TGM Vol.5 Chapter 13 – The Phoenix In Flight (3)

After a long time, there was still dead silence in the room, no one spoke, only the heavy, suppressed breathing of the Grand Master, one after another. Yu Sifeng looked at him quietly. Under the bluish morning light, the Grand Master’s face was faint and vague, his jaw was clearly defined, his face was slightly tilted to the side and the bridge of his nose was straight.

Yu Sifeng sighed and said, “I’m such a fool, father, aren’t we identical? I didn’t even realize it until now.”

The Great Palace Master slapped the table with his palm, followed by a loud noise, the table was smashed into pieces. He said sternly, “Did that old thief, Liu Yihuan, tell you this? He’s breaking his vows! What did he say?”

Yu Sifeng whispered, “No, he didn’t tell me anything, I guessed it myself. I guessed right, didn’t I? In fact… you are my real father.”

“Don’t say that! The Grand Palace Master snapped, took a few deep breaths, and gradually regained his composure. A long time later, he whispered, “You are not allowed to mention this matter again. Today I will assume that I have not heard it. I will leave the antidote here. It is up to you whether you want it or not. Now that you have grown up, it is time for you to take responsibility, think about what you should do and do not disappoint me.”

He turned around and left, and Yu Sifeng rushed anxiously behind him, saying, “Father! Can’t you tell me what happened back then?”

The Grand Palace Master paused and walked out again, saying in a deep voice, “Don’t call this word! Don’t forget that this is the Li’ze Palace and you are my disciple, that’s all!”

Yu Sifeng took a breath and sat on the bed in a daze for a long while, he slowly looked down at the medicine on the table. It was already dawn, and the medicine glowed in the morning light with a dazzling jewel-like glow, a gem-like blue, so beautiful that it was like a dream – a dream that would make him forget all his love and hatred.

In fact, the Grand Master is right, he is already at an age where he should take responsibility. The Li’ze Palace is his home, can he abandon the whole family for selfishness? To do what you like and be happy all the time is just a child’s saying from Xuanji, but in this world, it is impossible to be happy in everything.

He gently held up the bowl, and the medicine slowly shook, its color melting, and for some reason it reminded him of many past events. It had only been five years since we met, accompanied and left each other. All the power and emotions could be burned in his life were burned away in five years.

Yu Sifeng brought the medicine to his lips and was about to drink it down, when suddenly, Xuanji’s face appeared before his eyes, smiling at him and saying softly, “Sifeng, we will be together forever.”

There was a sudden pain in his heart, like being stung by a scorpion, and the numbing pain spread in circles. It was sweet, bitter, sour, love, hate and resentment…….. He had cautiously and shyly told her that there were better people in the world. But now he has chosen to leave her.

Whether he has wronged her more or she has wronged him more, the two of them are now entangled in a tangled mess, unable to distinguish the winner from the loser.

After thinking about it for a long, long time, Yu Sifeng finally opened the window and poured out all the medicine.

He has been obsessed with his life and has lost to her, leaving him with no room to complain. With a long sigh, he took the seven-stringed qin by the window and began to slowly pluck the strings again. Phoenix begging for a phoenix, grabbing the clouds, breaking through the nine heavens – did she hear a little bit of the melancholy in his heart?

In the mist, it was as if someone was calling his name: Sifeng, Sifeng…can you hear me? He was shocked suddenly, the sound of the piano stopped and there was a lot of noise outside the window. There were people running around, talking in low voices, and amidst the noise there was a shout, “Sifeng! Yu Sifeng! Get out here, you dead boy!”

It’s Brother Liu’s voice! Yu Sifeng jumped up from the bed, put on his coat and ran out the door.

※※※

When Liu Yihuan heard Zhong Minyan’s recounting of Ruo Yu’s story, he knew that Yu Sifeng’s identity could not be concealed in Lize Palace. When the Grand Palace Master had an illegitimate child, he was also kept in the dark at first. When the Old Palace Master went to visit him in the dungeon, he gave him a vague description of the situation, so he only knew that Yu Sifeng was the son of the Grand Palace Master, as for his mother, he didn’t know who it was and how the two met.

As he is the next Palace Master, he has twelve feathers and has a child who also has twelve feathers, so he can never reveal that he has violated the rules of the Palace, so it was more severe than the incident with Liu Yihuan. After the death of the Old Palace Master, several brothers and sisters left the palace, and those who remained were all subdued by the palace chiefs, so no one would disclose the secret.

The only one who knows this secret and has the courage to tell is the Deputy Palace Master who was chosen by the demon. Originally, there was no such thing as a head and a deputy head of the palace, but because the Old Palace Master hated the Grand Palace Master for breaking the precepts, he split the palace into two and gave them to the brothers.

Liu Yihuan doesn’t know much about the two brothers, having been in contact with the Grand Master a few times over Yu Sifeng’s case,he only felt that he was hidden but he is not a very stable person, and in some respects can be described as impatient for quick success and instant benefits. This can be seen from the fact that he sent people to Fuyu Island this time to make trouble. The strategy is good but too uncontrollable. If he had been able to endure a little longer, he would have taken Chu Lei and the others to a secluded place before taking action, and Xuanji would have been unable to save them even if she had great abilities.

As for the Deputy Palace Master, the first thing he thought when he saw him was disgust and he didn’t want to go near him. If the Grand Master is like the water in a deep pond, seemingly calm and deep, but inside there is a roaring tide, then the Deputy Master is like a mist of water, hazy and obscure, completely impenetrable.

