwei had agreed to help Mengmeng with the rescue, he had to act with his head. Mu He didnât like Mengmeng and was in a particularly poor mood and state right now. Xie Zhiwei couldnât bring Mengmeng to directly provoke his inverse scale. Since the boundary field had a hole, he could leave effortlessly. With his skills it should be as simple as flipping his palm to save two people. Along the way, Mengmeng had told him the whole story. After Mu He brought him back to the kingâs manor, she searched around that side compound one more time and found it empty. She could only inquire about Mu Heâs home baseâthe King of Nine Provincesâ estate. As expected, Xie Zhiwei was here as well.
But there was a small hiccup in the process: Chu Zhishi had shown up as well. At first he went barreling to the gates to demand Xie Zhiweiâs person, but was unceremoniously chased out. For one thing, the king had a long-standing grudge with the daoist sect over various matters. For another, the world knew that Xie Zhiwei was already dead, so everyone in the household thought Chu Zhishi was rambling nonsense. He was unable to meet with Mu He or even the king and dawdled outside the estate a few days before running into Tantai Meng.
He learned that she was here to find someone as well, so the duo teamed up and decided to break into the estate at night to investigate. Unexpectedly, the place was heavily guarded and both of them were caught in the act. Here Tantai Meng didnât go into detail, but basically: Mu He suddenly showed up and they lost their spiritual power. Fortunately, the King of Nine Provinces didnât do much to Tantai Meng on account of Du Sheng. She was only shut up to prevent an escape that would ruin his matters.
Chu Zhishi had the worst outcome.
He had broken Mu Heâs hand in the past and it seemed the king had always wanted revenge. Now heâd acted on that impulse. He had shut up Tantai Meng for fear that sheâd spread news that Chu Zhishi was here. The current emperor was close with the daoist sect, so the King of Nine Provinces had to be scrupulous when taking revenge. When Tantai Meng heard that the king was going to break Chu Zhishiâs hand today, she panicked. Her guards werenât very strict, so she managed to knock out the man delivering her meal and slip away. Using the Golden Lotusâs senses, she discovered the small courtyard where Xie Zhiwei was living and ran into the little maid.
What Xie Zhiwei didnât understand was why the maid had said theyâd captured two men when it was clear that Chu Zhishi and Tantai Meng were the captives?
Hm, it could be the maid was lying. Or maybe the kingâs manor captured too many people so facts got mixed up.
But none of this was important. For the sake of tracking him down, Chu Zhishi had broken his arm and hand. This was no good at all. Meanwhile, the man was simply staring at him as if heâd lost his wits. He was a completely different person from the easygoing, smiling man whoâd spoken so calmly before.
Tantai Meng quickly came to her senses. âSenior, Benefactor, so you two know each other? âŚis Benefactor the person this senior was looking for?â
Xie Zhiwei was afraid to meet Chu Zhishiâs eyes as he gave a dry cough. âProbably.â
Chu Zhishi suddenly sprang to his feet, his broken arm dangling uselessly by his side. âWhat do you mean, âprobably?â Second senior brother, you are the person Iâm looking for!â
His address shocked Tantai Meng. âSecond senior brother? But isnât Senior Chuâs second senior brother Xie zhenren? Xie zhenren is also Shiziâs shizun, thisâŚâ For a while she couldnât digest all the facts, but still shut up. She knew that the two figures before her must be feeling even more complicated right now.
Xie Zhiwei said slowly, âMany thanks to youngest junior brother. This senior brotherâŚhas let you down.â
âAm I the only one you let down?â Chu Zhishi asked.
Xie Zhiwei suddenly didnât know what to say.
âIf you want to make amends, Iâm afraid you canât,â Chu Zhishi took a deep breath, but his face was still seething. âDo you have any idea? Eldest senior brother kept Summit Cityâs city lord position empty this entire time. He got angry at anyone who asked about it. All of Summit Cityâs young novices went to other masters, but they still come back to clean up the place regularly! Did you know I dropped by your grave every other day just to take a look? None of us ever forgot youâŚbut what about you? You didnât even let us know whether you were dead or alive!â
After all these words, Xie Zhiwei was even more speechless than before. Not just Mu He, but everyone else here were all flesh and blood people with living souls. The plot was already out of control and the original canon completely useless. What everyone did now and whether they treated him well or ill all came from their inner hearts.
