Chapter 1336: and then the title translation, then ===GLOSSARY=== with list of named entities

The entrance was initially narrow, allowing only one person to pass; after walking more than ten zhang it began to widen. The old emperor had already been injured, and after this frantic flight he was utterly exhausted. When he reached the wider part, he plopped down on the ground, panting heavily, and could go no further.

Hu Xiaotian could still see in the darkness, saw Long Xuan'en looking listless, sitting on the ground, his body leaning against the wall, muttering: "I... I can't walk... not a single step..."

Hu Xiaotian said: "Then let's rest a while."

Long Xuan'en shook his head and said: "I'm tired, I can't walk, and I don't want to walk; just leave me here to live or die as fate decides..."

Hu Xiaotian then realized he had misunderstood; the old emperor had already lost all will to live. Hu Xiaotian said: "Let me check you." Earlier he had only been thinking of escaping, with no time to examine the injuries, and of course he hadn't cared much about the emperor's life or death either. After a preliminary check he discovered that both of the old emperor's arms had been crushed by Long Tingzhen until the bones were shattered, and his body was covered with large and small black spots, clearly signs of poisoning. Hu Xiaotian sucked in a breath of cold air, fearing Long Xuan'en's days were numbered.

Long Xuan'en sighed: "I never imagined that the one who would ultimately harm me would be Qiqi..."

Hu Xiaotian said nothing, thinking to himself, "You old fool, at this point still spouting feelings?" However, if he put himself in Long Xuan'en's shoes, the old coot had indeed been badly injured this time.

Long Xuan'en said: "I'm done for; don't bother with me, just save yourself..."

Hu Xiaotian comforted him: "We've made it this far; why not keep going? We should be able to escape alive."

Long Xuan'en gave a hollow laugh: "What good would escaping alive do? Don't I know your intentions? You just want to use me." He then coughed violently, covering his mouth with his hand. After the coughing subsided he spread his palm, which was stained with black blood, and said: "Do you think I willingly let Hong Beimo use me?" He shook his head: "If it weren't for him, I would have been dead thirty years ago; he has the power to raise the dead, so I have unshakable faith in him." He coughed a few more times.

Hu Xiaotian secretly thought: Hong Beimo must have used some advanced method to revive Long Xuan'en, which is why he trusts him so completely.

Long Xuan'en said: "Hong Beimo has built a Reincarnation Tower in the imperial mausoleum; once it is completed... it can make people return to youth, achieve immortality..."

"So you spared no expense, using the nation's strength to build this mausoleum?"

Long Xuan'en said: "To stay alive, a person will do anything."

"You trust him that much?"

Long Xuan'en suddenly fell silent; after a while he lowered his voice: "Hong Beimo is no ordinary man; he possesses unfathomable supernatural powers. He... must have already attained the Dao and become an immortal!"

Hu Xiaotian snorted in disbelief; he didn't believe any of that talk about attaining the Dao and becoming an immortal. However, from what he knew so far, Hong Beimo was probably similar to himself—someone who had stumbled into this world by accident. Perhaps Hong Beimo came from a place even more advanced than his own.

Long Xuan'en heard his contempt and sighed: "You can't defeat him."

Hu Xiaotian said: "Didn't you say you have something in your hand that they want?"

Long Xuan'en nodded: "If you hadn't mentioned it, I almost would have forgotten—that thing is hidden in a secret chamber beneath the Palace of Benevolent Grace..."

Hearing this, Hu Xiaotian knew it definitely wasn't the Seven-Star Chain, since he had obtained that chain on the Yun Temple of Piaomiao Peak, and even in his dying breath the old emperor had been murmuring about this thing. It must be more important than the Seven-Star Chain, so he said softly: "Take me there!"

Long Xuan'en shook his head: "I can't walk; follow this secret passage all the way to the fork. The left leads to the Palace of Benevolent Grace, the right to the Jade Pool..." Before he finished, he coughed violently again.

Hu Xiaotian said: "I'll carry you!"

In the darkness, Long Xuan'en summoned nearly all his strength and whispered: "No need... my time is up... I am unworthy of my ancestors... take out... my teeth... they can... open the secret..." Before he finished, his head slumped lifelessly; Hu Xiaotian looked again and saw he was dead.

Long Xuan'en was already at the end of his rope, and today's upheaval left him physically and mentally unable to endure; making it this far was no small feat. Hu Xiaotian gazed at this foolish emperor who had spent his life in stupidity, whom he had always despised and scorned, but seeing him now dead, no matter how great his sins, they could only be judged by posterity.

