373 An Army Arrives at Heavenly Revelations
The two stood facing each other.
A gust of wind blew through the hall, causing the white banners at the door to flutter and the atmosphere inside suddenly became extremely quiet.
Until a sharp voice broke the silence.
"His Highness Yong’an Prince has arrived!"
The four Grand Eunuchs exchanged glances, and they all saw the puzzlement in each other’s eyes. What did he have to do with this matter? Why would he come here at this time? Only Jin Xian Gonggong understood. Even if the White Prince didn’t come, knowing Xiao Se’s character, he would definitely come.
Xiao Se and Lei Wujie stepped into the hall. Xiao Se raised a hand and Lei Wujie placed a flask of wine in Xiao Se's hand. Xiao Se raised the flask high, and poured the wine onto the ground as he bowed his head. "Xiao Se feels ashamed and pays his respects to Gonggong with this cup."
Xiao Chong raised his head and looked at him. "Getting to the root cause of this, it happened because of me. Liu-di doesn’t need to feel ashamed."
"If you really want to put things that way, then there will be no end. If Jin Yu Gonggong didn’t aid me, he wouldn’t have died. If I didn’t help to heal your eyes, Jin Yu Gonggong wouldn’t have aided me. If I didn’t return to Heavenly Revelations, all these wouldn’t have happened. If back then, Father didn’t know my Consort Mother, even less would have happened." Xiao Se shook his head. "We don't need to look into the past, only today. Today, I feel ashamed towards Eunuch Jin Yu. "
Jin Wei raised his Abyssal Eye sword and pointed it at Xiao Se. "Your Highness can cut the crap. Please, Your Highness, speak clearly of what happened."
Jin Xuan frowned with disapproval. "Insolence."
"If Your Highness wants to accuse me of the crime of disrespect, then after you tell Jin Wei the cause and reason, you can still condemn me. But if Your Highness won’t speak, then Jin Wei will not put down this sword," Jin Wei Gonggong said sternly.
Jin Xuan sighed. "Your Highness, you know my shidi’s character. We all grew up together with Jin Yu since we were young. It’s difficult for us to restrain ourselves at a time like this. Please tell us the truth of the matter, Your Highness."
"Do you know why I don't want to tell all of you?" Xiao Se looked at Jin Xuan Gonggong as he walked over and gently grabbed his collar. "Because the person who killed him was wearing the same purple python robe as the rest of you."
He turned around and walked to Jin Yu Gonggong’s side.
"Unassuming, like an uncarved block of wood. Vacant, like a valley." Standing to one side, Jin Xian Gonggong spoke openly. "The basis of the Void-Minded Skill."
Xiao Se's face twitched and he finally understood why, at the moment he saw the purple-clothed man, a strange sense of familiarity had risen in his heart.
It was this martial arts that injured him those years ago.
Xiao Se reached out his hand and pressed the Abyssal Eye sword down. He met Jin Wei’s shocked gaze and spoke clearly, word by word. "Therefore. The person who killed Eunuch Jin Yu is right here. How could I, then, tell all of you clearly about what happened?"
Meanwhile, in the courtyard, Yan Zhantian raised his head and looked at the sky, as if he was excluding himself. He looked into the distance and suddenly said, "Wolf smoke."
A fire beacon with smoke signalling the approach of hostile forces, a thousand miles of connecting cities.
What sort of smoke signal could be burning so high to be seen even in Heavenly Revelations City?
"Ride!" Xiao Lingchen, dressed in white, slapped his whip vigorously as he drove his horse onward. The closer he got to Heavenly Revelations, the more he felt his blood burning little by little. "Heavenly Revelations City is right before us!"
The army of thousands and tens of thousands behind him roared.
"After waiting for so many years, this day has finally come." Xiao Lingchen looked up at the sky. "Marshal Father, I'm back."
"Marshal Father? Is that how you’ve always called the Grand Protector?"
Suddenly a troop of soldiers appeared in front of him. The person leading them had a burly build, wore a golden armour, and was armed with twin sabres. It was precisely Ye Xiaoying, the highest-ranking man in the current Beili military forces.
"Although Marshal Father was from the imperial family, he considered himself a military man. Since I was a child, he didn’t allow me to call him Prince Father, only Marshal Father." Xiao Lingchen stopped the horse and said, "Uncle Ye, it’s been many years since we last met."
