Chapter 294: His Majesty says, "Supreme Commander won't let me speak!"
All of Lou Zigui's thoughts were occupied by his concerns for Ning Xiaoyao. How would he have any idea how much a cannon weighs?
Ning Xiaoyao shook her head and swung her limbs. She could feel some of her energy replenishing. Thus, she decided to disprove the claim of Supreme Commander Lou being the star of misfortune. "To prove that I'm fine," Ning Xiaoyao declared, "I will destroy the ground again for you to see."
Lou Zigui exclaimed, "What did you say?"
Patting the ground beneath her feet, Ning Xiaoyao murmured, "There shouldn't be any water under this, right?" If water starts gushing out after she smashes the ground, the streets would be flooded and she would have committed a sin.
Lou Zigui looked at Ning Xiaoyao patting the floor. How's he supposed to know whether there's water underneath or not?
Ning Xiaoyao attempted to listen for any sounds of water underneath her feet but didn't hear anything. There shouldn't be an underground river. So, Ning Xiaoyao adjusted her sleeves and prepared herself to smash.
"You just fainted from over-exhaustion and you still want to destroy the ground?" Lor Zigui reacted quickly this time and immediately pulled Ning Xiaoyao into his embrace.
Ning Xiaoyao retorted, "You keep saying you're the star of misfortune. How can I rid you of your sadness if I don't prove I have the strength of a bull?"
Strength akin to a bull, Lou Zigui looked at the girl in his arms. Are there any ladies out there who would use those words to describe themselves in such a forceful manner? "I'm not upset." Lou Zigui denied.
"I'm not blind." Ning Xiaoyao rolled her eyes at Lou Zigui.
"Did I cry?" asked Lou Zigui.
"No ah." Ning Xiaoyao looked at Lou Zigui's face. Although his eyes looked red, there were no sign of tears.
Lou Zigui countered, "How could I be upset if I didn't cry?"
"Are you taking me for a fool? I'm also upset but I didn't cry either!" Ning Xiaoyao allowed Lou Zigui to look into her eyes.
"What are you upset about?" Lou Zigui questioned.
"Oh my goodness. Did you think that I would be like 'hehehe' when you called yourself the star of misfortune?" Ning Xiaoyao faked a laugh at Lou Zigui. "You think I would be happy to hear that?"
It's because of me? Lou Zigui stared at Ning Xiaoyao.
"Stop hugging me." Ning Xiaoyao patted the hand Lou Zigui had around her. "I'll prove to you that I'm fine."
"I'm at fault for saying the wrong things." Lou Zigui didn't loosen his grip as he lowered his head and whispered to Ning Xiaoyao.
Ning Xiaoyao was suspicious. "So quick to admit your wrongdoings? Supreme Commander, do you truly understand what you've done wrong?"
Lou Zigui didn't reply and instead kissed Ning Xiaoyao on the lips.
Kissing and hugging in the dark made the atmosphere very intense. Originally, Lou Zigui was starting to revert back to normal. But now, his body was starting to tremble.
Supreme Commander is still unstable?
Ning Xiaoyao wasn't sure but also didn't ask. She continued to hug Lou Zigui and pat his back lightly. I can't faint in front of Supreme Commander Lou anymore. If it happens a few more times, Supreme Commander Lou may actually develop an illness from it! So it turns out that Supreme Commander Lou isn't as strong as he appears to be. He also has fears ah!
Ning Xiaoyao set herself a life goal. If she were to ever faint again, she would run to a place where Supreme Commander Lou couldn't see her before she faints.
"Xiaoyao." Lou Zigui hugged Ning Xiaoyao tightly and whispered.
"Mm, I'm here." Ning Xiaoyao patted Lou Zigui on the back.
After a long time, Lou Zigui finally released Xiaoyao. He sat upright and made eye contact with her.
"I'm fine." Ning Xiaoyao poked Lou Zigui's face.
Lou Zigui seemed to have calm down. After getting his face poked by Ning Xiaoyao, Lou Zigui caressed her eyes. "Your eyes are so unfocused. Your pupils keep swirling around. What's on your mind?"
Ning Xiaoyao thought about it. She decided it was probably better she kept her life goal to herself. After all, she wouldn't know what to do if Supreme Commander became too touched by it. What would she do if he turns unstable again? (Author: Supreme Commander will not be touched. Supreme Commander would want to beat you up instead…)
"Your Majesty? Supreme Commander?" Shouts echoed from above.
