212 Night at the Palace (1/2)
She continued to ask him, ”How can you not know? Just like your fifth brother and I – although we’ve been sold at a young age, we still know who our parents are. Even when they’re dead, they’re still our relatives after all. It’s where we came from…”
”According to what I know, fifth brother doesn’t know his identity…” Yun Yang replied.
Yun Zuiyue’s gaze shone as she chuckled, covering her mouth. ”Right. It’s a slip of the tongue, I’ve gotten it wrong.”
Inwardly, she was thinking, ”He does indeed know everything about Flame.”
Yun Yang said quietly, ”I’m the same as fifth brother. We don’t know where we came from.”
A forced smile tugged at the corners of his lips. ”It’s like… we just popped out of the bushes.”
Yun Zuiyue was startled.
Looking at Yun Yang’s numb expression – looking at Supreme Cloud, who could single-handedly cause an upheaval in the world and shoulder the mountainous weight of his fate, a surge of heartache came suddenly to drown her entire being. At the moment, she only wanted to hug Yun Yang and comfort him.
She stood up and walked over lightly; squatting before Yun Yang and looking at him with a raised head, Yun Zuiyue spoke softly, ”Young brother, you still have this sister-in-law. How unfortunate we’ve been in this world, yet how lucky we are now because of each other’s existence. We still have family in this world, after all, we still have solacefrom each other; that’s immensely precious.”
Yun Yang smiled softly in reply. ”Yes, Sister Yue. We’re all very lucky.”
Taking a deep breath, he continued, ”I’m leaving, Sister Yue. I’m going to collect some interest tonight.”
”Be careful in everything you do. Come back alive! Only by being alive can you speak of revenge!” Yun Zuiyue replied softly.
”Agreed.”
Yun Yang nodded, his purple robes fluttering as he stood up; strands of raven hair fell too, covering half of his face as he turned to say, ”Sister Yue, you’re really clever.”
Yun Zuiyue was surprised when she heard him but Yun Yang had already gone out the door. A soft, almost inaudible voice drifted in through the wind, ”You already know my identity.”
A sad smile was etched Yun Zuiyue’s face.
Yun Yang had disappeared – under the warm lanterns, under the nightfall.
Coming to the window, all that Yun Zuiyue saw was a cloud floating away slowly in the sky.
It was already a second fragment of the night1.
…
Mi Kongqun curled himself up as he coughed softly. His plump, fair face had lost a lot of weight; his wrinkles, too, had deepened significantly.
He clamped his mouth shut. It was as if a snake coursed through his torso continuously, while a surge of mystical Qi flowed around encircling his body. It was like a mini tornado was spinning in his room.
After a long time, his mouth opened abruptly as a green smoke sprayed out. Two harsh coughs followed before he spat out a mouthful of blood. At the same time, a weird pop came from his thigh and a bloody puncture appeared where the sound came from. A hiss of sword air gushed from the puncture immediately, slashing the painting hung on the wall opposite into half with a crack.
Mi Kongqun’s huffs that were already labored became strained, a deep resentment pooling in his eyes.
Not only did Ling Xiaozui heavily wound Mi Kongqun with a strike of his sword the other day, he had left refined sword air in his body too. The sword air was so refined that it stayed condensate; it was also this exceptional sword air that was destroying Mi Kongqun’s body.
As long as he cultivated, the sword air would react promptly by exiting his body in the form of a sharp sliver.
No matter how minuscule the separated sword air that came out, it was still one that was left by Ling Xiaozui; it was not something Mi Kongqun could defend himself against. It also came from within him so it was difficult to avoid it; Mi Kongqun had only dissolved one-third of the sword air after so long by doing everything he could, cultivating to expend it or exhausting it intentionally.
Based on the dissolving speed, he only needed two months before he could entirely dispel the sword air. However, the separated sliver of sword air that erupted from within bore an unexpected destructive force. Even if Mi Kongqun’s body could last for two months, his internal and motor functions would be useless as most of it would be exhausted!
It was either a misfortune as a blessing in disguise or vice versa, though, as Mi Kongqun managed to stay safe when the entire palace was being overturned; the purge left him alone since he was in a critical state and no one bothered with him. Otherwise, he would have been gone on that day itself.
Until now, Mi Kongqun, who had turned better, was much more careful.
”Ling Xiaozui!”
Mi Kongqun panted heavily. Despite the resentment that was painted in his eyes, most of it was also helplessness. He knew that there was no chance of revenge in this lifetime.
Even if he cultivated for the rest of his life, he could not take even a single strike from Ling Xiaozui.
Two young eunuchs entered his room respectfully, leaving only after cleaning and tidying the space.
The night was late now.
A ray of moonlight came in from the window, casting its glow before Mi Kongqun’s eyes.
Mi Kongqun looked at the bright moon hanging in the sky, slowly fading into a trance. A gaze that was cold like the moon surfaced in his thoughts.
Among the people in the Mi Family who were seized by Young Master Qiu Yunsan the other day… there was an old hunched woman who was long past her prime.
She had looked at him with such a gaze then.
From the moment he appeared to when he had left, she had watched him with that terrible look on her face, whether she was seized or freed.
Mi Kongqun sighed deeply.
It was his wife!
He could still remember back in the days when they were newlyweds. They were very loving, ascending to the roof every night with his darling in his embrace; they would sit on the roof and watch the moon together.