They were all living, breathing people.
Yet he had treated everything as part of progressing a plot.
Xie Zhiwei murmured, âIâm sorry, I really didnât think thatâŚâ
Chu Zhishi just sighed. âYou really didnât think that weâd miss you all this time, right? Second senior brother, why do you still have no confidence in yourself? IâŚI donât even know how to scold youâŚâ His voice was a little unsteady. Xie Zhiwei looked up in shock and saw that Chu Zhishiâs eyes were already red.
âThat thereâŚyoungest junior brother, are you okay?â
It wouldâve been better if he didnât ask, because Chu Zhishi suddenly choked up. âSecond senior brother, the fact that youâre not dead is trulyâŚtoo wonderfulâŚâ
âŚI finished comforting one only to comfort another. Theyâre all grown men, whereâs their dignity after crying like this?
Xie Zhiwei knew he was in the wrong and said nervously, âYouâre already grown up, so why are you crying like a child.â
Tantai Meng tried to smooth things over with a small voice. âAnd itâs even a child whoâs nine chi tall.â
Chu Zhishi coughed dryly and wanted to argue, but felt embarrassed and simply admonished, âGirl, donât tell anyone about what happened today, you hear me?â
âAll right senior, I wonât tell.â
Xie Zhiwei relaxed. It was much easier to coax Cheese than Mu He. This is more like a proper adult.
Chu Zhishi wiped his eyes with his left hand before his expression returned to normal. âSecond senior brother, with you here we have more help. Letâs not tarry and figure out a way out of here first.â
âAll right,â Xie Zhiwei nodded.
It wasnât hard to leave, but the iron chains on Chu Zhishiâs body posed a challenge. They had no divine blade like Qingping Sword on hand to cut the chains and Chu Zhishi himself was one arm short with no spiritual power. Xie Zhiwei could only channel him more spiritual energy as support before holding him up to leave. They knocked out anyone they ran into on sight and left the manor grounds rather smoothly. It was the fifth watch (between three and five AM) when Xie Zhiwei looked back and saw they had made a considerable distance from the royal residence. Even if they sent horses and carriages after them, it would take some time to catch up. StillâŚif Mu He came on Qingping Sword, it would only take a second.
Xie Zhiweiâs heart sank.
He was eager to rescue people and didnât think twice about helping Cheese and Mengmeng out. Mu He had been sleeping when he left, but he wasnât sure of the current situation. If Mu He couldnât dispel his illusions and grew a glass heart while he was goneâŚ
Chu Zhishi saw him spacing out and thought he was just tired. âSecond senior brother, let go. Iâm not that weak. Youâve been running and channeling spiritual energy to me the entire time, you should take a break.â
Xie Zhiwei replied, âNo need, itâs more important to make time on the roadâŚâ
Tantai Meng nodded. âRight. If we reach the town on the outskirts of the capital sooner, we can get a carriage and travel in disguise.â
Xie Zhiwei supported Chu Zhishi anew and said, âKeep going.â
But his face blanched as soon as he finished. They were currently in the middle of the wilderness, yet a faint, familiar fragrance of flowers had appeared. It was the scent of mixed blossoms from the royal residence.
Not good, Xie Zhiwei thought silently right as Tantai Meng stopped walking. In front of them rose a layer of white light like a wall.
â
Translatorâs Note: Did the maid lie, or were there really two other men that were captured by the royal residence? Place your bets below. đ
The Chinese commenters:
Love knows not its origins,
Yet grows ever deeper
Grants death to the living
And life to the dead â Preface to The Peony Pavilion
I felt these lines were fitting. Old Xieâs feelings towards Wood Box are probably the imperceptive, subconscious type.