Imperial Weight Chapter 8
Translated by Sylver (ko-fi)
Chapter 8
After the court session was dismissed, everyone withdrew, except for Phoenix Ming Zun alone, who remained seated in his place without moving, only slowly sipping his tea.
This Ming Zun could be considered the youngest Zun Shang in Fan Tian. Aside from the recently ascended Wuxin Ming Wang who had hired the little phoenix to deliver messages, Phoenix Ming Zun had always been the most beloved by the younger generation, because despite his deep cultivation, his temperament was easygoing, and his appearance was also first-rate—nearly perfect. The phoenix clan was mostly fierce-natured and bold; this Ming Zun conducted affairs with stability, precision, and ruthlessness, which greatly suited their temperament. On the day Phoenix Ming Zun was born, colorful clouds surged and red clouds stretched for thousands of miles. He was personally sent to Fan Tian by the Phoenix King to be trained, and received worship from ten thousand immortals.
(TL: “尊上 (zūn shàng)” is an honorific title that literally means “the Exalted One” or “Your Excellency.” In xianxia or divine hierarchies, it’s often used for a powerful deity, enlightened being, or high-ranking cultivator—someone just below the level of a “god” or “heavenly lord.”)
There were few immortals in all of Heaven with such a smooth immortal path. When Xingyi had first been reluctantly dragged out from behind the Northern Heaven by people, the threshold had nearly been trampled by the small immortals who came to protest, all demanding to know how he had arranged the Star Disc, how he had made even immortal families divided into high and low ranks, with some having fate paths full of hardships and injustice, while others rose straight to success with smooth paths throughout life. If he didn't give them an explanation, they would level Fuli Mountain.
Xingyi refused to see any of them. While the knocking at Fuli Palace gates thundered like the heavens, he peacefully went to sleep and simply refused to see them.
At that time, Fuli Palace was still completely desolate, without a single palace attendant, not a single living creature that moved; even the wind and snow seemed dead, the spring water bone-chillingly cold and would freeze at the slightest disturbance. If things had continued as they were, Fuli Mountain might truly have been leveled. It was Phoenix Ming Zun who came to observe and leisurely offered a word of guidance. "Why the fuss? Does he have the time to target you people? What you see in your eyes is the Star Disc, but what he contemplates is the Five Elements of heaven and earth, the qi of chaos. When the Ancient God Pangu split heaven and earth, heaven and earth were still but an egg; in this world, countless foul qi surge and churn, yin and yang are unbalanced, the Five Elements are misaligned—they must be suppressed by the positions of divine stars, and a single misstep would change the color of heaven and earth. He manages the Star Disc, but he's not truly the Controller of Fate—otherwise, what would that Controller of Fate in the underworld do?"
Some still refused to accept this. "You're a Ming Zun, you speak without feeling the pain—when have you ever understood the feelings of us small immortals and scattered immortals?"
Phoenix Ming Zun rolled his eyes. "I'll let you take my place, and I absolutely won't say another word. Who worries about you small immortals and scattered immortals? In the mortal realm, there are plenty of destitute people to enlighten. You have good food, good clothes, and salaries in the Heavenly Court—what more could you be dissatisfied with?"
Everyone was left speechless by his retort and could only return one by one.
Later, when the Jade Emperor sent people to persuade Xingyi to open court sessions and come out to appear in the world and enlighten people, it was only after begging and pleading that they invited Phoenix Ming Zun over, along with forcibly dragging over the half-scared-to-death Yue Lao to work on Xingyi's thinking together. They were all young people. Yue Lao hoped his salary could be increased a bit more, so he sent Xingyi turtles and cacti. Phoenix Ming Zun was very direct, slapping the table in challenge. "You're not fit for Star Disc affairs—I should be the one to do it."
Yue Lao's face turned white with fright.
Xingyi raised an eyebrow and asked, "Why?"
Phoenix Ming Zun said, "You are heartless and emotionless, with nothing beyond your heart; for tens of thousands of years, you only remember Pangu, Nuwa, and those other ancient war comrades. You're already completely unaware of the current heavenly realm. We usually speak of playing chess—there are naturally thousands of variations in methods. By the same principle, when you manipulate the Star Disc, there may not be only that one method. You must also consider the life and death of the current immortals, analyze clearly the advantages and disadvantages of different moves, and minimize the drawbacks. Do you know that just a year ago, because of your few moves with the Star Disc, you nearly caused the Moon Palace Jade Rabbit to lose her life?"
Xingyi extended a finger to stroke the shell of the turtle Yue Lao had sent, lowering his eyes without speaking.
Phoenix Ming Zun said dryly, "A heartless and emotionless person should, in principle, have no divine aspect. At the beginning of heaven and earth's primordial chaos, quite a few evil demons emerged to stir up the cosmos. I find it very strange—why did you choose to stand on the side of the gods and fight and sacrifice for the righteous path? Wouldn't walking the demonic path be more free and comfortable?"
