Chapter 28

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Xiao-Rong suspected of harming people

Ruan Ni waited all morning, but that Third Palace Lord was slower than a young woman preparing for her wedding.

In the Hidden Gold Pavilion, Lu Zhun zipped around the room nimbly in preparation, securing his two scimitars to his waist and tying a satin bundle to his back. He checked his silver and gold once more and locked the cabinet before finally leaving.

In the bundle were the three remaining ledgers. Lu Zhun leaped upon a horse and met up with Ruan Ni, and the two galloped along the road towards the palace gates.

Huo Linfeng watched from his window as they treaded past and couldn’t help but ponder, just who was that mole in the imperial court? He combed through the information at hand. After the carrier pigeon sent the Extraordinary Palace a letter about himself, they were now sending evidence that would implicate Chen Ruoyin. With one being the Marquis of Dingbei’s son and the other the Grand Councilor, that person’s status in the imperial court must not be low.

He abruptly remembered that day in Han Prefecture when Rong Luoyun unhesitantly sent two ledgers and Jia Yanxi to Shen Zhou. It was clear that he held trust in him.

High official rank, against Chen Ruoyin, and connected to Shen Zhou…… could the person be the Grand Mentor, Shen Wendao?

He quickly rejected this conjecture. If it was Shen Wendao, simply handing Shen Zhou all five ledgers would be a job done. Why would they take these extra steps instead? Despite his efforts, he could not pinpoint the answer and could only give up. He still has plenty of time in the future, after all.

Back then, he rarely took time off. If there was a war, he would fight, and if there wasn’t, he would train his soldiers day in, day out. Now, he was so idle that he felt like he was going to grow mushrooms. Huo Linfeng decided to take this opportunity to practice his martial arts, closing his doors and disregarding all outside matters.

With his Young Master staying indoors diligently, the little servant who only came to send three meals every day also started to grow mold. “How is this like Young Master?” Du Zheng muttered to himself as he squatted in the corner watering flowers, “He’s acting like a young lady who has never taken a step out the door.”

Just as he mumbled this, two disciples came into the courtyard, carrying a magnolia sapling.

Du Zheng stood: “What are you doing……”

A disciple answered: “Second Palace Lord’s orders.” They continued to find an empty spot in the yard and dug a hole to plant the tree. After they finished, they left and didn’t bother to explain.

Du Zheng was puzzled. Why did Rong Luoyun send a magnolia tree out of nowhere? Did his Young Master speak to the other party about it?

The bamboo stairs creaked as Huo Linfeng coincidentally decided to come down. He was resting his eyes, but after smelling that familiar light fragrance, he was drawn to the magnolia sapling. He came to the tree, extending his hand to stroke its trunk, like a father checking how much his son had grown.

“Who planted this?” He asked.

Du Zheng replied: “The Second Palace Lord ordered people to.”

Huo Linfeng felt his heart stir. He had simply spoken of it in the passing, back in the mountains, yet the other party silently kept it in mind. This magnolia tree wasn’t really that young of a sapling and had already grown quite tall. Was this so that he could see it bloom as soon as possible?

But what use is it after he sees it bloom?

As a saying goes, “The person leaves, the tea cools [1].” When that day arrives, this courtyard would once again return to its original state, overgrown with weeds and abandoned. Another Great Disciple would take his place. Maybe they would like peach or apricot trees, but these things would no longer have anything to do with him.

Then……Rong Luoyun, would he plant trees for them too?

Would he wait hours for them, give them his handkerchief, would he ask them to help him change clothes and wash hair?

Huo Linfeng stood before this magnolia tree in a daze, his thoughts becoming harder to contain than flowing water. Suddenly, a hwamei* flew by and perched on a branch. Its melodic singing brought him back to sobriety.

* species of bird

Du Zheng stood on the side and saw everything clearly. This person was simple; he would be aggressive to anyone who treats his master poorly and be kind to those who treat his master well. “Young Master, besides that medicine incident, Rong Luoyun is pretty good to you.” He then raised a stinging question, “But, as the rumors say, he is an evil person after all. When the time comes for the two of you to be on different sides, would you be softhearted?”

Huo Linfeng said coldly: “You even admit that it’s a rumor. The amount of truth it holds is still unknown.”

At present, there was no solid evidence to prove the rumors were fake. After all, the murder of those fifteen innocent young women had been placed upon Rong Luoyun’s head. Du Zheng sighed, “I remember Eldest Young Master saying that when training soldiers, you must use the harshest method to prepare for the worst case scenario.”

Huo Linfeng lost his patience: “Do you think I’m not annoyed enough?” He wrestled the watering can from Du Zheng’s hands and kicked him aside, “Go clean the house and stop buzzing in my ears.”

