Half City Of Love - Chapter 7
Chapter 7
A young immortal boy stopped his motion of clearing the ashes and let out a surprised laugh, lifting his gaze toward her. His eyes were clear and gentle, as if within them lay an endless ocean.
“How did you know that I am Emperor Baize?” he asked, somewhat in disbelief.
Xuan Yi thought for a moment.
“I guessed.”
Guessed… Emperor Baize could not help laughing.
What a strange child, he thought, not knowing whether she was clever or foolish.
“I rarely reveal myself. Even your father has never seen me, let alone you. To have guessed correctly, you must have had great fortune indeed.”
As he spoke, he lightly tapped the incense burner with a bronze stick.
In an instant, the four deities in the study turned into wisps of green smoke and slowly dispersed.
Xuan Yi respectfully offered the jade box.
“Congratulations to my Lord for fulfilling your long-cherished wish.”
Emperor Baize smiled again.
He accepted the box naturally and opened it.
The dragon scale inside shimmered as it touched his divine power, releasing a faint sound like a distant dragon’s chant.
He could not help but admire it, his face full of delight at possessing such a treasure.
He looked nothing like the dignified and solemn figure most gods imagined.
“Good, good, good!” he said three times in succession, raising his head with bright eyes as he looked at Xuan Yi.
“You are good, the dragon scale is good, and my wish being fulfilled is even better. Why should I not take you as my disciple?”
He sounded rather unwilling to be a teacher, and she was not especially eager to be a disciple either.
Perhaps that would make their future relationship more relaxed and pleasant.
“Disciple Xuan Yi greets her master.”
She took the chance readily and performed the bow of apprenticeship swiftly and gracefully.
Emperor Baize gave a soft hum, reluctantly closed the jade box, and glanced up at the sky.
“That will do for today,” he said.
He clapped his hands lightly, and the entire study suddenly collapsed like falling snow.
Light and shadow swirled, and in the blink of an eye, Xuan Yi found herself inside the Mingxing hall.
Emperor Baize, looking youthful like a celestial child, sat smiling on his throne.
Beside him stood two young gods, one male and one female, both smiling kindly—not at her, but at the god standing next to her, Lord Fucang.
Tsk..
So he had passed the test too. Xuan Yi curled her lips slightly in displeasure.
Emperor Baize said with a smile, “It has been thousands of years since I have taken even one disciple. To have two today is truly a surprise. No wonder the bluebird sang three times this morning—it must have been an omen of good fortune. Taiyao, Zhixi, what do you think of your new junior brother and sister?”
The dignified Taiyao replied in a warm voice, “I have witnessed the conduct of both Lord Fucang and Princess Xuan Yi. Lord Fucang is steady and insightful, and Princess Xuan Yi… is not without merit. I believe both are well suited to become your disciples, Master.”
By addressing them as junior brother and sister, he clearly acknowledged them as new members of their circle.
Unexpectedly, Fucang stepped forward, bowed deeply, and said in a calm and respectful tone, “I am grateful for Your Majesty’s favor, but I am unworthy of such honor. I fear I cannot enter under Your Majesty’s tutelage. I beg for forgiveness.”
His tone was polite yet distant.
After bowing again, he turned as if to leave.
Emperor Baize looked puzzled.
“You have passed the trial, yet you wish to go? I heard that you and Gu Ting have been close since childhood. He is my disciple and often speaks of you before me. I thought you came today partly for his sake. Now that you would leave so easily, what am I to do with that?”
Fucang remained silent.
Then the goddess standing to Emperor Baize’s right gracefully stepped forward and bowed.
“Master, I too have something to say.”
“Zhixi, speak.”
Zhixi turned elegantly, her movements light and graceful, her beauty radiant yet serene, her presence so pure it seemed untouched by the mortal world.
Her eyes, clear as water, turned first toward Xuan Yi before she spoke.
“Master, I believe the trial you gave to Princess Xuan Yi was too simple. I am foolish and cannot find it convincing. Moreover, I also have objections to Princess Xuan Yi becoming your disciple.”
She was impeccably polite, turning to bow to Xuan Yi before continuing.
“I mean no offense, Princess, but I must speak my mind. Earlier, I witnessed your quarrel with Lord Fucang at the palace gate. Yet the matter began days ago in the Flower Emperor’s garden, where you first sought to overpower Lord Fucang with your presence, then wounded him with words, causing him to leave in anger. That was the start of your conflict. Have you forgotten? When Master chooses disciples, he values talent, composure, and character. Your words are sharp and unyielding. I believe, Princess, that you are not suited to become Master’s disciple.”
Xuan Yi’s clear black-and-white eyes lingered on her face for a moment before she suddenly asked, “May I ask who you are?”
