Ch5 - You are unique

Xie Huaian grew cowardly at Hong Yao’s words and slowly opened his eyes. 

It was the same red candles, the same incense-laden room, and the same inscrutable emperor by his side. The only things missing were the bloody severed head and the empty cup of poisoned wine.  

“Your Majesty, uh, cough cough…” Xie Huaian was about to speak when the aftereffects of watching too many replayed forecasts hit his heart and lungs. He couldn’t stop coughing and felt too dizzy to talk before feeling a burning sensation on his wrist. Turning sideways, he saw Hong Yao had taken off his gloves to press three long fingers against his wrist. Heat flowed from the fingertips into his body, releasing a numb yet sore sensation. 

Xie Huaian bit his lips to suppress a gasp. The warm current flowed between his internal organs and tendons, giving him the sensation of a short but well-positioned massage. His body felt much more comfortable.

“Many thanks to Your Majesty…I’m much better now,” Xie Huaian declined politely. 

This feeling was too good, like a hot bath. Xie Huaian almost wished Hong Yao could channel the current longer, but intuition told him that this “true qi” kind of thing was only present in people who practiced martial arts for a long time. The System consumed his personal essence to broadcast the weather. Ordinary physicians wouldn’t detect anything unusual besides insufficient blood and qi in his body, but the exploration of true qi was different and might sense faint abnormalities. 

Hong Yao didn’t discover anything, right… Xie Huaian stole a peek at him. Those small, brush-like eyelashes covered the turquoise eyes and revealed nothing unusual. 

“Zhen had people send Miao Thirteen away and put off attending the festival this evening. Your Excellency doesn’t need to do a thing.” Hong Yao withdrew his hand and took out a silvery red satin pillow from the low cabinet. He gently helped Xie Huaian sit up and took a handkerchief to wipe away his sweat. Xie Huaian’s newly relaxed body stiffened again, not daring to move.

“Your Excellency doesn’t need to be so distant with Zhen,” Hong Yao pinched the handkerchief to wipe the tip of Xie Huaian’s lashes. “Your Excellency said that fledglings will follow the first person they see upon waking up. Zhen also likes Your Excellency more and more, seeing you lying here alive.”

“Whatever makes Your Majesty…happy?” Xie Huaian began to wonder what kind of words he should say to express that he truly was harmless. Unexpectedly, Hong Yao began to talk about his daily life.

“Have the meals been to Your Excellency’s liking in the past few days?” Hong Yao’s voice was soft and magnetic. He started with food but moved on to ask about bedding and what Xie Huaian liked to do to pass the time. Was it boring staying in the palace all this time? It was as if Xie Huaian was his friend from afar, or as if Eternal Peace Palace regularly saw people come back from the dead.

“It’s boring, but it’s not bad,” Xie Huaian’s heart hung in the air as he chattered, but he eased a bit when Hong Yao only talked about completely ordinary topics.

Hong Yao said, “Zhen has never seen such exquisite grasshoppers within the palace. How were they made?”

“I figured it out naturally after playing with the leaves. It’s quite simple.” That was the truth. Whether it was weaving grasshoppers or playing an instrument like the xiqin, Xie Huaian had an impression he’d learned both before, but he couldn’t remember where or when. Everything relied on intuition, which wasn’t much different from self-studying. 

“Xiqin is a rare item. Supposedly Your Excellency played a melody on it a few days ago, like a song or sobbing, that touched people deeply.”

“Your Majesty praises too much,” Xie Huaian’s face heated up. 

Hong Yao said a few more lines before changing the subject. “Orchid Pool Palace is still too small. Your Excellency should look at Zhen’s bird more often if there’s nothing else to do, the better to relieve your boredom.”

We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.

“I’ll have Kong Qing raise it in these rooms,” Xie Huaian thought of the big parrot with pink and white feathers.. “It’s quite cute, has Your Majesty named it?” 

“Rfnfg. Tbeg Szmfiifcms lr ogff ab ulnf la j cjwf.”

“Qbcvfgoei, P’ii ulnf la rbwf atbeuta.”

Lbcu Tjb’r olcufgr ajqqfv gtsatwlmjiis bc atf yfv, atf yfjar ojiilcu qjalfcais jujlcra atf kbbv ab fmtb lc Wlf Lejljc’r fjgr. 

“Ktf ofralnji kjcar j rjmglolmf bo 174 ilnlcu mbgqrfr. Gbfr Tbeg Szmfiifcms xcbk ktja atfs jgf?” 

“What?” Xie Huaian’s breathing choked as his mood switched from considering domestic affairs to a horror scene. 

“Living corpses,” Hong Yao repeated softly as he drew close.

Xie Huaian shook his head. “Don’t know.”

“This is considered common knowledge in this world. Zhen thought Your Excellency must be an expert in this field and wanted to learn a thing or two.” 

Xie Huaian’s heartbeat went haywire. “Your Majesty, I really know nothing.” He was afraid of ghosts and dead people and didn’t even want to consider what living corpses were. Moreover, the person who best fit such a description in the palace was probably himself. Why did Hong Yao bring it up? Was he finally going to ask why Xie Huaian was a fraudulent corpse?

This was the big question between him and Hong Yao. Sooner or later, Xie Huaian would need to explain himself. But he couldn’t reveal the existence of the System or appear too weak. Yet for the sake of avoiding trouble, he couldn’t come off too strongly either…

Hong Yao said, “It’s those imperial guards who accompanied Zhen to the pavilion, dressed in full armor with golden masks.”

