"Did you get him?!" Xu Zhengming asked again, this time in a panicked manner.
This time, he didn't get any response from Yin Renshu again. He's just silently staring at the thick layer of dark smoke. His guard is obviously not down yet which made his company feel more anxious.
It's not that he doesn't want to speak, it's just he's not a hundred percent sure if he got him. He clearly attached the talismans on the creature but a split second before the explosion, Yin Renshu saw a strange dull red light.
The smoke slowly dissipated and the monster disappeared from its post earlier as well. No scattered body parts are on the ground either. His majesty then looks around them to find the dead eunuch but he can't spot it quickly.
Out of nowhere, a shadow hopped from above a nearby tree. Like an involuntary reflex, Yin Renshu withdraws his sword and charges into the blurred figure. He sways his sword on the enemy however, the eunuch retreated on time and dodged the attack.
"Careful!" Yin Renshu warned, "This corpse is strangely agile. And it seems it's not as easy to deal with, unlike the others."
Though dilated, this eunuch's has red eyes due to rage and his aura is full of resentful energy,
"Renshu!" Xu Zhengming called out. "I think he's coming after his... on your hand!"
Subconsciously, the emperor looks at the object in his right hand and saw his sword with exquisite moldings on its handle. He finds nothing wrong until he looks at his left hand and saw the dead eunuch's member covered in white silk.
From there, His Majesty, Emperor Yin Renshu reached enlightenment.
"Oh."
In a panicked manner, Xu Zhengming yells, "Quick, toss it! Toss it!"
Yin Renshu indeed tossed it in the air. It all happened in just a mere couple of seconds but the moment seemed to slow down like the piece of silk flutters and became one with the wind. But the white silk is coming at his other two companions. At Xu Zhengming particularly.
With his messed-up mind, the little eunuch catches it with both hands.
The dead eunuch became even more vicious. He hops his way towards Xu Zhengming at a remarkable speed.
"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING, YOUNG MAN?!" The guide exclaims at him. "ARE YOU COURTING DEATH?!"
"FUCK! FUCK! FUCK! HELP ME!" In such a tense situation, he subconsciously tightens his hold on the thing even more.
Yin Renshu hurried to his side but he knows more than anyone else that he can't make it in time. He gritted his teeth and shouted at his eunuch. "RUN!"
Xu Zhengming indeed runs as fast as he can. Even faster than when women are chasing after him. In his mind, he thought, "Good heavens! Even the dead comes after me!"
"Why are you still holding that? Throw it away!" Yin Renshu is almost catching up with the dead eunuch. He extended his fore and middle finger together towards a certain acupoint of the hopping creature. A little more... just a little more...
"Why did you even throw it in my direction?!" Xu Zhengming complains tearfully.
Emperor Yin Renshu clicked his tongue, "It was unintentional! Why did you even catch it in the first place?!"
Xu Zhengming was about to toss 'the thing' as far as he could. But the action wasn't successfully done. He got stumbled by a big root of a tree. Mingming wants to wail as loud as he can but he can't even cry now that he's very terrified.
The corpse howls in a hoarse voice and was about to bite him... but it stopped halfway. It seems something is preventing him from doing so. The monster could only let out loud roars.
By then, Emperor Yin Renshu finally catches up to the vicious ghost and pokes a specific point on its back. The moment he let go, the monster got paralyzed and falls to the ground.
"The immobilization effect will only last for about two hours." Yin Renshu said.
"Then let's kill it... double kill!" Xu Zhengming swallows his sobs.
"Aren't you violent? And besides, if we 'kill' it, it will turn into dust." Yin Renshu disagrees. "We need to report it to shizun and others first and ask for his advice on how to deal with this. We might find out who is controlling him if there's any."
"Sir, he might harm more people if we leave him like this." Their guide worriedly said. Ye Feng wouldn't want that."
Yin Renshu responded, "Don't worry, I'll cast a talisman on him to immobilize him. He will not able to move unless the talisman got removed."
On their way back to the palace, as usual, the emperor carries him like a sack of rice. Unlike the other times, Xu Zhengming is quiet while they travel. His majesty could feel that his eunuch is still trembling. He couldn't help but to feel a little conscience and think maybe he shouldn't have brought him with him.
The emperor sighs and said, "Rest assured. I won't let that corpse come near you again."
Now, it's Emperor Yin Renshu's turn not to receive any response. Xu Zhengming is just quiet but he relaxed a little. However, he could still feel that the other is still terrified. As for the little eunuch, he doesn't know what to say or where to start with. His mind filled with the thought of that rotten walking corpse.
