Chapter 14: The Beating of the Xuanwu Drum Means Something Serious Happens (1/2)
Translator: Li Xinyi
Proofread by Men Shunde
When the guard comes closer to her, Nangong Ning tells him frankly, “In fact, it is me who put poison into his body.”
The guard freezes when he hears what she says, but after a while, he blurts out, “That’s impossible!”
With the acupuncture needle shining at her finger tip, she says, “I will show you how I did it.”
Seeing that her finger is approaching him suddenly, the guard instinctively tries to dodge her. However, he is not quick enough in his movement. The next minute, he feels his wrist is stung by something, which makes him move back for several steps abruptly. Then he suddenly remembers something and draws his sword and lunges at Nangong Ning. But it is too late now.
The guard plops down on the ground, too.
Now that the guard is on the ground, Nangong Ning wastes no time in pulling herself up with her teeth clenched. She manages to stand up, with her feeble legs, inching towards the Xuanwu Drum.
The Xuanwu Drum.
Beating the Xuanwu Drum means something very important to be reported to the Emperor, such as important military tip-offs, massive grievances, and riots or political disturbances in the Capital. Without such information, the person who beats the Xuanwu Drum will be punished according to the seriousness of the event, from spanking to capital punishment.
Nangong Ning wants to beat the Drum now, for her time is running out and she must have the grass of the nether world to detoxify the toxin in her body. She cannot stand kneeling here all night, even if a healthy person cannot endure the night-long kneeling.
Now what she has to do is to beat the Xuanwu Drum, which is the only way for her to save herself, though it may cause her tremendous trouble, even loss of her own life.
The Xuanwu Drum is covered with a lot of dust, due to years of being untouched, though it is cleaned regularly. When she takes the drumsticks in her hands, the dust is so thick, which makes her cough so hard that she almost passed out to let the drumsticks go off her hands due to her heartache caused by the coughing.
With her teeth clenched, Nangong Ning accumulates all her strength to hold the drumsticks up …
“DONG!” a deep reverberating sound comes from the Xuanwu Drum.
“DONG! DONG! DONG!”
Three deep reverberating sounds come from the Xuanwu Drum one after another, which are so loud that the deep sleeping city dwellers all woke up with a start. The silent city in deep night is now filled with an intense atmosphere.
“DONG! DONG! DONG!”
It is the Xuanwu Drum that is being beaten!
After ten deep reverberating sounds coming from the Xuanwu Drum, everyone in the city realizes that something serious happens and no one would like to go back to sleep again.
“DONG!”
With the last beating of the Drum, Nangong Ning throws herself on the Drum, feeling dizzy with stars flying in her eyes, the drumsticks dropping on the ground.
She lies there panting for a long time before she hears some footsteps approaching her. She breathes a sign of relief, rolls her eyes, and faints.