Chapter 30 Artificial Respiration Thinking of the feel of those lips, Xiao Yinshi's eyes...

As long as Feng Tan is here, the master is here.

Xiao Yinshi's limbs were frozen for a moment by those words, but he still spoke threateningly: "If you try to take this opportunity to kill me again, I will kill you."

Feng Tan knew he was suspicious, so he gripped his bow and arrow tightly and ignited the wine on it, saying calmly, "My lord, it's time for us to counterattack."

The salty sea breeze ruffled Xiao Yinshi's robes. He squinted at the gunners on the opposite ship who had already been rotated again. He used his inner energy to manipulate the surrounding airflow, and the flour on the ship's deck flew up and was launched towards the surrounding pirate ships.

After launching the flour sack, Feng Tan quickly leaped into the air, using the air currents that Xiao Yinshi had laid out for her to reach the halfway point between the cargo ship and the pirate ship. She nocked several arrows on her fully drawn bow and launched the rockets, which struck the flour sacks launched by Xiao Yinshi with speed, accuracy, and force.

"Boom boom boom!"

"Boom boom boom!"

Another burst of bombardment followed, but the flour bombardment was not as powerful as the artillery counterattack earlier. Nevertheless, it successfully wounded the majority of their troops.

Feng Tan raised an eyebrow and smiled as he watched them flee in a disheveled state on the cargo ship. He then laughed loudly at Yoshino Yibo, "Bye-bye, little Japanese!"

After saying that, she landed on the sea, used the light touch to fly back to the cargo ship, helped up Xiao Yinshi's already weak body, and jumped into the sea to escape the scene.

Yoshino Ippei, enraged, jumped up and down on the boat again. He kicked away the severed limb that was blocking his feet and cursed angrily, "A bunch of useless trash! Useless trash!"

The pirate behind him grimaced, clutching his arm where it had been injured by gunpowder, and said hatefully, "Boss, they can't have gone far. Let's send our best sailors aboard to capture them!"

Yoshino Ippei slapped him across the face, angrily shouting, "Do we have any good sailors left?!"

The pirates looked around and realized that most of the crew on the dozen or so pirate ships they had brought with them had been killed or wounded, and there were very few uninjured soldiers left.

He then asked Yoshino Ippaku, "Boss, what should we do? We haven't received this money yet!"

Yoshino Yibo sneered hatefully, "Having lost so many of my troops, of course I have to say they're all dead!"

"But they... they clearly..." The pirate started to say something, but after a warning look from Yoshino Ichiro, he stammered, "Yes, they're dead, they're just dead..."

Yoshino Yibo sneered silently in the darkness, "They can run away, but they can't hide. One of them is seriously injured and can't go far. Send some men to intercept and kill them on the nearby islands!"

*

"Dead?" Emperor Chongming slammed down the teacup that Sheng Honghai had handed him, a thick look of malevolence rising between his brows.

Wei Shengxian lowered his head, making it impossible to see his expression, and replied, "The spies in the Linzhang sea area sent a secret report last night, saying that the two were surrounded and thrown into the sea, and there has been no news of them since."

Emperor Chongming slowly exhaled a breath of turbid air. For some reason, he felt extremely heavy-hearted. He pounded his chest to calm himself before saying, "In the past, Master Lingyun cast a divination and said that the Yin Dynasty would face three calamities and three lives. According to the divination, he still has one life left and will definitely not die. As for that Judicial Commissioner, let him die as he is."

Wei Shengxian recalled Feng Tan's clever tongue, which always seemed to be at odds with him, and felt a strange sensation in his heart. He suppressed his inexplicable feelings and reported another matter, "Your Majesty, Grand Tutor Feng passed away last night. Today, only the Grand Secretary, Ren Pingsheng of the Red Sleeve Pavilion, and Princess Yongle went to pay their respects."

Upon hearing this, Emperor Chongming looked disappointed. He remained silent for a long time without saying anything, and then waved his hand to signal everyone to leave.

Sheng Honghai, still uneasy, said, "Master..."

"You may also step down."

Sheng Honghai acknowledged and bowed before leaving the hall.

The only person left in the hall was Emperor Chongming. His fingers trembled as he touched one end of the dragon throne and tapped it lightly. The secret passage behind him opened up.

