Half City Of Love - Chapter 10
Chapter 10
Xuan Yi walked forward with a smile, her voice sweet.
“I saw my senior brothers chatting so happily that I did not dare to disturb you. Senior Brother Guting, Senior Sister Fuluo, my greetings to you both.”
These two celestial deities were clearly cut from the same cloth as Fucang.
They merely nodded with cold indifference, not even sparing her a glance.
Tai Yao offered a thin smile.
“So you recognize them? I was just about to introduce you.”
Xuan Yi bowed her head slightly.
“After all, I am now a disciple under the Master. I must naturally understand the identities of my senior brothers. Since we will be colleagues in the future, we should treat one another with sincerity.”
“I, Guting, cannot agree with those words, Princess.”
Divine Lord Guting suddenly straightened his expression and turned around.
He was of medium build, wearing a simple green robe that looked clean and upright.
Unlike the casual, free-spirited trends popular nowadays, his long hair was meticulously tied up without a single strand out of place.
While it made him look a bit rigid, his posture was tall and dignified.
His gestures carried a sense of scholarly integrity that would usually make people feel a sense of closeness.
Unfortunately, he currently wore a look of rejection as he gazed sternly at Xuan Yi.
“My Yao Clan of the Flower Emperors has never held a grudge against the Zhuyin Clan. However, Princess, you first threw your handkerchief into the Cloud Pool and later tried to lay hands on the Buso Peony. Such jokes aside, why were you so disrespectful toward Fucang? You used slanderous words first and followed them with a public provocation. With such an overbearing manner that lacks the grace of the God Race, do you not feel ashamed to speak of sincerity today?”
Xuan Yi shook her head.
“I do not.”
“Absurd!”
Guting frowned deeply.
“Even if the Master has accepted you as a disciple, I still believe a Princess of the Zhuyin Clan is likely incompatible with the temperament of Mingxing Hall. If you speak of sincerity, you should not face your colleagues with that same old arrogant face. If you insist on this path, you will likely fail the precious dragon scale offered by the Emperor Zhongshan.”
Oh, so he meant that if nobody liked her, she would not be able to stay for more than a few days?
“I have already selected a courtyard for you.”
Divine Lord Guting turned to leave, leading Fucang away.
“It is an elegant and quiet place. You will surely like it.”
Once he left, the other deities in the hall followed immediately.
Only Tai Yao asked gently, “Will Junior Sister walk with us?”
Xuan Yi replied with a smile, “Please go ahead, Senior Brothers. I shall arrive shortly.”
It was said that because Emperor Bai Ze believed in the natural way where one gives birth to two, two to three, and three to all things, the thirty-three thousand three hundred and thirty-three buildings within the Great Palaces of Ten Thousand Gods perfectly matched the number three.
Even more exquisite was that within these tens of thousands of buildings, the smaller palace structures also followed this rule.
For instance, Emperor Bai Ze’s Mingxing Hall contained three hundred courtyards.
With so many residences, the disciples were free to choose whichever courtyard they preferred.
Xuan Yi followed the guiding immortal boy past at least ten courtyards that looked quite impressive.
Seeing that the boy had no intention of stopping, she spoke up.
“Little immortal, are the disciples not allowed to choose their own courtyards?”
The boy looked a bit troubled.
“Princess, the Emperor gave special instructions the other day. Your courtyard was designated by him personally. I imagine the Emperor has his own reasons.”
Only her?
Xuan Yi stopped talking and followed quietly behind him along a gravel path lined with blooming hydrangeas.
The boy, however, could not stop chattering.
“Your courtyard is to the northwest. It is called Tongjing Palace. It is a very secluded place. You will definitely grow to like it after staying there for a while.”
Tongjing Palace.
That was the name of the main palace of the extinct Tongshan Clan.
Was Emperor Bai Ze doing this on purpose? Xuan Yi’s eyes narrowed slightly.
Unaware, the boy continued enthusiastically, “Years ago, when the Goddess Wangshu was a disciple under the Emperor, she always wanted this courtyard because it was so exceptionally quiet. Yet, the Emperor was never willing to let her live here!”
Fine, perhaps it really was a good place.
Tongjing Palace sounded like a grand name.
