You Shu raised his fingertip and looked at the bloodstain on it. During the conversation with Ah Da and Ah Er, he also used his spirit power to reel in a water ghost onto the boat in exchange for a drop of his blood as the cost of winning it over. Currently, he couldn't help but be thankful for his extraordinary physique. In this world, some things could not be accomplished using manpower and it was easier to settle those problems by handing them over to ghosts.
In order to gain Ah Da and Ah Er's trust and make them let him go back to the Capital to rescue Master, You Shu bluntly said, "As you can see, I can command ghosts."
Fortunately, the Dragon's Qi You Shu inhaled last time had not yet dissipated, otherwise he would not be commanding the ghost but instead bumping into it.
Ah Da and Ah Er looked around in panic, a chill ran down their spines and it took a long time for them to let out the breath they were holding. They couldn't believe it, "You can command ghosts? This is not some sort of joke?"
"Drink some tea to calm down." You Shu gestured by lifting his chin and an invisible hand picked up a teapot, poured a cup of hot tea for each of them and politely placed them nearby.
Ah Da and Ah Er did not dare to come into close contact, and even more so they did not dare to take a sip from the tea cups. In the end, they covered their mouths and repeatedly coughed.
While You Shu nursed his wound by sucking on his bloody fingertip, he methodically commanded, "When we reach the next dock, let mother and her companions first arrive at Quanzhou and wait. We will convene with the troops while en route to the Capital. We three will go beyond the walls to investigate first while the rest wait outside for further instructions. Should I be incapacitated, you all should then break into the prison."
Ah Da and Ah Er were dumbfounded. Other than mumbling indistinctly, they can only nod obliviously as they did not know how to react to this.
Teh: This is where I would say that they were blur already but that didn't make sense outside of Manglish
Within half a day, they reached the next dock and You Shu settled Song Shi in a safe place to wait for them, and they exchanged for a skiff hurrying back towards the direction to the Capital. The skiff was very narrow and could only hold three people at most. They travelled downstream when they departed from the Capital, therefore the journey was fast, however going back to the Capital meant going against the current, so even if they had the strength of ten or even a hundred men - let alone the fact that it was three men paddling together - it was still much slower than riding on horseback.
Ah Da and Ah Er grasped their oars and tried to speak but then stopped themselves. Right now, they were still scared of the strange abilities of the youth.
"If you have something to say, then say it." You Shu wholeheartedly wanted to hasten their journey, so where did they have the time to waste?
Ah Da hastily said, "The boat is too slow. It's probably better to travel on horseback. Just now, I received a letter from a messenger pigeon, the Seventh Prince has died from the poison and the Crown Prince remains unconscious. Although the Emperor was unharmed, his foundations were injured. As of this moment, in the midst of his rage, in spite of the Zongfa, he is calling for the Master to commit suicide by imperial decree. Right now, several Wangye are trying to placate him but they can't delay for much time.
Teh: Zongfa means patriarchal system and I'm guessing that suicide by imperial decree is not normally directed towards a man
Blu: I guess suicide by imperial decree is like bestowing 3 feet of white silk or a bowl of poison to the ladies of the harem (subtly telling them to kill themselves. Yes, very subtle.)
"The Seventh Prince is dead and the Crown Prince is still unconscious? What about the other Princes?" You Shu asks while biting down at his tip of his finger, dripping blood down into the river water.
"The First Prince had already passed, the Second Prince is imprisoned, the Fifth Prince died young, the Sixth Prince is cowardly and incompetent, thus he is the Crown Prince's vassal." Ah Da briefly presented the princes' circumstances. Other than food and drink, You Shu was not normally interested nor aware of external affairs.
The blood had just started to disperse on the surface of the river, however it suddenly disappeared without a trace, as if something invisible had absorbed it all. Ah Da and Ah Er looked once again with wide-open round eyes at this mystical sight.
"If you look at it, this was actually a two-birds-one-stone scheme directed and planned by the Crown Prince. If Master went to Jingzhou and the Seventh Wangye went down to Huaizhou, they could compete against him in the future. If he didn't make his move now, he might not get the same opportunity in the future." You Shu laid it out bluntly leaving no room for argument, he faced the river surface and commanded, "Bring us back to the Capital."
Ah Da and Ah Er looked around in confusion, they don't know who he was talking to.
