He spat out the blood and all his strength seemed to have drained away, leaving his feet weak. He was about to fall to the ground.
At this moment, he suddenly released his hold on Father Emperor’s hand and his entire body fell into an embrace with familiar sandalwood fragrance. Resisting the dizziness clouding his brain, he opened his eyes, only to see his father’s eyes filled with frostiness, however, it melted to show concern as he looked at him.
“I promised that I won't let anything happen to you.” Carefully cradling him in his arms, Qi Xutian dropped a light, apologetic kiss on his forehead.
He had been distracted by the zither’s music just now, but MingEr’s blood made all the illusions before him suddenly disappear.
As long as the will is firm, it wasn’t easy to be beguiled by the music from the zither. MingEr was beside him; he did not allow himself to relax the slightest bit. Right then, he heard the sound coming from the zither and his eyes turned frosty.
When Qi Mingyue saw that he had repelled the influence of the music, he breathed a sigh of relief. His formerly weakened body gradually recovered, however, the dormant Zuizhu in his body became active once again and its freshly-roused power protected his heart, effectively suppressing the onset of Lianxin gu.
Originally, according to the method mentioned by Jiang Yao, at this point, he should have fought against it with Tianyin’s Sound Mind Method, gotten close to Chu Yu, and then managed to disturb the music of his zither, causing him to faint.
However, when he actually came to this point, he realised that getting closer was easier said than done. His body was afflicted with gu, if he tried getting close, he’s afraid that the gu would have struck again but this time, he may not be as lucky as before.
After thinking about it deeper, only sound could be used to beat sound. Unfortunately, the stringed zither that he’d been practising for a while couldn’t be brought, so he didn’t have an instrument at hand that he could use to play Tianyin.
All of a sudden, his eyes fell on the forest behind Qi Xutian and he unexpectedly remembered something, so he said to Qi Xutian, “Father, can you get some leaves for me? It should be neither too big nor too small, neither too thick nor too thin. You must search carefully.”
Seeing his smile, Qi Xutian understood that he must have found a suitable method, so he put him down and used light footwork to land right beside the trees that had been behind him.
When he landed in front of Qi Mingyue, he already held several leaves in his hand, all of which were of uniform size and thickness, complete in shape and bright green in colour.
Qi Mingyue picked one out of his hand, raised his head and said with a solemn expression, “I will disrupt his music, he would possibly show his flaw only for a single moment. Father would have to make a move at this moment and restrain him so that we can save him.”
Qi Xutian nodded. If it weren't for the fact that MingEr had survived the danger earlier, he would have killed that man. Now that MingEr was fine, saving him would help MingEr get rid of the Lianxin gu. He wouldn’t let that man die no matter what and make him detoxify MingEr.
Qi Mingyue stood beside him, raised the leaf in his hand, brought it to his lips and slightly held his breath. He operated Tianyin’s Pure Heart Technique and leisurely music of a flute suddenly sounded.
On the other hand, Qi Xutian carefully observed the person in front of him, waiting for the music from the zither to be disturbed.
The clear and bright sound of music, akin to music from a flute, gradually sounded. It swung between the intermittent melody of the zither that was sometimes fast and sometimes slow, like a cheerful bird it vaulted soothingly, like the breeze blowing across the stream, making a ripple; slow, soft and light.
Qi Mingyue stood in the night, his clothes fluttered against the wind and his expression was calm, only his eyes shone radiantly under the moonlight. His gaze was cold as he stared at the seated person in front of him.
Suddenly, Qi Xutian heard a cracking sound. It sounded like a blade that had borne heavy pressure for too long and a crack formed under the load. Just when Qi Mingyue thought he had succeeded, the music struck.
Flaw!
Qi Xutian rose into the sky and did not hesitate to deflect the imperceptible palm wind attack. The man’s figure stiffened, and his hands that had been playing the zither finally softened and dropped to the ground.
The music finally stopped.
Qi Mingyue discarded the leaf that had split in half from his hold and breathed a sigh of relief. Then he leaned into Qi Xutian's embrace and approached slowly.
He saw that the man wore a black robe and had greyish-white hair, yet his face did not seem to be old. He still sat in place with his back straight and his eyes closed but never fell down. His hands that had been playing the zither oozed blood and dyed the strings red.
Little Black hovering in the sky also swooped down and landed on the man’s zither table, appearing a little anxious. Seeing its condition, Qi Mingyue motioned for it to call the two little ones. It was indeed exceptionally clever and seemed to understand what he meant; hence, it promptly flew off towards the direction that led down the mountain.
When Xiao Yin and Lan came up the mountain and saw their master, both of them became tearful. Knowing that he was fine, their faces broke into smiles and they both bowed towards Qi Mingyue together, thanking him for his help.
Unexpectedly, the man suddenly opened his eyes, however, he did not look at Xiao Yin and Lan, rather, he showed boundless emotion while looking at Qi Mingyue and muttered, “The talent of a Celestial!” Then he closed his eyes and finally collapsed on to the zither table.
Qi Mingyue was left stunned by his words. Just by looking at him once he was able to see deep inside him. Chu Yu really had, like Yao said, an unparalleled cultivation base of Tianyin.