"People are coming." Ning Xiaoyao stated.
Lou Zigui lifted his head and saw Deng Rong climbing down the side of the cracked ground with a rope tied around his waist.
"Supreme Commander, how are you and Your Majesty?" Deng Rong shouted with all his might.
"We are fine ah." Ning Xiaoyao replied. "It's just that Supreme Commander is upset."
After hearing Ning Xiaoyao's voice, Deng Rong finally calmed down. His Majesty is alright! As for their Supreme Commander, he's rarely ever happy. So it's not that strange he's in a bad mood.
Ning Xiaoyao wanted to continue talking but Lou Zigui covered her mouth. This girl would have no bad points if she spoke a little less.
After Deng Rong reached the ground, Lou Zigui released his hand and stopped hugging Ning Xiaoyao.
"Your Majesty, what just happened to you?" General Deng looked Ning Xiaoyao up and down.
"Oh, I exhausted myself by throwing the cannon. So, I fainted." Ning Xiaoyao honestly replied.
Deng Rong opened his mouth but didn't know how to carry on the conversation.
"Continue the conversation later. Let's head up first." Lou Zigui spoke and took a step forward, blocking Deng Rong's view. Supreme Commander Lou was not pleased when he saw Deng Rong looking up and down at Miss Ning.
Deng Rong urgently shouted above him, "Throw down two more ropes. His Majesty and Supreme Commander are fine."
"The Buddha blesses us." Lord Protector began to recite some Buddhist chants on ground level.
Ning Xiaoyao tried to gather her strength but failed. She sullenly turned to Lou Zigui. "Supreme Commander, I won't be able to carry you back up with me this time."
Deng Rong was bewildered. "Your Majesty, you've carried our Supreme Commander before? Where did you guys climb to?"
Before Ning Xiaoyao could respond, Lou Zigui patted Deng Rong on the shoulder. "You head up first. Be careful."
Deng Rong was used to following Lou Zigui's orders. The moment Lou Zigui told him to head up first, he began to climb without questioning anything. In fact, he didn't even ask what would happen to His Majesty if he were to go up first.
Lou Zigui squatted down in front of Ning Xiaoyao. "Get on."
"Eh? Supreme Commander, you're going to carry me?"
"I'll carry you up. Last time you carried me up the cliff to see the sunrise. If there's a chance in the future, I'll carry you to the summit to watch the sunrise."
Ning Xiaoyao thought about her weight. Although she was tiny, she wasn't just a few grams? "I'm scared that you won't be able to move with me on your back." Emperor Ning stated very unromantically and ruined the atmosphere.
At this point, as long as Ning Xiaoyao didn't exhaust herself to the point of passing out, Lou Zigui wouldn't lose his temper. "Hurry and get on." he urged. "Aren't you curious to know the condition of our streets?"
Lou Zigui didn't get upset, "Quick get on." Lou Zigui urged Ning Xiaoyao. "Don't you want to see what has happened on the streets?"
Right after he completed his sentence, Lou Zigui felt the weight on his back increase. Miss Ning had climbed on.
Lou Zigui pulled the long rope that had been thrown down from above and tied Ning Xiaoyao and himself together. Then, he wrapped the rope multiple times around their waists. Lou Zigui started to climb to the top with Ning Xiaoyao on his back.
Ning Xiaoyao wrapped her arms around Lou Zigui's neck. She whispered, "If you can't move with me on your back, just let me know."
"I am capable of carrying you." Lou Zigui unhappily rebutted. "Hug me properly."
"It's because I can tell you're struggling." Ning Xiaoyao muttered.
"Then don't talk." Lou Zigui's body slid down a little. Fortunately, he managed to grab a rock that was sticking out just in time. Or else, the two of them would've fallen back down.
Ning Xiaoyao helped wipe Lou Zigui's sweat that was forming across his forehead. She closed her mouth and didn't say anything.
When Deng Rong reached the top, Lord Protector stared at him. "You came up alone?"
"Supreme Commander told me to come up first."
Lord Protector looked into the crevice and saw Lou Zigui carrying Ning Xiaoyao while climbing up. "Supreme Commander is carrying His Majesty up. Couldn't you have assisted him on the side?"
Deng Rong: …he didn't think of that.
"Your Majesty?" Lord Protector sprawled on the ground and shouted into the crack.
Ning Xiaoyao replied, "Supreme Commander won't let me speak."