The water ghost originally wanted to possess someone on the boat and unexpectedly it met this respectable genuine Buddha. At this moment, it no longer had to go looking for a body and it was also able to reincarnate, even to the point of reshaping its body. Salivating at the mouth for the youth's blood, it naturally obeyed his commands and promptly urged the river water to push the small boat and swiftly shot towards the Capital.
Blu: Buddha in the sense that a person is 'powerful' or 'awe-inspiring' or 'awesome', I guess.
Fortunately, it was currently nightfall, the sky an unwelcome darkness, otherwise there would definitely be people shouting in alarm and dropping their jaws. Where was there such a thing as a boat travelling so fast when going against the current, wind flapping as they sped along the river, followed by a blurry shadow. Ah Da and Ah Er were completely preoccupied and wholeheartedly clutching firmly to the sides of the boat, lest they be flung into the river.
Fast! Too fast! This ghost is too powerful! No, it ought to be said that You Shu's method was reliable and extraordinary! The two tried again to examine the youth closely and they were left with an uncertain sensation of extreme unpredictability.
It took one day and one night to travel downstream, but it only took a few shichen to complete the travel upstream. They had reached the Capital's dock when the sun had not yet come up. Ah Da and Ah Er felt dazed, jumped ashore and stepped onto ground, the bottom of their legs felt soft, as if they could collapse at any time. Fortunately, they did not forget their task and have already reconvened with the troops via messenger pigeon.
Ah Da was commanded to remain hidden and stay on guard outside the city walls while awaiting orders, while Ah Er and the teenager will go to the city. The city gates were guarded heavily by multiple soldiers who each carried a list of names which would be compared to any suspicious individuals. If they were deemed suspicious, they were then promptly sent into the prisoner's cage. The cage was extremely wide and tens of innocent common folk had already been imprisoned, their cries of grievances could be heard from a long distance away.
Ah Da had extraordinary eyesight. With one glance, he could clearly see that the imperial notice that was put up contained drawings of himself and Ah Er, and even You Shu. It was clear that the Emperor deliberately wanted to capture all of the Master's people in one go. What can be done about this?
He stopped. Initially, he wanted to find a remote place to disguise himself but instead, he used his strength to get past the entrance of the city gate to meet up with You Shu. He spoke softly, "Just go inside, there are no problems."
The water ghost had acquired over hundreds of years worth of mastery over the control of wind and water, which could finally be put into use to create several camouflages and this will not be difficult at all. As soon as he arrived at the city gate, he eagerly and diligently went forward to show the way and patted his chest, "Sir, please come in, they will not notice us."
The easily-scared Ah Da and Ah Er looked as if they were facing a formidable enemy while the water ghost seemed to be extremely proud of itself, raising its head and puffing out its chest. You Shu sighed internally: In this world, it was better to be a ghost than to be a human.
You Shu took the lead and headed towards the city gates, neither the city guards nor the common folk - not even a single person - glanced at him. They felt as if someone passed by them, but in any case, they were also unable to remember their appearance. Ah Da and Ah Er were only just able to put down their worrying heart and blindly follow after the boy into the Capital.
Teh: The best I could translate 放下高悬的心 was "put down their worrying heart" because technically the literal translation was "they put down their highly suspended heart"
The prince's mansion was closed off and there were imperial guards patrolling the streets everywhere. Without the water ghost's camouflage trick, the three of them would hardly be able to move anywhere at all. After randomly looking for an inn to settle down in, You Shu commanded, "Go and scout out the area, find out if there's a way to enter the prison." Although the camouflage trick was very useful, how can an imperial guard not block their path if they entered the prison? The camouflage trick was not a method of invisibility.
Ah Da and Ah Er, who will now completely follow his orders, immediately accepted the command and set off. After a short period of time, they came back to report, "The Master is a prisoner waiting for execution and cannot be visited. The prison also has Wei Shizi. The Duke Wei Guogong is in the process of thinking up a solution to rescue him, so we can borrow Duke Wei's name to enter.
"You were in contact with Wei Guogong?" You Shu dared not believe in anyone.
"The previous Empress had saved Wei Guogong's life out of kindness and his eldest son Wei Shizi was also involved. He also does not kick someone while they're down. He is a credible person." Ah Da assured.
