Chapter 168 Father Emperor: "But how do we insert these chess pieces?"
Aside from cultivators from the Canxing Domain, almost all officials in the Taiwu Kingdom are mortals without any spiritual veins.
This selection was made on purpose, since there are far more mortals in the world, and cultivators are no longer on this path.
Therefore, Lin Feiran loved to accompany her father to palace banquets when she was young. Only at that time could she sit next to those composed cultivators and curiously observe them wearing various magical artifacts.
I still remember that winter when I was six years old, it was the birthday of the Holy Empress. The peonies in Luoyang were in full bloom, their soft petals covered with fine snow, and their fragrance filled the streets.
Such a spectacular sight attracted countless visitors. The market was brightly lit, and people flocked to see it. For a time, the crowds were so dense that it was difficult for vehicles to move.
Hearing the crunching sound of snow being crushed outside, accompanied by excited exclamations, Xiao Linfei moved to the window inside the carriage, quietly lifted the corner of the curtain and looked out with a curious and eager gaze.
"Father, there are so many people admiring the flowers, when will we be able to enter the palace? If we take this long, what if we arrive only to find that Gu Buhui has already left..."
This banquet wasn't particularly special compared to previous years; she had attended the Holy Palace Empress's birthday celebrations several times before. The only difference this year was that the chivalrous hero Gu Buhui would be attending.
"Manman, you admire so many people, why can't you include your father in your list?"
We're both just ordinary people, haven't you ever thought that one day your father could be as powerful as him?
Lin Lang's slightly resentful voice came from behind.
“Impossible,” Kobayashi Fei Ran replied quickly. “He wouldn’t be glued to his wife’s side every day.”
"...Slowly, you have a really interesting way of talking, just like your mother."
Xiao Linfei turned around and saw that there were only two people waiting in the not-so-spacious carriage. His father, who was already quite tall, was now curled up and slumped over the table, looking listless, making the carriage feel even more cramped.
She felt a little helpless, so she lowered the carriage curtain, rested her chin on her hand, and looked over: "Father, do you really dislike the banquet that much?"
Lin Lang lowered his head and patted the table, his ponytail falling across the table. He sighed deeply, "Because your mother doesn't like it, especially the Holy Palace Consort's birthday celebration, which she never attends. I hardly see her all night, and it breaks my heart."
"..."
Xiao Linfei wanted to say something, but after a long pause, she chose to remain silent.
Amidst the sound of Lin Lang slamming his head on the table, she continued to look out. Suddenly, several fierce horse neighs came from ahead, and the crowd surged and became chaotic.
Upon hearing the sound, Lin Lang immediately stood up, deftly shielding Xiao Lin Feiran behind him, and then lifted the carriage curtain to look ahead.
"What's wrong?"
The coachman tightened the reins, looking puzzled: "Something seems to have happened ahead; things have suddenly become chaotic. General, should we change course?"
Lin Lang stepped onto the carriage shaft, instinctively gripping the sword at his waist. He then pointed at a few people and said, "Go and clear the way to prevent the horses from startling people. Also, ask what's happening ahead."
Several guards left as ordered, and Xiao Lin Feiran took the opportunity to peek out from behind the curtain. Before he could see anything clearly, Lin Lang raised his hand to block him back.
After a while, she heard the sound of orderly footsteps outside the carriage. The guards reported, "General, we have already asked the palace guards. Not long ago, Gu Buhui injured many people in the palace and fled. There were cultivators chasing after him, which caused some trouble."
"Could you please inquire about the reason?"
"No, they don't know either. They only said the whole city was under lockdown, but the banquet was held as scheduled. However, there was chaos at the banquet, and only some drinks were served. The rest is still being prepared and will take about an hour."
Lin Lang responded casually, "Continue onward, and watch out for any horses that may be startled."
After saying this, he bent down and returned to the car. As soon as the curtain fell, his face fell, and he rolled over to the table.
"The whole city is under martial law and locked down, so we definitely can't change course and turn around now. We're not far from the palace gates."
How could this happen? I was planning to finish the meal, exchange pleasantries, and leave, but now I don't know how long I'll have to wait... If I had known, I would have begged your mother to come with us."
Kobayashi Feiran was unfazed and ignored the warning, only frowning as he looked out the window.
Lin Lang turned to look at her, thinking she was feeling regretful, and comforted her, "Slowly, Gu Buhui has escaped, so you probably won't see him today. I'll go to the painter later to get you a few portraits, so this trip won't be in vain."