Once the other party ran away with his tail tucked between his legs, Huo Linfeng personally watered the tree.

Huo Linfeng pondered deeply. Since he had entered the Extraordinary Palace, he had not seen the four palace lords commit any evil. In fact, they even lent a large amount of help to the refugees from Han Prefecture. Of course, the Extraordinary Palace was colluding with someone from the imperial court, so this could simply be them obeying an order.

And as for the most troublesome thing… Rong Luoyun’s appearance emerged in his mind, his paleness when in pain, his scarlet blush when shy, his joys and sorrows, his moments of modesty and arrogance……Huo Linfeng stopped, not wanting to continue on this train of thought. When it’s time for their swords to meet, he’ll leave it up to the heavens to decide.

The magnolia tree played with human emotions, just like that little note hidden under the plate.

Night fell. Rong Luoyun leaned against the window with a book in hand, his eyes tracing the words and his ears listening for noise. Silently in the trickling time, he finished half the scroll. His eyes were burning with soreness, yet his ears picked up nothing but silence. How come no one came? He has been waiting all day after sending off the magnolia sapling. How come that person didn’t drop by to express his thanks?

What he really wanted wasn’t actually a “thank you, Palace Lord, for your kindness”, but simply a reply. After all, he had sent it with good intention.

Was it that his lights were too dim, so the other party mistook him to be asleep? Rong Luoyun searched for a match and lit every lantern in his room. Feeling it wasn’t enough, he lit every candle and lantern from his study to the main hall to the veranda.

In the end, he even lit that bamboo lantern and carried it around.

The Nameless Abode rarely bathed in this amount of light. The patrolling disciples came to inquire every so often, thinking the Palace Lord had an order to give. Rong Luoyun answered with a “Nothing’s the matter” over and over, and with each time, he felt himself lose hope bit by bit. How can it be that he had an order to give? Seeing his crazy shenanigans, it was clear he had something wrong with his head.

In the end, he waited until he was utterly exhausted. He dejectedly turned to go back to his room, blowing out every lantern one at a time.

He’ll probably come tomorrow. Rong Luoyun’s hope still hadn’t smothered completely, despite the fact that he was already lying in bed. The plate of steamed pears was empty and the small note was hidden somewhere safe. It has already been three days since then. Does that person surnamed Du really have nothing to report to him?

Even if there was nothing to report, the lotuses in the tank were starting to wither, yet he didn’t get a new batch.

How was it proper for Rong Luoyun, with the grand title of a Palace Lord, to go to the Thousand Opportunity Hall whenever he wished? Why was this Great Disciple so dense? The more he thought, the angrier he got. He angrily turned over and punched the bed, tearing a hole in the soft mattress.

Humph, “last night was warm and vivid”, after his illness was gone, he must be sleeping pretty sweetly; “a gift of sweet and sour”, the pears left a taste of sweet and sour, but did he bother to ask whether Rong Luoyun’s heart was full of sweet or sour?; “everything is still and silent”, indeed it was. Rong Luoyun spent an entire night listening for him, but nobody came; he said, “my heart skips* for you”, but where is it skipping to? Did it skip and trip, clumsily getting lost midway?

* I translated HLF’s note that his heart was fluttering last chap, but I changed it to “skipping” because I believe it would be more accurate to the original text

Rong Luoyun tossed and turned, having trouble sleeping. His anger was as thick as fog and his raging fire burned as bright as day.

With a sudden bang, the wind blew the window close. His mood immediately plummeted further. He leaned forward and sent a string of qi to open the window before lying back down. His dantian [2] did not feel injured at all. Was his internal energy fully recovered now?

Rong Luoyun dispelled his sleepiness and sat in the lotus position, regulating his qi and washing away his foul temper.

It was late into the night when he finally fell asleep.

Two more days passed, but Huo Linfeng never came to thank Rong Luoyun. That magnolia tree was like a pebble dropped into an ocean, never to be heard of again. Of course, he could simply order the other party to come, but he feels that…… that would be meaningless.

The weather wasn’t good on this day, gloomy and foggy, hinting at the foreboding rain.

Rong Luoyun left the Nameless Abode, planning to go to Duan Huaike to drink wine and play games. When he passed by the Thousand Opportunities Hall, he refused to even glance at it, but his footsteps unconsciously slowed down. He lost his self control little by little and peeked out of the corner of his eye, peering over the wall at the bamboo grove.

The window was left ajar, but no one waved at him.

He shut his eyes and ran straight ahead.