You Shu thought it over and could only nod, "That's fine, do we go now?" He couldn't wait another moment.
"We go now." Ah Da and Ah Er were also similarly anxious.
The three men took out Duke Wei Guogong's token of authority, and they were also protected by the camouflage. It took no time at all for them to successfully enter the Heavenly Prison. They squatted in front of Wei Shizi's jail door to incessantly inquire about whether he was safe and sound, as if they were Duke Wei's loyal house slaves. Ji Changye was imprisoned next door to Wei Shizi and sitting cross-legged with his eyes closed, resting. Although he was noticeably haggard, his attitude and bearing remained unchanged. Even though his life was currently in danger, he was hardly fazed, possessing a "even ruptured earth and destroyed mountains can't stop me" kind of air.
Wei Shizi was influenced by him and was also calm, and he took a quick look at the secret letters handed to him by several people. Later on, he noticed the boy hidden behind Ah Da and Ah Er, and spoke in pleasant surprise, "You Shu, why are you here?"
Due to the camouflage trick that was not yet removed, Ji Changye was not able to discern Ah Da's and Ah Er's voices but after hearing the two words "You Shu", he suddenly opened his eyes. He turned and looked out towards the prison doorway. The handsome face that had never changed finally distorted. He originally wanted to immediately go over but he was scared of attracting the attention of the prison guard. He endured and withheld the fiery anger within his heart, asking in a low voice, "Do the two of you still remember what Benwang originally instructed you two to do?"
"We remember. Do not turn around without delivering You Shu to Quanzhou." Ah Da and Ah Er hung their heads down.
"Do not say this nonsense! They had previously already sent me there halfway. I was the one who insisted on coming back." You Shu - who was normally exasperatingly slow - was in fact hot-headed when encountering a major issue. He squeezed pass Ah Da and Ah Er towards the prison doorway, beckoning and calling out, "Master, come over here quick!"
Ji Changye was even more furious and lowly shouted, "Do not make noise, quickly go!", the words fell as he repeatedly looked towards the end of the corridor, fearful that the prison guard would come over to check.
Wei Shizi raised his eyebrows. It was the first time that he saw his close friend lose his composure. He faced the boy, concern and worry clearly written all over his face.
"If you don't come over, then I won't go!" You Shu really wished he could force his own face through the gaps between the bars.
Ji Changye immediately felt both angry and worried as he saw the two scarlet marks on his cheeks with his eyelids pulled into a single line, but he still tried with all his might to squeeze his head through. However, he knew that the boy was stubborn and could not be pulled back even if ten cows worked together. It seems like today would not be going the way he hoped it would. He really would squeeze himself into a piece of paper. Seeing no other alternatives, he quickly went over and urged, "If you have something to say, then quickly say..."
He had hardly finished speaking when the boy held his lips in between his own, which was followed by a warm tongue that dug past them, prying through the slit between his teeth and sweeping into his mouth, accompanied by wet sucking sounds and soft breathing. Ji Changye raised his arm, but did not push away the young man in the end and instead, he opened up his own mouth and brought forward the tip of his tongue.
Did this kid really rush back for days on end just for this kiss? Was this kiss more important than his own life? Ji Changye was really perplexed but nevertheless felt extremely grateful and also an indescribable grief. At this very moment, he would rather have never met You Shu. Although he would be in a sorry state, he would at least be an energetic carefree child with nothing to worry about, running in the snowfields.
He would have to endure the cold and hunger, and even suffer from bullying and humiliation, but he would be alive. Nothing was more important than him being alive.
Tightly wrapping around the tip of the boy's tongue, and as if he was venting, he kissed him ferociously like he wanted him to memorize it, Ji Changye held the back of his head firmly, lip-to-lip he opened his mouth, "You Shu, listen to Benwang well: after you leave the Heavenly Prison and depart from the Capital, head towards Quanzhou, there will be someone who can provide support to you. Regardless of whether Benwang lives or dies, it has nothing to do with you."
How could it have nothing to do with me? My life was something you gave to me. You Shu shook his head internally, but there was no time left for the youth to argue. He threw out the sentence "I will rescue you" and then quickly left. The main mission for entering the prison this time was to get this mouthful of Dragon's Qi, he didn't think that Master would unexpectedly go along with him.