A hint of embarrassment crossed the beautiful face of Goddess Zhixi, but she quickly replied, “I am from the Youxiong clan of the Central Heaven’s Xuanyuan line. My name is Zhixi. Nine thousand years ago, I entered the master’s tutelage as a disciple.”
Xuan Yi smiled gently and said softly, “Thank you, Senior Sister Zhixi, for your guidance. I will surely remember your words.”
Goddess Zhixi frowned deeply at her address of “senior sister.”
“I have not yet acknowledged you as a junior. I said your words are sharp and unyielding. Was I wrong?”
Xuan Yi replied, “Senior Sister’s words are eloquent and reasonable. I have no rebuttal.”
Goddess Zhixi’s face darkened.
She turned toward Emperor Baize and said, “Master, I truly cannot agree with your test for the princess. She happened to guess correctly by chance. When you questioned her, she could not explain and only said it was a guess. Compared to Junior Brother Fucang’s sword strike that split heaven and earth, it was nothing more than child’s play. To have her as a fellow disciple makes me uneasy. If you take her under your tutelage in this way, how can others be convinced?”
Emperor Baize’s youthful face remained smiling.
He looked at one, then the other, as though he were simply watching a show.
God Taiyao, standing nearby, could not bear it any longer and gave a quiet cough.
“Master, perhaps Junior Sister Zhixi has a point. Might you consider this matter more carefully?”
Emperor Baize valued benevolence, grace, and moderation, and his disciples were mostly kind and gentle people.
This princess, bold and direct, did seem somewhat out of place.
Moreover, if he chose her and lost Fucang because of it, Gu Ting would surely be displeased.
Emperor Baize frowned.
“But I have already accepted Emperor Zhongshan’s grand gift, and I cannot bear to return it. What should I do? Xuan Yi, tell your senior brother and sister how exactly you guessed who I was, so I can keep this dragon scale.”
There it was again, that almost shameless way of his.
In the end, it was all because he could not let go of the dragon scale from the Zhuyin clan.
Goddess Zhixi, known for her upright nature, immediately crossed her arms and said sternly, “Master has always taught us that some things may be done, and some must not be done. If you ignore your own principles for the sake of a single treasure, will that not chill your disciples’ hearts?”
Her words were harsh.
Taiyao quietly tugged at her sleeve, but Zhixi ignored him.
Xuan Yi suddenly let out a small laugh and said graciously, “When I entered the study, only Master did not look at me. The other four gods were manifestations of his divine power, so naturally they reflected his true mind, something even he could not fully control. I held in my hands the jade box containing the treasure he longed for. Even if he tried not to look at me, his heart could not resist glancing once, and that was how I saw through him.”
Unexpectedly, her reasoning was clear and logical, even making Emperor Baize pause in surprise.
“Truly?”
“There was another reason. Would you like to hear it?”
“Go on.”
Xuan Yi said calmly, “I saw that Master kept stirring the ashes in the incense burner, yet never changed the incense itself. I guessed that he did not intend to replace it and was only idly playing with the bronze stick to pass the time.”
Emperor Baize burst into hearty laughter.
After laughing, he looked at her for a long moment, and as if recalling someone, sighed with emotion.
“That mix of brilliance and arrogance that inspires both love and hate…it is indeed quite similar.”
He stood and straightened his sleeves, then called out, “Taiyao, record the names of the two newly accepted disciples and send the list to the Wenhua hall tomorrow.”
Without giving Fucang any chance to object, he settled the matter on his own.
Taiyao immediately answered obediently and gave Fucang a quiet, reassuring smile.
“Fucang, Xuan Yi, return to the Mingxing Hall three days from now at the hour of Chen (7am-9am). From then on, as fellow disciples, you must treat each other with sincerity and goodwill. You may all go now.”
The disciples bowed and began to take their leave, but Emperor Baize suddenly called out, “Xuan Yi, wait a moment.”
Xuan Yi looked at him innocently.
Was he about to give her another warning?
Emperor Baize waited until the hall was completely empty before speaking in a low voice.
“You… your temperament…”
He paused mid-sentence, seemingly reminded of something else, and a look of deep reflection crossed his face.
“Your temperament resembles… never mind, I will not speak of that. Xuan Yi, I have a few words to give you.”
Xuan Yi bowed respectfully.
“This disciple listens attentively.”
“You are sharp-minded and intelligent, yet also proud and willful. The first two are virtues, the latter two are flaws. No matter how careful you are, a single lapse can be fatal if someone seizes that weakness.”
Xuan Yi blinked her eyes.
“Master’s words are quite profound. I do not fully understand.”
Emperor Baize smiled and sighed at the same time.
“A little one who is good at pretending not to understand. Just remember what I said. You may go.”
