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Chapter 67: Bond Skill – Brothers’ Past + Black Falcon Acts Cute + Pursuing Yingzi…
That fit of coughing successfully bought Ying Xi time to ease the tension.
After coughing, Ying Xi stated that he truly should go see a doctor.
Since one of the ruler and subject was now injured and the other sick, there was absolutely no reason for the injured to see off the sick. Thus, Ying Xi was able to excuse himself alone.
Leaving the cabin, Ying Xi didn’t summon the military doctor either. Instead, he returned to his own room early, his state of mind unsettled for quite some time.
Because he was a frail person with a less-than-healthy body, the physical sensation of being pressed tightly against Xie Qianli was all the more shocking to him.
He felt a burning heat from his back to his lower waist, especially in the areas touched by the other’s palm.
Perhaps it was because he yearned so deeply for such a physique.
If he truly possessed it…
Then back in Fanglan Dian, Yingzi would have feared him, Emperor Yuantai wouldn’t have harbored vile thoughts, and even today, upon reuniting with Yingzi, he could have personally fought him.
He still thought of Ju’er; he might still have to rely on Ju’er’s strength for a long time.
Cultivating a new commanding talent would be too late, and he wouldn’t know their roots or character.
Ying Xi told himself: Ju’er is still useful.
” Bixia , Bixia ! I’m here!”
” Bixia , I leveled myself up.”
Tiantong seemed to be spinning in circles around him.
The crisp, sweet voice of a young girl echoed in his mind. The Dating System instantly popped up in his vision; the interface had changed.
If the dialogue box was formerly elegant, it was now luxurious. The flowing cloud borders decorating the frame were detailed and splendid, with faint golden light drifting across the interface.
How to say it… it looked more premium than before.
Is this what it means to be a prestigious spending user?
Ying Xi smiled: “It looks nice.”
No little girl dislikes hearing others praise her appearance; Tiantong was overjoyed.
Tiantong showcased the Dating System’s newest function to Ying Xi: “This system keeps closely in step with trends and has developed the Bond Skill engine. This function is launched with an invitation for our prestigious user to trial it. You are already qualified.”
Ying Xi: “What is a Bond Skill?”
“When the depth of your bond with a certain character crosses the critical threshold, it lights up a move. Using it produces different effects.”
Ying Xi: “For combat?”
“Various functions,” Tiantong said. “Primarily to utilize that character’s strengths to deal with your current crises.”
That didn’t sound too bad.
But pondering the phrasing carefully, and linking it to the Dating System’s usual characteristics…
Ying Xi vaguely felt something was wrong: “That character… meaning, the one executing the skill is not Zhen ?”
Tiantong: “Mhm, mhm, mhm!”
Tiantong: “Everything is for bonds and interaction! If you just fight on your own, we’d become a Combat System.”
Ying Xi: “…”
After a long silence, Ying Xi finally said: “Is there really no possibility for you to turn into a Combat System? Zhen can provide financial support.”
Tiantong was decisive: “Not a single bit of possibility. Hehe.”
Ying Xi: “…”
Communicating with the system had failed once again.
This Bond Skill, Ying Xi considered, was rather useless.
Firstly, as Emperor, he naturally had to avoid danger as much as possible. Secondly, it wasn’t appropriate for him to appear to be in danger in front of his subjects. Lastly, his danger very likely originated precisely from them.
Ying Xi shook his head slightly.
He couldn’t think of a use for this skill at the moment. He rested his cheek in his hand.
The dim yellow lamplight on the desk flickered lazily. He could hear the sound of water, the rocking of the ship, and the quiet river wind.
In reality, under normal circumstances, the waterways in the South at night should absolutely not be so desolate.
If land routes were the backbone of the North, waterways were the blood vessels spreading throughout the Jiangnan region. The southern regions rested their heads on rivers; Ying Xi came from the South and could attest to the truth of this.
Take their home, Guangling Commandery, for example; many households were built along the river.
The Yongning Prince Manor had a road in front and brought a stream of living water into the estate itself.
His father was an elegant man, his mother well-read in classics. The couple harmonized perfectly, designing all the landscapes of the Prince Manor.
Rockery and layered stones, winding water for floating cups… Every scenic spot had a unique name.
Every riverbend, every pond, once held precious childhood memories.
As a child, Ying Xi liked riding boats; his younger brother liked swimming.
When Ying Xi and his mother took a boat to tour the Prince Manor’s lotus pond, his father would take his brother to play in the water.
If the mother and son’s small boat was blocked by the father and son, Dang’er would splash water onto the boat.