Under the moonlight, on the rooftop, a black figure was running swiftly. Several swords hung at his waist, making him very conspicuous. But after only a few breaths, the figure disappeared into the night.
...
The banquet hall was truly a mess. When Lin Feiran and his companion entered, there were still broken porcelain pieces and pieces of wood that had not been cleaned up. The head eunuch stepped forward and led the two to a flower hall on the side.
"General Lin, please rest here for a while. The banquet will begin shortly."
Many high-ranking officials and dignitaries were seated in the flower hall, clearly having waited there long ago. Strangely, none of them mentioned Gu Buhui's earlier outburst at the banquet; they simply exchanged pleasantries and jokes.
As soon as Lin Lang entered, many officials came to chat with him. Xiao Lin Feiran sat to the side, looking around listlessly.
As expected, there were only peonies in the flower hall. Although there were different varieties, they still looked rather dull at first glance.
In a corner of this spacious flower hall, in the dim light of the candlelight, several children were talking and laughing in hushed tones. Xiao Lin Feiran became interested, told Lin Lang, and walked straight towards them.
As she got closer, she realized it wasn't a joke, but rather several children playing around a thin boy.
Almost without needing to identify them, just by looking at their clothes, one could tell that some of them were princes who were almost invisible in the palace.
This has always been the case for the offspring of the imperial family. Even if they are princes, they almost never appear in public before being selected as crown prince.
Even though they were in the flower hall at this moment, many court officials could not tell who was who and felt completely unfamiliar with each other. They bowed from afar and considered it their duty to pay their respects.
As Kobayashi Feiran approached, the head eunuch guarding her nearby merely glanced at her, perhaps because she was still young, and did not stop her.
"What are you doing?" She crouched down by the fence and looked down.
Among the young princes, there was a lone boy squatting down. He looked up and seemed a little uneasy.
One of them boldly looked back, cautiously glanced at the senior eunuchs, and asked, "Who are you?"
"I am Lin Feiran."
These princes had hardly ever spoken to children outside the palace, and they were even afraid when they first saw her.
Xiao Linfei was surprised, but quickly concealed her expression and asked calmly, "What are you playing?"
The princes seemed quite used to this question-and-answer format. Although they showed displeasure at her question, they still answered truthfully.
"We're 'catching ghosts'."
"We'll capture him alone."
"He can't escape any of them."
"He's too stupid. Once he's caught, he'll be the ghost forever. We've finally managed to get out of here for a banquet, so we have to have as much fun as we can."
The child surrounded remained silent, the sweat on his forehead long since dried and now curled up in a ball on his cheek.
Xiao Linfei squatted on the fence, watching quietly, and asked, "How long have you been playing?"
"Before sunset... What, you want to play too? The eunuch won't let us play with the children outside the palace, so go somewhere else by yourself."
The older children stopped looking at her and only patted the person in the middle.
"Quickly cover your eyes, we need to hide."
Kobayashi Feiran jumped down from the fence with surprising agility, which impressed the others.
She began, "Now that I'm inside the palace, I'm not considered a child outside. What's the point of playing with him if you keep finding him? Why not play with me? No one has ever found me when we're catching ghosts..."
"Forget it, I can't win against you guys, I'll just go back."
Before he could leave, one of them called out to him.
"Wait... Anyway, Father won't be coming out today. So you two can both become ghosts, and we'll definitely find you!"
This was the first time Lin Feiran had seen these princes, and he was truly amazed by their naiveté.
She was even somewhat impressed that these people didn't have the slightest bit of airs of royalty.
As they spoke, the group turned their backs and said they were going to count to fifty, telling the others to hide quickly.
Xiao Linfei glanced at him, then calmly pulled the man to the corner of the flower hall and led him to squat down together.
These people were princes after all, and she dared not offend them casually. Taking them away so tactfully would not cause trouble for her father.
"Rest well here. You look so tired, your legs are trembling. Are you hungry? Would you like some glutinous rice cake?"
She subconsciously assumed that these were servants being bullied by the prince, so she took out two cakes and stuffed them into their hands. Then she took out a few pieces of spirit jade from her waist, set up a magic array around the two of them, and slowly exhaled.
"This was made by my mother herself, it's something I've kept hidden away. With this, they'll never see us, so eat in peace, just keep it down... Okay, actually, even if you smack your lips or make noises, they won't hear you, but I don't like people who smack their lips while eating."
The child stared at her blankly, then lowered his eyes, nodded, and began to eat the glutinous rice cake in small bites.
