Chapter 174: I’m A Man Who Can’t Avoid Problems.

Under the Temple of Heaven, the ninety-nine steps looked as if they were endless, just like in the old days, as if they were going straight to the sky. The ancestral shrine of the Northern Kingdom didn’t escape the fate of being destroyed, and it was completely burned down by a fire. The place where the ancestral temple used to be, was now a piece of land full of saplings. After Xiao YuAn thought about it, he walked towards that place.

Suddenly, a man came out from the brushes. That man had a beard, his body was burly, and his messy hair covered his face, which was filled with hideous scars. When he swooped over to stand in front of Xiao YuAn, his sudden appearance startled Xiao YuAn.

“Who’s coming? This place can’t be stepped in at will.” That man’s voice was loud as a bell, and his aura was imposing like a rainbow1.

The Imperial Bodyguards came forward with their swords, and one of them said: “Get out of the way, we have an Imperial edict.”

Xiao YuAn handed over the Imperial edict, but the man didn’t take it. Instead, he fixed his eyes on Xiao YuAn’s face. That man stared at Xiao YuAn with a deadly gaze, as if he wanted to burn a hole in his face.

Xiao YuAn was a bit confused by the stare he was receiving, and as soon as he was about to look up, the Imperial Bodyguard behind him stepped forward, and unceremoniously pushed the bearded man away: “Go away, go away. You already saw the Imperial edict, why are you still standing here for?”

The bearded man, who was pushed away, staggered a few steps. As he lowered his head, he silently retreated to one side.

As the Imperial Bodyguards led Xiao YuAn forward, Xiao YuAn had an idea in his heart, and couldn’t help himself from asking: “Who is that man?”

The Imperial Bodyguards didn’t know that Xiao YuAn was the former Emperor of the Northern Kingdom, so one of them replied without hesitation: “Xiao-gongzi, that man was originally from the Northern Kingdom. After the Northern Kingdom was conquered, he surrendered to our country. General Xue has always been a kind-hearted man, so he gave this man a way to live by giving him the job of taking care of the vegetation at the Temple of Heaven. I heard that he went crazy a few months after he surrendered, and that he’s always murmuring about whether he’s going to die or not. Don’t worry about it.”

Xiao YuAn’s hands were red and painful, because he was forcibly holding the wooden box. Only after a long time did he exclaim a ‘hmm’ sound.

Once Xiao YuAn and the Imperial Bodyguards arrived at the place where the ancestral shrine of the Northern Kingdom used to be, he saw that there were only a few pieces of ashy-gray pine trees and cypress left behind, with fallen leaves on the ground. Xiao YuAn looked around and found a shelter, knelt down, then dug a pit, dirtying his hands with the mud. The Imperial Bodyguards didn’t understand what he was trying to do, but when they asked him if he needed any help, Xiao YuAn shook his head and refused.

Xiao YuAn opened the wooden box, and finally, took a look at the three things inside. After taking a deep breath, he buried the wooden box in the ground.

After all this, he knelt on the ground, stroked the pit, and said inside his heart: ‘I’m sorry. I’m not your Northern Kingdom’s Emperor, and I hope to have the opportunity to repay for the mistakes I’ve made in this life one day. But now, I only want to be Xiao YuAn.’

After silently reciting these things inside his heart, Xiao YuAn took out three incense sticks and wine, and respectfully worshipped them. After this, he stood up feeling like he had accomplished something big, and took a long deep breath, as if his lungs would exhale all the dirt inside of him. Then, he turned around to the Imperial Bodyguards, and said: “Let’s go.”

The Imperial Bodyguards nodded and accompanied Xiao YuAn. When they passed by the place where they met the bearded man, Xiao YuAn saw him hunching his back to remove the weeds. How could such an obviously sturdy person look so small?!

‘Considering the way he looked at me just now, I guess that he should have recognized me.’

Xiao YuAn felt that he should say something to him as he stepped forward. But then, he stopped.

‘What can even I say to him?’

Xiao YuAn kept his hands at his sides, clenching them into fists, until his palms turned red.

The bearded man seemed to feel a gaze looking at him, so he stood up and looked over. His face was filled with scars, and these scars seemed to tell the tragic story of a war. Xiao YuAn felt like something was stuck in his throat as closed his eyes, and murmured an apology.

The bearded man was stunned at first, but then he clenched his teeth and his cheeks tightened. After a brief moment, he relaxed his face again, and stepped forward: “What? What did gongzi say? This servant didn’t hear it. Does gongzi have something to tell this servant?”

Xiao YuAn opened his eyes, and before he could reply ‘no’, the bearded man, who was slowly approaching him, suddenly ran over! With his hands half-hugging and half-pushing Xiao YuAn, they fell off the cliff that was beside the path!

There was an exclamation of surprise, and the Imperial Bodyguards were too slow to react!

Xiao YuAn only felt weightless for a moment, and then his body fell to the ground. But when he didn’t feel the pain that should’ve arrived after falling down, he was stunned.

There was a protruding stone wall under the cliff, which was covered with a thick layer of leaves, cushioning the pain from falling off a cliff. When he was pushed down by the bearded man, the bearded man had deliberately put himself below, so that Xiao YuAn would fall on top of him; Xiao YuAn wasn’t hurt at all.

After the bearded man got to the ground, he rolled over, grabbed Xiao YuAn without hesitation, and dragged him somewhere. Xiao YuAn then found that there was a small cave behind the stone wall, and if he was dragged into the cave, then he wouldn’t be seen by the people above; making them think that they fell all the way down.

Xiao YuAn fiercely twisted the beaded man’s hand, and before he could break away from him, he heard the man say: “Your Majesty, weichen will… will help you escape from this place.”

Ahhh nooo XYA is again in trouble (ﾉ_-;)…

And he went there just to bury the things he’s been guarding in the wooden box, the things that represented his life as the Emperor. It’s so symbolic that he wants to bury that past, that doesn’t belongs to him to begin with, and just live as Xiao YuAn from now on (*´；ェ；`*)💔

Footnotes

气势如虹 qì shì rú hóng; It describes a person that has a strong spirit, with a qi so strong that they could be able to run through the everlasting rainbow. By extension, it refers to the strength of the qi.