Chapter 340: [Deep as the Sea] (Part 1)

Hu Xiaotian could understand Li Yuncong's thoughts; at his age, nostalgia is inevitable; watching his brothers and friends leave one by one, he naturally feels a sense of loss.

"Zajia and Eunuch Liu entered the palace together."

Hu Xiaotian's heart jolted, yet he saw a faint sorrow on Li Yuncong's face; bringing up this matter in front of him was surely no coincidence.

Hu Xiaotian said, "Eunuch Liu has been very good to me; originally he had already left the palace to retire outside."

"Once you enter the palace gates, it's as deep as the sea; in life you are a palace person, in death a palace ghost."

Hu Xiaotian filled the wine bowl in front of Li Yuncong.

Li Yuncong said, "Eunuch Liu said he had seen through things, but in the end nothing can truly be seen through; otherwise, how could he have ended up like this?"

Hu Xiaotian did not respond; although Liu Yuzhang had died at Ji Feihua's hand, the matter was not publicized, only said that Liu Yuzhang died of a sudden illness. Li Yuncong is a palace elder; outwardly he asks nothing about outside affairs, but from seeing Hu Xiaotian's move that day, Hu Xiaotian already knew this person was absolutely a hidden master; moreover, he did not know which side Li Yuncong stood on, so some things could not be spoken.

Li Yuncong said, "Although Zajia rarely leaves the Cangshuge, some things have still reached my ears to some extent."

Hu Xiaotian raised the wine bowl and silently took a sip.

"Before Eunuch Liu ran into trouble, he secretly went to see the Emperor and frankly presented the fact that Ji Feihua, relying on favor, provoked jealousy and caused chaos in the harem." Li Yuncong sighed and said, "If he hadn't meddled, perhaps he would still be living well."

Hu Xiaotian said, "When I first entered the palace, I thought that as long as I served the Emperor honestly, I could live peacefully in the palace. But upon truly arriving here, I discovered that everything must be done with caution."

Li Yuncong said, "Now you understand how hard it is to live to Zajia's age, and why Zajia hardly has any friends nearby? Living in the palace, it's best not to have friends, because here enemies always outnumber friends, and most people want to step on you to rise. The sincere words you pour out to someone might, in a turn, be taken to curry favor with his master; pleasing this one might offend that one; you want to be smooth in all directions, but often you clumsily block someone's path. Zajia no longer wants to make friends; those who want to step on Zajia to rise, even if they kill Zajia, he would not sympathize. But the real trouble is: if you happen to meet one or two friends, and they encounter trouble, you will grieve for them." Li Yuncong let out a long sigh, lifted the wine bowl before him, and drained it in one gulp.

Hu Xiaotian finally understood why, among the palace's senior eunuchs, the greater their number, the more they keep a considerable distance from each other. Quan De'an and Liu Yuzhang are like that; Li Yuncong and Liu Yuzhang are also like that. Logically, as palace elders they should be close confidants, but in daily life, if there's no need, they seldom interact; the reason should be what Li Yuncong said.

Hu Xiaotian raised the wine jar and refilled Li Yuncong's bowl; Li Yuncong said, "Under the eaves, one must bow one's head; living in the imperial city, we seek a life of keeping our heads low. But if one's head is always lowered, others will fixate on your neck, and at any moment they could slash a blade across the back of your neck."

Hu Xiaotian said, "I don't want to block anyone's path, nor do I want to stand out in the palace; if I could be like Eunuch Liu, settling in a quiet corner, occasionally reading books and drinking a little wine, that would be enough for this life."

Li Yuncong chuckled, his deep eyes fixed on Hu Xiaotian's face; after a while he shook his head and said, "You won't be reconciled."

Hu Xiaotian laughed, "You're not me; how would you know I'm not unwilling?"

Li Yuncong said, "Wanting to survive in the cracks of the palace, to please both sides and reap all benefits, is hardly easy; once one loses their utility, they will inevitably become the first target for elimination by all sides."

Hu Xiaotian's heart startled; although Li Yuncong appears as a worldly-uncontending senior eunuch, he sees Hu Xiaotian's current situation very clearly, and has thoroughly pondered Hu Xiaotian's thoughts; Hu Xiaotian smiled and said, "For me, living another day is gaining another day."

Li Yuncong said, "That's spoken lightly; understanding life and death is not that easy. Even at Zajia's age I still cannot see through it, let alone you, who are in the bloom of youth."

Hu Xiaotian raised the wine bowl and said, "A lifetime is like grass growing for one spring; all matters of life and death, right and wrong—I only seek to follow my nature, to live freely and happily, just like you and me before us, let's drink a great draught."

Li Yuncong chuckled, also raised his wine bowl and clinked it with Hu Xiaotian's; both drank it down in one go.

Li Yuncong sized up Hu Xiaotian's face and said softly, "Lord Hu, I observe your cheeks are flushed red, your eyes bloodshot; it seems a hidden ailment plagues you."