Ye Xiaoying shook his head. "Not long, not long. It’s been a grand dream, but the blue dragon has awakened from the dream and it’s time to roar with might."
"Uncle Ye, such words must have been taught by Auntie." Xiao Lingchen laughed. "In the past, when Uncle Ye was on the battlefield, Auntie Ye performed her sword dance in white clothes. It was an incomparable sight."
"Your aunt is no longer here, but those white clothes remain. Go then. Tell Heavenly Revelations that we are back." Ye Xiaoying turned around and merged the troops he brought into Xiao Lingchen's army.
All this way, Xiao Lingchen's army did not face any opposition. The garrison troops in between were not their match at all. On the contrary, there was a steady stream of former Langya Army soldiers coming forth to pledge themselves. Ye Xiaoying’s soldiers from the Central Army also came from all around to join their forces.
Just like that, an army of tens of thousands were assembled neatly and smoothly, as they rode straight for Heavenly Revelations.
All that was left were the garrisons who would only light up the smoke signals indicating the approach of hostile forces. Although the smoke signals were fast, the army was even faster, as if they were chasing that fire beacon all the way to Heavenly Revelations.
"Uncle, why haven't those two armies appeared? I was all ready to fight a battle, you know?"
"Don't worry, those who only dare to hide in the dark, would not dare to oppose us right now. Relax, once you conquer Heavenly Revelations, they will show themselves." Ye Xiaoying smirked. "When the time comes, we’ll have another big battle, that's all."
"Uncle makes sense." Xiao Lingchen nodded. "They’re merely ants and I can't be bothered to wait for them. What I can’t wait for, is to bring this army to Heavenly Revelations!"
"Bring the army to Heavenly Revelations? Are you bringing the army or bringing the sovereign king?" Ye Xiaoying asked.
Xiao Lingchen thought for a while, and said slowly, "Now, I’m bringing the army, but later, maybe not."
"Very well!" Ye Xiaoying laughed loudly.
In Heavenly Revelations City, one of the commandants of the city guard saw the approach of the black and imposing army. It was like a dark cloud floating towards Heavenly Revelations City. He nearly jumped in fright and rubbed his eyes. "What’s this?"
"Wolf smoke!" Another commandant exclaimed, "There's wolf smoke in the distance!"
"But that's the Central Army. The golden armour with twin blades, that’s the Ye Banner Battalion!" The first commandant exclaimed in shock.
The supreme commander of the city guard walked up to them and smiled bitterly. "I’ve been wondering when this day would come, but it arrived much earlier than I imagined."
Inside the Imperial Mausoleum.
The former Eunuch of Seal Zhuo Xin Gonggong, the former Eunuch of Sword Zhuo Sen Gonggong, and the former Eunuch of Records Zhuo Luo Gonggong took off their grey robes, and once again, put on their exquisite purple python robes.
They walked out of the Imperial Mausoleum and slowly made their way outside.
The soldiers guarding the mausoleum had probably never encountered such a situation before and they hesitated for a long time before their commander-general stood up. "Gonggong, you can’t go out."
Zhuo Xin Gonggong shook his head. "This time, we have to go out."
"Go out… and do what?" The commander-general asked hesitantly.
Zhuo Xin Gonggong raised a hand and swept aside, taking something out of his sleeve. He smirked and said slowly, "We’re going to welcome our true Emperor."
"Outrageous!" The commander-general chastised angrily.
"The Dragon-Sealed Scroll bestowed by Tai'an Emperor on his deathbed is here." Zhuo Xin Gonggong suddenly raised the scroll high into the air.
The commander-general took a close look at the Dragon-Sealed Scroll before him. Once he confirmed its authenticity, he paled in fright and immediately knelt onto the ground. The rest of the soldiers followed him and bent to their knees in unison.
*
Non-poetry note:
敦兮其若朴，旷兮其若谷。
Unassuming, like an uncarved block of wood. Vacant, like a valley.
Jin Xian’s line describing the Void-Minded Skill (虚怀功) is from the Dao De Jing (Chapter 15). The idea is to describe something so profound that it defies description yet contradicts itself. Translation adapted from 道德經- Dao De Jing and A. Charles Muller.