At the very least, it should be a proper palace with gardens, pools, and a grove of parasol trees.
Consequently, when the boy pushed open the courtyard gate, Xuan Yi was stunned by the sight inside.
It was a tiny cottage, smaller than small.
Two dilapidated rooms with half-old tiles, a ground covered in withered dry grass, a thin parasol tree planted to the east, and a few patches of drooping wildflowers to the west.
Not even the lowest servant in her household had ever lived in such a place.
Goddess Wangshu wanted to live here? Was he kidding?
Seeing her silent as she pushed open the door, the boy hurriedly followed with his short legs, introducing the place with great spirit.
“Princess, this room is the study, and the bedroom is next door. Your daily meals will be provided by us on time, so you need not worry. The Emperor starts teaching every day at the hour of Chen and finishes at the hour of Wei in the Hall of Hede to the west. Just follow the hydrangeas and you will see it soon. If you feel tired and want to relax, you can roam Mingxing Hall freely whenever classes are not in session. You can also visit the southern gardens. The disciples love to rest and chat there. You will definitely like it too.”
Before he could finish, he saw Xuan Yi touch the old table and chairs, then the simple moon window, and finally look at the chipped bookshelf which held very few books.
Her eyes slowly turned red.
The boy panicked instantly.
“Princess? Are you perhaps homesick? Once you get used to living here, you will surely like it!”
Xuan Yi gazed at him with tearful eyes.
“Is there anything to eat? I want freshly roasted Nine-Nine Returning Origin tea. The leaves must be exactly one inch long. I also want Agate White Jade cakes, but the filling must not have any bean skin in it.”
So she was just hungry! And her standards were so high!
The kind immortal boy immediately went out to forage for the noble Princess of the Zhuyin Clan.
After much effort, he managed to gather the food she requested.
When he returned to the courtyard, it was his turn to be stunned.
The simple, rustic courtyard was now entirely buried under an extremely thick layer of ice and snow.
The graceful Princess of the Zhuyin Clan had reconstructed two brand new, magnificent Ice Palaces atop the frozen layer.
She was currently sitting composedly on an ice chair, sculpting a flower out of snow.
Seeing the boy’s face turn pale green, she smiled faintly and placed the snow flower into the small pocket on his chest.
“Thank you. You can have this to play with.”
Her breath was as fragrant as orchids.
The boy was flustered.
“Princess, you… you cannot do this!”
How could she arbitrarily change one of the three hundred courtyards of Mingxing Hall into this?
Xuan Yi looked innocent.
“I only added a bit of ice and snow. Is that not allowed?”
Was this just a bit of ice and snow?!
“If the Emperor sees this, he might blame you,” the boy said, using Emperor Bai Ze’s name to frighten her.
“When the Master blames me, I will change it back.”
Xuan Yi leisurely poured a cup of tea and took a small sip.
Good tea, indeed.
It was the freshly roasted Nine-Nine Returning Origin tea with one inch leaves.
She took a bite of the Agate White Jade cake.
It was fragrant and soft, truly authentic without any bean skin.
A sip of tea, a bite of cake, and a look around at her world of ice and snow.
Xuan Yi suddenly felt that coming here to study under a master was quite a pleasant thing.
“By the way, I do not like the name Tongjing Palace.”
Remembering something, she looked toward the plaque hanging over the door of the ice palace.
“I have changed the name. From today on, this courtyard shall be called the Bingxue Palace.”
The boy stomped his feet and sighed, racking his brain for a way to persuade her otherwise.
Suddenly, he felt a violent tremor in the ice beneath his feet.
It shook so hard he nearly fell headfirst.
Right after, a bright flash of fire shot out from beneath the ice, forcefully breaking a massive hole through the thick frozen layer.
After the flames rose several feet high, they slowly settled back onto the ice, shrinking into the shape of a person.
A soft sigh followed, belonging to a strange man. “Who frozen this place? I was nearly smothered to death.”
The voice was very pleasant, soft and warm.
It was like a bowl of hot, sweet, and fragrant red bean osmanthus rice balls on a freezing winter day.
Having spoken, the Divine Lord transformed from the flames turned around, looking curiously at the world of ice and snow around him.