Hu Xiaotian laughed, "My body has always been fine; there's nothing wrong."

Li Yuncong said, "Zajia once studied some medical arts; if you trust Zajia, I can feel your pulse."

Li Yuncong's initiative to take the pulse made Hu Xiaotian's doubts arise instantly; he wasn't afraid Li Yuncong would discover his martial arts secret, but truly worried that he had never truly cleansed himself; Li Yuncong is unfathomable, and if he could deduce his bodily secrets from the pulse, that would be utterly troublesome. He then laughed, "No trouble, Eunuch Li."

Seeing his refusal, Li Yuncong couldn't help but laugh: "It's rare that we two drink so heartily; Zajia will give you something."

Hu Xiaotian laughed, "No merit, no reward; Eunuch Li has made me feel uneasy." Under heaven there is no free lunch; Hu Xiaotian naturally understood this principle, Li Yuncong first invited him to drink, now wants to give him something, and Hu Xiaotian's inner vigilance grew, yet he did not know what Li Yuncong was scheming.

Li Yuncong smiled narrowly and said, "Wait a moment."

Hu Xiaotian secretly wondered what Li Yuncong would give him; he saw Li Yuncong rise from the bed, take down a hanging huqin from the wall. Hu Xiaotian then realized Li Yuncong, on a whim, wanted to send him a piece of music to listen to. He really felt both amused and exasperated; this senior eunuch didn't even ask his opinion, he didn't know how good Li Yuncong's huqin playing was, and if it were as grating as rubbing cotton, it would surely ruin his mood tonight.

Li Yuncong sat beside the bed, placed the bow on the strings, lowered his head slightly, closed his eyes, furrowed his brows, and a mournful, plaintive huqin sound rose. Although Hu Xiaotian had no study in music, music and art are the highest refinement and sublimation of art; moreover, Li Yuncong's huqin skill is absolutely masterful, the desolate huqin tone seemed to transport Hu Xiaotian to a vast, open wilderness, and before his eyes appeared a lone wolf forging ahead alone through wind and rain.

From initial helplessness to curiosity, Hu Xiaotian gradually became completely immersed in the atmosphere created by the huqin melody; he saw wolves howling, ten thousand horses galloping, bloody battles on the battlefield, fires burning across the sky; his heart grew excited with the rhythm of the music, feeling his blood stirred to the point of boiling, his heartbeat involuntarily quickened as the left ventricle squeezed blood into the aorta, distributing it throughout his body, then returning via pulmonary circulation to the right atrium. Hu Xiaotian had never so clearly felt his heartbeat; he suddenly sensed something amiss, his heart like a galloping wild horse seemed about to break free of the pericardium's bonds and burst from his chest. Hu Xiaotian pressed his right hand over his precordial area; below his navel an invisible force field rapidly expanded outward. The pressure on his bodily blood flow refluxed to his heart in a short time; his inner self strained to expand, the heart muscle could scarcely bear the sudden influx of blood, his heart teetered on the brink of explosion.

Hu Xiaotian endured the pain, forcing himself to retain his last shred of reason; he realized his internal abnormality was directly related to Li Yuncong's huqin sound; if he could not escape the melody, he feared he would die here. He clapped both hands over his ears, yet the huqin sound still penetrated every opening, like countless invisible threads winding layer upon layer around his inner self, tightly entwined. Hu Xiaotian gazed in terror at Li Yuncong, suddenly grasping the old man's terror: to kill him required no effort at all; although he had acquired ten years of power transmitted by Quan De'an, before a true master he was still utterly fragile.

Hu Xiaotian strained to rise, attempting to strike Li Yuncong with all his might; though the chance of success was minuscule, it was better than waiting to be slaughtered.

Just then the huqin shifted its tone, from the earlier mournful harshness to a gentle, tender melody, like an instant shift from a bleak, rainy autumn to a bright, sunny spring. Under this tune Hu Xiaotian's inner turmoil gradually eased, the agony of his heart threatening to burst diminished, as his heartbeat slowed, his pulse grew steady, and the rapidly expanding force field in his lower abdomen miraculously vanished. Li Yuncong added a flourish, the lingering notes faded, the huqin sound drifted away, finally returning to calm.

Hu Xiaotian's head was drenched in cold sweat, he stood there dazed, recalling the scene just now only filled him with extreme dread. Looking at Li Yuncong, who seemed as if nothing had happened, he unhurriedly hung the huqin on the wall, returned to his former seat, lifted the wine bowl and drained it, then raised his head to Hu Xiaotian and asked, "How about it? Won't you join me for a drink?"

Hu Xiaotian raised his right hand, wiped the cold sweat from his forehead with his sleeve, suddenly feeling a sense of having survived a disaster; he slowly sat down, saying, "It's so hot…" but he dared not lift the wine bowl before him.

Li Yuncong smiled and said, "Wine naturally warms you the more you drink; how was Zajia's huqin playing?"

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