Chapter 138: Jade Bone Picture (2)
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Ye Jingtang blinked. He felt that Dumdum probably wasn’t here to ask him to serve the empress, so he didn’t say much.
The two of them walked for a long time and circled around the corridor on the side of the main hall. They arrived at the lake at the back of the Peaceful Hall and dismissed the attendants.
The lake had been artificially excavated. It was circular in shape and surrounded by white jade guardrails. In the center was a waterside pavilion built on a stone platform. There were lotus leaf-like stones on the surface of the lake that were arranged gracefully and led to the waterside pavilion. The scenery was extremely elegant and looked like an ink painting.
The waterside pavilion didn’t look too old, but the white stone foundation underneath had already turned yellow and had some traces of damage. It was unknown how many years it had been there.
Ye Jingtang stopped by the lake and looked at it for a while before asking, “What is this place?”
Like a tour guide, Dongfang Liren introduced earnestly, “The Roaring Dragon Pool. It is said that more than a thousand years ago, the founding emperor of Great Wu attained enlightenment and ascended to heaven by riding a dragon. This pool is located in the middle of the Imperial City. According to Daoist Xuanji, it is between the eyebrows of the ‘dragon vein’. It converges the feng shui of the four seas and gathers the providence of a country. If one isn’t the true Son of Heaven, they will not be able to control this treasured land. Anyone who stays here without authorization will suffer heavenly punishment.”
Ye Jingtang placed his hands behind his back and nodded slightly. “Is it true or fake?”
Dongfang Liren blinked. “I have never believed in those myths about strange powers and chaotic spirits, but the Roaring Dragon Chart is indeed an item of strange powers. Daoist Xuanji said that this place is suitable for Daoists to cultivate in peace. When she comes to the capital, she often stays here. I also think that the feng shui of this place isn’t bad, and practicing the Roaring Dragon Chart will yield twice the results with half the effort. Things like heavenly punishment have never come true.”
Ye Jingtang nodded thoughtfully. “Your Highness and Daoist Xuanji are both women. It’s definitely fine to go in. Has any man other than an emperor ever entered in history?”
Dongfang Liren recalled carefully. “This is the palace of the emperors of previous dynasties. In history, most of the men who could stay here but were not emperors were rebel leaders and traitors of the country. Those who didn’t die will certainly become emperors. I reckon that this is where the legend of the ‘true Son of Heaven’ comes from.”
Ye Jingtang understood the meaning: survivor bias.
Dongfang Liren tapped her toes lightly on the blue waves a few times and arrived at the waterside pavilion in the middle of the lake. She turned around and frowned when she saw that Ye Jingtang wasn’t moving. “Don’t tell me you’re frightened by those rumors about ghosts and spirits?”
Ye Jingtang wasn’t worried about heavenly punishment. But even if he wasn’t superstitious, he couldn’t be sure about the empress. What if he rashly ran into this forbidden land and incurred the apprehensions of the empress?
Dongfang Liren could naturally tell what Ye Jingtang was worried about. She waved her hand. “No one will see you. Just come here.”
No one will see me?! Ye Jingtang felt that compared to the Roaring Dragon Chart, his head was more important. He raised his hand slightly. “Your Highness, although I am a person of Jianghu, I still know what ‘overstepping’ means. This place…”
Dongfang Liren was a little helpless. “I said it’s fine, so it’s fine. I’ve already asked Her Majesty.”
“Her Majesty agreed?”
“If Her Majesty didn’t agree, how would 1 dare to bring you here?”
Hearing this, Ye Jingtang breathed a sigh of relief. He flipped over the guardrail and arrived outside the waterside pavilion after walking a few steps.
Tread-
He stepped on the stone platform far away from the shore, and the world became quiet.
Ye Jingtang looked up at the sky, probably to determine if there were any strange phenomena of the world changing color.
Seeing this, Dongfang Liren was slightly amused. She turned around and walked into the waterside pavilion. “Come in.”
The waterside pavilion was quite large and had an open room inside. There were oil bookshelves, weapon racks, and many calligraphy and paintings hanging around it. In the center were two meditation mats embroidered with dragon and phoenix patterns, which looked to be the exclusive seats of the empress and the Prince of Jing.
