371 Mild Breath Silent Breath
The man in purple still did not speak. He released Lei Wujie's sword, tipped his toes and retreated sharply.
Xiao Se’s Wuji staff smashed into the ground furiously, the tremor causing a few of the smaller trees nearby to sway to the point of almost toppling. The purple-clothed man brushed off the dust on his sleeves, raised his eyebrows mildly and looked at the Wuji staff in Xiao Se’s hads, his eyes reflecting no small amount of appreciation.
"No, if we continue like this, the guards will be drawn over. When the time comes, we won’t be able to leave," Xiao Se whispered.
The purple-clothed man took a step forward, waved his left hand, and his fingers curled tightly around a long whip. He slashed the whip, the length looking like a dragon, and attacked Xiao Se and Lei Wujie.
"What do we do?" Lei Wujie leaped aside to dodge and turned his head to look at Xiao Se. "This person is not fighting us on purpose. He’s just stalling to draw others here."
Xiao Se frowned and raised his Wuji staff. "I have an idea. You stop him, I’ll run away first."
Lei Wujie was stunned. "Aren't stage lines usually more like 'I’ll stop him, you run'? Why are the roles reversed when it comes to you? If we told our story in a teahouse right now, you’d be the protagonist. What sort of protagonist are you?"
Xiao Se glared at him. "I'm a prince. Entering the rear palace is a serious crime. If someone sees me here, I won’t be able to refute it."
Lei Wujie thought for a while, and then asked, "What about me? What’s my crime for entering the rear palace?"
"You’re a commoner. Entering the rear palace would be a capital crime. No trial needed, just chop off the head," Xiao Se replied.
"You’re an asshole, brother!" Lei Wujie shouted angrily.
Xiao Se nodded. "Let’s see who can run faster!"
The two leaped into the air at the same time and swept towards the outside of the palace.
The purple-clothed man also leaped up to follow them, but another person wearing a purple python robe swept in from outside the palace. He brushed past Xiao Se and Lei Wujie.
"Counting on you," Xiao Se lowered his head and said in a low voice.
The man smiled, gathered his sleeves, and said faintly, "It's what we owe you."
Lei Wujie asked, "Did you know he was coming from the start?"
"I guessed." Xiao Se didn't look back. "But my guesses are always accurate."
Although the man was wearing an exquisite purple python robe, his expression was indifferent, and he looked like an ordinary middle-aged Confucian scholar. In fact, he did spend most of his time in the imperial library, quietly reading one book after another.
Eunuch of Records, Jin Yu Gonggong.
Well-read as a gentleman, gentle and mild as jade.
"Who are you?" Jin Yu Gonggong raised his head. He also raised a hand gently, and a gust of warm qi radiated from his body.
Mild Breathing Technique.
Ling Jun and Bo Yong’s carriage passed by just in time and Xiao Se and Lei Wujie immediately got in and changed into their eunuch robes again.
"Xiao Se, did we lose our chance on this trip then?" Lei Wujie wiped the sweat from his forehead.
"No, I got it," Xiao Se said.
Lei Wujie asked in surprise, "When did you get it?"
Xiao Se took out a jade bottle from his sleeve and showed it to Lei Wujie. Hidden inside was a tooth from a comb, its surface dark red, as if stained with blood. Xiao Se said, "The move that Lady Consort Xuan attacked us with was intentional. She deliberately pierced her finger when she threw out the teeth from the comb."
"You’re all old foxes." Lei Wujie sighed. "Oh yeah, Xiao Se. Who was that person just now? Why would there be such a martial expert hidden in the palace?"
"Heavenly Revelations City is full of hidden talents. Nobody really knows how many martial experts are in this city." Xiao Se shook his head.
"But this person is different," Lei Wujie said seriously.
"Indeed, he is." Xiao Se sighed out loud. "I'm afraid that even if our Third Citymaster were to come in person, he may not be able to stop this person."
"You want Citymaster Sikong to come to Heavenly Revelations City to help us?" Lei Wujie asked.
"If Third Citymaster makes a move, then the Solitary Sword Immortal will also take action. When the time comes, that will only create more trouble." Xiao Se sighed.
"But this person…" Lei Wujie couldn’t feel assured.