Following Long Xuan'en's last instruction, Hu Xiaotian pried open his mouth, felt around for a while, and found that the old emperor's upper jaw tooth was different from the others; with a little force he pulled it out, wrapped it in the emperor's dragon robe and tucked it into his bosom, then checked the other teeth to make sure none were missed before rising to leave. Before departing he confirmed again that Long Xuan'en was dead, for this old man was deceitful and crafty, and Hu Xiaotian worried he might be feigning death.

Long Xuan'en had not a breath or heartbeat, and his temperature was rapidly dropping; his face was also mottled with black spots. Hu Xiaotian shook his head, knowing the emperor was truly dead, laid him flat on the ground, covered his face with a piece of imperial robe. Long Xuan'en had spent his life exhausting the treasury of Dakang, burdening the people and wasting wealth to build this mausoleum, yet in the end it was never used.

Continuing along the secret passage, after traveling roughly one li underground he reached the fork Long Xuan'en had mentioned. Hu Xiaotian went left, and after twenty or so steps he saw a stone door blocking the way. He knocked on it, judged it to be less than half a chi thick, gathered his inner strength and punched it—boom! —the door shattered into pieces. Forcing a door open often comes in handy. Beyond the door he saw steps leading up; climbing them, he soon reached a platform. Looking around, there was no further doorway. Hu Xiaotian wondered silently: hadn't the old emperor said this led to the Palace of Benevolent Grace? Had he already reached the end? Or was his dying delirium just nonsense?

In the dark passage, with his night vision Hu Xiaotian soon noticed a coiled dragon relief carved into the floor of the platform, the dragon's body coiled, its head facing upward. At first glance nothing seemed unusual, but when he touched it he found that part of the dragon's teeth were sunken. A flash of insight struck him: he took out the old emperor's false tooth and placed it on the dragon's mouth—it fit perfectly. He rejoiced: the emperor's false tooth was actually the key to open the hidden door. The emperor's thoughts were indeed meticulous, and the designer of this passage was a master craftsman.

Hu Xiaotian placed the false tooth on the dragon's mouth, inwardly amused that the old emperor really thought of himself as a true dragon son of heaven, even putting his false tooth on the dragon's mouth. From this he inferred that the passage was not very old, and Hong Beimo likely knew nothing of it. Although they were allies, each guarded against the other; the fact that the emperor had secretly dug this passage and kept it secret shows how deep his scheming runs.

Hu Xiaotian pressed the false tooth firmly into place; with a click it seated fully in the dragon's mouth. Soon he felt a rumbling vibration underfoot; he hastily stepped aside as the ground split in an arc-shaped crack, from which a faint blue light seeped out. The crack widened until it became a round hole three chi in diameter. Looking down, he saw steps leading downward, which he descended.

As it turned out, beneath the platform lay a hidden chamber.

The Palace of Benevolent Grace was where the old emperor's consort had lived before her death; after she passed, Long Xuan'en made the place a forbidden zone, visited only occasionally by him for remembrance. Below hung a portrait of a beautiful woman, before which stood an offering table bearing candlesticks each holding a night pearl that illuminated the underground chamber.

By the light of the night pearls, Hu Xiaotian examined the portrait; it was not Ling Jiazi but likely the emperor's mother. He bowed three times before the portrait and whispered, "I have offended you." He took down the portrait, shook the scroll as he had done before—no sound—but still unscrewed the roller; inside was only a sheet of paper. He unfolded it to see the title "Dan Ding Pian" in three characters, and his heart jolted: could this be the lost "Dan Ding Pian" of the Qian Kun Kai Wu?

The "Dan Ding Pian" of the Qian Kun Kai Wu is said to contain the secret formula for elixirs of immortality, so why did the emperor obtain this and not give it to Hong Beimo, instead hiding it here? Hu Xiaotian didn't have time to read the contents; he tucked the "Dan Ding Pian" away. He then searched the chamber more carefully and found, inside the offering table, a prepared edict. Opening it, he saw it was the emperor's abdication decree; Long Xuan'en had already decided to pass the throne to Qiqi, making her plot to seize power seem superfluous.

Hu Xiaotian also secured the secret edict, thinking to himself that his internal strength had recovered, so escaping the palace should be easy—except that Xi Yan was still in Qiqi's hands, and without rescuing her he could not leave in peace. Then he recalled that the other exit of this passage led to the Jade Pool, where Liang Yinghao was currently lurking in Li Yuncong's library; he needed to make contact with them first.

New Year has arrived; I wish everyone a happy New Year and ask for the guaranteed monthly ticket! (To be continued~^~)