Chapter 71: Little Xie Pursues His Wife; Little Xie Must Search the Entire World for His Bixia Once Again…
As they plummeted, Ying Xi only felt his heart seize.
Immediately following that, his body swayed and jolted as he fell into a small boat.
This small boat was usually tethered to the stern of the painted pleasure boat, serving as a life raft in case of emergency.
Ying Dang untied the ropes. The small boat broke away from the larger vessel.
Prince Yong’s phoenix eyes narrowed, the corners as sharp as a blade’s edge. Grasping the oars with both hands, the muscles in Ying Dang’s shoulders, upper arms, and forearms bulged beneath his purple robes and loose belt. His mature physique—far beyond his actual years—propelled the oars until they flew, the small boat slicing through the waves.
Because the movements were too violent, the inch-long knife wound on his chest tore further, spilling more blood.
The blood did not spray out; instead, it spread across Ying Dang’s chest, covering the surface of his purple clothing with heavy, dark stains.
Ying Xi noticed that heavy color by the moonlight. He tried to rise and call for a stop, but Prince Yong lunged forward and knocked him down.
Ying Xi’s back crashed into the boat, his shoulder blades erupting in a dull ache!
The scenery on both sides of the river continued to recede rapidly!
Separated by that massive painted boat, the Longwujun could still see the large vessel drifting on the river. Thinking the two were still inside the cabin, the soldiers’ voices drew closer and closer.
“Bixia!”
“Bixia! We have come to receive you! Bixia…”
Ying Xi: “Zhen—”
Ying Xi opened his mouth but suddenly found he could not make a sound. A thorough numbness paralyzed his jaw; Prince Yong had actually struck his xue point, rendering him unable to speak and severing his contact with the Longwujun.
But those Longwujun soldiers were, after all, wary of Prince Yong’s status as a Qinwang.
As they shouted, several of them invoked General Xie’s name: “Bixia, we have come to receive you under the military orders of the Yingguo Gong!”
“Bixia!”
“Bixia…”
Ying Dang’s breath suddenly surged before him, the two brothers’ noses nearly touching.
“Does Xiongzhang want to see someone else? Do you want to see him?”
“What kind of spell did that man named Xie cast on you?”
“When his father died, even I knew he wanted to rebel. A dog that dares to bite you at any moment—is he worth even a single glance from you?”
“Xiongzhang, look at me instead…”
“I am the only one whose heart has been filled with nothing but Xiongzhang from beginning to end.”
Ying Dang’s emotions were in complete disarray.
Ying Xi’s thoughts were also a chaotic mess. It had to be said that Ying Dang had stirred up memories of his past life.
He had indeed died beneath the Dragon-Roaming Spear; Xie Qianli had once given him a sense of bone-deep terror. A thorn suddenly pierced Ying Xi’s heart!
At this moment, he smelled the thick scent of blood coming from Prince Yong and wanted to look at that self-inflicted knife wound on the Prince’s chest.
But in the opposite direction was the Longwujun.
“Don’t—”
“Don’t go!!!”
Prince Yong’s voice cracked as he used both arms to pull Ying Xi into a tight embrace.
Ying Dang’s hand stroked Ying Xi’s back. In an instant, he lost his sense of proportion and struck the xue points that rendered Ying Xi completely unable to move, turning Ying Xi into a beautiful doll in his arms who could no longer run away.
Pain…
It was more painful than falling into the boat earlier; every bone in his body felt as if it were about to snap.
His features contorted, yet he couldn’t even manage a groan. His forced compliance was gratifying to the other.
Prince Yong used every ounce of his strength to hold that doll!
Prince Yong laughed obsessively: “We’re leaving… Xiongzhang, we’re leaving. Home… I’m taking you home…”
At this moment, the river moonlight reflected Ying Dang’s face, looking like a child who had once had an important toy stolen, only to snatch it back by any means necessary.
Ying Dang would never lose it again, nor would he let anyone else see it. He wanted to hide his Xiongzhang away securely, imprisoning him by his side forever.
The boat drifted further and further away!
“Where is Bixia???”
The Longwujun boarded the painted boat, the sound of their military boots clattering rhythmically against the wooden deck.
This time, however, they did not see Prince Yong blocking them, nor did they find any trace of their sovereign.
The soldiers searched everywhere to no avail.
In an instant, a sense of overwhelming anxiety washed over all the Longwujun on the ship. Perhaps the Bixia who had just been found by General Xie had been lost once again!
The young general leading them was so enraged he split a table in half with a single strike of his blade.
The square table broke into two pieces!
The plates and bowls on the table shattered into fragments on the floor.
A few apples rolled into the corner of the ship. The dancers and singing girls on the boat had all been driven to the deck; seeing this situation, they bowed their heads, their souls nearly departing from fright, fearing the next strike would land on them.
Moreover, the current situation did not bear close scrutiny.
These military lords had just been shouting: “Bixia.”
In other words, the person being pressed against the railing just now was… the current Son of Heaven… and his younger brother…
Anyone who stumbled upon such an affair would feel uneasy.
Silencing them seemed like the logical next step.
In this war zone, human life was as cheap as grass!
It wasn’t as if they hadn’t heard that after the Jingzhou Navy conquered Yuzhang Prefecture, the corpses inside and outside the city were so dense there was almost nowhere to step.
If even those armored soldiers could not escape death, what of them, who were unarmed?
The entertainers on the ship lowered their heads even further.
The soldiers grew increasingly agitated. The young general in charge asked urgently:
“Have you seen a young gentleman dressed in white, slender and handsome? Where is he!”
“He…”
“This…”
What answered them was a unanimous silence.
No one was a fool. To say they saw the Emperor would inevitably lead to the question: Where did Prince Yong take the Emperor? What were the two of them doing just now?