If he’s ambitious, he’ll be a headache for the Grand Master. This time, when Yu Sifend went back to the Palace, there was such a persin by hus side and it was like falling into a tiger’s den. Even though the Grand Palace Master promised not to let Yu Sifeng get involved in the rescue of Wu Zhi Qi, the Deputy Palace Master might force things and it is not guaranteed that the Grand Palace Master would not involve Yu Sifeng in the matter. As the half father of Yu Sifeng, he can’t agree to this.

He left Shaoyang Peak and immediately came to Li’ze Palace. Without the help of Xuanji, the powerful God of Wa, he was too weak to go down, so he stopped over L’zZe Palace and sat on the big stone sword, shouting and trying to curse Yu Sifeng out.

When Yu Sifeng came out, he saw a chaotic scene at the main entrance of the Palace, with many young disciples pointing and discussing on the beach, and a huge stone sword floating in the air upon which Liu Yihuan was sitting, holding a book in his hand, leaning over and yelling, “Yu Sifeng! Get out of here, you dead boy!

He walked over, dumbfounded, and called out, “Brother, what are you doing here?”

When Liu Yihuan saw him, his eyes lit up, he threw away his book and waved to him, “Little Phoenix! Come over here, let me see you! You’ve lost weight! I haven’t seen you for a few days. Is your master not feeding you at all?”

Yu Sifeng smiled, “You’re still the same, why are you sitting up so high? Aren’t you coming down?”

Liu Yihuan shook her head, “No, no, no! Your master is too fierce! It’s better to stay up there in case he makes a sudden move, it’s faster to escape! By the way, little Phoenix, come over here and let me ask you, did your Master say anything…um, suggestive to you?”

Yu Sifeng was stunned and slowly lowered his eyelashes without saying a word. Liu Yihuan angrily said, “Damn thing! He really did break his oath! Come on, come with me! Don’t stay in this shithole! Come with me now!” He bent down to pull Yu Sifeng, but he hesitated and whispered, “No, brother, my father… I still don’t understand…”

Liu Yihuan said, “Brother is here to see you! You don’t know anything if you stay in this hellhole! Your old man is crazy…”

Before the words finished the only thing that could be heard was a loud voice: “Liu Yihuan!” They saw the doors of Li’ze Palace open, and many people poured out of the darkness. The one in front was the Grand Palace Master, who had shouted.The five elders and fourteen masters of the Palace were all standing behind him, and it was obvious that they were not going to let him go.

Yu Sifeng was shocked and said urgently, “Brother, you go first!”

Liu Yihuan laughed coldly, sat up straight and said loudly, “You, the little Palace Master, have brought many people here, are you trying to scare me? I’m not buying that! It’s a good thing people are here, let’s let them all hear about the good deeds of your young and mighty Palace Master! And for them to see and learn!”

The Grand Palace Master’s face was ashen, and he said in a deep voice, “Liu Yihuan, don’t you dare to take advantage of this!”

“You’re the one who’s taking advantage! What about the vow? What are you going to do with Little Phoenix now? You’re the one who broke your vows!”

The Grand Palace Master took a deep breath and didn’t speak for a long time. A few elders at the back whispered, “Palace Master, this man has always been loose and wild, he is always a scourge, why don’t we take him down today?”

He shook his head slowly and suddenly commanded, “Go in, all of you, and take the disciples with you. I have something to say to him alone.

The crowd was astonished, “Palace Master! Leaving this person will lead to endless trouble.”

He shook his head, “Go!” Everyone had to withdraw the disciples back into the gates and close the palace gates. The beach was suddenly empty, except for the constant sound of the wind and the cold rain. The Grand Palace Master stood for a moment before saying, “I have my own reasons, as a disciple of the Palace, Sifeng has an obligation to shoulder his responsibilities. Escape is never a way.”

Liu Yihuan sneered, “Excuses! You’ve got nothing to worry about! Don’t you want to get Wu Zhi Qi out, and beg him to return the Juntian Ring to you! There are so many people in the palace. Who can’t do this? That’s none of Little Phoenix’s business!”

The Grand Palace Master’s face changed slightly, as if in surprise: “You also know about the Juntian Ring!”

“You think I’m a fool? Don’t change the subject. We’re talking about Sifeng. Are you determined to denigrate the vow you made back then?”

The Grand Palace Master pondered for a long time before saying, “The overall situation is important. This is a personal vow that should come last. As the bearer of twelve-feathers Sifeng is the only one who will be the future Palace Master, it is impossible for him to leave Li’Ze Palace behind. That’s all I have to say. What you think is up to you.”

Liu Yihuan chuckled twice, “In that case, the vow is cancelled. Very good, very good! Sifeng, I’m sure you know that your father is the Grand Palace Master. He was very brave when he was young!”

When he saw the Master’s unsettled look, he knew that he was looking for an opportunity to kill himself, so he said, “It would be easy for you to kill me, but at the moment there is no one around, why not tell him the secret for many years? Although Sifeng is your child, he is a big boy now, he has the right to know his own background, right?”

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[1] 均 (jūn) 天 (tiān) 环 (huán) – literally the words translate to (jūn) even/equal (tiān) sky/heaven (huán) ring/hoop. The name can also be interpreted as Heaven Equalising (or flattening) Ring.

T/N: That’s it for this week’s chapters, see you all next saturday. ^-^

Also! An early Happy Birthday to Ara!!🍰🎂🎉 _{(our birthdays are only a couple days apart lol)}