The emperor pressed his lips together before opening them to speak. "Fine, I'll destroy him if ever he comes to you regardless of the investigation gets done or not."
"Your majesty, aren't you worried that he might break away from the talisman you've attached to his forehead?" Xu Zhengming's voice is almost as loud as a whisper. Since Yin Renshu is paying attention to him, he did not miss his words.
It took a few seconds for the emperor to respond. In a soothing voice, which he rarely uses, he said to him, "That talisman is personally made by my shizun. If you don't have trust in me, at least trust him."
Xu Zhengming thought that he just offended the emperor and was afraid that he'll trigger his temper so he quickly apologized. "Sorry, I don't mean it that way. Of course, I trust you, your majesty."
"It doesn't matter." Yin Renshu said indifferently. However, from a cold tone, his voice shifted into a casual one, "Eunuch Xu, call me by my name when we're just the only ones. Or at least when you feel like calling me that. I'm tired of these formalities, I just never get used to them. From the start until the end of the day, everyone's calling me that."
"..." Xu Zhengming is a little hesitant about it.
"Can you do that for me?"
"Yes, your m--" He almost called him using the formalities again. Good thing, he managed to stop halfway. "Renshu. Renshu it is."
For some unknown reasons for his majesty, Yin Renshu subconsciously draws a little smile on his lips.
He felt like, for the very first time in twenty-eight years of existence, he just made a friend. Though he knows this silly eunuch of his is just complying with the order given to him by his master.
But the little smile disappeared in an instant.
Xu Zhengming added, "But I don't feel comfortable calling you just by your name. Is that a royal order?"
"No." He answers straightforwardly.
"Okay. Then, I'll call you Renshu when I feel like it."
***
Thanks to everyone's hard work that made the banquet possible, the celebration officially begun.
Though numerous guests have arrived, compared to other banquets held in the same hall, the Union Hall is less crowded tonight.
However, fewer guests don't mean it's less vivacious.
A group of musicians played a lively song and a group of dancers gracefully performs. These didn't fail to entertain the guests' eyes.
On the platform, there are three thrones. One for the emperor, one for the empress, and of course one for the celebrant, the grand queen dowager. Only one of them is still vacant.
"Have you seen the Grand Emprpess Dowager earlier?"
Emperor Yin Renshu on his throne, asks the empress that is sitting on the throne beside him.
The emperor wears an exquisite gold yellow brocade that matched his coronet.
Empress Xue Chi answered in a soft voice. "I'm sorry but I haven't seen her since this morning, your majesty."
Her highness also wears a gold-yellow dress. Her headdress looks majestic yet on the second thought, it looks quite heavy. She's also adorned with golden accessories that give off a glamorous aura.
"Could it be she's not informed?" He said.
The empress smiles at him. "That's not possible, your majesty. Everyone in the palace knows about the banquet tonight. This should have reached her beforehand."
Yin Renshu nods then fixes his posture.
Below the platform, the first to the eighth table is reserve for the royal family. The ninth to 20th table is for the invited guests. Each table is good for eight people. Every table is full of laughter and chatter but it's not the case for the first one.
Only Princess Yin Xiulan and Empress Dowager occupy the first table.
Behind the princess stands his most trusted subordinate, Officer Liu Chen. The empress dowager also has a company, her Court Lady.
The empress dowager calls her. "Princess, we are the only occupants of this table." She laughs softly. Princess Yin Xiulan forced a laugh out of respect.
The truth is, none of the triplets has a close relationship with the rest of the royal family except for themselves. They don't really trust them. In fact, the three believe that they are only 'pawns' under the command of the grand empress dowager and uses them for political matters.
Their real parents aren't even here with them. They got killed inside the palace, so how could their children trust these nobles?
Officer Liu Chen lightly elbowed her from behind. He gives her a meaningful look. He's telling her that her laugh is way too fake to the point it's very obvious.
Princess Yin Xiulan tried her best not to roll her eyes.
The empress dowager speaks once again. "Princess, since we're not expecting anyone else here. You don't mind them sitting with us, do you?"
She's referring to their subordinates behind them.
Yin Xiulan finally smiles sincerely at the old woman. "No. Not at all. I'd be glad to have more people at our table."
With that, their table is now half full.
"The Grand Empress Dowager Arrives!" A eunuch announced the arrival of the old empress.
Everyone in the hall, including the emperor and the empress on the platform rises from their seats and claps their hands as the celebrant walks across the hall towards her throne.
