Chapter 213: A Frank and Straight Talk
Translator: DragonRider
The next day, the two of them arrived at the Imperial College together, heading directly for the courtyard house of Ji Yin.
Though Yuwen Tong had been trying to keep this visit of his low-key, it still attracted much attention. The principal, on hearing that Yuwen Tong had come again, widened his eyes drastically. ‘I think I handled that matter impartially and without bias that day. Professor Du has been stripped of his title of a professor of the Imperial College and expelled. What else does Yuwen Tong want?’ he thought.
Somewhat anxious, the principal hurriedly tried to find Yuwen Tong, but the one keeping watch on Yuwen Tong’s whereabouts informed him that Yuwen Tong had gone to see the new professor surnamed Li.
‘The new professor surnamed Li? Was there some kind of conflict between Professor Li and Ling Zhang?’
The principal didn’t relax after hearing this. On the contrary, he hastened towards Ji Yin’s courtyard house, fearing that Yuwen Tong might kill that new professor in a fit of temper.
He arrived at Ji Yin’s place only to find that the door was guarded by bodyguards and he was denied entry.
“The Marshal has some private affairs to talk with Professor Li about. Please wait a few moments, principal,” said Yao Yi.
The principal ventured, “Was it because Professor Li came into conflict with Childe Ling, by any chance?”
Yao Yi responded, “That’s not the case. There’s no need for you to be anxious, principal.”
The principal heaved a sigh of relief in the knowledge that there was no conflict between the two. ‘But that professor is new here. Did he and Yuwen Tong know each other?’
Apart from the principal, Professor Gu hurried to this place as well, and he also went skeptical and confused after being told that Yuwen Tong had some private affairs to talk with Professor Li about. It was him who’d recommended Professor Li to the principal, but he had never heard Professor Li say anything about his acquaintance with Yuwen Tong. He remembered that the day before Ling Zhang suddenly came here saying that he wanted to consult Professor Li about some questions, and then Professor Li sent him away on a pretext. ‘Did Professor Li make acquaintance with Ling Zhang first, by any chance?’ A succession of questions flashed across Professor Gu’s mind, but he was unable to get in to find out what was going on inside, so he had no choice but to wait with the principal, both of them in puzzlement.
In the house, Ji Yin seemed to have anticipated that Ling Zhang would come back on this day, and he was not surprised to see Yuwen Tong.
On entering, Ling Zhang and Yuwen Tong made a bow with their hands folded in front to pay respects to Ji Yin.
Ji Yin hurriedly led them to the seats.
Although Ling Zhang had had no problem saying the word “grandfather” when consulting with Yuwen Tong in private, he still found it rather difficult to address the old man as such in the presence of him.
Ji Yin looked at Ling Zhang with a mild and expectant expression in his eyes, which naturally was tinged with guiltiness and uneasiness. He was waiting to hear that form of address from Ling Zhang’s mouth.
Eventually, Ling Zhang said, “Grandfather.”
He felt that since he had already made up his mind to admit he owed the Millennium Pavilion a favor, he ought to address this old man as ‘grandfather’.
Just as Yuwen Tong had said, his grudge against them and the favor he owed them deserved to be dealt with in separate ways. Besides, there was bond of blood between them, which was unerasable.
Ji Yin’s eyes gradually lit up. He was very happy to hear Ling Zhang call him grandfather. Holding Ling Zhang’s hands, he said, “Good boy, thank you for calling me grandfather,” all sorts of feelings welling up in his mind.
Both his son and his daughter had died. For him, the past was also a deep scar on his heart. Ling Zhang calling him grandfather brought tears to his eyes. It was with considerable restraint that he managed to keep his emotions from showing on his face.
“You’re my grandfather; nothing would ever change that, and I think my mother would want me to address you this way were she still alive,” observed Ling Zhang.
This remark brought Ji Yin’s thoughts surging like the tide and his mind was flooded with memories for quite a while. It was after involuntarily uttering “Good boy” several times in a row that he calmed himself down.