Xiao Se lifted the curtain of the carriage and turned to look in the direction of the Palace of Great Dignity, as he shared Lei Wujie’s unease. That mysterious man in purple was really a cause for worry. Even Jin Yu Gonggong, who was one of the Five Grand Eunuchs, may not be a match for him.
Jin Yu Gonggong had exchanged three palms with the purple-clothed man. The qi and blood in his body was constantly surging. He cultivated the Mild Breathing Technique, and the basis of his foundation was the word "steady". Few people could disturb his breath. He looked at the purple-clothed man in front of him, and said in a cold voice, "Void-Minded Skill. But, shifu is already dead. I examined his corpse before."
The man in purple still didn’t speak. The cold qi in his hands were biting and he faced Jin Yu whose qi was warm. One cold and one warm, they were like natural born enemies.
"Who on earth are you?" Jin Yu Gonggong jumped up, reaching a hand out to snatch the purple-clothed man’s veil. However, he was struck by the other man’s palm instead. The hit landed heavily on his chest and he spat out a mouthful of blood. But, his steps did not falter and his hand had already reached the man in purple.
The purple-clothed man withdrew sharply, but his veil had already been seized by Jin Yu Gonggong.
"Why did you have to do that?" The purple-clothed man turned around and sighed.
Jin Yu Gonggong stopped. "From the first palm we exchanged, I already knew that I’m not a match for you."
"But you took off my veil, so even if I wanted to show mercy, I have no choice now." The purple-clothed man sighed.
"Then kill me." Jin Yu Gonggong straightened and flung the veil to the ground, "Jin…"
The purple-clothed man flashed and struck Jin Yu heavily with a palm. Jin Yu raised a finger and shouted angrily, "Break!"
The purple-clothed man was struck by that finger and flew out.
"Chong'er, I won’t be able to see the day when you rule all under Heaven." Jin Yu Gonggong sighed. Then he raised his palms and vented all of the qi from his body.
The purple-clothed man shook his head. "Is he really worth everything you’re doing for him?"
"He will be a good emperor," Jin Yu said.
The purple-clothed man scoffed coldly. "That’s your problem. You’ve read too many books. When it comes to the emperor, there’s no such thing as a good one."
"There are gentlemen in the world. Only despicable people don’t believe." Jin Yu lifted his palm.
The entire Palace of Great Dignity suddenly became quiet.
Mild breath, silent breath.
The wind was no longer blowing, the leaves were no longer falling, and even the birds which were flying by stopped in midair.
"Then let me, this despicable person, kill you, the gentleman." The purple-clothed man raised a finger. "Break, silence."
A broken silence turned into movement.
The birds in the sky let out a cry of alarm, and flew away.
Jin Yu Gonggong vomited three mouthfuls of blood. He leaped forward and landed in front of the purple-clothed man. The two of them struck their palms at the same time and brushed past each other.
The purple-clothed man brushed off his sleeves and wiped away the blood stains on them.
Jin Yu Gonggong raised his finger, his murderous aura dissipated, and a butterfly flapping its wings landed on his finger. He smiled. "Transforming into a butterfly when leaving this world has become a dream, crying of a crane is the sound of stepping into an illusory realm."
"I’ll make that into an elegiac couplet and hang it at your funeral hall," the purple-clothed man said mildly.
"We only live once. I regret that I couldn't accomplish what I wanted with all of my heart." Jin Yu Gonggong didn’t turn around as he watched the butterfly on his hand slowly fly away.
"Who does anything with all of his heart?" The purple-clothed man asked rhetorically.
Jin Yu Gonggong closed his eyes, but his body remained standing.
*
Note about the elegiac couple:
蝶化竟成辞世梦，鹤鸣犹作步虚声。
Transforming into a butterfly when leaving this world has become a dream,
Crying of a crane is the sound of stepping into an illusory realm.
Chinese couplets (对联) refer to twin lines of verse, usually consisting of the same number of characters in each verse with the opposite characters in the same category of words. Couplets can be used for festivals (e.g. new year), congratulatory (e.g. wedding, birthdays) or for elegies at a funeral (挽联). In this example, the first word of the two verses are ‘butterfly’ and ‘crane’ (both animals), the second words are ‘transform’ and ‘cry’ (both verbs), etc. As for what it actually means, I’ve translated it as literally as I can so make of it what you will.