325 Untitled (2/2)

”Go back,” Epsilon replied in a determined voice. ”I need to be responsible for the both of us.”

”I need to be responsible for my daughter!” The Empress swung her sleeves in anger. She started to walk towards the door. ”It's not your child, so you don't know what it feels like!”

”Ning-” He suddenly tugged on her sleeve. Epsilon leaned out of the carriage, and his expression was one of anxiousness, which was a rare sight. ”Listen to me, let's go!”

Hearing his tone, the Empress hesitated for a while. She was not a fool, and after many years of interaction with Epsilon, she knew his temper. She asked, ”There's danger?”

Epsilon took another look at the lamp. In a daze, he said, ”… Maybe.”

”Muddle-headed!” When the Empress heard this, she was immediately furious. She forcefully pulled her sleeve away and added, ”You're becoming a coward because of a few ignorant lads! There are 3,000 guards in the residence, and the Yulin Army is right outside. How brazen can they be to try to attack the Princess' residence? Even if they do, are you afraid?”

She looked right into his eyes. ”You're afraid? You're afraid?”

”It's not this…” Epsilon opened his mouth, but he seemed to be holding back his words. Moments later, he added, ”Just remember that I'll never harm you.”

”You're not harming me, but you're harming my daughter now!” The Empress smirked. Without any second thoughts, she barged in the door. ”Sir Epsilon, I know that you worry for your life. Go hide first then. I'll enter myself!”

She really ignored him and trod in the residence under the guide of the Tenth Princess' attendants. Stunned, Epsilon stood in the rain and forgot to fend himself from the rain. In a daze, he recalled that they had argued many times over the years, but this was the first time that she had left him so resolutely.

He looked up at the lamp again… There was actually nothing wrong with the lamp or the residence, and he did not sense any dangerous aura. The reason why he was stopped in his tracks by a lamp was because of a sentence that he had been told 14 years ago.

Back then, an old friend of his had come to visit him. While they had been chatting over a cup of tea, he had asked his friend jokingly, ”How long will I live? Where will I die?”

”Huang Deng, Yun Jiao.”

Confused, he had probed further. The old fellow had hugged his teacup for a long while before answering, ”A yellow lamp is a yellow lamp.”

Not willing to give up, Epsilon had asked about what rhymes went. His friend had laughed and said, ”Don't you know about rhyming in poems? The four tones in Mandarin? Huang Deng Yun Jiao is said in the Ping tone, followed by the Shang tone, Qu tone and finally, Ru tone… Combined together, that's Ping Shang Qu Ru.”

Immediately, Epsilon had spat his tea out. He had jumped up and taught his friend a good lesson. What Ping Shang Qu Ru? He had been practicing Tongzi Gong from young, so how would he ever be involved in it?

However, he had seen the yellow lamp today.

Actually, he had seen quite a number of yellow lamps in his life. At the start, he had thought of what his friend had said and felt nervous, but after being fine for many times, he had mocked his friend for predicting wrongly. Yet his heart started to beat very quickly in his chest today.

No matter what, he could not retreat.

She was in a dangerous place.

In his whole life, he had never left while knowing that she was in danger.

Furthermore… what's the worst possible scenario? He was Epsilon, the fourth most powerful wielder. To run for his life because of a yellow lamp that he had seen countless times, and not care about the woman he loved, was way too ridiculous.

He stood in the rain and took in a deep breath. Suppressing the uneasy feeling in his stomach, he followed her and entered the residence.

The spring rain resulted in the floor being wet, and the reflection of the yellow lamp in the puddle was bright and clear. Seeing that he followed her in, the Empress smiled in satisfaction. However, using the excuse that outsiders could not disturb the princess while she was ill, she stopped him outside the door.

Since Epsilon originally did not want to enter, he sat in the outer room. The Tenth Princess' residence was not a place that was suitable for him to stay in. When he entered, he felt very uncomfortable. He decided to just close his eyes and rest.

The surroundings were silent. He could hear the sound of monks and the Empress praying. Incense was lit in the inner room, and when he took a whiff, it smelled like a how normal, valuable sandalwood would smell like. There was nothing out of the ordinary.

He started to feel more and more calm. In the serene atmosphere, he heard a long-sounding strike of the bell from a temple far away. A type of martial arts skills that boys practice from young. In this book, the pre-condition of mastering this skill is the wielder must be a virgin. It also makes the wielder appear youngerMeans yellow lamp and rhymes respectively.The second, first, fourth, and third tone in modern Mandarin, respectively.Wordplay describing sexual intercourse.