Everyone in the vicinity fell silent. How were they supposed to continue this conversation? Were they supposed to condemn Supreme Commander Lou for speaking up against His Majesty? He deserved to be executed?
Lord Protector sprawled on the ground and hesitated for a while before asking Lou Zigui, "Supreme Commander, His Majesty is fine right?"
Everyone: …So Lord Protector thinks that Supreme Commander made the right move in not letting His Majesty speak?
"His Majesty is fine. I also want you to stop talking to me." Lou Zigui's voice could be heard echoing from the crevice.
The crowd was still speechless. Supreme Commander Lou wouldn't let His Majesty or Lord Protector speak.
"Our Supreme Commander is in a bad mood." Everyone was staring at Deng Rong. Deng Rong couldn't handle the pressure and tried to speak up for Supreme Commander. "When he's in a bad mood, he doesn't like to hear other people speak."
"But that's His Majesty ah!" a soldier quietly muttered.
Everyone continued to stare at Deng Rong. His Majesty cannot speak because his subject was in a foul mood? That's completely unheard of!
Deng Rong thought about it and also felt that their Supreme Commander was being too overbearing. Since things couldn't get any worse, he added. "His Majesty is happy to listen to Supreme Commander. What can I do about it?"
"Just shut up." Lord Protector sighed. If he allowed this guy to continue the conversation, Supreme Commander may end up implicated even if he was fine initially. What kind of subject makes His Majesty follows his orders? Does Lou Zigui want to become the second Xie Wenyuan?
Deng Rong went to crouch off to the side.
Perspiration dripped down from Lou Zigui's cheek to his chin. Then, it dripped onto Ning Xiaoyao's hands.
"Tired?" Ning Xiaoyao softly asked Lou Zigui.
"Not tired." Lou Zigui stopped to take a deep breath before replying to Ning Xiaoyao. "Hold me tight and don't let go."
"The rope is tied anyway. Even if I let go, I wouldn't be able to run away. Don't worry, Supreme Commander."
Lou Zigui continued to climb towards the top. Above the ground, someone was carefully pulling the rope to try to ease the climb for Lou Zigui. "In the future, I will use the rope to tie you by my side." Lou Zigui said to Ning Xiaoyao while climbing. "Everytime I lose sight of you, you always get in trouble."
"Hey hey!" Lou Zigui's words turned Ning Xiaoyao grumpy. "I prevented a tragedy because I showed up just in time, ok?"
Lou Zigui kept silent for a moment before responding to Ning Xiaoyao. "That was a siege cannon. Unless the person planned to massacre everyone in a captured city, it wouldn't be used. I didn't think…"
Ning Xiaoyao covered Lou Zigui's mouth and wouldn't let him continue. "Stop telling me that you're useless ah. I don't like to hear it. How could we, as normal human beings, know Grand Preceptor would be evil to this degree?"
"Mm," Lou Zigui couldn't speak because his mouth was covered. Thus, he could only make a soft sound of assent.
Only then did Ning Xiaoyao move her hand away.
"I also have no idea when he had transported the cannons into the capital." Lou Zigui muttered.
"Isn't it obvious? He must have hidden these two cannons in the capital long ago. Perhaps, they were what he had to rely on to survive."
"Chen Lu didn't say anything about it."
"Great General Chen probably has no idea. Old man Xie is rotten to the core."
When they had almost reached the top, Lou Zigui suddenly mentioned another matter to Ning Xiaoyao. "There must still be Xie Wenyuan's spies in the city barracks. Even when the previous emperor was in power, Xie Wenyuan couldn't have secretly hidden the cannons. If he had prepared those two cannons ahead of time, they must be hidden within the imperial palace."
Ning Xiaoyao instantly felt agitated and stressed. Does this mean there's another spy they have yet to capture?
—— Come back tomorrow for teaser 295! (By the way, I’m not torturing you guys on purpose lol. The chapters are so long and it takes me forever to get through them. Usually there are around 10-12 pages including the raws *each page takes me 5-15 minutes depending on the translator. I have to compare each line to make sure it’s accurate. I also rewrite it if it doesn’t flow well in English. So you can imagine how long it takes me to finish ONE chapter. This isn’t even including the time that my helpers take to translate. So each chapter takes roughly 5-6 hours of work!!!!)
Note: If you guys are interested, my friend’s dad is selling this BTS limited item. (Not sure how many of you guys are K-pop fans). But apparently they sell make up now? LOL I’ll take the advertisement away by tonight. Just helping out in case you guys are interested.