Chapter 185: Taboo
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Clomp clomp!
The carriage entered the palace gate and headed toward the Eternal Joy Palace.
Ye Jingtang had been kicked out of the carriage and naturally lost the right of the princess accompanying him to visit the palace. After arriving at the Eternal Joy Palace, only a palace maid brought him to the Roaring Dragon Pond.
The main purpose of this trip was to introduce him to various rules, such as which paths to take, where he could look, and where not to stay. There were many rules, but in summary, they were pretty straightforward: Don’t stay in places where the empress might appear.
In addition, he was given a token that allowed him to enter and leave the palace freely. When he wanted to practice martial arts, he could enter the palace on his own without the Prince of Jing taking him, but he had to notify the palace and obtain approval before entering.
Logically speaking, Ye Jingtang could practice all night at the Roaring Dragon Pond, but Dumdum wasn’t staying in the Peaceful Hall. He was afraid of offending the empress, so after memorizing all the rules, he bade farewell to the palace maid and prepared to leave.
Just as he reached the shore of the Roaring Dragon Pond, he found a gorgeous woman in a bright red dress walking out from near the Peaceful Hall. She stood by the lake and looked at the night scenery.
Ye Jingtang knew that Yuhu was a member of the Eternal Joy Palace, so he wasn’t surprised to see her. When he passed by, he cupped his hands and bowed. “Hello, Miss Yuhu.”
The empress of Great Wei turned around with a smile in her eyes. “Her Majesty is in the imperial study. There’s still a while before Her Majesty will go to the resting palace. Young Master, since you’re already here, aren’t you going to stay at the Roaring Dragon Pond for a while?”
“Her Highness the Prince of Jing brought me in. Since Her Highness isn’t here, it’s not convenient for me to stay here alone.”
Ye Jingtang walked over and asked, “Last time, was it because you helped put in a good word for me that Her Majesty allowed me to come to the Roaring Dragon Pond to practice martial arts?”
The empress leaned against the railing by the lake with her arms crossed in front of her chest. “Since I’ve spoken, I naturally won’t go back on my word. A few days ago, 1 served Her Majesty for half the night before Her Majesty agreed to this matter. How are you going to thank me?”
?
Served for half the night… Ye Jingtang had a strange look in his eyes. “I’m just a commoner. Other than some money, I have nothing else to offer. A few days ago, 1 asked Her Highness to see if Her Highness could facilitate freeing you. In the end, I was reprimanded by Her Highness. Alas…”
The empress looked surprised. “You asked the Prince of Jing for me?”
Asked for you?Ye Jingtang felt that this woman was a real tiger. He shook his head and said, “Miss, please don’t misunderstand. I just saw that you were worried about your hair turning white, so 1 wanted to help you think of a solution.”
The empress knew that her sister must have taught Ye Jingtang a lesson for asking this. She shook her head and sighed. “You are really a silly child. How can people leave the Imperial City as they please? I’m very comfortable here, and I don’t want to leave. Don’t have such crooked ideas in the future.”
There was indeed nothing that Ye Jingtang could do. He only smiled at this.
The empress leaned against the fence and thought for a moment before asking, “How’s the saber technique from last time? Have you found a way to break the Dragon Slaying Decree?”
The first time Ye Jingtang had hit Cheng Shilu, he had used the saber in his right hand. In fact, he had already sensed something. “There’s indeed no way to break the move with a kick. If I use the Eight-Steps Frenzied Blade in my right hand and press my elbow against the back of my saber, 1 feel that 1 can forcefully receive the Dragon Slaying Decree. I haven’t discovered any problems yet.”
“Do you want me to practice with you?”
Ye Jingtang wanted to practice, but it was clearly inconvenient outside the Peaceful Hall, so he shook his head and said, “Let’s spar next time. This place is Her Majesty’s resting palace. It’s not good to disturb the palace servants.” Hearing this, the empress didn’t insist and reminded, “Her Majesty said that you can only practice the Roaring Dragon Chart step by step. You have to be careful in the future and not take the wrong path.”
When Ye Jingtang heard this, his expression turned solemn as he asked, “Miss, what do you mean?”
“Although the Roaring Dragon Chart is mysterious, to put it bluntly, it’s still pages of paper that record strange secret techniques. As long as you learn them, you can practice them even without the pages on your body. You should be able to tell, right?”
Ye Jingtang walked to Miss Yuhu. “That’s true. And?”
“This is just like other books. Knowledge already exists in the world. Books are only tools for ‘discovering, recording, and passing down’. The books don’t create a kind of knowledge out of thin air.”
The empress looked at the starry sky. “It’s the same for the Roaring Dragon Chart. There are longevity methods in this world, and the Roaring Dragon Chart only records a feasible path discovered by predecessors. As long as you find this path, even without the Roaring Dragon Chart, you can still live forever.”