After letting Shadow One send him to the house in the forest, Qi Mingyue, Qi Xutian and the others also felt tired, so under the arrangement of the two children, they entered the house to rest together.
There was a neat and tidy house beyond the forest clearing, and there were also a few empty rooms inside. Although simple, it was quite comfortable. After Shadow One brought Chu Yu into the house, he disappeared, and Wu Yao would not appear without reason. There was no need to consider the living arrangement, Hong Qi and Ying Ran were going to live in the same room, while Qi Mingyue and Qi Xutian were going to live together in another room.
Everyone was exhausted and there was no conversation during the night.
The next day, Chu Yu did not wake up.
Qi Mingyue was a little anxious. He didn't expect that he (CY) would be affected so deeply. It seemed that while resisting, he had exhausted all efforts, moreover, the power of Tianyin was too strong. The people controlled by the music would need some time to recover completely.
But things in the palace could not be ignored for so long. It wasn’t easy for Father Emperor to be with him here. If he stayed for a few more days, he’s afraid that the palace would be in chaos.
So, in the evening, after using the food originally stocked for Shadow One, Qi Mingyue said to Qi Xutian, “I can wait here, it’s better for you to return to the palace. Chief Liu said it would take three days; if you don’t return by then, the palace would be in turmoil and it would be difficult for Chief Liu to manage the ministers.”
Qi Xutian caressed his hair and chuckled lightly, “How can those things in the palace be more important than you? Only by being by your side can I rest assured. If an accident happens with the gu, I would be able to help.”
Listening to him say so, Qi Mingyue was helpless and had no option but to let him stay in the room with him. Although it wasn’t as chaotic, it made him blush so deep that even his ears turned red. If it hadn't been for the Lianxin gu’s attack before as well as the fact that his body hadn’t recovered yet, Qi Xutian would have acted even more excessively than he did in the carriage on their way here.
Qi Mingyue had long understood his father’s unbridled nature and had become accustomed to his affectionate actions from time to time, but now, in front of Hong Qi and Ying Ran, he had no inhibitions and always made intimate actions whenever he felt like it, causing both Hong Qi and Ying Ran to blush and turn their heads to the side as if they hadn’t seen anything.
He had long since become accustomed to Father Emperor’s actions, furthermore, he didn’t care about the eyes of others. After this happened a number of times, both Hong Qi and Ying Ran automatically knew when to leave and close the door on their way out.
It was already the fourth day. When it was past noon, Shadow One suddenly came to report, “Your Majesty, Shadow Five delivered a message that there has been an accident in the palace, please return as soon as possible.”
“What has happened in the palace?” Seeing that there was no response from Father, instead, a mysterious smile flashed past in his eyes, Qi Mingyue knew that there must be something inside and asked Shadow One.
“Shadow Five did not say anything.” Shadow One’s figure flickered and disappeared again.
Remembering what he had said to Chief Liu before coming to the Lofty Mountain, Qi Mingyue said to Qi Xutian, “Father must know what happened in the palace.”
Just when Qi Xutian was about to answer, a knock sounded at the door and as soon as Hong Qi opened it, he rushed in with excitement, “Your Majesty! Your Highness! He’s awake!”
Qi Mingyue and Qi Xutian shared a look, Chu Yu woke up?
As long as he woke up, there was hope for the removal of Lianxin gu.
Qi Xutian hugged Qi Mingyue and stood up, then he left for Chu Yu's room along with Hong Qi.
They saw that Chu Yu was still dressed in black and his grey hair was draped messily over his back, but he looked young. Although his face was pale, his eyes were clear and bright which made his originally ordinary face appear particularly striking.
“Who are you people? Why do you want to save me?” Upon hearing the sound of approaching footsteps, he turned around, seemingly inquiring casually, but his eyes were firmly glued on Qi Mingyue. The meaning of inquiry and interest in his eyes made Qi Xutian's face sink, “I didn't want to save you. If it wasn’t for the fact that you know Tianyin and can draw out the Lianxin gu, I wouldn’t have minded letting you die from your own music.”
“Emperor Cang He?” Chu Yu showed a surprised expression when he heard those words. He did not expect that the one standing in front of him with an imposing presence and exuding bloodcurdling aura would be the Emperor of Cang He who was rumoured to have the most romantic and fickle temperament.
As for the young man in his arms, he was even more surprised that the Celestial talent he had been searching for all his life but had never found was right in front of him and had even saved his life with the music from a leaf flute.
“You’ve been parasitised by Lianxin?” Chu Yu's eyes were burning as he looked at Qi Mingyue. Based to his words, he seemed to know something about the gu.
“Yes.” Qi Mingyue was still in Qi Xutian's arms and he could feel that his father didn't have any good feelings towards this person, but he felt that Chu Yu was not a person who harboured malicious intent. There was just a kind of inquisitiveness in his eyes as well as hidden fanaticism that made him a little impatient. Were Celestials really so rare? The look in his eyes was as if he had seen a rare treasure, no wonder Father had such a reaction.
Hearing his answer, Chu Yu was delighted, “I can draw out the gu for you, but there is one condition.”
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