Chapter 61 - Don’t Marry
writer:
无罪 update:2022-07-21 15:26
Zhang Yi looked apologetically and distraughtly at Zhen Tingan who had fallen spiritlessly to the ground in the rain. He did not know how to answer the question. Even he himself didn’t know the name of this move he had comprehend from the Painting Remnant Scroll.
"This move is called ’Morning Rain Dampens The Dust.’" Ding Ning said softly. 1
Zhen Tingan’s body shook. After Ding Ning’s calm words, he saw the dust on the roof tiles of the houses, on the dry tree branches, and the cracks in the stone path had been washed away, and everything looked brand new.
Zhang Yi nodded apologetically to Zhen Tingan again and then looked nervously at Ding Ning. He asked, "Junior Sect Brother Ding Ning, how did I perform my move?"
Ding Ning looked at him and said emotionally, "Very well."
Rain had come from the sky and turned into threads, with the wetness accumulating as the sword essence. This in itself was already extremely powerful. If Ding Ning had performed this move, he feared that many of the things in this alley would have been crushed.
Zhang Yi was gentle and kind. So when he used such a move, much of the murderousness had disappeared so the rain on the perimeter was gentle enough to wash away the dust. But this change also caused a transformation unexpected to Ding Ning. The primal energies of the universe that had gathered in the air had not vented down along the murderous intent, instead pouring towards the target of Zhang Yi’s sword essence. So while this move was overly soft, and the sword essence not fully expressed, the rain that had enveloped Zhen Tingan had become faster and more powerful.
The same sword and sword forms were different in the hands of different people.
Hearing Ding Ning’s praise, Zhang Yi finally showed a small relaxed smile. While Ding Ning was his junior sect brother, the other seemed to have stricter demands of him than Xue Wangxu. Also, he had comprehended this move with the help of Ding Ning. At least on this move, Ding Ning was his teacher. He naturally wanted to be recognized by his teacher after using the move for the first time.
Shen Yi was holding a large umbrella above Xue Wangxu. The water droplets that had flown towards Xue Wangxu had been blocked and flowed down along the surface of the umbrella. He only realized now why Ding Ning had him prepare an umbrella at the start. He remained ignorant that most of his clothing was soaked.
Xue Wangxu looked at the clean alley, the smiling Zhang Yi, and Shen Yi who was soaked to shield him from the water. He smiled in satisfaction and said, "This is very good."
Zhang Yi had wanted Xue Wangxu to be happy. Hearing Xue Wangxu’s praise, he was sincerely happy and his face seemed to glow.
"You also know this kind of sword form?" Zhen Tingan struggled up from the ground and asked Ding Ning, his face pale.
While he didn’t know how Zhang Yi had comprehended this sword form, the attitude Zhang Yi had when asking Ding Ning just now caused him to sense many things.
Ding Ning glanced at Zhen Tingan and said, "I have not cultivated this sword form, but mine is even more powerful."
Zhang Yi feared that Zhen Tingan would not give up and said urgently, "My junior sect brother Ding Ning does not speak false. If you fight him, I fear you will be seriously wounded."
"So you are not cowardly, you are confident you can win." Zhen Tingan’s expression changed and he turned towards the carriage after he spoke. But when he reached the front of his carriage, he said softly, "Being confident you can defeat me is useless. Other people will come find me …… I know that some people do not want you to even have a chance of participating in the Min Mountain Sword Trials."
Zhang Yi heard this and changed expression. He said urgently, "Who?"
Zhen Tingan did not respond. The carriage carried him and the other youth away quickly. Only the sound of hoofbeats echoed in the alley.
"This Zhen Tingan does not seem to be one to chat after a defeat." Zhang Yi frowned worriedly and turned towards Ding Ning. "He must have heard something."
Ding Ning frowned slightly. He already felt out of control with the appearance of the cultivator of Cloud Water Palace, the threat to Wang Taixu, and the changes that Zhangsun Qianxue had after subduing the Nine Hell King Sword. With this addition of matters like this, his mood immediately grew poor.
"What, they want someone to cripple me before I attend the Min Mountain Sword Trials?" Ding Ning smiled coldly. "Regardless of whether it is Li Lingjun or some other important person that wants to do this for an unknown reason, if they want to do such a thing, I fear they will first pay a painful price."
Ding Ning’s cold smile caused Zhang Yi to feel an inexplicable wave of cold.