The princes not far away had already counted to fifty and were excitedly leading their people to search around. Xiao Lin Feiran slightly curled his lips, then turned his head to look and saw the little servant stretching his neck and swallowing the glutinous rice cake with great difficulty.
It's normal for someone who is already somewhat tired and lacking in body fluids to have trouble swallowing such dry and hard food.
She paused for a moment, then said, "They've all left. I'll quietly go get you a cup of cold tea. Don't leave."
The attendant nodded silently.
She stood up, and the not-yet-completely-petrified spirit jade was pushed aside by her, and moved to some unknown location. Suddenly, another magic circle appeared beneath their feet, and a faint, almost imperceptible light flashed by. In the instant the magic circle rotated, the two of them arrived at a secret chamber.
Xiao Lin Fei Ran's heart skipped a beat, and he subconsciously put the spirit jade back in its place. The magic array that had been set up was now complete, but it could no longer take them away.
"Where is this?" she murmured, looking around.
The servant was clearly just as bewildered as she was; he held two pieces of glutinous rice cake and stared blankly at his surroundings.
Before me was a very simple secret room, surrounded by towering bookshelves filled with classic books. In the center was a bronze tripod and a high chair, with a fully blooming silver flower painted on the bottom of the tripod.
The petals intertwine and overlap, creating a complex and intricate pattern. Upon closer inspection, the veins on the stems, leaves, and petals are interwoven, forming a series of magical arrays.
One formation connected to another, one line intertwined with another, making it impossible for Lin Feiran to discern the entirety of this magic array.
The two squatted in the corner of the secret room. The more she looked, the more dizzy she felt. She wanted to get up and take a closer look, but just then, the little servant next to her grabbed her arm and brought her back to her original position. In the heat of the moment, he even stuffed another piece of glutinous rice cake into her mouth.
"Shhh."
With his mouth full of glutinous rice cake, he managed to utter his first breath of the night.
With a creak, the bookshelves on the west side of the secret chamber were pushed open to both sides, and two people walked in unhurriedly. Then, the precious pearl in the secret chamber slowly lit up. By the time the two people reached the bronze cauldron, the inside was as bright as day.
The blinding light illuminated the faces of the people who were coming, revealing them to be none other than Emperor Shentu Lu and Ding Yi, the chief of the Can Star Domain.
Xiaolin Feiran's eyelids twitched suddenly; in such bright light, she felt almost completely exposed.
She didn't know if the two of them would discover the magic circle. With her heart pounding, she took a half-inch back, but accidentally stepped on the person behind her.
She turned around to look, but the man seemed not to have noticed anything, only staring ahead with a look of even greater fear than she had.
Xiao Linfei turned around and silently moved aside, blocking most of his view.
Beside the bronze cauldron, the Human Emperor smiled warmly. Now in his youth, he had a ruddy complexion, was exceptionally handsome, and had a very clear voice.
He slightly raised his hand and glanced at the high chair: "Father, please sit down."
Ding Yi only shook his head, his eyes obscured by his white eyebrows: "There is a distinction between ruler and subject, no need for that. When will Kang'er arrive?"
The Emperor nodded in response: "They should be on their way. There was a great upheaval tonight, so the palace servants are bound to be a little slow. It's alright to wait a bit."
Ding Yi nodded and said nothing more, but the Emperor said again: "Gu Buhui is indeed courageous. He refused to be appointed as a high minister and even dared to cause a scene in the palace. Why did you let him go, Father?"
"It is truly rare for the human race to produce such a person. To be able to stand shoulder to shoulder with a cultivator with the body of a mortal is a rare feat. In the past few hundred years, he has been the only one. Even if he is unruly, his crimes do not warrant death. A little scare will suffice."
If everyone could be like him, how could people in the world suffer from the pain of having no pulse?
Unfortunately, he was alone.
After speaking, he stared intently at a certain spot, as if reminiscing or sighing.
The Emperor's eyes flickered slightly, and with a shift in his gaze, he slowly sat down in the high chair.
"Father is benevolent and righteous, and he is concerned about the suffering of all living beings. Isn't what we are doing now for this purpose? If even the Emperor's clan, who are born without lineage, can cultivate, then the people of the world will naturally be no match for them."
Ding Yi shook his head and smiled, "This method wasn't my idea; I won't take credit for it."
The Emperor nodded: "I understand. Esoteric Buddhism is equally noble. Without them, there would be no Father, and I would not be who I am today."
“The esoteric sect shares the same ideals as you and me. I will do my best to help them with any actions they take.”
