“The truth?”
Lin’an dabbed her tears with her brocade handkerchief, looking at Huaiqing with tearful, pitiful eyes.
Huaiqing sipped her tea unhurriedly and said,
“After Duke Wei’s death, Xu Qi’an resolved to kill the Emperor, and made detailed plans for it. Behind all this, even Duke Wei and the Jianzheng were guiding things. Xu Qi’an’s killing of the Emperor was not a rash act, but the result of many forces at work. It’s far more complicated than you think.”
So all those forces, even Duke Wei and the Jianzheng, had a hand in it… Lin’an said miserably,
“Everyone wanted to harm Father, everyone wanted him dead.
“I know Father made many mistakes after twenty years of Daoist practice, and that many at court resented him. But Huaiqing, he was our father, he doted on me! Everyone else wanted him dead, but I didn’t.
“And I never thought that the person to kill father would be Xu Qi’an.”
She thought Huaiqing was just trying to show her that Father was in the wrong, that Xu Qi’an’s slaying of the Emperor was the same as killing the two Dukes, removing a scourge for the people.
But in the face of family, was there really right or wrong?
Her father was still her father, and Xu Qi’an was still the enemy who killed her father.
Huaiqing’s explanation did not ease Lin’an’s heart.
“Yesterday, did you know that Xu Qi’an and His Majesty fought outside the city, so fiercely that even the city walls collapsed?”
Huaiqing suddenly said.
Lin’an paused, recalling vaguely that her brother, the Crown Prince, had mentioned it, but only in passing, she had been too distraught to notice the details.
Before she could ask, she heard Huaiqing say calmly, “When did Father become so powerful?”
Lin’an opened her mouth, at a loss for words.
She did not understand cultivation, but she was not stupid. Hearing Huaiqing’s words, she immediately realised something was wrong.
That’s right, when had Father become so powerful?
“Has Father been hiding his strength all along?” Lin’an sobbed, eyes red, uncertain.
Huaiqing replied seriously, “Strictly speaking, he was never really our father.”
Lin’an stared blankly at her sister, unable to process what she’d heard.
After a moment, she asked for confirmation, “What did you say?”
Huaiqing repeated, expression unchanged, “He was never really our father.”
I didn’t hear wrong… Lin’an’s eyes widened, her voice rising,
“Don’t think you can fob me off with nonsense. I never thought you’d be like this, Huaiqing. If he wasn’t our father, who was he?”
Huaiqing said solemnly, “He was the late Emperor Zhende, our grandfather.”
Lin’an fell silent, staring at Huaiqing as if she were a monster.
Huaiqing nodded, as if to say this was the truth, and that she could understand her sister’s shock, if it had been her, with no warning, she might look calm on the surface, but inside she’d be just as shaken and disbelieving.
“I understand how you feel, but listen to me…”
Huaiqing explained everything from start to finish, her account was clear, step by step, like a good teacher explaining things to a slow student.
Even Lin’an, who knew little of cultivation, could grasp and understand the logic and sequence.
…More than forty years ago, the late Emperor Zhende was corrupted by the Earth Sect Daoist Leader, becoming a violent, mad “lunatic”… With the Daoist Leader’s help, he possessed his son, Prince Huai, then “parasitised” another son, Yuanjing… then faked his death, hid from the Jianzheng, and cultivated in the dragon ley.
When Wei Yuan first campaigned in the north, he took the chance to possess Yuanjing. For the next twenty-one years, he publicly feigned Daoist obsession, making Yuanjing appear talentless to avoid suspicion.
His real body hid in the dragon ley, building power. For the sake of immortality, he went completely mad, colluded with the Church of the Warlock God, killed Wei Yuan, and dragged a hundred thousand soldiers down with him.
But what he really planned was even more insane and incomprehensible, handing the country over to an outsider!
So my real father had died twenty one years ago, and twenty one years ago, I was only two…
By the end, Lin’an was trembling all over, filled with fear and sorrow.
After a moment’s dread, she stared at Huaiqing and said,
“So… so Xu Qi’an…”
Huaiqing nodded, “Perhaps there was some personal vendetta, but I believe, above all, he did not want to see the dynasty destroyed. In my eyes, killing the Emperor was no different than killing the two Dukes.
“A tyrant who nearly toppled the dynasty, a madman who ignored the people’s lives for twenty years, a beast who murdered his own sons, I only feel Xu Qi’an did the right thing. It was a worthy killing.”
She glanced at Lin’an,
“I’ve told you the facts, whether you believe them, or whether you hate Xu Qi’an, is up to you. After all, the late Emperor truly doted on you, whether that was real or an act, it cannot be denied.”
The last sentence was laced with sarcasm.
Huaiqing, for all her outward dignity and composure, was the master of veiled barbs.
Lin’an stared at her, biting her lip, “How do you know all this?”
Huaiqing sighed, “Xu Qi’an found it all out, while you knew nothing, he was always doing more for you than you ever realised.”
“But he never told me, he told me nothing!”
Lin’an clenched her fists stubbornly.
Huaiqing sneered, “Tell you? Could you have borne it? Could you have kept a straight face in front of the late Emperor?”
The eldest princess said softly, “He was protecting you.”
Lin’an opened her mouth. Tears shimmered in her eyes.
“We, we understand. We’ll send someone to summon him immediately. We’re not angry with him any more…”
She spoke with an air of dignity, but her actions were hurried; hitching up her skirt, she rose to dash out of the inner hall, out of Dexin Court.