The intimacy between the Emperor and his brother was, after all, not a glorious matter.
Everyone understood that answering would only increase the risk of being silenced.
Thus, the more urgently the soldiers asked, the more the singing girls and actors resembled sawed-off gourds.
That young Longwujun general had no clues, and he was burdened by strict military discipline, which forbade him from using force against civilians.
He carried the responsibility of losing the Emperor, and his heart was already a tangled mess; consequently, the expression on his face became even more solemn and grim.
Inside the painted boat, there was only the sound of the river water lapping against the hull.
Suddenly—
An eagle’s cry tore through the long night on the river.
The eagle’s cry was fierce, distinct from the waterbirds of the south, carrying with it a domineering killing intent.
“The General is here.”
“It’s General Xie!”
The soldiers lined up in neat rows on the deck.
Following that, the majestic eagle circled above the painted boat and landed on the left arm of a tall man. This was the figure who had just boarded, their commanding officer.
The dancers’ teeth chattered even more.
A few girls huddled together, shivering, none of them daring to look up.
This person drew closer and closer; the entertainers on the boat could only see the tips of his boots.
By the time he was before them, the young Longwujun general was already kneeling: “This subordinate has handled matters poorly, resulting in the sovereign’s whereabouts becoming unknown. I ask for punishment according to military law!”
Xie Qianli: “Where was the sovereign last seen?”
The young general’s face flushed red.
Because the Duke of Ying had neither rebuked him nor invoked military law, the implications of this matter were far beyond what one person could bear.
The young general said hoarsely: “Over there.”
The subordinate pointed toward the side of the ship. Xie Qianli strode to the edge, crouched down, and saw a cloak on the deck. His pupils constricted.
Xie Qianli scooped up the cloak and brought it close to his nose, sniffing lightly.
A cold fragrance belonging to the palace permeated the air.
Xie Qianli’s heart softened slightly, but then, by the light of the lamps, he saw bloodstains on the cloak. His lower lip trembled slightly.
“……”
He did not know whose blood it was.
Prince Yong was dissolute and unrestrained, his entire being radiating a sense of demonic madness. That night at the Jade Spring Tower, he had clearly and truly heard Prince Yong’s illicit intentions toward the Emperor.
Xie Qianli’s fingertips tightly gripped the surface of the cloak, his knuckles aching!
Prince Yong had taken Ying Xi away.
The river wind blowing by reminded Xie Qianli that Ying Xi’s body was still soaking wet.
Taking him away—will he be looked after well?
Is he cold?
Is he hurt?
Xie Qianli did not realize that while he had once tried his best to control his feelings for Ying Xi, he was now gradually taking possession of Ying Xi in his mind.
Heartache caused ripples to appear in Xie Qianli’s eyes; he did not want Ying Xi to suffer any discomfort.
The soldiers and dancers behind him only knew that the Longwujun commander was shrouded in a frigid aura of solemnity; they did not know that beneath his iceberg-like exterior, a very soft tide of thought was hidden.
Xie Qianli rose and faced the last witnesses on the deck.
As his shadow approached them, the singing girls and dancers were terrified. One entertainer fainted straight away.
Xie Qianli’s features were clear under the fading lamps, possessing an open and heroic face. His voice was deep: “Look up. I have questions.”
The entertainers tremulously met his gaze.
One bolder dancer said: “General… please ask.”
“Just now by the side of the ship, did you see anything you shouldn’t have?”
This question was so sharp that it felt as if everyone’s throats were being squeezed. Their overreaction was already an answer to Xie Qianli.
“Who was struck by the blade?”
The precise follow-up question made it impossible to evade.
Finally, someone said: “It seemed to be… His Highness Prince Yong. As for what exactly they were arguing about, we were too far away. We only saw the flash of a blade and couldn’t hear clearly at all.”
Xie Qianli felt slightly relieved.
The entertainers, however, were even more terrified of being silenced. They couldn’t help but peek at the weapons hanging from the waists of the many soldiers behind him. Their throats bobbed.
But Xie Qianli said calmly: “Small disputes between brothers are inevitable, whether in the Imperial family or among commoners. It is not something for outsiders to speak of. Tonight, you saw nothing.”
He then instructed Lian Qing: “Investigate the origins of this painted boat carefully to see if it is related to the enemy.”
Lian Qing: “What if it is a boat from Jingzhou?”
“Release them.”
“Understood!”
The large boat had been hijacked by Prince Yong from a Jingzhou music bureau. The music bureau was government-run, and they all had official registrations.
The singing girls and dancers felt as if they had been liberated. They were astonished and looked at each other, feeling as if they had survived a disaster. Only then did they belatedly remember to offer their thanks: “Many thanks for your understanding, General! Thank you for releasing us!”
Once the threat to their lives was gone, the entertainers found the Longwujun to be quite approachable. The most majestic and cold one had transformed from a Living Yama into a Living Bodhisattva. Only then did they dare to secretly speculate about the relationship between this man and the Emperor.
Sovereign and subject must be very close…
The bold dancer on the deck finally dared to provide a clue in a low voice: “Reporting to the General, I caught one last glimpse of the river surface and saw the small boat heading northeast. His Highness might be going to Guangling Prefecture.”
“Guangling Prefecture?” Xie Qianli’s brows furrowed.
The very heart of the current conflict!
Translator’s Note: Hello everyone! The term xue (穴) refers to acupuncture points; in wuxia/web novels, striking these can paralyze a person or mute them, which is exactly what Ying Dang did to our poor Emperor. Bixia (陛下) is the standard honorific for “Your Majesty,” and Zhen (朕) is the “Imperial I,” a pronoun only the Emperor can use. Poor Xie Qianli is worried sick! Let’s see if they make it to Guangling in one piece. See you in the next chapter!
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