“Huh?” Xie Huaian gave a start. At Hong Yao’s reminder, he recalled the dozen or so guards standing unmoving in a row at Orchid Pool Palace’s rear courtyard. They were all wrapped up in armor, with hideous gold masks and dark, hollow holes in the place of their eyes. 

“They…” Xie Huaian swallowed a mouthful of saliva. “What’s wrong with them?”

“All of them are sacrifices,” Hong Yao’s voice slowly but clearly drilled the words into Xie Huaian’s head. “The Heavenly Master conveys Heaven’s will and possesses incomparable mana. He can bring people back from the dead and command their corpses for his own use. The imperial guards patrolling the palace…”

Xie Huaian held his breath.

“…are almost all dead men.” 

Xie Huaian’s brain buzzed as he involuntarily moved closer to Hong Yao. As his mood fluctuated, the corners of his eyes turned a faint red, his pupils cleary and watery. Hong Yao cupped his chin and gazed at his face.

“How unexpected for Your Excellency…to fear these things as well.”

Xie Huaian’s lips opened and closed as he avoided Hong Yao’s gaze while still trying to get closer to his warmth. He desperately tried to banish the memories of the gold masked soldiers, but the harder he tried the clearer the images became. It was as if countless corpses were standing before him with their empty, hollow eyes. 

Hong Yao’s lips tugged into a strange smile. “Eternal Peace Palace used to be full of living people, but that’s no longer certain. Perhaps everyone will become part of the Heavenly Master’s living dead army one day to enjoy endless blessed light.” 

Eternal Peace Palace had a long history of using corpses for its imperial guards. The line between life and death had long blurred in this vast and magnificent palace complex.

Within the court, reanimation referred to the process of turning a corpse into a living dead imperial guard. There were seven supervisors, four divisions, and eight bureaus that specialized in cooperating and coordinating with this task.

A true, conscious resurrection was regarded as a miracle.

Hong Yao didn’t believe that miracles existed in this world. He had planned to end Xie Huaian’s fragile life at any moment, but the situation turned out better than he expected—well enough for his heart to quicken with joy. 

“I…they’re all corpses? All the ones patrolling around the palace are…dead?” Xie Huaian asked brokenly.

“Precisely. They don’t need to rest and will guard the palaces all night to ensure safety.”

Xie Huaian wasn’t comforted at all. He was almost terrified. 

“Your Excellency, you are unique.” Hong Yao’s fingers gently caressed Xie Huaian’s face before retracting as if electrified. “Zhen has always cherished special people. Before…Xie shijun's unpredictable little actions more or less spread to the ears of the Heavenly Master. He requested to see you in the past few days, but Zhen was unwilling.” 

“I don’t want to run into the likes of them, much less meet the Heavenly Master…”

“Tonight Zhen will move Your Excellency to a safe place,” Hong Yao ordered. “Rest and head to Thousand Autumn Palace after bathing.”

“Mm,” Xie Huaian agreed before his eyes widened. Even his fear left him.

Huh? 

Are you sure that’s safe?

Thousand Autumn Palace was the residence of the emperor. Xie Huaian started to speak, but stopped and watched as Hong Yao strode out of the room. According to the emperor’s words, the festival would last until midnight tonight and he had stayed in Orchid Pool Palace long enough. He needed an adequate excuse to ask for leave from the Heavenly Master. 

Soon enough, Kong Qing brought two young maids over to ask in a soft voice if he needed anything, or whether he wanted to change into underclothing. 

“No need…” Xie Huaian said lightly, his eyes sweeping over the faces of the maids and Kong Qing to confirm they were living people.  

“When shijun is feeling better, this servant will ask the imperial physician to have another look. The Imperial Physician Courtyard usually orbits around Holy Nectar Temple, so it’s rare to have someone come over,” Kong Qing supervised the maidservants as they packed up the lamps and candles, replacing them with light incense. 

“All right,” Xie Huaian’s answer was vague.

He was still steeped in alarm. Hearing “Holy Nectar Temple” reminded him of the Heavenly Master, then the hideous gold masked guards. Cold sweat appeared at the corners of his forehead. 

“Shijun is going to Thousand Autumn Palace tonight. It’s an important event, so this servant had the imperial physicians collect some items to add to the fun.” 

“Ah?” Xie Huaian’s sweat pores exploded. One way to banish fear was to replace it with another one. He watched in alarm as Kong Qing placed a beautifully patterned lacquered tray on the table. On it were several small white bottles and some strange objects made of jade. The young maids knelt by the bed and said a few auspicious words of congratulations before bowing and withdrawing from the room. Xie Huaian didn’t dare ask what the items were, but waited for the maids to shut the door before beckoning Kong Qing to his side. The veiled female official’s eyes were quiet, and Xie Huaian instinctively sensed a hint of concern.

Over the past few days, Xie Huaian had spent the most time with Kong Qing, both intentionally and unintentionally revealing his differences from the original Xie shijun. When he discovered that Kong Qing’s attitude didn’t change, he spoke more naturally with the female in private.

“Kong Qing, can I…not use these things when I go to Thousand Autumn Palace?” Xie Huaian asked in a small voice.

“Shijun can keep them if he needs it, or have this servant take them away. I’ll ensure that no one else in Orchid Pool Palace finds out,” Kong Qing also softened her voice to match. “Cloud Radiance Hall has almost finished preparations for shijun to bathe as you wish.” 

When Xie Huaian realized that this was all part of an act to put on a fake show and he even got a bath out of it, his heart burst into bloom.

“All right!”

—

Translator’s Note: *cough* Good for you, Xie Huaian. Who needs inferior jade imitations when one day you’ll get the real thing, ahem. 

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