“You’ve missed your chance!”
Huaiqing sighed.
Lin’an froze mid-step, turned back, her pale face trembling as she said,
“W-what do you mean?”
“I haven’t told you the details of that battle yet. Though the late Emperor’s plot failed, the spirit of the dragon ley was scattered all over the land. If the dragon qi can’t be gathered, chaos will follow in the Central Plains.
“Besides, his cultivation is now ruined, his health is dire, even the Jianzheng is helpless. To survive, he’s leaving the capital, whether he’ll make it back alive is uncertain.
“Not long ago, when he came to see you, it was to say goodbye.”
That last sentence stabbed Lin’an straight in the heart, making her almost unable to breathe with pain.
So, dragging his broken body, he’d come to say goodbye to her.
But she had shut him out…
Tears immediately welled up and poured down like a flood. She sobbed uncontrollably:
“I want to find him… I, I still have so much to say to him.”
Regret surged through her, flooding her mind. She bitterly regretted not seeing him one last time, hated herself for turning away the man who came, wounded, only to bid her farewell.
Now he was gone, whether they would ever meet again, or if he’d even survive, was uncertain.
Her vision blurred with tears, at the deepest grief, one could hardly open their eyes for crying.
In the haze, she saw a figure walk up, reach out, and press her head with a gentle smile:
“Your Highness, you look really ugly when you cry.”
Lin’an’s beautiful eyes widened, staring at him in a daze.
A few seconds later, she wiped her tears and looked at Huaiqing, still stunned.
Huaiqing looked utterly unashamed, as if her conscience was clear.
Normally, Lin’an would have leapt up and wrestled with her, but right now she had no time for Huaiqing. Filled with the joy of getting back what she thought lost, she threw herself into Xu Qi’an’s arms, hugging his neck tight.
She buried her face in his neck, sobbing:
“Running Dog, Running Dog…”
She hugged him tightly, terrified that if she let go, he’d disappear.
Since the day they met, this was Lin’an’s boldest act. If her feelings before had been constrained by their positions and hidden away,
Now, she’d finally gathered the courage to throw herself into the arms of her “Running Dog”.
Her tears and snot are all over my neck… Xu Qi’an gently hugged Lin’an’s slim waist. Just as he was about to speak, he suddenly felt killing intent from behind.
With the quick thinking of a man used to danger, he said, “Your Highness, don’t hug so tightly, it hurts.”
Hurt? Lin’an, still sniffling, looked up at him with teary, pink-rimmed eyes.
Xu Qi’an wasn’t bragging at all; right in front of Lin’an, he pulled open his collar.
“Ah…!”
Lin’an cried out, stepping back a few paces, staring at the hideous wound on his chest, the nail embedded in his flesh. Her fingers trembled as she pressed his chest, tears streaming again, full of heartache.
He had Lin’an’s sympathy and had soothed Huaiqing’s anger, all in a day’s work for a professional “player” like Xu Qi’an.
“Your Highness.”
Xu Qi’an turned and said to Huaiqing, “I’ll take Lin’an back first.”
Huaiqing’s face gave nothing away, no satisfaction nor anger.
…
Back at Shaoyin Palace, Lin’an clung to Xu Qi’an, ordering the maids to fetch the best pills and powders to try to heal his wounds.
When nothing worked, she broke into tears again.
Xu Qi’an comforted her until she quieted, though still sobbing softly.
“No matter what, he doted on you for so many years. Of course your heart aches for him, doesn’t it?”
Lin’an’s body stiffened. Shaking her head, she choked out:
“But I don’t hate you any more, I don’t hate you…”
So she had hated me after all… Xu Qi’an lifted a hand and gently touched her soft, cool cheek.
“Your Highness.”
“Mm?”
“I want to taste the rouge on your lips.”
…
At dusk.
Observatory, Bagua Platform.
Xu Qi’an dragged his wounded body back, face still pale, but there was a flicker of excitement between his brows.
“Everything settled?”
The Jianzheng, sitting at the desk, glanced up.
Xu Qi’an nodded silently.
“Then let’s begin.”
The Jianzheng opened his palm, the jade-coloured, scorpion-like Sevenfold Gu lay quietly there, like a lifeless specimen.
“How do I accept it?”
As he asked, Xu Qi’an was really wondering how to eat the Sevenfold Gu.
“Drip blood and bind it first.”
The Jianzheng pressed down on Xu Qi’an’s wrist, squeezing a drop of blood from his fingertip.
The blood silently floated towards the Sevenfold Gu. As it approached, the once-docile Gu became agitated, writhing violently, desperately craving the blood.
It opened its fearsome mouthparts and swallowed the blood bead.
Visible to the naked eye, the jade-coloured Sevenfold Gu turned transparent red, then sprang from the Jianzheng’s palm, leaping towards Xu Qi’an.
To accept the Sevenfold Gu, containing all seven shaman clans’ arts… Xu Qi’an did not dodge or resist, calmly watching it fly at him.
Comments for this chapter. You will need a GitHub account. Please follow all terms and conditions of GitHub issues and maintain etiquette in the comments. Cookies are required for this functionality.
If you want to talk with other readers about Nightwatchers (or other cultivation type books) you can join our cultivation groupreading discord server!
I also have a Kofi, which for legal reasons is definitely for supporting my digital art only (promise!): ko-fi.com/yanxin ... plus I guess server space isn't free, and I don't want to put ads/trackers... ever, so thank you if you do!