Binding the Dragon for the Empress Chapter 145

The Way to Change Fate Against Heaven – Part One

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"The heavenly punishment is so powerful, do you know why you survived?"

"Xuan Long blocked two thunderbolts for you."

When Ye Ling Shenjun left Dongji Hall that day, he left two sentences for Yan Yuan. With just those two soft sentences, Yan Yuan was brought back to life and was willing to eat and take medicine.

He knew that Xuan Long still cared for him and did not hate him as much as he seemed to. If he died, it would be a waste of Xuan Long's suffering, and he could not bear to let that happen.

He wanted to get well quickly and go to see how Xuan Long was doing in person.

He drank his medicine and ate carefully every day, and after half a month of recuperating in bed, he was finally able to step on the ground. He heard from the immortal healer who treated Xuan Long's injuries that Xuan Long had not left his chambers since the heavenly punishment, and although his injuries were not as serious as his, his soul was re-injured because his soul had been previously dispersed, and it was even more difficult for him to heal than Yan Yuan.

Yan Yuan's heart was filled with anxiety and pain, and he wanted to see Xuan Long immediately, but now that he was blind, he couldn't even look at the man.

He would invite the immortal healer over every day to inquire about Xuan Long's condition. When he heard from the immortal healer that Xuan Long's injuries had worsened, he would tell him over and over again that he must use the best medicine for Xuan Long, and when he heard from the immortal healer that Xuan Long's appetite had improved, he was so happy that his eyes were red and he would chatter about it, and he insisted on going to the kitchen and cooking fish soup himself.

Yan Yuan knew nothing else but this fish soup, which was so delicious that no one who had tasted it could say it was bad.

Fetch a fish from Yao Chi, clean it, remove the head, slice it into two pieces along its back, remove the spine and empty the abdominal cavity, place the fish skin side down in a basin, add sliced onion, ginger, Shaoxing wine and refined salt and marinate it slightly...

He stood in front of the stove, his wide sleeves slightly rolled up to reveal his pale wrists. As he could not see with his eyes, his movements were not as sharp as before and he had to feel his way slowly. The salt shaker, fish sauce, pepper and other seasonings were within reach, and he did everything himself, rather than leave it to others.

His delicate white fingers were stained with fish, and the hot mist rising from the pot blurred his handsome face. His eyes were vacant as he stared ahead, but a gentle smile could be seen at the corners of his mouth.

"He used to love the fish soup I made..."

"When he was pregnant, he couldn't eat anything but this fish soup. After it was cooked, I added a little vinegar to it, and he never got tired of it..." Fumbling with the spices in his hand, he tried to add some fish sauce to the plate, but he accidentally touched the hot rim of the pot and burned his fingers.

When Yan Yuan retracted his hand, the fairy next to him cried out in alarm and saw a blood blister appear on his right ring finger, so she panicked and went to ask the immortal healer for help.

"It's nothing to worry about, don't make a fuss."

This was nothing compared to the suffering Xuan Long had endured. It was almost five o'clock, he had to make the fish soup before dinner and have it delivered.

Fish soup is good for the body, Xuan Long loved it when he was pregnant, and when his appetite is poor, he should eat more than normal.

After calculating the time and waiting for the fish to marinate to taste, Yan Yuan carefully held the plate and put it into the steamer, asking the fairy to light an incense stick. When a third of the incense had burned off, he took out the fish, picked out the onion and ginger pieces, and drained the marinade into a bowl.

His movements were very slow, and he was burned several times in the process, leaving his beautiful hands with an unsightly wound that was unbearable to see.

The fish soup was complicated and this was just the beginning. Next, the fish must be chopped up, the skin and bones removed, and returned to the original bowl of marinade, then the cooked ham, bamboo shoots and mushrooms must be cut into even julienne strips and stir-fried in lard before the fish is cooked and thickened to form the soup.

After Yan Yuan cut his finger for the second time, the fairy couldn't resist coming forward and wanted to do it for him, but Yan Yuan still refused and cast a clotting spell at random, then continued to cut the ingredients.

The fish soup, which was supposed to be ready in half an hour, took an hour to make. The fresh and fragrant smell permeated the hot and humid kitchen, Yan Yuan served some in a small bowl and turned towards the direction where he felt the fairy, saying:

"I can't taste it, you taste it for me, is it salty or bland..."

It's been ten thousand years since he had made this soup. His eyes were blind, so he had to rely on his instincts when seasoning it. Yan Yuan was somewhat nervous, afraid of making it badly and wasting his efforts.