You Shu, who originally intended to use tougher methods, felt satisfied.
Teh: What. What tougher methods
As he quickly disappeared down the end of the corridor, Ah Da, Ah Er as well as Wei Shizi were just able to collect their thoughts and coincidentally had the same half-witted thought: No wonder You Shu would risk his life to come back, it's because of persistent unrequited love for the Master (close friend)! You Shu really does cherish feelings and justice!
Ji Changye waited till they were truly gone before slowly raising his hand to cover his face, hiding the red around his eyes. In the end he still made trouble for You Shu, how can he be content with this life?
----------
After safely leaving the prison, the three men returned back to the inn to discuss.
"What are we supposed to do next?" Ah Da poured a cup of tea for You Shu, imperceptibly treating him with a lot more respect.
"Of course, it is to rescue him." You Shu urgently needed to eat something to calm down. He tried to look around his room for half a day and was not able to find even a piece of cake, so there was no choice but to call for the young waiter in the inn to bring some over.
Ah Da and Ah Er originally intended to stop him but the attentive and nimble inn's waiter had already reached the room entrance. The two had put their palms on top of the hilts of their blades, preparing themselves in case of an attack. This pair of good-for-nothings irritated the water ghost and it jeered at them, unexpectedly producing a lot of water droplets out of thin air that sprinkled onto their heads.
The camouflage was still in place. Even though it was lightly drizzling on the tops of Ah Da's and Ah Er's heads with the water even dripping down puddling at their feet, the waiter did not feel that anything was strange and after receiving a tip from You Shu, he flatteringly said, "Dear customer, do you have any other orders?"
"There's nothing else, you can go down now." You Shu waved him away.
Ah Da and Ah Er sat stiffly on their stools, constantly raising their hands to wipe their faces but also not daring to take something to shield the tops of their heads. In their eyes, You Shu's "friend" has a lot of abilities. It could summon wind and rain (exercise its magical powers) to throw dust in the eyes of others, so the possibility of rescuing the Master was even greater.
Teh: Interestingly, 呼风唤雨 is an idiom which does literally translate into "summon wind and rain" but it also means to "exercise magical powers" so there's a nice little double meaning to this description of the water ghost's powers
Thinking about this, the two couldn't help looking at the young man filled with hope.
You Shu swallowed a piece of pastry and while he was chewing, he said perfunctorily, "My rescue plan and yours are vastly different. Forcefully breaking into the Heavenly Prison is a gamble. If it's a loss, a lot of people will end up dead, and even if it's a win, Master will still be a sinner. Wherever he escapes to, there will be people pointing at his back, cursing and labelling him a traitor. Even if it somehow turned out alright, he will be left behind in history books with a dishonorable reputation as a 'morally bankrupt (brutal and tyrannical) kin slaughterer'.
"Is there a way without breaking into the Heavenly Prison? Don't tell me you want to clear the Master's name?" Ah Da did not think that something like this was feasible.
Ah Er also expressed his doubts, "Even if you want to clear Master's name, it depends on the Emperor's intentions. However, you have to realise that the Emperor has an extreme desire to quickly get rid of the Master. Even if there wasn't this sort of disaster, there will still be a great deal of made up accusations. From three people being poisoned to the Master's arrest, this combination resulted in the sentence of capital punishment and this was only separated by a day. Can one day's time of investigations really bring about the truth of the matter? It is obvious that the Emperor was already determined."
"What about the Empress Dowager? The Seventh Wangye's death is suspicious. Could it be that she doesn't care?" You Shu twists his eyebrow.
"The Empress Dowager has fallen ill and is unable to be a member of the council. Imperial Concubine Cheng is comparatively weak. If anything crops up, she will notify the Empress Dowager or she will just cry incessantly, so she's also unreliable." Ah Er he shook his head as he sighed.
The Crown Prince's scheme was extremely malicious. It could even be said that all his enemies would be captured with a single net and even the Emperor was included in this. As a result of this, the Emperor's lifespan was greatly reduced. Perhaps he will be gone in a few years and the Crown Prince will naturally be expected to ascend the throne. However, the Emperor was in a state of confusion because of Imperial Concubine Xiao, so how can the mother and son be suspected? Furthermore, the Crown Prince would even go as far as to injure himself from poisoning to get rid of people's suspicions. He still remained unconscious, yet it was uncertain if this was true or fake.