Ying Xi, afraid of getting his clothes dirty, would dive into his mother’s embrace, and Dang’er would giggle incessantly.
Seeing things were about to get out of hand, his father would naturally guide the conversation, suggesting they all pick lotus flowers or roast frogs together…
Their family had once been so harmonious.
A gentle father, a virtuous mother, and affectionate brothers.
If he hadn’t received the edict to travel north to Chang’an, implicating his innocent parents…
Given his father’s prestige and his deep popularity among the local people, Li Yilong could never have gained power in Yangzhou.
Guangling remained, but the people were gone.
Now, the deeper he stepped into Jiangnan, the more it stirred up memories Ying Xi had forced himself to seal away for many years.
Memories washing over him once again, Ying Xi laid his head on the desk.
He didn’t want his eyes to fill with tears; once triggered, the emotion would be difficult to stop.
If his vision blurred now, Tiantong would surely sense it.
A dignified Emperor could not let a little girl see him as a joke.
But he was human; how could a heart not made of wood or stone be devoid of feeling?
Of course Ying Xi missed his father and mother, missed his true home.
The day he left Guangling turned out to be an eternal parting.
What wrong had his father and mother committed?
Were they in pain when they were murdered?
Were they worried about us? Did they regret giving birth to me?
Tears bled into Ying Xi’s sleeves.
Below his throat felt scorched by strong acid, as he bore alone the bone-piercing sorrow of being unable to ever see his closest kin again.
Yet Ying Xi never let out a single sob. He remained dignified and proper, hiding it flawlessly.
Therefore, Tiantong had no idea what was happening, assuming Bixia was so exhausted he had collapsed on the desk.
Tiantong asked softly: ” Bixia , are you tired?”
“En, tired. You should rest too.”
“Okay, Bixia .”
At this time, the Longchuan gently bumped against the riverbank. Ying Xi heard a dull thud.
He hadn’t scheduled any stops on the journey south. Logically, they shouldn’t have reached the war zone between the two provinces yet.
What was going on?
Outside the Longchuan, a soldier shouted: “Entering the ferry. The Longchuan will undergo inspection and repairs.”
Outside the cabin, Lian Qing knocked lightly to relay a message: “Sanjin Du is the last ferry before reaching the war zone. The flagship was just damaged by villains; the General is uneasy and ordered a temporary stop for inspection. Bixia may continue resting; you do not need to relocate.”
During his most emotionally turbulent moment, hearing Xie Qianli’s meticulous arrangements allowed Ying Xi to calmly adjust his breathing.
He silently called out: Ju’er.
Ying Xi sighed softly: “Understood.”
Bang, bang, bang!
Clang, clang, ding—ding—
The sound of construction rang out endlessly.
Even though it was an Imperial expedition, Xie Qianli couldn’t possibly tell the ferry craftsmen that the Emperor himself was on the Longchuan.
The craftsmen had no idea a VIP was inside the ship.
Thus, when the shipwrights inspected it, the Longchuan became very noisy.
The ferry boatmen chatted loudly while working, some even singing fishing songs and shouting work chants.
These were unique customs of Jiangnan. Ying Xi didn’t find them entirely unfamiliar, though he had rarely seen them.
He got up, leaned against the window to listen, and slightly pushed open a crack of a few inches.
His deep grey eyes reflected the scattered lights of the ferry, casting a warm hue over his exquisitely cool features.
Those craftsmen talked loudly, their voices making no effort to hide: “Yangzhou and Jingzhou are at war. Guangling City refuses to surrender; Guangling is not like other places!”
“How is it different?”
“The city has water, the people are prosperous. Even a siege is useless!”
“Danyang is easy to take, but Guangling is hard to capture. Who knows what the Imperial Court will do next?”
“What kind of person is that Prefect?”
“I heard his surname is Jia. He is extremely resistant to the Imperial Court. General Xie Meng sent an envoy to urge surrender, and he killed the envoy!”
When two armies battle, envoys are not to be slain.
The death of an envoy meant Guangling intended to fight the Imperial Court to the bitter end.
Who exactly was Prefect Jia?
Ying Xi pondered carefully, forming an idea about this person’s identity—Yingzi.
The world is vast, but Yingzi couldn’t possibly be a carefree wandering hermit under his rule. Seeking a life of pleasure, greed for fame and fortune—he had to rely on the support of local rulers.
So his only choice was to defect to the Jiangnan rebel army!
If he could help Li Yilong kill Zhen, he could become a close confidant to the Emperor and enjoy supreme favor again!
“In your dreams.”