The Drunken Elegance Courtyard wasn’t far from the Distant Gray Platform, so when he arrived, he could hear the disciples training. There was a faint attraction, drawing him towards the sound as if he was bewitched.

After walking some distance, his view opened up to the disciples lined up neatly on the platform.

Through the ranks, there was a crane in a flock of chickens. Jade hair crown, handsome features, his height of eight chi towering over the others, and his straight back, never bending. A dark robe draped over his broad shoulders, outlining his powerful waist. His layers of clothes fluttered gracefully in the wind.

Rong Luoyun watched from afar. After a few days of not seeing him, Huo Linfeng’s sickness seems to be gone and his strength recovered.

Suddenly, someone called out to Rong Luoyun with a “Second Palace Lord”, leading to a chain effect. Before long, the entire group of disciples was greeting him earth-shatteringly.

Huo Linfeng turned to look and saw Rong Luoyun standing on the side. He was slightly stupefied. Moving without thinking, he took a step towards Rong Luoyun while calling out to the disciples: “Reversed fifth form! Right fist out!”

The disciples obeyed and neatly turned around. Huo Linfeng strode down the platform in large strides and stopped before Rong Luoyun. The second he stopped, the two people stood there hesitantly. Three seconds ticked by… they debated what move to make. Four seconds…their eyes collided awkwardly. Five seconds… their pent-up thoughts ran laps around their heads chaotically with nowhere to be released.

“Palace Lord.” Huo Linfeng was gentle again like Duan Huaike, “How were you these past few days?”

Rong Luoyun nodded slightly, replying: “With no one bothering me, I naturally would be well.”

This sentence was like a needle hidden in silk [3], piecing Huo Linfeng into a sieve. This “Jadeite Linfeng [4]” of a sieve took half a step closer: “The steamed pears from last time were made fresh. The dried pears are finally done drying, so I was planning to drop by and give you some after the drills.” Once he finished explaining, he added another sentence to tease, “If I’m bothering you, I’ll apologize in advance.”

Last night, Rong Luoyun was angered into punching his mattress. Now that he’s heard the explanation, the needle was removed, leaving only the silk. He asked: “Was the magnolia tree to your liking?”

Huo Linfeng, who likes to provoke people: “Eh, it’s okay.”

Rong Luoyun lifted his foot and stomped on him: “Say what I want to hear, or else I’m demoting you.”

Huo Linfeng replied honestly: “I like it.” All the disciples were still holding the fifth form, yet here he was, neglecting his duty to coax the Palace Lord. Suddenly, he felt something wet on his face. Rain has finally arrived on this dreary day.

Rong Luoyun turned, wishing to flee to the Drunken Elegance Courtyard to hide from the rain and play chess. But Huo Linfeng grabbed him like an eagle swooping down on its prey. Rong Luoyun complained about him not “bothering” him enough, so what is he doing trying to find Duan Huaike right now? He had prepared sweet slices of dried pear for Rong Luoyun, so what goddamn chess is he planning to play!

On the Distant Gray Platform, he bellowed: “Everyone, find somewhere to take shelter. You are not allowed to come into the hall!”

The disciples scattered in all directions, crowding together beneath the trees and under the eaves. Huo Linfeng dragged Rong Luoyun into the Profound Jade Hall that he had used his status to occupy. An oil paper bag sat on the table, revealing a handful of dried pear slices once opened.

Rong Luoyun muttered: “How stingy. How is this enough for me to eat?”

Huo Linfeng said: “If I send two catties all at once, what excuse can I find to bother you in the future?”

His remark was provocative yet sweet to the ears. Rong Luoyun threw a piece into his mouth, chewing as he spoke: “There are plenty of excuses. The withering lotus flowers need to be replaced, the magpies and carrier pigeons need to be fed, and the ginkgo trees need to be watered.” He paused before adding in embarrassment, “And as for washing hair, there’s no need.”

Huo Linfeng was very pleased. He watched the other party’s rosy complexion and energetic look. It seems like his internal energy has recovered plenty. Having been pardoned from maid work, he casually asked: “There’s no need to wash your hair, but what about examining your heart meridian?”

The memories from the mountaintop praying hall resurfaced in Rong Luoyun’s mind, almost causing his heart to jump out of his mouth. He wavered, nearly muttering some embarrassing things……Rong Luoyun turned away without a word, seeming annoyed and angered. He moved around the table and strolled away, only to turn around slowly when he reached the door.

He wielded Duan Huaike as a weapon, saying: “No need, Big Brother could do it.”

Huo Linfeng followed him: “First Palace Lord knows medicine. He’ll naturally be able to do it better than me.” He drew closer, like the time when he wiped the drop of oil from Rong Luoyun’s chin, his fingers swiping across his skin, sweeping away the pearly bead of liquid.