Entering the secret passage, one soon arrives at the ice coffin of the current empress, Feng Sangrou.

Looking at his deceased wife's face, as beautiful as a lotus blossom in snow, Emperor Chongming revealed a long-forgotten weakness that no emperor should possess: "The Imperial Tutor is gone. There is no one left in this world who can restrain me... You can't, your father can't, and your sister certainly can't..."

He then chuckled softly, a sound both mad and demonic, like a patient who had been suppressing his emotions for a long time. "So what if Emperor Chongming has no son? Even without a son, I have extraordinary abilities to subdue the entire court. I don't want to kill you, I don't want to... You stay with me... stay with me..."

His words were incoherent and only he himself understood what he meant.

Having reigned for over twenty years, he is now only forty years old. These years of hard work have turned his temples gray. He was once a spirited and famous young man in the capital. That year, when the snow was falling heavily, his father sat high on the imperial platform and issued an imperial edict establishing the heir apparent, which began his ten-year journey of upholding the throne.

The path to becoming emperor is fraught with bloodshed. Feng Hengdao set his sights on becoming a saint, which shielded him from many verbal battles. He should have had a peaceful end, but his mistake was having a wonderful daughter!

The Dahuang regime, with its century-old foundation built on a patriarchal political system, was almost overturned by the winds of fate!

She wants women to enter the court and have the power to participate in politics! What a joke! If women could all rise to high office, the Dahuang Dynasty would collapse in no time!

What can a group of women do?

The top officials of the Ministry of Justice, the Court of Judicial Review, and the Censorate sat high in the hall, while he stood silently behind the hall watching everything that was happening in the hall.

Feng Youming refused to kneel down or admit his mistakes, insisting that Dahuang needed a reform, a thorough reform.

absurd!

Why should an empire need reform? Why should a woman stand in the court?

Feng Youming stood in the hall, his eyes shining like the sun. "I had no intention of overthrowing them, but they have suffered so much!"

She toyed with an unidentified square box that shimmered in her hand, and said to the three officials at the head of the table, "It's no use if I don't talk to you! Let Feng Shi do it herself."

Apart from Emperor Chongming himself, no one knows what she said that led him to decide to imprison her until the princess returned.

Everyone thought he refused to kill Feng Youming for Yongle's sake, but only he knew that it wasn't true; Yongle was just a pawn he used to cover up his true intentions.

If there is anyone in the world he deeply fears, it must be Feng Youming.

Remembering the shimmering square box in Feng Youming's hand, Emperor Chongming's eyes sharpened. He glanced at Feng Sangrou again, then walked out of the secret passage without looking back.

After Emperor Chongming left the underground palace, Feng Qinghuang emerged from the shadows behind him, followed by her attendant Shang Chunxiang.

Feng Qinghuang's bright red nail polish brushed against the edge of the ice coffin, making a faint, grating sound. She looked at the sleeping beauty in the ice coffin, then touched her own face, turned back and smiled, "Granny, do I look like her?"

Shang Chunxiang said expressionlessly, "The princess is the empress's biological daughter, so naturally she resembles her."

Upon hearing this, Feng Qinghuang laughed so hard she almost fell over, a surge of madness welling up beneath her once serene face. "They just said Atan is dead. Do you believe that, Granny?"

Shang Chunxiang said, "I don't believe it."

"I don't believe it either," Feng Qinghuang's gaze softened as she looked at Feng Sangrou. "My A'Tan wouldn't die, but she must have encountered some trouble..."

She pondered for a moment, then turned and leaned against the ice coffin, beckoning to Shang Chunxiang with her finger and saying, "Pass the message to Yu Ruxi. You know what to do."

"I'm trapped in the palace, but Yu Ruxi isn't. She's incredibly skilled in martial arts and has the Yu family army. Why not use her?"

*

"Xiao Yinshi, wake up!"

"No, no, he didn't drown, did he?!"

Feng Tan had a great deal of effort to drag Xiao Yinshi to this unknown island. He didn't dare to rest yet. Seeing that Xiao Yinshi was still motionless, he stretched out his finger to check his breath.

There was no breath.