The fairy went forward and took the bowl with both hands, tasted it and said, "In reply to the Emperor's words, it is moderately salty, fresh and fragrant, General Xuan Long will definitely like it."

The fairy was in charge of the kitchen and cooked delicious food. If she said it was good, then it was really good, so Yan Yuan was relieved and smiled.

"That's good..." Yan Yuan turned around, stumbled to find the jar of vinegar, added some to the pot, then used a soup spoon to serve the fish soup into a clear jade bowl, put it into the food box prepared earlier, closed the lid and handed it to the fairy. "Give it to him quickly, don't let him know that I made it."

The fairy was puzzled, "Why?... Won't the Emperor go?"

After going to such great lengths and hurting himself, just for the other party to be able to eat the fish soup he made with his own hands, the longing should be very intense.

"I… I won't go." Yan Yuan's voice grew mute, showing a rare hint of restraint. "If he knows that I made it, he will probably lose his appetite."

Xuan Long's willingness to save him didn't mean that their problems in the past had been resolved. He cared about his life and death, probably because he was the Heavenly Emperor, or because he was A'Zhi's father.

Moreover, his eyes are now blind and white, and he is not as good-looking as he used to be. He does not want Xuan Long to see his current appearance, and was also too timid to be seen by him.

It was better for him to care for Xuan Long from afar. If he got too close and restrained Xuan Long, he would rather die of lovesickness himself.

The fairy went to General Xuan Hall, and when she returned, Yan Yuan was still waiting in the kitchen. He could not hear with his ears or see with his eyes, but the rest of his senses were sharp. When the fairy entered, Yan Yuan felt a light breeze on his face and knew it was the fairy who had returned.

"Has he eaten?..."

The fairy used her voice transmission technique to say, "In reply to the Emperor, when this fairy went over, the General was leaning against his bed reading a book. He originally said he had no appetite and asked this fairy to take the food box back, but later, when he heard this fairy say that tonight's meal was fish soup, he asked Fairy Lian Bi to bring it to the bedside, and the General took a look at it and ate it."

"It looked like he enjoyed it."

Yan Yuan clearly felt delighted, but his eyes were red: "How did he look?"

"It was too dark in the hall, so this fairy couldn't see clearly. But he should be in good spirits. When this fairy went to bring the evening meal a few days ago, the General was sleeping, but today he has the strength to sit up and read."

Although he could learn about Xuan Long from the Healing Immortal, it was always different from seeing it with his own eyes, so he could not help but ask about it when he met someone who had seen him.

"Well... I can rest easy knowing that."

"He didn't sense anything, did he?"

"No, the General didn't ask anything."

The three meals a day in General Xuan Hall are all taken care of by this fairy. Xuan Long is not fussy about food and eats whatever is served to him, so today's serving of fish soup as the evening meal was not out of the ordinary.

Yan Yuan nodded: "If he likes it, I will come back tomorrow to make it..."

The fairy could not bear the thought of Yan Yuan having to do such a chore when he had difficulty moving, so she said as she sent him out, "Emperor, this fairy can also make this fish soup, so if the General still wants to eat it, this fairy will make it."

Yan Yuan said in a low voice: "It's not the same..."

There was so little he could do for Xuan Long.

The heavenly punishment had passed and he was still alive, the Heavenly Way would probably not let him off the hook, and he did not know how much time he had left. Until then, he wanted to do more for Xuan Long.

When he did these things, his heart was full of joy.

Bei Chi waited outside the kitchen, and when he saw Yan Yuan coming out, he immediately went forward to support him, "Emperor, are you going back to Dongji Hall?"

The night was dark, and the bright moon was floating close by, like a huge jade plate, adding to the coolness. The pale moonlight reflected on Yan Yuan's unfocused eyes, as if the beauty had been sucked out of his soul, leaving only an empty shell like a walking corpse.

When he is smiling, his peach blossom eyes are at their brightest, but now that he is blind, it is always sad for those around him to see him. But Yan Yuan didn't care, it was only when he thought that he would never be able to see Xuan Long's appearance again that he would feel a little sad.

He really missed him.

"Go… let's go to General Xuan Hall."

Not to go in, just to stay outside for a while.

Bei Chi did not feel good in his heart, but sullenly agreed, and silently assisted Yan Yuan to Xuan Long's residence. When they went down the steps, Yan Yuan stumbled and almost fell down.