After the three of them sat down, Ji Yin threw Yuwen Tong a glance and then said to Ling Zhang, “It seems that you’ve told Marshal Yuwen everything.”
Ling Zhang didn’t deny it. “I trust him more than anyone. We’ll get married and become one with each other, sharing weal and woe. I won’t keep anything from him.”
While saying this, Ling Zhang was waiting to see Ji Yin’s reaction to his words. If Ji Yin went angry and tried to do anything to them, then they would immediately leave, regarding this visit as a waste of time.
Fortunately, Ji Yin appeared very composed and had no intention of blaming Ling Zhang for that. He just asked Yuwen Tong a question. “Since this has come to your knowledge, may I ask whether you’re going to tell your emperor about it, Marshal?”
Yuwen Tong understood what Ji Yin meant. He answered, “Just because I’m a servant to the emperor doesn’t mean that I’m under obligation to inform him of everything I know. I understand your misgivings. This matter is a secret between me and Brother Zhang, and I’m not going to divulge it to anybody else. Also, there’s no need for you to worry about me coveting unique kung fu skills of the Millennium Pavilion. I, Yuwen Tong, have been an honest and righteous man all my life. Never once have I broken my promise, and neither have I ever been scared by anything.”
There was a faint change of expression on Ji Yin’s face. He believed Yuwen Tong. Though members of the Millennium Pavilion had been leading a secluded life, they had some knowledge of great events in the outside world. Ten years ago, Yuwen Tong made his appearance on the battlefield and against overwhelming odds saved the situation for the Great Yue, which was on the verge of subjugation. Even the clan leader had paid him a compliment. The clan leader had even remarked that Yuwen Tong was the only one in the world who could have achieved that goal.
In addition, the relations between Ling Zhang and Yuwen Tong and their feelings for each other had already come to his knowledge when he’d found Ling Zhang. Before making contact with Ling Zhang and giving him the handbook on internal energy, he’d anticipated that Ling Zhang would tell Yuwen Tong about these things.
“Grandfather, today we came here to see you because there are a couple of matters that I’d like to ask you about,” said Ling Zhang.
Ji Yin looked at him. “Go ahead.”
“You said that it was the clan leader who saved my father’s life. Did that really happen?” queried Ling Zhang earnestly.
Ji Yin inclined his head. “Yes. The clan leader is the only one in the Millennium Pavilion who has reached the eleventh layer of the mental cultivation method of internal energy. Your father’s cardiac meridian would’ve failed had he not gone to his help.”
“Why was he willing to help my father?” Ling Zhang asked another question.
Ji Yin replied, “I know you have a grudge against him because of what happened to your mother, but actually he’s a man firm in speech but soft in heart. Otherwise in that year he wouldn’t have eventually agreed to let your mother leave unpunished. Also, the reason why he saved your father was very simple – he’s your mother’s husband, my son-in-law; I beseeched him, and he agreed.”
“Was he not afraid that my father might disclose the existence of the Millennium Pavilion to outsiders after he saved him?” Ling Zhang inquired.
Ji Yin answered, “He wouldn’t have saved him were he afraid of that.”
Ling Zhang lapsed into silence. Indeed, he wouldn’t have saved him were he afraid of it. This was very simple logic.
“You said that my father sustained some kind of mental trauma and was still in delirium, that a very rare crude drug was required to cure him. What kind of crude drug is that? And what needs to be done to effect a cure if we get it?”
Ji Yin responded, “This rare crude drug is the fruit of a panacea medicinal herb which fruits every twenty years. It can help your father recuperate from his medical condition, and at the same time, it is also a key article that descendants of the Phoenix Clan need to reach the eleventh layer of the mental cultivation. Whether or not we can get it to cure your father is still unknown. If we do get it, a consummate physician in the Millennium Pavilion will be able to treat him.”