Feng Tan's heart skipped a beat, and she raised her voice, "Xiao Yinshi! Wake up, Xiao Yinshi!"

Xiao Yinshi remained silent.

Feng Tan had learned a lot from Feng Youming, and the knowledge of saving lives was the one she remembered best. She quickly recalled the key points of CPR that her teacher had taught her, and placed the base of her palms on Xiao Yinshi's chest, pressing down hard.

The second key to cardiopulmonary resuscitation is to deliver air.

Feng Tan hesitated for a moment. This person had suffered severe internal injuries to this extent while saving everyone. The so-called separation between men and women was nothing in the face of life and death.

After thinking it over, she pinched Xiao Yinshi's nose, used her other hand to pry open Xiao Yinshi's lips, took a deep breath, and forced it inside.

After one time, he became more and more skilled. Feng Tan pressed his hand against his chest five times and then breathed air into his respiratory tract.

In a daze, Xiao Yinshi felt a soft touch on his lips. The person held his lips and forcefully breathed into them.

He slowly opened his eyes and saw that the boy's eyelids were slightly drooping, and tiny beads of sweat were flowing from his delicate skin, slowly falling onto his cheeks.

As Feng Tan finished speaking, she pulled away from the man's thin lips, only to have a large hand suddenly press against the back of her head, almost making her kiss him again.

Feng Tan placed one hand on Xiao Yinshi's chest and the other on the soft sand, meeting the man's dark and turbulent eyes.

This is a huge misunderstanding.

The lady is shrouded in mystery; she possesses knowledge beyond the comprehension of most, including medicine and mechanics. CPR is her exclusive skill; most people, faced with such a situation, would likely perceive it as a disrespectful act.

This is truly a case of "no amount of clearing one's name can ever make."

Looking at the boy's slightly flushed and clear face under the sunlight, Xiao Yinshi suppressed the surging desire in his deep eyes, gave a soft "hmm," and asked, "Where is this?"

Exhausted from last night's exertion, he passed out after only a short while. Feng Tan was quite capable, managing to drag him to this small island.

Feng Tan knew he was weak, so she pulled him onto one arm and helped him slowly walk out of the beach to find a cave to shelter in.

Unlike the freezing cold of the capital city of Taikoo during the Lunar New Year's Eve, this small island is lush with greenery, with colorful larks perched on the treetops, exuding a vibrant spring atmosphere.

Xiao Yinshi leaned against Feng Tan and asked, "Why didn't you take the opportunity to kill me?"

Feng Tan smiled and said, "Xiao Yinshi, you are also a useful person."

Feng Tan, you are a useful person.

Xiao Yinshi, you are also a useful person.

The implication is that, given the stakes involved, they will help if they can.

"Besides, Xiao Yinshi, we've been through thick and thin together, so shouldn't we give him the trust he deserves?"

Xiao Yinshi gave Feng Tan a sharp look and said, "Xiao Yinshi who went up the island, and Lord Xiao who came down the island?"

“It’s just the two of us now. It’s too much trouble for adults to come and go,” Feng Tan said. After arriving on the island, she seemed to have shed an invisible constraint, and she became much more relaxed, showing the carefree attitude that is appropriate for her age. “Let’s keep things simple.”

Xiao Yinshi remained noncommittal. Feng Tan helped him find a cave before dark. Xiao Yinshi had difficulty getting up and walking, so Feng Tan didn't expect him to do anything. After settling him in the cave to recuperate, she went out to find food to fill her stomach.

She was lucky; she shot two pheasants and picked some wild berries.

Feng Tan carried the bloody pheasant back to the cave. Xiao Yinshi stopped to meditate and opened his eyes to watch the boy carefully processing the pheasant by the campfire.

Her skin was pure white and flawless, her eyes were clear yet held a fierce edge, a fine layer of sweat appeared on the tip of her nose, and below that were soft lips.

Thinking of the feel of those lips, Xiao Yinshi's eyes became somewhat dark and unreadable.

Noticing Xiao Yinshi's gaze, Feng Tan stopped what she was doing and tossed three fruits from her bosom to Xiao Yinshi, "Hungry? Eat some wild fruits first, then we'll have a big meal later."