Ying Xi’s fingertips hooked the window back, the firelight shining on his face narrowing into a thin line.
He didn’t want to listen anymore. Just as he prepared to go to bed, he heard the fluttering of a bird’s wings against the window lattice. Outside, there was a writhing dark shadow.
He had no choice but to open the window again, thinking Little Black was being naughty.
Sure enough, the black falcon darted into the cabin like a bolt of lightning, raising one claw to kick in a messenger pigeon.
The pigeon was still trying to struggle. Tied to its leg was a small brocade bag. Ying Xi’s heart chilled. With heavy guards outside the cabin door, delivering a message could only be done through this window. His intuition told him it was nothing good.
The pigeon was pinned down securely by the raptor.
Even though the pigeon struggled fiercely, the black falcon, holding the absolute upper hand, actually tilted its head and let out a coo softer and gentler than the pigeon’s.
“Coo, coo, coo.”
” Bixia , I think this bird is acting a bit like a green tea b*tch,” Tiantong roasted.
Ying Xi removed the brocade bag, and the tea bird lifted its claw.
The pigeon struggled to its feet and fluttered out of the window.
Ying Xi felt the brocade bag. Inside was a hard object about an inch square; he didn’t know what it was.
He opened the bag. The lamplight illuminated the object inside. The moment his eyes met it, the bag slipped from his grasp, and Ying Xi stumbled back several steps!
A green jade seal crashed to the floor.
Clang.
The jade seal was lustrous all over, reflecting a translucent shimmer under the candlelight. A qilin was carved on top, and the bottom bore traces of cinnabar indicating it had been used.
The cinnabar traced out characters in seal script—Seal of Prince Yongning.
The bottom edge of the jade seal was missing a corner the size of a grain of rice.
Back then, when Dang’er was just born, his father was holding him while writing. Dang’er kicked the royal seal flying with one foot, and from then on, the complete seal bore this missing corner.
The black falcon used its beak to pull a slip of paper from the brocade bag, shook it open in front of Ying Xi, and presented it like offering a treasure.
On the paper were sixteen brief, small characters. The handwriting was crooked, clearly not written by someone with a formal education.
The wording of the note was written with ultimate shamelessness:
“Killed your father, humiliated your mother.
If you want revenge, meet me alone.”
Yingzi!!!
When his father guarded the region, the seal remained with the man.
Only the very last person to see his father could possibly have taken his father’s seal.
It was Yingzi who slaughtered the Yongning Prince Manor, forging a blood feud with him that could never be reconciled.
When Ying Xi realized this truth, he lost control, stumbling and falling.
He scooped up the green jade seal he had just dropped with both hands, his knuckles trembling violently.
He seemed to want to peer behind the seal to witness the scene of the Yongning Prince Manor’s disaster, to look at his biological parents one more time, but this imagination was unbearable to him.
Even though he was now the Emperor, he could not turn back time.
Ying Xi gripped the green jade seal tightly, bursting with a chest full of hatred. The chipped green jade seal nearly broke his bones, but he felt no pain.
All the pain converged in his heart.
Ying Xi slowly stood up. A taste of rust filled his mouth. His gaze shot toward the cabin door, and he had just taken one step forward.
Tiantong screamed sharply: ” Bixia , don’t go!!!”
” Bixia going out alone carries a risk as big as the sky. Moreover, this person wrote the letter so viciously precisely to incite Bixia ‘s wrath. Without the protection of General Xie and the others, Bixia will be killed!”
“Furthermore, it is currently a time of war; Bixia ‘s life or death concerns the battle situation…”
That letter harbored vicious intentions. The highly empathetic Dating System actually played the voice of reason.
Tiantong was terrified the host would act impulsively.
Ying Xi, however, carefully tucked the green jade seal into his sleeve with utmost reverence. His voice was a bit hoarse.
He steadied his mind and said: ” Zhen guesses that Zhen ‘s enemy might very well be that Prefect with the unknown background in Guangling Commandery.”
“If it is him, drawing Zhen out to end the war, does Zhen not also want to kill him and take this city?”
Ying Xi fiddled with his sleeve, bringing paper and a brush along as well.
“Besides, Zhen ordered people to follow secretly. He can deliver a letter via wild goose and can return to the capital at any time. This is merely an agreed-upon battle with the Jiangnan rebels.”
He rationally dispelled Tiantong’s concerns.
A resolute confidence radiated from his expression. Ying Xi calculated while letting out a cold sneer: “If Zhen feared danger, Zhen would not have personally descended upon Jiangnan.”
“Zhen will definitely butcher him.”
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