Thinking of this, Ah Da and Ah Er really wished they could enter the palace to stab the prince more than a few times and see if he was still conscious or not.
In You Shu's heart, there were already rules that he had set and he felt that his state of mind was stable. He faced the water ghost and instructed, "Enter the imperial palace and help me find a person, no, it's a ghost, tell her she owes me and it ought to be paid back."
Why are there still more ghosts? Ah Da and Ah Er who were soaked from head to toe, felt even colder at this moment.
The water ghost heard the instructions and shook its head several times, "Reporting to sir, it is not this small one's unwillingness to help you, rather because the imperial palace - inside and out - is enveloped in Dragon's Qi. During the period of its construction, a spell that exorcises evil spirits was set up, so solitary ghosts like us absolutely cannot approach otherwise our souls will be dispersed. However, the ghosts in the palace are able to freely enter and exit. If you want to find her, you will have to make the trip yourself. Moreover, the ghosts from within the palace are somewhat soaked with Dragon's Qi, this little one dares not to provoke them."
You Shu thought about this for a bit and asked, "You ghosts have an ability to transfer sounds over a long distance between yourselves, right? Or a soul-searching technique?"
The water ghost nodded repeatedly, "We do have the ability to transfer sounds over a long distance, however this little one's ability is inadequate and cannot be put to full use. As for the soul-searching technique, this little one had heard of it before but does not comprehend the method."
Seems like there's no choice but to go into the palace as both are out of the question. Without further ado, You Shu made the final decision, "Then, just apply a few camouflages to assist us in infiltrating the palace."
The water ghost readily agreed to this.
Ah Da and Ah Er saw You Shu talking to himself and didn't feel it was strange. They waited for them to finish their discussion and then they went to find three eunuch uniforms. After getting properly dressed, they walked towards the imperial palace gates. Seeing that the key was about to be put in place (gates about to be locked), all the eunuchs and palace maids out on official business hastily walked back and once they reach the front of the gates, they would take out the tablets from their pockets and present it to the imperial guards for examination, and if all was well, then they can pass through.
Ah Da was not able to get a hold of the pocket tablet, so he was internally panicking. Then, he saw You Shu strut up towards the guard and placed a handful of coppers into the hollow of the guard's palm. The guard made a show of being serious and looked at the coppers for quite a while before he finally waved him in, "Go in now, don't walk in small steps back!"
"Ai, maidservants will bear that in mind!" You Shu's soft voice responded. He twisted his small waist and walked straight forward.
Ho, it can be done like this too? These days when Ah Da and Ah Er followed the boy, they would gain a lot of knowledge, as well as even more courage. They followed his example and took out some coppers, handing them to the guard and were let in. The threesome arrived at the cold palace, walking around a place with ruined eaves, the interiors of the halls overgrown with weeds that stood still.
"Where's the person you are looking for? Ah, no, a ghost, I mean?" Ah Da inquired in a soft low voice.
"Wait a moment." You Shu took out a dagger, lightly cutting at his palm. Blood immediately bubbled forth from the wound, dripping into the cracks of the bluestone floor and a strong fishy smell began to permeate. In a blink of an eye, the rays from the setting sun in the palace turned to an undesirable dusk and a gust of chilly wind blew, whistling from a hole in the window before spiralling around the top of You Shu's head.
Feeling a hand on his shoulder, You Shu turned his head to see Imperial Concubine Lan standing there. Her palm rapidly ignited with a violet flame, which spread upwards to her arm in the split of a second. It seems that if she did not extinguish it, she might possibly be burned into ashes. She let out a miserable, wretched howl and quickly took away her hand, pressing it into the place where You Shu's blood dripped onto.
Ah Da and Ah Er saw that the palace suddenly darkened and internally started to be on their guard. They also saw You Shu's blood producing "zizi" sounds, which was continuously bubbling, making them feel aghast. The palace's ghost really was much stronger than the solitary ghosts outside. It is better to be less provocative.
Teh: "zizi" is like sizzling sounds like something frying in a pan.
When the two prepared to bring You Shu away, the blood on the floor completely dried up and turned into a black powder. A pale ghostly arm appeared on top of the powder and then a shoulder magically appeared, a head, a body...all within a few breaths. A famous beautiful woman in a palace dress appeared from out of thin air watching them intently.