Dongfang Liren walked around the waterside pavilion and disappeared behind a bookshelf for a moment. When she came out again, she had a box in her hand.
The box was made of green jade and was the size of a book. From the size, there was a high chance that it contained a picture of the Roaring Dragon Chart.
Dongfang Liren took the jade box to the center of the waterside pavilion and sat down on her meditation mat. “Have a seat.”
Ye Jingtang went to the other meditation mat and took a look. He picked up the bird squatting on the dragon and phoenix meditation mat and sat down in front of Dongfang Liren.
Dongfang Liren felt that Ye Jingtang paid too much attention to etiquette, but she didn’t say anything and slid open the jade box.
Whoosh!
A golden paper immediately came into view.
“This is the Jade Bone Picture. You killed the Blood Bodhi and made a great contribution last night. I can show you this item, but you can’t take it away from here. If it’s lost, Her Majesty won’t be able to answer to the future monarch.”
Ye Jingtang sat upright and took the jade box. He didn’t touch the golden paper with his hand and studied it seriously under the sunlight outside the waterside pavilion.
The size and shape of the golden paper were exactly the same as his Dragon Form Picture. It felt like two pages torn from the same book. The only difference was the content inside.
The Jade Bone Qilin Picture was naturally the picture of a qilin. It was a towering beast carrying the blue sky on its back and stepping on the ground. The lines were extremely exquisite.
Ye Jingtang sized it up for a moment and knew that it was the real thing. He couldn’t help feeling strange.
Although there were deviations in the process and outcome, he had finally achieved his plan when he first entered the capital—to think of a way to sneak into the palace and obtain the Roaring Dragon Chart.
He secretly used the method of practicing the Dragon Form Picture to study the Jade Bone Picture. In the end, he discovered that they came from the same source and the practice methods were the same. They couldn’t even be called two secret techniques, but it was the method of practicing the Dragon Form Picture with a few more paths. The two could be combined into one, turning into a technique with two effects…
Outside the waterside pavilion was the clear water lake. In the spacious and quiet room, the man and woman were sitting opposite each other, and only the cries of birds and cicadas sounded.
“I understand—”
“Chirp…”
Ye Jingtang held the golden paper with both hands and observed it seriously. His black robe made of water cloud brocade, coupled with his thoughtful eyebrows and cold side profile, carried a different kind of otherworldly aura in this ink painting-like environment.
Dongfang Liren sat upright on the meditation mat. Her originally heroic eyes revealed a hint of gentleness. It was unknown what she was thinking, but she stared fixedly at the man’s face in a daze.
Ye Jingtang looked at the golden paper for a moment and put it down. “This picture is indeed mysterious and extraordinary. I can only see hints of it.”
Dongfang Liren nodded slightly. “You’re very talented. It shouldn’t be difficult for you to understand it. Try practicing it.”
Ye Jingtang nodded lightly. He immediately closed his eyes and began to practice the Jade Bone Picture.
But as soon as he closed his eyes, Dongfang Liren looked at the ‘little fool’ with a straight back. She assumed the aura of a princess and said seriously, “That isn’t how you practice the Roaring Dragon Chart. I’ll teach you. Watch carefully and sit cross-legged. Your left leg is outside, and your right leg is inside…” Dongfang Liren gently lifted the hem of her python robe, sat cross-legged, and placed her hands on her abdomen. Doing so raised the front of her robe high and straight, causing the originally proud fat-headed dragon to become even more three dimensional.
Ye Jingtang practiced the Roaring Dragon Chart entirely based on his intuition and had never paid attention to his posture. He immediately followed suit. He sat cross-legged, held his left hand with his right hand, and closed his eyes.
Dongfang Liren closed her beautiful eyes and instructed unhurriedly, “Imagine the picture you saw just now and follow your feelings… Um… picture sense, do you have it?”
“Yes.”
“Alright, breathe with me.. You have to have a rhythm and enter a Daoist meditative state… Exhale… Inhale…”