Ling Zhang and Yuwen Tong exchanged glances. Both of them had come to the realization that the chance of obtaining a precious fruit of this kind was probably very slim, but since there was still hope, Ling Zhang was willing to give it a try. “When will it fruit? What needs to be done to convince the clan leader to use it to treat my father?”
Ling Zhang, though having a complaint against his father, didn’t want him dying delirious.
Ji Yin sighed, “It’s very difficult. There are not many descendants of the Phoenix Clan left, and those who succeeded in reaching the tenth layer of the mental method are few and far between, which is why this kind of fruits are very precious to descendants of the Phoenix Clan in the Millennium Pavilion. It won’t be easy to convince the clan leader to consent.”
“There’s half a year before the herb fruits,” he added.
Ling Zhang gave a bob of his head. “May I have an audience with the clan leader, grandfather?”
Ji Yin looked at him in surprise. “You want to see the clan leader?”
“I have to save my father, and I need to meet him,” replied Ling Zhang.
Ji Yin understood and said, “If you want to see him, I’ll take you to him.”
“Thank you, grandfather,” said Ling Zhang sincerely. Were it not for his grandfather, people of the Millennium Pavilion might not necessarily have gone to his father’s rescue, and neither would they necessarily have allowed him to cultivate the mental cultivation method. In this regard, he was grateful to them.
“Here’s my second question. Back in that year, were you really unaware of my mother’s whereabouts? You didn’t know she was seriously ill and passed away only a couple of years after that matter?”
The look in Ji Yin’s eyes went dim as he heard Ling Zhang’s question. “After the clan leader rescinded the order to have your mother taken back to the mountain, nobody had ever conducted any further inquiries into her whereabouts. The clan leader granted my request, and I couldn’t break my promise to him, which was why I also stopped my efforts to seek her out. Her constitution was not suitable for cultivation of internal energy, but she’d been intelligent since childhood and had a very good grasp of martial formations. Even those sent to hunt her by the clan leader were unable to restrain her and instead got killed by her. I thought that she was more than able to protect herself. It’d never crossed my mind that she would die such an early death.”
Ji Yin felt very guilty about his daughter’s death. “In the final analysis, it was my fault. She would’ve still been alive had I not given up on her.”
Ling Zhang, after a long silence, remarked eventually, “I’m partially responsible for my mother’s death as well. She wouldn’t have died such an early death had she not given birth to me.”
His uncle had once told him that his mother’s health wouldn’t have deteriorated had she not insisted on giving birth to him. After that, she spared no efforts teaching him knowledge of formations, which drained her of energy and led to her death in the end. He had no idea exactly what expectations his mother had had for him, but it was a fact that his mother had died because of him.
So he was in no position to lay blame on others.
Yuwen Tong held his hand and said, “Your mother loved you deeply. If you feel guilty, bear her love for you in mind and live well. Don’t fail her last wish. You still have your grandfather and uncle’s love and expectations. You still have me.”
Ling Zhang inclined his head. He knew that self-accusation couldn’t change what had happened. If his birth had been his mother’s wish, then he should live well. He had no knowledge of what his mother’s expectations for him had been, but he believed that as long as he stayed alive, sooner or later he would find out.
Ji Yin, seeing Yuwen Tong’s words help Ling Zhang pull himself together, came to a new understanding of how much Yuwen Tong meant to Ling Zhang.
“May I accompany Brother Zhang to the Millennium Pavilion?” Yuwen Tong inquired.
Ji Yin was somewhat hesitant. He responded, “I’ll have to ask the clan leader first before I could give you an answer.”
Yuwen Tong nodded. “I’d be obliged to you for that.”
Ji Yin shook his head. “I’m doing this for my grandson. I failed to save his mother, and I must save his father.”
After talking with Ji Yin, Ling Zhang had made a decision. Because of what had happened to his mother, he still bore grudges against the Millennium Pavilion, but people of the Millennium Pavilion had once gone to his father’s rescue, so he was willing to call it even in this regard. He would try his level best to convince the leader of the Millennium Pavilion, and no matter whether his father eventually recovered or not, he would take his father away with him.