Ye Jingtang felt that this explanation was a little special. He thought for a moment and said, “You mean that even without the Roaring Dragon Chart, you can figure out the qi circulation methods of those secret techniques on your own?”
The empress nodded. “In theory, that’s the case. However, the qi circulation methods of secular martial arts are all ‘unparalleled in history’. The Roaring Dragon Chart is thousands of times more complicated, and creating your own is even more so. Many martial arts geniuses once tried to comprehend the methods on their own in the absence of the Roaring Dragon Chart.”
Ye Jingtang had practiced the Jade Bone Picture and Dragon Form Picture before, so he could confirm that the Roaring Dragon Chart was a set of methods. Each picture was a branch line that could be intertwined and integrated into one. If one’s comprehension was good enough, it was indeed possible to deduce the qi circulation methods of the other Roaring Dragon Chart pictures. But the workload and risk were too great. He had never thought about this before.
“Has anyone ever succeeded in history?”
“The reason why the Roaring Dragon Chart is unique and precious is because what’s recorded in it is the only correct path at the moment. There won’t be any mistakes if you practice it. But figuring out the path on your own is a gamble with your life at every step. As long as you take a wrong step, it will bring about unpredictable consequences.”
The empress looked at Ye Jingtang’s body. “The Roaring Dragon Chart is a mystic technique that changes the physique. If you don’t follow the correct path, your body will naturally become abnormal. There are countless people who have tried in history. It’s considered lucky to go crazy and die suddenly.
“Among them, some unlucky people trained until their entire bodies were stiff. They couldn’t move their hands or speak and suffocated to death. Some had their bones and skin melt, rotting clean from the inside out. There was a eunuch in the previous dynasty who wanted to figure out the Fire Bathing Picture on his own to regenerate his broken limbs, but his entire body became covered in flesh lumps. When he died, he didn’t look human at all…”
Ye Jingtang frowned, his heart palpitating when he heard this. “No one in history has ever succeeded?”
The empress nodded. “No. Those who are lucky and stop in time might live to the end of their lives, but those who are stubborn will all die horrendously without exception. Therefore, hundreds of years ago, it became a taboo for top martial artists to ponder over the Roaring Dragon Chart on their own. Only when people can’t survive and have no other choice will they drink poison to quench their thirst.”
Ye Jingtang nodded thoughtfully. “I will definitely remember this.”
After the two of them chatted for a while, Ye Jingtang didn’t stay long because it was already night. He quickly bade farewell and left.
Leaning against the railing, the empress watched him leave. Only when Ye Jingtang left did she secretly sigh and lift a strand of her long hair to take a look…
Meanwhile, in the Great Blessing Palace…
After the wind and rain stopped, the bright moonlight shone between the palaces and pavilions.
The Great Blessing Palace had been Imperial Consort Wang’s palace back then, and it had also been the residence of the empress and her sister.
Dongfang Liren was wearing her silver python robe, standing alone in the pavilion by the lotus pond, looking up at the moonlight in the sky. Her appearance was noble and calm, like a steady prince thinking about national affairs alone on a moonlit night.
But in her heart, she kept recalling the shocking feeling when her lips touched his cheek.
1 actually kissed him…
Although he didn’t do it on purpose, he knew fear and trepidation after seeing my body last time. This time, after the kiss, he acted as if nothing had happened. Its because he knows 1 won’t punish him, so he’s getting more and more arrogant…
While she was letting her imagination run wild, a palace maid ran over and reported, “Your Highness, Young Master Ye is preparing to leave the palace. He asked me to ask if Your Highness has any other arrangements. Does Your Highness want him to escort Your Highness back to the prince’s estate?” Dongfang Liren frowned. “He’s not practicing at the Roaring Dragon Pond?” “Your Highness is not there. Young Master Ye is worried about offending Her Majesty.”
Dongfang Liren had followed him into the palace because she was afraid that her unpredictable sister would do something out of line when she wasn’t around.
Hearing that Ye Jingtang knew what was appropriate, she was quite satisfied. But when she thought of the intimate contact just now, she really felt embarrassed to be with him. She instructed, “Let him leave the palace on his own. 1 will stay in the palace tonight.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Dongfang Liren deliberated for a moment and recalled the serious matter she had just discussed with Ye Jingtang. She said, “Go to the Qilin Pavilion and find a book. It’s a travelogue related to architecture and the heir of the Prince of Liang two hundred years ago and contains content about digging tunnels. Find it and bring it to me.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
After the palace maid left, Dongfang Liren looked at the moonlight in the lotus pond again.. After a moment of silence, she took out a jade hairpin from her sleeve and gently stroked it…
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