"Aiyo, why do you hit me without talking?" the scholar-like man looked relaxed while avoiding the flying wood debris awkwardly.
"Aha, so you want us to hit you after you break the curse, right?" Yun Qing said without emotion.
Xie Yao seldom saw her aggressive like this. Although Yun Qing hid many puzzles inside her, she was always mild. However, she seemed to be more irritable since the scholar-like man pointed out that she was a girl.
Xie Yao observed them who were in a battle. He knew that he could not make any difference, so he just kept silent.
"That's not total true." The scholar raised his hand and made a glittering curtain of blue light to block the attack of A Mang. Then he took time to explain to Yun Qing, "I can't break the curse indeed." The scholar became serious, "But I do want to ask for a favor…Oh! You are so aggressive!"
While he was talking, Yun Qing poured the rest of water in the cup with sneer. Once the water touched the protective blue light around the scholar, it burned into blue flames which looked the same as the dark blue flame in the stove.
The scholar screamed and wove his sleeves to escape avoid the flame. A Mang took the opportunity to strike him toward the wall. The sound of his body crushing into the wall shocked Xie Yao who wondered whether they were killing people. A Mang was so strong that the scholar's thin body looked like being broken and twisted unnaturally.
Xie Yao was threatened. Although Yun Qing was mysterious, she was reasonable. But the strange burly man was totally a beast who can kill people in seconds. He killed the scholar before he could say anything, but the killer became as meek as a lamb in front of Yun Qing, from which it can be concluded that Yun Qing was not ordinary person.
"Not dead?" Yun Qing frowned and looked at the deathly still scholar.
"With…such force, he should be seriously dead even if he's a bull…" Xie Yao stuttered. Although he wanted to seek for the true Dao, he was a childe living inside a big mansion. The first and last time Xie Yao saw such frightening scene was when he met with Fairy Wuxia. He was a little happy when he heard Yun Qing's words because he did not want Yun Qing to be burdened with the debt of people's life.
"How can a dead person…die again?" the scholar leaned against the wall and staggered upward, his voice hoarse with pain.
Xie Yao was struck dumb. A Mang, who was the nearest to the scholar raised his hand. When A Mang was about to attack, the scholar cried out, "Stop! I will provide a chance to celestial's way in exchange of what I beg for."
"Enough, A Mang." Yun Qing stopped A Mang before he touched the scholar.
"Since you knew what we are looking for, you'd better say that earlier to avoid so many troubles." Yun Qing stroked the Inch Cup, mild and gentle.
Both Xie Yao and the scholar got goose bumps by her countenance change.
"You may talk about the key now." She did not care much, looking at her tiny cup.
"Hahaha…I have never expected that I would lose to a little girl." The scholar said with laugh, his hand touching the broken wall which recovered in a blink.
"Since we have reached a settlement, let me introduce my background first. My name is Song Liyou. I am a poem collector from Gaya Dynasty in the North Mountain Continent. May I know your name, please?"
Xie Yao never heard of Gaya Dynasty or North Mountain Continent. But he has read on some fantasy books that there were many continents in the world besides the South Wind Continent on which he lived. The North Mountain Continent may be one of those continents.
"I am Xie Yao from the Flower City in Mirror Kingdom." As a scholar, Xie Yao looked more upright than Song Liyou.
"Yun Qing. I come from the Million Mountains. This is A Mang, my family." It was the first time that Yun Qing had introduced A Mang. Xie Yao used to consider him as Yun Qing's servant rather than family as Yun Qing said.
"The Million Mountains?!" Song Liyou looked up suddenly and stared at Yun Qing for a long while, "So that explains it. The muscular man's strength looked like them. I lost my manner just now. Please pardon me, your lady."
Xia Yao was still confused. He guessed that Song Liyou changed his attitude because he knew the background of Yun Qing.
"Don't waste time. What I want to know is the chance you said."
"Since you come from the Million Mountain, I guess you have heard of the God-secluding Mountain and the Farewell Palace, right?" Song Liyou gave out the information right away.
Yun Qing frowned after being silent for a while, "Is here the site of the Fare Palace?"
Song Liyou jumped up with his eyes wide-open. He seemed to be terrified, "How do you know the Farewell Palace was divided into the Fare Palace and the Well Mansion?!"
Xie Yao found balance through Song Liyou's expression. He was not the only one who was scared by seemingly omniscient Yun Qing.
"The Million Mountains does have profound background. It is not so surprising that I lose to you." Song Liyou frowned and became serious, "I have collected poems for the Gaya Dynasty for two hundred and sixty years, thirty thousand and eight poems for Feng Section, two hundred and forty seven for Ya Section and four for Song Section…"
"Sorry…" Xie Yao raised his hand in embarrassment and interrupted him, "What is poem collector?"
"……" Song Liyou glared at him angrily and sat back.
"It is a kind of official position in the Gaya Dynasty." Yun Qing talked while thinking with her head bowed. She looked more like talking to herself rather than answering Xie Yao, "The Gaya Dynasty implements the system of three councilors and nine ministers like the old times, while the poem collector is independent of them. The poem collector travels all around the country, observing the civil traditions and right and wrong in politics. Poem Collectors offers the poems which indicate public willing to the Gaya emperor."
