“It’s fine.” Ji Yunhuang replied without much thought. It was only after he replied that he started to wonder, what exactly had she misunderstood about him?
“Then tonight Your Highness is going to be sleeping in the guest quarters. Your benevolence is unparalleled. Xuemo really doesn’t know how to repay you…”
Ning Xuemo had not finished praising him when she saw a large rope shoot out from his sleeve. She was flabbergasted as she watched him tie both ends of the rope to two pillars. “What does Your Highness plan to do?”
Ji Yunhuang jumped on the rope and laid himself on it like he was lying down on a bed. The rope swayed slightly, and his clothes fluttered along with the movement. Seeming loftily high above the world, he stated, “Tonight, I will sleep here.”
‘Xiao Longnü!’[1]
‘No, Xiao Longnan…’[2]
‘Heavens, could he be the successor of the Ancient Tomb Sect?’[3]
He was a disciple of of this world’s number one sect… Could it be that the greatest sect under Heaven is actually a branch of the Ancient Tomb Sect?
“Your Highness, is this how you and everyone else in the Sun Moon Holy Cult sleep?”
Ji Yunhuang slightly turned his body on the rope bed. “What nonsense are you speaking about? What Sun Moon Holy Cult?[4] It’s the Sun Moon Sect!”
Ning Xuemo rubbed her nose. ‘Oops!’ She had automatically mistaken the Sun Moon Sect for Dongfang Bubai’s[5] Sun Moon Holy Cult. Anyways, they are both mysterious and eye-catching. Didn’t that mean that their intrinsic nature would be roughly the same? Still, she did not know if the patriarch of the Sun Moon Sect, the Ancestor, was as overwhelming as Dongfang Bubai.
In that instant, Ning Xuemo’s thoughts had wandered everywhere.
Only when she heard Ji Yunhuang continue did she snap out of it. “This resting method can only be practiced by the inner disciples of Sun Moon Sect. Furthermore, this skill is rather profound; the more you practise it, the thinner the rope you can use. Take my teacher for example, he can sleep on a rope which has the width of a pinkie finger…”
Ning Xuemo looked at the soft rope that was half a fist thick and blurted out, “Isn’t your teacher the Ancestor’s disciple? If he sleeps on a rope as thick as a pinkie, then wouldn’t your grandmaster be sleeping on a thread?”
Black lines appeared on Ji Yunhuang’s forehead. This inference was really bold!
He lightly smiled, “No one has ever seen how the Ancestor rests.”
Ning Xuemo was curious. “Surely not? Could it be that even his disciples, those boys and maids serving him haven’t seen him rest?”
Ji Yunhuang’s eyelids drooped. “Yes, no one. To tell you the truth, where the Ancestor rests at night has always been a mystery.”
Ning Xuemo was silent. ‘As expected, that man is a mystery!’
‘Could it be like what people say, a crafty rabbit has three burrows[6]?’
‘This Ancestor seems to be paranoid to the point of not trusting anyone…’
‘Or maybe this is a deliberate pretense…’
“Your Highness, is the Ancestor’s appearance that of an elderly man with white hair and a rosy complexion? Does he possess strength and vigor that stands out from the masses?” It was a pity that she didn’t get to see even a corner of his clothes last time, which made her felt distraught as she missed the opportunity to know such a famous character in this world. Hence, as an alternative, she could only ask someone who was close to the Ancestor.
Ji Yunhuang sighed, “Xuemo, has no one told you that you can’t just casually discuss matters involving the Ancestor?”
Ning Xuemo once again rubbed her nose, her appearance indicating that she had expected this sort of answer.
She gave a smile. “There’s only the two of us in this room. Talking a bit about it surely isn’t a problem right? Furthermore, you are his grand disciple and should have seen him a few times. Just tell me a little bit about him.”
Her large eyes shone, and her appearance looked extremely lovable.
Ji Yunhuang’s heart jumped slightly. Finally relenting, he said, “I was in the Sun Moon Sect for so long, but I only managed to see him twice… The Ancestor always wears a mask, so no one knows what his face looks like. But his straight black hair looked like a curtain. But it’s not comparable to his vigor and strength, which is not something a mere mortal can contend with.”
[1] Xiao Longnü is the female lead of The Return of the Condor Heroes, the second book of the Condor Trilogy, which is a wuxia classic written by Jin Yong (Louis Cha). The reason why Ning Xuemo thought about Xiao Longnü is because of Ji Yunhuang used a rope to sleep. In the novel and numerous TV series adaptations, the first time Yang Guo, the main character of the second book, slept in Xiao Longnü’s bedchamber at the Ancient Tomb Sect, he slept on the bed while she slept on a rope. More details on Xiao Longnü here.
[2] This is a pun made with Xiao Longnü’s name. The “nü” in chinese means female. So, Xiao Longnü means Little Dragon Maiden. Since Ji Yunhuang is male, “nan” is used. Thus, it could literally be translated as Little Dragon Man.
[3] This is the continuation of the “Xiao Longnan” joke. The Ancient Tomb Sect is where Xiao Longnü grew up since she was found as a baby. As the genius of the sect, she was selected as the next sect leader at the age of 14 years old.
[4] The Sun Moon Holy Cult is a demonic cult from another novel and wuxia classic written by Jin Yong, The Smiling, Proud Wanderer. This is just Ning Xuemo mixing up the name of the Sun Moon Sect and the Sun Moon Holy Cult.
[5] Dongfang Bubai is the leader of the Sun Moon Holy Cult in The Smiling, Proud Wanderer. He was the one who kicked Ren Woxing, the previous leader of the cult, from his position through scheming. Dongfang Bubai is also a very powerful martial artist who castrated himself in order to master the Sunflower Manual which turned him into a formidable being. If you want to know more about this fictional character, click here.
[6] It’s an idiom which means that a smart person always has a backup plan… or two…
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