Xue Wangxu looked oddly at Ding Ning. Of course he did not know that Zhangsun Qianxue was Ding Ning’s sore point and Ding Ning had become restless due to Zhangsun Qianxue’s changes. However, he was sure that Ding Ning’s mood today was very different than usual.
Forbearance was what Xue Wangxu was most skilled in. So he coughed softly and prepared to talk with Ding Ning. But at this time, a voice came from the entrance of the alley.
"Higher cultivation, skilled tactics, even if it is a fated victory, it is useless because in many places, human lives are not worth money. People can easily find someone else to trade for your life." The one who spoke was a middle-aged man in grey robes.
As Zhang Yi turned around, this grey-robed man was descending a grey carriage. This grey-robed man had ordinary features but his head was shaved and had an enormous tattoo with an indistinct picture on the back of his head.
His body gave off a darker and colder presence than the officials of the Divinity Bureau. He also gave off a musty odor as though he had not seen the sunlight for a long time. Or rather, even sunlight would avoid his scent.
Ding Ning’s cold smile previously had caused Zhang Yi to feel a wave of cold but this unknown middle-aged man caused Zhang Yi to feel waves of cold and a strong sense of trepidation.
This kind of presence was distant and slightly unfamiliar. But after several moments, Ding Ning recalled where this presence originated from.
He took a deep breath. His expression did not change much, but he started to secretly change the flow of energies in his body. He deliberately controlled his heartbeat to speed up and beat faster than usual.
"My surname is Xue, my name is Yi, not meaning clothing, but meaning one." The grey-robed middle-aged man showed no intentions of walking closer. Ding Ning’s figure reflected in his grey eyes. He said coldly, "Ding Ning, I come here on the orders of Official Shen to take you to the Great Floating Water Prison for an investigation."
—
Almost at the same time, in a dark room, Mo Qinggong, in blue robes, stood next to an official in grey robes who had his hands behind his back. This grey-robed official was unusually tall and thin. Compared to the slightly shorter and plumper Mo Qinggong, he looked like a corner turret.
In front of him was a smooth metal bed that looked like a mirror with all kinds of sharp glinting blades placed on top of it. Hanging above the metal bed were some metal hooks and chains. Anyone who saw this would feel that this was a slaughterhouse, or an autopsy room. Yet hanging on the hooks near the wall was a wriggling body that constantly gave off weak but bleak groans.
The sound of water came from the walls. This was a torture chamber. An ordinary torture room in the Great Floating Water Prison.
Watching the grey figure, half unskinned, wriggle like a worm, Mo Qinggong was still filled with discomfort even though he had come to the Great Floating Water Prison many times and the Divinity Bureau had torture chambers as well.
"Official Shen, you have spent so much effort on him, and he is like this. How can there be anything he has not yet told?" Mo Qinggong suppressed his discomfort, looked at the tall and thin grey-robed official and asked, "Why have Official Xue go find that wine shop youth to help with the investigation?"
"Because I have free time."
The grey-robed official turned around. His face was even longer than usual people, and his eyes deep set. In this dark place, he did not look very different than a skull.
"You know, people are rarely sent to me. Since the Holy One give me a salary, I cannot just do nothing. Since one has been sent in, I will need to use his body to wile away the subsequent months where there is nothing to do. If I dig …… I can always dig something useful out," he looked expressionlessly at Mo Qinggong and said coldly.
Mo Qinggong coughed softly to vent the discomfort and displeasure inside. The figure hanging in the corner heard the words "months" and gave a weak howl even worse than a sob.
The grey-robed official was naturally Shen Xuan, the person who was in charge of the Great Floating Water Prison.
He looked at Mo Qinggong as though he heard nothing and said, "In the view of the Divinity Bureau, that wine shop youth is not suspicious, but in my view, that is the greatest problem."
Mo Qinggong’s face turned cold and he said, "What do you mean?"
"When Bureau Chief Ye killed the Zhao rebel, he was present. He helped Wang Taixu establish himself. He reached Profound Understanding in half a day after joining White Goat Cave. Then his cultivation exploded. With three cultivators like this trying to assassinate him, he did not die, and he killed one in a fight. These are all impossible for ordinary people to do." The grey-robed official looked at Mo Qinggong and said expressionlessly, "Too many coincidences are a problem. Too many impossibilities occurring to the same person is also a problem."
"Do not say to me that the Divinity Bureau has already investigated, and do not say that Fang Xiumu feels he has no problem."