"As the incarnation of the Gaya Emperor among the people, the poem collectors are likely to be versatile with a lot of knowledge of the world." Yun Qing held up her head with her eyes closed, but Song Liyou felt like being looked at. She continued, "So, you are really somebody."
"You!" Song Liyou was aware of Yun Qing's irony tone, gashing his teeth, "I am nobody compared with the Million Mountains."
When Xie Yao wanted to ask what the Million Mountains is, Yun Qing grabbed Song Liyou's collar and said, "Speak nothing but things about the Well Palace."
It was a little strange when Yun Qing who looked like a thin ten-year-old child grabbed an adult who was much taller than her.
"Let me go!!!Don't you know what is courtesy?!" Song Liyou struggled, his sleeves swinging in the air.
"Don't beat about the bush anymore, or you may die and lose your way forever." Yun Qing relaxed her hands, standing pale.
Xie Yao had a sneaking suspicion that the message about the Farewell Palace was of great importance to Yun Qing, otherwise she would not lose control like this.
"…So vicious at such a young age. The Million Mountain can't be underestimated." Song Liyou said in anger.
"As mentioned before, I have collected poems for about three hundred years, walking on every soil of the North Mountain Continent, hearing every song of the North Mountain Continent. However, I lost my way during my visit to a remote mountain. It rained heavily so I had to hid myself in an ancient tomb…"
"An ancient tomb?"
"Right. The rain washed away the soil on the tomb and I saw the exposed stone door of the tomb. I squeezed in through a hole on the door." Song Liyou seemed to indulge in memories, "Let me skip those strange things happened in the process. I had found the tomb unusual since I entered it. When I went through all those barriers and met the tomb owner, I found the entrance disappeared."
It is forgettable if he entered the tomb just for getting out of the rain. But he was more likely to bear some bad intension when he explored the tomb. Xie Yao felt shame for his behavior.
"There were some weird patterns on the coffin. I guess they may be some ancient writing. As a poem collector, I could not help climbing on the coffin and copying the patterns. However, the coffin cover disappeared suddenly and I fell in the coffin. Then I was here."
"What's the connection with the Well Palace?" The only thing Yun Qing cared about was the Farewell Palace, the chance to the celestial's way.
"I am about to talk about the connection." Song Liyou was serious instead of angry, "I fell into the coffin and felt like falling from a high place. When I came to consciousness, I was in another ancient tomb."
"I thought it was a trap made by the tomb owner without knowing that I was in another continent. So I lighted up and observe the surrounding environment where many books were buried with the tomb owner. I compared the patterns on the coffin with the ancient books and found a secret history. "
"I don't want to know the history. Just tell me where the Well Palace is."
"…Thousands of years ago, the Emperor of Green perished on the God-secluding Mountain. Many subsequent Dao seekers searched for the God-secluding Mountain but found nothing in accordance with the records. People all thought that the God-secluding Mountain was a legend only, not realizing that the God-secluding Mountain was divided into two part, one in the North Mountain Continent and the other in the South Wind Continent."
"So do you mean that…." Yun Qing nodded, "we are now at the site of the God-secluding Mountain?"
"Yup! The God-secluding Mountain sunk to the deep underground and the Farewell Palace which used to float on the top of the mountain now becomes tangible." Song Liyou was happy, "If you help me out, I will take you to the site of the Well Palace."
"Although you are not a truth teller, you can be of use somehow. We will take you." Yun Qing thought for a while and agreed.
Xie Yao was totally confused. He did not know a little of what they were talking about, such as the Emperor of Green, God's Mountain or the Farewell Mountain. But it seemed that Yun Qing wanted to go there for exploring. He had intended to go to the Non-public Mountain that was recognized as a great place of cultivation, which was safer. However, it was clear that the God-secluding Mountain and the Farewell Place were from legends. Besides, Yun Qing said that Song Liyou who had been alive for hundreds of year was not telling the truth. Xie Yao was afraid that he may lose life there.
"Dao Yuan?" Yun Qing's gentle voice broke Xie Yao's thought.
"Ah? What's the matter?" Xie Yao asked.
"I just asked you to pass the pot to me." Yun Qing said, "Are you afraid?"
Xie Yao gave Yun Qing the World Pot and answered firmly, "I am afraid indeed, but the way to Dao was difficult. If I don't seize the moment, I don't know when I will come across the chance again. Maybe I will never be a Dao seeker."
"If I cannot be an expert Dao seeker, how dare I meet Fairy Wuxia?"
"Ha! I don't know you are a snoopy man…Ah!!!" Song Liyou cried out when he was laughing at Xie Yao.
Yun Qing poured the water in the World Pot on the curse, blue fire burning the curse on the four corners.
Song Liyou screamed in overwhelming pain, his eyes spitting venom under the cover of his hair.
Hi, this is Lucia. The Farewell Palace is “别离宫”(Bie Li Gong) in Chinese. Both Bie and Li mean farewell and the combination of them has the same meaning. The Palace is divided into Bie Palace and Li Palace. I translated it as the Farewell Palace and I split “Farewell” into “fare” and “well” to show the connection of the three palaces. However, the meaning is totally different from its Chinese meaning.
Do you feel it strange? Maybe I can change its name into pinyin.