As for the spiritual power of the demon realm, it will inevitably be introduced into the human realm. However, now that the demon king has been beheaded, it is no longer under our control.
I sent people to make contact before, but the new Demon Lord is unyielding, arrogant, and rarely leaves his residence. The people I sent couldn't even get into Xingzhi Palace; they were torn to pieces and thrown out..."
Ding Yi stood aside, looking at the books around him. He lightly waved his whisk, and the dust all around him scattered.
"There is no need to worry. This young man is proud and ambitious, and his realm is profound. It is inevitable that he will rise to the top. However, we are not without options."
"Oh? Father-in-law already had a plan?"
Ding Yi gave a faint reply and suddenly walked towards the corner.
"It's not exactly a countermeasure, just going with the flow."
Xiao Lin Feiran was completely confused, having no idea who the person in the conversation was. However, when she saw Ding Yi walking towards them, her heart pounded wildly.
She subconsciously adjusted her breathing; due to extreme tension, a thin layer of sweat beaded on her forehead and back, her palms were slippery, and her mind raced.
With a whoosh, the whisk swept away a few specks of dust from the bookshelf in the corner.
He turned and left.
Lin Feiran breathed a sigh of relief. The glutinous rice cake in her mouth was bitten off and did not fall to the ground, but instead fell into the hand of the person next to her.
“Before the Pilgrimage Valley opens, you can write a letter to the Demon Lord and use the quota for entering the valley as a bargaining chip to make a deal with him.”
The Emperor was astonished: "Pilgrimage Valley? Although there are many treasures in the valley, he is not a person who covets fame and fortune, so why would he care about them?"
He definitely will.
Ding Yi began cleaning the bronze cauldron again, his voice unhurried and slow. He was wearing a Taoist robe that had been washed until it was almost white, and from a distance, he looked like a hardworking and simple old man.
"The demon race cannot participate in the Flying Flower Festival, let alone enter the Pilgrimage Valley. Ru Xian has been searching for a way to enter the valley for many years, but to no avail. If you offer it to him with both hands, he will certainly not refuse."
This gives us leverage. We can then place a chess piece in the Xingzhi Palace and find a suitable opportunity to open the Yongling Well.
Creating a Spirit Well is extremely simple; it doesn't even require a cultivator. Even the most unremarkable mortal can do it.
The emperor lowered his eyes in thought, then asked, "But how should these chess pieces be inserted?"
Ding Yi dusted off the grime, and the bronze cauldron gleamed. He nodded in satisfaction.
"Don't worry, the choice is in our hands. As long as it's reasonable enough, no one will notice anything unusual. Things like the Spirit Well are formless and shapeless; they might be in a cup, under a stone, or at the bottom of a spring."
Very few people in the world know about it, and who would have thought that the desolate well in Xingzhi Palace is such a treasure?
He's too young to know.
"But how can you and I know when the Pilgrimage Valley will open?"
Ding Yi lowered his eyes and said calmly, "Ten years. It will definitely open in ten years."
The Emperor pondered for a long time, unable to think of a way to place this piece, because before that, he had something more important to him.
“Father, Bailu has been feeling unwell lately. I have invited many physicians to come and treat her, but none of them have a good remedy and we can only postpone her treatment for now…”
I've heard that Ru Xian's medical skills are highly accomplished and his reputation is widespread. Bai Lu is also a demon; could he possibly treat her?
Ding Yi then turned to look at him: "The Holy Palace Lady is weak, perhaps because she has stayed in the mortal realm for too long and is lacking in spiritual energy. I have a friend who is skilled in alchemy, why don't we ask him to make a diagnosis?"
The Emperor recalled for a moment: "You mean Zhang Chunhe from Daohe Palace? I have long heard of his name. If you could invite him here, that would be wonderful."
"I will write to him tomorrow, but he has taken on a disciple in recent years and is currently teaching him diligently, so he is too busy to attend to everything. It may take some time..."
As the two were chatting, the bookshelves next to them moved aside again, and two more people entered.
The woman at the head of the group, draped in a light veil, possessed a noble and elegant appearance. She entered with light steps, her eyes closed, her butterfly-like eyelashes lowered, giving her a sacred and ethereal air.
Behind him was a boy of about sixteen or seventeen years old, dressed in blue, with a timid expression.
That expression was exactly the same as the prince Lin Feiran had seen before.
As expected, upon seeing the two people beside the bronze cauldron, he first shrank back in fear, then braced himself and stepped forward to bow, his voice extremely low.
"Father."
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