He tilted his face down, and gave off a coldness that made even Mo Qinggong’s heart tremble. "All officials have to cooperate with an investigation of the Great Floating Water Prison. You should know that we have many means that you do not have. Only after I have seen and felt he has no problem, then I will feel there are no problems."
Translator Ramblings: My sleeping schedule is messing up my update schedule.
This is a phrase from a poem called "Sending Yuan Er to Xi’an" by Wang Wei in the Tang Dynasty. ↩
Volume 2 61 - The Suspicions From The Water Prison
This chapter has been brought to you by me, and larkspur.
In the southwest of Changling, there was a White Water River that connected with the Wei River. At the end of the White Water River was a range of green mountains. The legendary Min Mountain Sword Sect was within this green mountain range.
At the end of the road was a grass meadow, here was where all the carriages were parked. There was only the last hour left before the start of the Min Mountain Sword Trials. Other than the young people who were looking towards the green mountains with yearning and excitement, there was a fully armored cavalry marching about. Within temporary tents were many officials from the Clan Law Bureau, nervously inspecting some of the items relating to the ceremony and oblation.
Around some sparsely populated areas, a few swordsmen in either black or blue clothing were looking around expressionlessly. These swordsmen gave off a dark smell that did not even fade in the sunlight. If they were not from the Astrology Bureau, they must be from the Divinity Bureau.
The Min Mountain Sword Trials held each year were naturally extremely important. This time, because Emperor Yuanwu was going to worship his ancestors and establish the crown prince at the Min Mountain Sword Trials, it became a major event that would be recorded in the history books.
There were many tourists on the grass meadow. They just purely wanted to see the spectacle of the Min Mountain Sword Sect opening at a close distance. At this time, they were looking at ancient green trees at the end of the meadow with increasing anticipation and nervousness.
Those ancient green trees seemed much shorter than the green mountains behind them. But when these tourists looked, those green mountains seemed to have been overshadowed by these ancient trees. They could clearly see those green mountains piercing the clouds, but they could not see the true appearance of those green mountains.
Even more importantly, they knew that the tallest mountain among those was called Skyscraper, but it had not yet appeared in their sight!
Concealing a mountain from everyone’s view was an astounding feat for cultivators, much less ordinary people who did not know cultivation. Some scenes, in their eyes, were akin to miracles.
But their response and anticipation at this moment, in the eyes of some people, were infantile and laughable.
For example, Palace Attendant Rong who was close to the empress. Her carriage was at the end, and far from the candidates those officials and cultivation places had recommended. Surrounding her were mostly the tourists who came to watch.
At this moment, her gaze landed on these people through the cracks in the carriage curtain. Her originally expressionless eyes showed hints of disgust.
Soon, waves of tremours came from the distant ground. Even the ordinary people who came to watch felt this abnormality and became restless. There were two horse whinnies but the carriage cabin did not move.
This palace attendant understood what the coachman meant. She tapped gently on the walls twice and the carriage immediately quieted.
Her gaze coldly fell towards the path behind, and her disgusted eyes grew calm and cold again.
The sound of the voices rose accompanying the trembling of the ground. The military troops that had been patrolling in the distance drew closer, and formed a passageway in front of the ancient tree forest.
Without any warning, hundreds of flows of green energy spilled along the ground from the ancient green forest. The moment the grounds stopped trembling, the dozens of ancient green trees disappeared from sight, replaced by a green jade door.
Almost no one noticed the size of this green jade door or its style, because the moment this green jade door appeared, a straight mountain path, and an enormous green mountain appeared in front of them.
This mountain path and the enormous green mountain appeared so abruptly, it felt like two things being shoved into the eyes of most people.
The mountain path and the green mountain were as straight as a sword and gave off a sharp sword essence. Most people’s eyes teared up in pain. The more they wanted to see the full appearance of the mountain path and the enormous green mountain, the less they could see.
Melodious music sounded. The officials of the bureaus moved through the green jade door and walked onto the mountain path behind it.
After the officials passed through, the teachers and chosen students from the cultivation places alighted their carriages, signed the books, and passed through the doors.
The mood became solemn and gradually turned quiet.
"Why is he still not here, is he scared?"
Among the lines, a youth dressed grandly looked back several times and couldn’t help but mutter.
Among the quiet, this mutter appeared unusually piercing. A middle-aged teacher next to him in silver robes immediately paled. He lowered his voice and lectured. "Xie Changsheng, you dare to speak at this moment! Careful that I will disqualify you!"