Yin Renshu then meets her and escorted the grand empress dowager to her throne.
When she finally got to sit, everyone else also takes their seat except for the emperor.
"Our dear guests, first and foremost, I would like to extend my gratitude towards you all for coming to this small banquet we prepared despite the short notice." He said in a loud voice, enough for the people at the last table to hear. "It is because I thought, the celebration shall not be delayed. The royal imperial palace should announce as soon as possible that the Gods in the Heaven realm have blessed the Grand Empress Dowager and helped her recover from her severe illness."
A servant carrying a tray with a cup of wine on it walks towards the platform. From below, he offered the drink to the emperor which Yin Renshu accepts. With a cup of wine in his right hand, he then continues to speak. "The grand empress dowager undergo such a hard time and successfully went over it. Her recovery is truly a thing to celebrate. My fellow noblemen, let us toast for the grand empress dowager!"
"All hail the grand empress dowager! Long live the grand empress dowager!" Everyone in the hall raised their cups of wine as they chanted these words.
The grand empress dowager rises from her throne and walks near the emperor. She speaks with the loudest voice she can let out, "I would like to thank everyone who attended this banquet. I see, my grandson invited the people who are close to my heart the most." She smiles widely.
"Truth be told, even I do not have any idea until a few hours ago that he's holding a small banquet for me to celebrate my recovery." She pauses to look at the emperor and gives him a  smile. "My precious friends, enjoy the banquet with me."
The guests again clapped their hands to express their happiness for the grand empress dowager.
"Please enjoy the humble dinner we prepared." The emperor said. By then, the servants serve the food at each table. Although Yin Renshu called it a  'humble dinner', it's far from ordinary dishes. The royal chef prepared special dishes that are only served in court gatherings like this.
Behind the three thrones stands a huge screen. Behind that screen is where Xu Zhengming and the empress' Court Lady.
Yin Renshu suddenly remembered that his little eunuch has stood there for quite a long time now. He thought he must be tired or hungry by now.
In a low voice, he speaks near the screen. "Eunuch Xu. I do not need assistance from you for today anymore. You may now retreat to your quarters."
"Ah? But the banquet just started, your majesty. Are you sure---" Xu Zhengming failed to finish what he was about to say. The emperor interrupted him.
"Yes, I am sure. You may now leave."
"Yes, your majesty." Xu Zhengming won't deny that he doesn't feel hungry especially now that the food is served. He wasted no more time and left the hall through the back door.
Yin Renshu then feels a pair of eyes staring at him. He turns his head to face the empress. "What is it?"
The empress gives him a sweet smile. "It's nothing, your majesty. Please do not mind me."
×××
Tonight is a moonless night. As usual, the gentle breeze gives a chill to Xu Zhengming's spine. He's exceptionally sensitive to cold.
He just got out of the imperial kitchen to ask for dinner and is currently full. He wants to go back to his room as soon as possible but he can't find the servant's quarters and the servant's quarters won't find him so he ends up walking around, not knowing where exactly to go.
As he walks and walks, he suddenly finds himself in the imperial garden. The water in the lake looks pitch black with dots of light reflecting on it from the stars. It almost looks like a much smaller version of the whole universe.
From where he stands, he saw the old willow tree.
At first, he puffed a laugh. He remembered how he made fun of Court Lady Han when he compared the old lady to this tree.
However, this is not the only thing he remembers.
Back when he was still sixteen years old, he entered the imperial palace to study in the imperial academy and become an imperial scholar.
Back then, he had his first love and first heartache.
He often spends some time at night under that old willow tree. He complains, he speaks out his thoughts, and he shed tears while sitting on its bulging roots.
He smiles as he remembered his younger years. Xu Zhengming walks closer to the tree.
In this same place, he also meets a mysterious friend. This friend of his loves to wear black robes and always wears his conical hat with a thin veil around it, covering his face.
Although this friend isn't willing to reveal his identity, Xu Zhengming doesn't think he's a bad person. In fact, he's comfortable talking to him and even allows him to write the poems he composed on the spot.
Unfortunately, he didn't have a chance to bid him farewell before he left the imperial palace.
He wonders if this friend of his still hangs out around here.
He extends his hand to touch the rough trunk of the tree. Now that he got closer, the tree seems to shrink a little. He smiles, time really flies.
CRACK!
He almost got a heart attack when he heard a cracking sound behind the tree.
He peeks at the other side of the trunk and saw a pair of phoenix eyes staring back at him.