Currently, the visible Imperial Concubine Lan's abilities were much stronger compared with last time. However, she was slow in taking her revenge. It seems that she wanted to get her hands on my flesh, therefore she was waiting for the perfect opportunity. The favoured concubine who could crawl up to a high position was not the kind of person who was not consumed by ambition, and Imperial Concubine Lan was no exception. You Shu knew what the other person was scheming, but that didn't matter. As long as the Master could be rescued, he was willing to pay any price.
What's more, it's not as if he wasn't really able to deal with Imperial Concubine Lan. He only needed to face some hardships and dangers.
"Long time no see." You Shu tore off a piece of the hem of his clothes, twisting it around his palm carefully, so as to not drip blood onto the floor to the gratuitous convenience of Imperial Concubine Lan.
Imperial Concubine Lan held her arm which had become as burnt as charcoal, gritting her teeth, "Long time no see."
Ah Da and Ah Er already recognized the person before them, their faces showed shocked expressions. Till the day they die, they will never forget that it was this woman who caused harm beyond justification to the Master, therefore she will never be forgiven.
"Initially, we had come to an agreement. I help you in taking your revenge, you help in clearing Master's name, but it seems that you don't keep your promises."
"Helping in clearing your Master's name is the same as helping him ascend the throne. Is your one drop of blood so precious that it can change the current dynasty?" The Third Prince was going to be executed; Imperial Concubine Lan naturally would want to counter bargain.
"What's your intent?" You Shu's tone was indifferent.
Ah Da and Ah Er were even more amazed. They absolutely did not expect You Shu to covertly do so much for the Master. He takes Master's feelings very seriously and this can only be described in four words——dead set on it.
"If you give Bengong half of your blood, Bengong will not only vindicate the Jingzhou Wang but also help him ascend to the dragon position." Imperial concubine Lan licked her lips and sinisterly conjected, "Bengong will give you three days' time to think it over. You might want to hurry a bit, there are rumours that in three days, the Jingzhou Prince will have to commit suicide by imperial decree."
Blu: Jingzhou Wang - King of Jingzhou; fief owner but still below the Emperor
"There's no need to think about it, this is for you." You Shu was not able to wait for another quarter of an hour. He knows that what Imperial Concubine Lan actually wants is his life, but at present, the Dragon's Qi in his body was really concentrated so she was unable to approach. This want for half of his blood that she previously mentioned would land him in a predicament that will leave him extremely physically weakened, and only after the Dragon's Qi was drained away will she then strike.
However, she never expected You Shu to possess different spiritual powers. Although this different power was somewhat weak, it was able to help him have complete control of his body. Ultimately, Dragon's Qi was a form of energy and after absorbing a lot of it again for the second time, he was already gradually able to get the knack of minimising the decreasing rate of the loss. Walking around, being exhausted, sustaining injuries, the consumption of Dragon's Qi by far exceeds during a deep sleeping state but You Shu was able to use his spirit powers to retain the Dragon's Qi by guiding it to flow into the Dantian. Therefore, though the Dragon's Qi will dissipate, the rate in which it does is significantly slower.
Teh: Dantian is an acupuncture point three inches below the navel
Imperial Concubine Lan thought that the loss of half of the boy's blood will give her an easy success. This thought was simply too beautiful!
As he could count on himself, You Shu did not hesitate to untie the cloth around his palm and again cut at the centre of his palm. He cut so deep that the bone was visible.
Ah Da and Ah Er were not quick enough to stop him and could only helplessly watch as blood flowed onto the floor. Half of the blood was almost the same as wanting the life of the boy. If they knew earlier that the price was so great, they would've broken into the Heavenly Prison instead!
You Shu's expression remained indifferent as he slowly said, "I want you both to swear to me that in no way will you tell of this matter to the Master." He did not seek gratitude from the young man, even more so did he not wish for him to gaze at himself with fear and wariness.
Who dared to babble nonsense about the affairs of ghosts? Ah Da and Ah Er did not have to think twice before raising their hands to take a poisoned oath.
Translator's corner
Blu: Thanks for translating, Teh~
Teh: I don't know but if I've ever introduced myself but hi. I'm Blu's new editor and I translate from time to time. I hope you like this chapter ^^