This youth, with a young face but a frivolous air, was naturally the only son of the wealthy Xie Family, Xie Changsheng. Hearing the middle-aged teacher’s admonitions, he immediately said in anger, "Sect Uncle Chen! I have donated much silver to trade for this qualification! True gold and silver. How do you qualify to disqualify me? Even the abbot would not dare to say such a thing!"
The middle-aged teacher shook his head, and turned away from Xie Changsheng with a face full of anger.
"I know who he is, the only son of the Xie Family …… he managed to buy a spot."
The chosen students from other cultivation places who heard Xie Changsheng’s words did not conceal their disdain. Clearly, Xie Changsheng did not have enough cultivation to represent White Cloud Monastery, but he had donated a huge sum in exchange for this spot.
"Why has the wine shop youth not arrived yet?"
After learning of Xie Changsheng’s status, most of the students who heard Xie Changsheng’s mumbling, knew that Xie Changsheng was speaking of Ding Ning.
After the Deer Mountain Conference, the ranking of the Book of Talents had changed greatly. Some people’s names disappeared and some people rose quickly. While they had never heard of Ding Ning fighting anyone, the Zhou Family had inexplicably disappeared from Changling, and the Ink Garden had inexplicably landed in this wineshop youth’s possession. His name on the Book of Talents had quietly risen to twenty ninth and he was one of the most amazing rises.
Regardless of what had happened during the time of the Deer Mountain Conference, in the heart of everyone attending the Min Mountain Sword Trials, Ding Ning, this wineshop youth, was one of the opponents to be most wary of.
"I believe that he will come."
A firm female voice rose and entered Xie Changsheng’s ears.
Xie Changsheng’s eyebrows rose slightly. Without turning his head, he knew this was Nangong Caishu.
In front of the green jade doors, there were multiple officials in black robes responsible for registering the students attending the trial. One of the older officials was not holding pen and paper, just watching with his hands behind his back. At this time, Nangong Caishu’s words reached him. Thinking of the personality of the mistress of the palace, a hint of disdain floated on his lips. He thought to himself,
"If he doesn’t come, it would be a pity."
At this time, a cold voice passed into the ears of Xie Changsheng, this official in black robes, and other people.
Xie Changsheng turned and his pupils contracted.
The official in black robes also looked over and his breathing paused slightly.
The speaker was not someone unfamiliar to Xie Changsheng and the others, it was Gu Xichun. But after many months, his appearance had changed greatly. At this time, he was even thinner, and his face even appeared narrower. Even more intimidating was that his eyes were slightly sunken as though they were always in shadows, and there were lines of blood at the corners of his eyes as though they would seep out of his skin.
**
Hoofbeats sounded on the path.
The students at the very end of the line were about to pass the doors. Some tourists, who were crying yet still unable to see the mountain path and Skyscraper where Min Mountain Sword Sect was on, were turning away. Their collective thought was- who was so proud to arrive now?
Palace Attendant Rong looked expressionlessly at this belated carriage, like she was looking at two ants.
Yet, when these two carriages stopped, and Ding Ning lifted the curtain, her eyes filled with shock when she felt Ding Ning’s presence. She was secretly irked.
Her face turned cold, giving off the light of porcelain. She whistled and the carriage carrying her moved, stopping in front of Ding Ning and the others who had gotten off their carriage.
The moment this carriage moved, Ding Ning knew who was inside. He took a deep breath, his expression cold.
Zhang Yi and Shen Yi were helping Xue Wangxu off the carriage. Feeling the coldness suddenly coming from the front of the carriage, they inexplicably froze, and felt great terror.
"You disappoint me greatly."
The black carriage curtains billowed in waves, and revealed a crack. Palace Attendant Rong’s cold features appeared for a moment in front of Ding Ning and the others before disappearing behind the curtain. A flat voice slowly said, "I can allow you to behave wilfully in Ink Garden, but you should not do this."
Ding Ning looked calmly at the black curtain and said, "I do not understand what you mean."
Behind the black curtain, Palace Attendant Rong did not argue or lecture. She said in a light tone, "You should not do this."
As she said this, the hot air seemed to freeze.
A hand appeared in front of Ding Ning.
A hand formed from the primal energies of the universe.
Translator Ramblings: Palace Attendant Rong isn’t happy with anything Ding Ning does.
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