Xiao Yinshi looked at Feng Tan's clumsy handling and said, "Give me the chicken, I'll handle it."

Feng Tan, who was busy preparing the chicken, was stunned when she heard this. She obviously did not expect that the most powerful minister of Da Huang would personally handle the food. Why bother herself when someone else is doing it? Feng Tan neatly handed the pheasant along with the utensils she had prepared to Xiao Yinshi.

In the orange-red firelight, Xiao Yinshi's long, slender hands moved nimbly, plucking hair and removing internal organs with clean, decisive movements, so calm that not a single drop of blood was spilled.

Feng Tan asked, "Your movements are so skillful. Have you studied anatomy?"

“Having tortured so many people in the imperial prison, one naturally understands the true nature of flesh and blood.” Xiao Yinshi skewered the pheasant on a tree branch and turned it over and over to roast, then glanced at Feng Tan with a slight lift of his eyelids. “Aren’t you going to roast your clothes too?”

Xiao Yinshi had already dried her outer clothes with her internal energy while she was adjusting her breathing, while Feng Tan's clothes were still half-dry and half-wet clinging to her body. She had taken the opportunity to build a fire outside to dry her clothes when she went out to find food, but when she returned, it started to drizzle on the island, and her outer clothes became wet again.

Feng Tan knew this man was suspicious, so she openly took off her outer garment and placed it over the fire to warm it while asking, "Xiao Yinshi, how is your internal energy recovery going?"

"Less than one-tenth," Xiao Yinshi said, turning the pheasant over and looking at Feng Tan through the flickering firelight, "at the mercy of others, at the mercy of others' disrespect."

"Pfft," Feng Tan spat out the water she had just drunk, then smiled and said, "You're so stingy! I risked my reputation to save you, and you still remember it!"

Since they met, the atmosphere between the two has always been tense. Now that Xiao Yinshi has lost his martial arts skills and authority, Feng Tan finds him much more approachable.

Feng Tan was lively from a young age, but she became calm and aloof after the incident when she was eight years old. On the deserted island, she inexplicably relaxed.

Although her emotions eased, Feng Tan dared not let her guard down. She sighed and said, "We only have one-tenth of our strength left. If those Japanese pirates come to the island, we'll be in big trouble! And we need to leave here as soon as possible and find Evil Spirit Island..."

There are many things to do and many difficulties to overcome. Feng Tan lay down on the dry grass, took a bite of wild fruit, and said, "If I'm not mistaken, they will find us here by noon tomorrow at the earliest. We need to make a bamboo raft to escape... But how do we get to Evil Spirit Island?"

Xiao Yinshi said, "There are dozens of islands in the Linzhang sea area. We happen to know the location of one of them, which happens to be the only way to get to Evil Spirit Island."

“Jiaosi Island,” Feng Tan casually tossed the fruit pit into the fire, put on his dried outer garment, and added a few more pieces of dry firewood. “The person behind this must have a reason for using Su Bai as bait. Let’s get some sleep tonight and head to Jiaosi Island immediately.”

Feng Tan knew that resting here tonight was actually very dangerous; the Japanese pirates could find the island at any time. She had spent an hour swimming with Xiao Yinshi last night, and her strength was completely exhausted. She could fall into a deep sleep anywhere.

As for Xiao Yinshi, needless to say, he fought against more than a dozen warships by himself last night, and now he has no internal energy left and urgently needs to recuperate.

"It's ready," Xiao Yinshi said, handing Feng Tan a roasted chicken. "Tell me about Liang Baoquan. How did you figure out he had a problem?"

Feng Tan said, "Tea."

Xiao Yinshi paused, then asked, "Tea?"

Feng Tan was very hungry, smelling the aroma of roast chicken but unable to eat it, and was inwardly groaning. He replied, "Liang Baoquan's tea is only available to the top nobles of Dahuang. Given Liang Baoquan's rank, he is definitely not qualified to drink this tea. Therefore, he must be colluding with people in the capital."

In the dim light, Xiao Yinshi's eyes were completely black as he asked, "How did Lord Feng manage to drink this tea that ordinary people can't get his hands on?"

Feng Tan knew this person would ask her this question, and she had already prepared her answer: "Grand Tutor Feng's family happens to have this tea. With Miss Lin's favor, I have had the honor of drinking it."