At the same time, Rong Luoyun felt a hand stop at his chest.

Rong Luoyun held the oil paper bag in his hands. A piece of dried pear sat in his mouth, but he had forgotten about chewing. That large hand lowered and covered his heart. Through the thin layer of clothing, his fast heartbeat could be felt.

Babump, babump, seeming to echo through the hall.

Through the door separating them from the outside, the disciples could be heard playing around.

Rong Luoyun absentmindedly murmured: “What does it mean when your heart skips……”

In an instant, Huo Linfeng’s eyes flickered. Pure white magnolia, light gray handkerchief, soft pink lotuses hiding the red carp. Where did he have the qualifications to examine other people’s hearts when his own was in chaos? His hand lowered, firmly hooking onto Rong Luoyun’s waist, bringing the other party into his arms, pulling him into an embrace. He leaned against the other party’s forehead and lowered his head, his lips hovering at his temples.

“Palace Lord.” He said huskily, “Listen.”

Rong Luoyun was pressed against his chest with his eyes closed in panic, letting that powerful heartbeat enter his ears. It was like the beating drums during the martial arts competition, like the beating of the horse’s hooves as Huo Linfeng came to rescue him. Louder than the rain and wind, reverberating through the silence of the great hall.

Suddenly, there was a call from the outside.

The rain grew heavier. Seeing that his Master had yet to return, Du Zheng came to deliver an umbrella and cloak. He rushed straight into the hall: “Didi, careful to not catch a cold again!” He stared at the scene before him. That didi and Rong Luoyun stood together on one side, their faces each getting redder than the next.

Huo Linfeng approached him, hissing in a low voice through clenched teeth: “You’re truly good at picking times!” He yanked the cloak over and turned away, draping it over Rong Luoyun’s shoulders. Rong Luoyun was extremely embarrassed, feeling he did something wrong in front of someone else’s big brother.

He didn’t dare think about what would’ve transpired if Du Zheng hadn’t come.

“I’ll be leaving first.” He wanted nothing but to get away and hide as far as he could, “I want to go to Dusk-till-Dawn.” As he was leaving, he composed himself and added, “My sister likes to eat hot pot on rainy days, so I’m going to eat with her…… I’m not doing anything else.”

His confession out of the blue was cute, making Huo Linfeng feel especially happy.

The rain was endless, leaving the disciples no choice but to return to the Thousand Opportunities Hall, taking advantage of this for a day off. When night fell, Huo Linfeng paid the Nameless Abode a visit, only to find that Rong Luoyun had not yet returned.

He brought fresh lotuses for the tank, fed the birds, and cleared the ground of fallen ginkgo leaves. Rong Luoyun still hadn’t returned.

Perhaps, he was staying overnight because of the rain.

Huo Linfeng returned to his bamboo grove to rest, waking up in the middle of the night to the thunder and howling wind. He draped his robes around himself and went downstairs, searching for a sturdy tree branch to support the magnolia sapling. Once he was finished, he was no longer sleepy. It was already hours past midnight. He opened an umbrella and left the courtyard with a lantern in hand. He left the Thousand Opportunities Hall and onto the street, strolling slowly to the corner of the sub-gates.

Rong Luoyun had waited for him here once. Now it was his turn to have a taste of what it feels like to wait for someone.

The wind weakened by the hour of yin* and the rain stopped at the hour of mao**. As the hours passed, the brilliant sunrise eventually emerged.

* hour of yin – 3-5am

** hour of mao – 5-7am

In the city, a large crowd formed, consisting of commoners from every household: peddlers, shoppers, old women, young men, and even the boatmen from the docks hurried over……Conversations were boiling, some full of anger and resentment, some with unspeakable pity, and buried in the center of the crowd were howls of gut-wrenching grief.

What the tide of people surrounded was a pair of husband and wife. A woven mat covered in white cloth laid in front of the couple, concealing the remains of their daughter who met disaster last night. Raped and killed, and like the fifteen murder cases that occurred in Xiaoyan City, there were three words carved into the bedpost —— Rong Luoyun.

It was a fine, clear day, but Xiqian Ridge was plagued with terror.

Huo Linfeng was still waiting…… not knowing the situation outside was now as different as heaven and earth.

The author has something to say:

Xiao-Rong’s Diary Part III:

Early summer, rainy day turned clear.

It’s a lie, through and through

Once I’m done writing this, this Lord will personally go clear this up

If you enjoy reading Riling Up the Jianghu and would like to support the author (please do if you can!!), please consider purchasing the raws here (guide on JJWXC here). Thanks for reading!

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Notes

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