Bei Chi hurriedly supported him, and when he stood up straight, he finally could not help but speak: "... Why did the Emperor make such a mess of himself?"

Bei Chi and Nan Chi were twin brothers, and they had been Yan Yuan's trusted confidants since they were young.

Yan Yuan sensed his sadness and smiled, saying, "You don't understand... When you have a beloved you can't part with, you will know what it means to be unique and irreplaceable. A person's heart is too small, too small, so small that it can only hold one person. Once you fall in love, you will become petty, and you will not be able to tolerate any gravel in your eyes, let alone betrayal."

"If it were to happen to you one day, you will make the same choice as I did."

"Indeed, Bei Chi does not understand." Bei Chi said stiffly. "All Bei Chi knows is that there is only a future if he lives."

It was clear that if he married Immortal Monarch Zhiyu, he would be able to live, so why did he have to fight against Heaven and make himself look like a ghost so that he could be with that person?

Yan Yuan smiled calmly: "To me, he is air. Without anything else, one can live well, but without air, one will die."

Bei Chi said dumbly, "But the Emperor is the master of the Heavenly Realm, the supreme God."

"Once a god is in love... he is as weak and useless as a human." Yan Yuan sighed softly.

They walked a little way and after performing a teleportation technique, they reached the divine tree not far outside of General Xuan Hall. Yan Yuan struggled to open his empty eyes wide and tried to see something, yet it was all in vain.

He stood here, very close to Xuan Long, but his heart was even emptier, and his voice was unconsciously tinged with a few hoarse nasal tones: "Is there a candle burning in the hall?...."

Bei Chi looked towards the hall. A dim candle flame reflected on the window paper, faintly wavering, but other than that nothing could be seen.

"It's burning."

"Does the Emperor want to go in?"

"No... I'll just stay here for a while and then leave."

Bei Chi couldn't understand Yan Yuan. He clearly wanted to see him, but he couldn't see him, he was holding back, torturing himself. Love was too strange, too torturous, and he never wanted to get involved in it.

He said he would stay for a while, but he only stayed for half an hour. When the candle flame inside was extinguished, Yan Yuan was about to leave, but instead of appearing happy, he was even more distraught than when he came, which made people feel uneasy.

As they passed by the Hall of the Gods, they heard the sound of laughter coming from under the sacred tree. There were two gods sitting at the white jade table under the tree, one in black and the other in red, and they were none other than Si Shen and Yue Lao. They were holding moonlight cups in their hands and drinking grape wine with great joy, and they were probably so drunk that they didn't even notice anyone approaching. They were chatting about the sky and the sea, and suddenly the conversation turned to Yan Yuan.

"Hey, Si Shen, tell me, how did the Emperor fall in love with General Xuan Long? It's clearly written in the marriage book that the Emperor and Immortal Monarch Zhiyu are a couple... how did the Emperor... eh... Now that it's like this, how will it end..."

Si Shen is famous for his beauty in the Heavenly Realm. At this moment, his cheeks were bright red, and he had a flirtatious look in the corners of his eyes. He sighed, held up his wine glass and slumped limply on the table, "It's impossible to say. Wasn't there a god who did the same thing as the Emperor many thousands of years ago? But that god wasn't as lucky as the Emperor, there was no one to stop the lightning tribulation, and when he died, he didn't even leave his body intact…"

"The Emperor is not willing to marry Immortal Zhiyu, if he keeps going like this, he will be even more miserable in the future... Why can't lovers be happy together in the end... The Emperor and General Xuan Long, is there really no way for them to be together?..." Yue Lao raised his head and drank the wine in his cup, his handsome face covered with despair: "It's useless for me to be the Moon God, in charge of earthly marriages, without being able to help the Emperor..."

"Hai, the Emperor's marriage is controlled by the Heavenly Way, it is not something that you and I can influence..." Si Shen narrowed his eyes and said in a drunken daze. "However, if the Emperor insists on being with General Xuan Long, it's not completely out of the question, it's just..."

"Just what?"

The conversation between the two was suddenly interrupted as Yan Yuan, supported by Bei Chi, stepped out from behind the divine tree.

‿︵‿︵ʚ˚̣̣̣͙ɞ・❉・ ʚ˚̣̣̣͙ɞ‿︵‿︵

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Translator Notes

Please feel free to comment any mistakes I made so I can improve and do better as I go through the book.

Translated: January 29, 2023