Xiao Yinshi seemed unsure whether to believe him or not. He composed himself, suppressing his dark emotions, and after a long pause, his cold voice rang out, "You really like Lin Wanzhou?"

"I like it." Feng Tan ate the chicken without looking up.

The light rain outside gradually intensified, and flashes of lightning illuminated the entire night sky. The light brushed against Xiao Yinshi's eyebrows and eyes, igniting restless, dark desires in his dark eyes.

...It's so strange. He clearly has no feelings for Feng Tan, yet he feels lust every time he looks at him.

Seeing that Xiao Yinshi had gone off-topic, Feng Tan raised his head and said, "Xiao Yinshi, what you should be asking is, who is the Beijing official who colluded with Liang Baoquan, and what is their connection to this case?"

The flash of lightning was fleeting, and Feng Tan did not see the unpredictable emotions in Xiao Yinshi's eyes. He only heard him say in a deep voice, "Liang Baoquan is an official who adheres to the middle way. He is not reckless in his pursuit of fame and fortune, nor is he muddle-headed in his efforts to win over the powerful and wealthy. In the Censorate's supervision of the county magistrate, he has neither made any merits nor committed any demerits. Therefore, he will neither be promoted nor demoted."

“That’s it,” Feng Tan said thoughtfully, frowning. “Liang Baoquan’s ability to remain neither promoted nor demoted for eight years shows he doesn’t want to leave Kangning County. But Kangning County has been failing to pay its taxes year after year. What is there for him to stay? He can’t skim off the people’s hard-earned money; it can only be for some special benefits. As for what those benefits are…”

Feng Tan narrowed his eyes slightly. "The things men value most in this world are nothing more than power, sex, and wealth. Since Liang Baoquan has given up power, then all he has left are wealth and sex."

Thinking of this, Feng Tan suddenly snapped the wooden frame holding the pheasants in half. "He must be incredibly wealthy; he'll definitely get a share of the national treasury's silver. And this... this girl... she's one of those girls who were supposed to be sent to the evil place?! That bastard!"

Xiao Yinshi chuckled as he watched the boy's fluctuating emotions, his voice as cool as a clear spring, "The law of the jungle is the rule of this world, what are you angry about?"

Feng Tan lay down on the spread-out dry grass, slowly closed her eyes, and replied, "I don't think it's fair."

Xiao Yinshi asked, "Where in this world is there fairness?"

Feng Tan closed his eyes and said helplessly, "The Dharma is ultimately without form, and emptiness is not emptiness either."

Xiao Yinshi then asked, "What do you want fairness for?"

Feng Tan turned her back to him and said, "Having seen the vastness of the universe, I still cherish the green of the grass and trees."

Xiao Yinshi said, "Since the world is so vast, why are you the only one who has come out to compete?"

Feng Tan's chest heaved: "The universe is vast and nameless, yet I am a man among the common people!"

Xiao Yinshi said indifferently, "It's very difficult to do. There are precedents to learn from."

Feng Tan sat up from the straw bed and said, "Man proposes, God disposes; don't say everything is fate."

Xiao Yinshi suddenly smiled and said, "Speak properly."

Feng Tan said, "Xiao Yinshi, I know you are laughing at my naivety, but I have seen an era where there was no absolute fairness, but there was relative fairness. It was definitely not like the current politically muddled state of Dahuang."

Xiao Yinshi's smile faded, and he said seriously, "I'm not mocking your naivety; on the contrary, I admire your naivety."

The youthful passion and righteous spirit unique to young people are fully embodied in Feng Tan. Feng Tan is also smooth and flattering, but in the face of major issues of right and wrong, he retains a pure and sincere heart, which is rare.

Xiao Yinshi gradually realized why he always felt lustful towards this young man.

Because sandalwood is pure white and bright, it emits a blazing light.

On the contrary to him.

Xiao Yinshi looked at a withered blade of grass lying diagonally on the boy's head in the shadows, reached out and pulled it off, playing with it between his fingers. His movements were gentle, but his words were sharp as knives. "But those who want to change these rules are either dead or imprisoned, like... Feng Youming."

Author's note: Here we go!