Chapter 106: Noble Relations

Ming Han said, "I thought you both were sincerely speaking to me from the heart, but it turns out you were just creating a diversion.(1) Ai, even as your Jiùjiu, I can't see a bit of genuine affection."

"Isn’t it easy to see a genuine heart?" Ming Zhuo, in his Moon God form, had his eyes covered with flowing white silk. A cold smile played at the corners of his lips, "I'll help you dig it out right now so you can hold it and look at it as much as you want."

—Zhēng!

The pipa strings sounded, and the red-faced paper warriors were instantly torn to pieces by an invisible force. Ming Han said, "Your mother was gentle, and couldn't even bear to see a chicken killed, but you're different. You've been bloodthirsty since you were a child. I didn't let you leave the bed chamber back then because I feared you'd lose control like your beast of a father the moment you saw strangers. It was for your own good, but what did you do? You insisted on pestering your Mūmā to take you out.(2) And what happened? You got her killed. If I remember correctly, her child was a year younger than you. Losing both parents so young, who knows how much suffering they endured."

—Zhēng!

The sound of the pipa was like a knife, scattering a flurry of paper scraps. Ming Zhuo plucked the strings as if in bored amusement, "When you took over someone else's body, didn't you put your head on top? You're spouting the same old, irrelevant nonsense. I think you're getting senile."

Ming Han, struck, had his sleeves torn. His form turned to mist, reappearing on the other side of the battlefield, "I'm not senile. I've always known that every time she came to the palace to care for you, she would hide her own child in the sedan chair to accompany you. After she died, you told no one, hiding that child in the palace, using the excuse of feeding the leopards to get him raw meat and fruit."

Ming Zhuo said, "You're rambling.(3) Talking so much nonsense, and not a single word of it is one I want to hear."

The Moon God's pipa had an ancient style, and it’s origin was unknown. Ming Zhuo, was not skilled in music, so he plucked the strings randomly according to his mood, yet it was enough to kill all of Ming Han's puppets. Unable to withstand Ming Zhuo's current sharpness, Ming Han cunningly relied on turning into black mist to evade him.

"I taught you enlightenment, and you mimicked it to teach that child. Later, when he grew up, you let him leave the palace, but he was too timid to go far. He joined a small, obscure sect near the capital. This sect was unknown, but it had an old, disabled, blind man who loved to boast about a sacred sword blessed by the Moon God. This old fool, of course, couldn't teach any outstanding disciples. The child followed him, never seeing the sacred sword but instead wielding a broken iron sword. After a few years, the old man died, and the child had nowhere to go, so he returned to the capital and became your gatekeeper."

Sōu!

Two traces of blood appeared on Ming Han's cheek. He wiped them away nonchalantly, "Everyone despised you, but he remained loyal, seeing you as his saviour. Sounds touching, doesn't it? Unfortunately, it's all tactics learned from me. In the palace, you had no one useful, so he was just a pawn to test my spies. I pretended not to notice, letting you think I was weak and ill. So you schemed for years and eventually killed me in the palace. Ai, all your schemes, and yet I only feigned death. That poor gatekeeper, his sincere heart met with deceit, and along with his mother, they became mere pawns in our uncle-nephew struggle."

The murderous intent in the pipa's sound grew stronger, turning paper scraps into powder. The harder Ming Zhuo plucked the strings, the more indifferent his expression became. He was like a light cloud, his brilliance undimmed by the jewels and gold around him, showing a proud and disdainful attitude, as if to respond to Ming Han: what saving lives, what tactics? Everything he did was beyond reproach. 

Amidst the raging wind blades in the formation, Ming Han dodged to the side of the smaller Da'a, continuing, "Imperial Lord, since your Lord has vented his anger for you, do you wonder how you might repay this favour in the future?"

"I and the Lord already have an account book, recording my many debts. I have my own plans on how to repay them," Luo Xu readjusted the handkerchief wrapped around his hand, remaining in place, as if truly bound. "You really must have died, your words are so dense.”

"I can keep my words to myself. When I speak, naturally, it’s for a reason." The next moment, Ming Han, turning into mist, reappeared in front of Luo Xu, making a motion as if to grab his heart. "Isn’t it better to do it today than to set another date? Let’s settle our debts now, ba!"

The pipa's sound ceased, and suddenly, several angry thunderbolts exploded in the night, forming whips that lashed harshly at Ming Han. The smell of burnt flesh filled the air. The previously calm sky was now roaring with thunder, striking the fake Da'a, and reducing it to a muddy mess.

Ming Zhuo held the pipa in one hand, while the other hand produced crackling sparks. Amidst flying scales, Ming Han, like a cicada, took advantage of the chaotic lightning to transform into mist once again, but this time he left behind Lin Changming's body.

The black mist floated a few steps before becoming entangled with the thunderwhip. Ming Han suddenly laughed, "You’ve eaten your Old Man’s divine heart,(4) yet you’re angry about the Imperial Lord’s human heart? The Luo Clan of the Heavenly Sea worships the manji, which means it’s the best to eat. If you fear he might die, I have a solution. Like Lin Changming, turn him into a medicinal furnace first, then—"

His voice drifted away as if he were escaping, but the body left behind suddenly shuddered and lunged at Luo Xu’s heart again.

One failed attempt followed by another! Ming Han’s escape was a ruse; his real intent was to attack. Just as he was about to touch Luo Xu, Luo Xu continued folding his handkerchief.

"The only way to prevent Jiang Linzhai from dying is to return the spiritual power to Ruyi Lang, right?" Ming Zhuo raised his chin slightly, "You seem to have forgotten that the person who navigated the array with you for months without breaking the seal was Jiang Linzhai himself."

Luo Xu finished folding the handkerchief, his wound already healed. His healing indicated one thing: the return of his spiritual power.

"A gentleman befriends a gentleman. It seems Lin Changming has more faith in Jiang Linzhai to solve all problems," Luo Xu said, looking at Ming Han. "Is this what you meant by turning from a tiger to a cat?"

A copper coin clinked crisply. When Ming Han looked again, it was back in Luo Xu’s fingers. The Imperial Lord’s fingers lightly pressed the coin. It was his habit to play with Yin Yang coins, similar to Ming Zhuo's careless plucking of the pipa strings. The more casual he appeared, the more deadly his intent.

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Foot Notes

1. He actually says, 声东击西 (Shēngdōngjīxī), which is to attack the East and West.

2. He uses 姆妈 (Mūmā) here rather than 娘 (Niáng) like he did before. 姆妈 is more like “Mum” or “Mummy” rather than “Mother”. Given the context, this person wasn’t Ming Zhuo’s mother, but a grandmother or nanny-like figure rather than his literal mum.

3. He says, 东拉西扯 (Dōng lā xī chě), which is “playing in the east and talking in the west,” but it means to ramble.

4. Here he uses 老爹 (Lǎo diē) for Ming Zhou’s father (Hui Mang).