Seeing that Xingyi still wouldn't answer, Phoenix Ming Zun continued. "Then I shall presume that you are a good and kind person, harboring benevolent thoughts, and thus never turned to evil. You miss the bloody storms of ten thousand years ago, you miss your war comrades—then surely you can also understand us. We also have immortal colleagues and friends. The Jade Rabbit is a child that both the Heavenly Court and Fan Tian cared for as she grew up. That child is pure and kind—if you met her, you would like her too. We came precisely for this reason. Emperor, you've lived in seclusion alone in the Northern Heaven for ten thousand years—you should also come out and walk around, see the divine realm as it is now. If not, in terms of emotion, reason, and the righteousness of the divine realm, this Star Disc should also be managed by me."
Xingyi glanced at him, said not a word, stood up, and left.
Yue Lao was nearly scared to tears, trembling as he asked, "Ming Zun, the Jade Emperor asked us to come work on the Emperor's thinking, not for you to steal his job! I finally sent him a pet, and just when the Emperor seemed willing to talk a bit, should I send a few hundred more turtles?"
Phoenix Ming Zun rolled his eyes again. "Provocation method, understand? I've only been ascended as Ming Zun for a few hundred years—if I went to manage the Star Disc, I'd be the first roasted phoenix in heaven and earth. After I undergo nirvana, shall I share a cup of the spoils with you?"
Only then did Yue Lao wipe his cold sweat. "Fair enough, fair enough."
After that day, the gates of Fuli Palace opened, and Xingyi finally came out to see people.
Unlike everyone's speculation, this ancient war god appeared young and handsome, with a detached aura, and his conduct was even more eccentric and strange. Whether facing the Jade Emperor or small scattered immortals, Xingyi was always that same cold and indifferent appearance—standing people up when he wanted, playing disappearing when he wanted. On the first day he attended court, all the immortals paid their respects. Phoenix Ming Zun watched from afar, and when the excitement was over, he clasped his hands behind his back and prepared to return to Fan Tian.
Fan Tian and the Heavenly Court were, after all, separated by the entire distance of the Western Heaven, so their usual comings and goings weren't frequent. His task was complete, the Jade Emperor owed Fan Tian a favor, and that was settled.
However, Xingyi called out to stop him in front of everyone.
On that detached and heartless face there was no emotion whatsoever, and his pair of black eyes were as calm as ancient wells. "You were wrong. I don't harbor benevolent thoughts. I truly am a person without divine aspect. The reason I became a god was a single thought's difference."
Phoenix Ming Zun abruptly halted his steps.
A single thought's difference.
Xingyi's tone was very calm. No one knew the meaning behind these words, nor the causes and consequences of this statement. But someone who dared to say they became a god by a single thought's difference—in ten thousand years, there was only Xingyi. As if in the next instant, he could abandon this Emperor's position like worn-out shoes, casting aside all the glory and achievements of ten thousand years ago.
Phoenix Ming Zun asked softly, "Then back then, what caused this single thought's difference?"
Xingyi fell silent, as if recalling.
After a moment, he shook his head. "I no longer remember."
The years had been too long. He had stayed alone in the ice and snow of the Northern Heaven for so long, only waiting for himself and that batch of people from the primordial chaos of heaven and earth to pass away together. However, he never waited for that day, and even his appearance never changed, still maintaining the look of a young man. And the people he knew, the people he'd heard of, whether they were on the same side or not, also left one after another. For immortals to age, first their mind and wisdom must gradually age—only then can their appearance show crane-white hair and chicken skin, the look of extreme old age. But Xingyi couldn't even do this, because he was born heartless and emotionless, and had long been isolated from the mortal world, so naturally he couldn't experience the suffering of decay.
Phoenix Ming Zun later came to visit and had discussed this topic with Tanlang and Qisha. "Your Emperor truly is a treasure."
Tanlang Xing agreed. "Yes, yes, if the Emperor truly passes away one day, who knows who will control the Star Disc. It feels like in all of heaven and earth, only the Emperor has this kind of temperament."
Qisha made no sound, only gave a faint smile.
Later, Phoenix Ming Zun and Yue Lao both became regular visitors here. Xingyi let the turtle die, so Yue Lao sent him a cactus, and then boldly took away quite a bit of immortal grass from Fuli Palace.
Phoenix Ming Zun would occasionally come to play chess with Xingyi. Though there were wins and losses, after each game's outcome was decided, he would always ask rather plaintively, "Emperor, when will you hand over the Star Disc to me?"
Xingyi would say: "In ten thousand years."
Today after court dismissed, Phoenix Ming Zun sat without leaving, so Xingyi assumed he'd come to make trouble again. This person from Fan Tian's immortal family ran to Fuli Palace more frequently than people from the Heavenly Court, simply because the Jade Emperor had been stood up by Xingyi so many times that he constantly wanted to summon reinforcements from Fan Tian, afraid that one day Xingyi would simply quit, so every few days he'd ask him to come make the rounds, turning "working on the Emperor's thinking" into a long-term task.
(TL: “working on the Emperor’s thinking” 给帝君做思想工作 is an idiom=means “trying to persuade someone,” “talking sense into someone,” or “doing some convincing.” It’s like patiently coaxing someone to change their mindset or attitude.)
Xingyi extended his hand, placing his index finger horizontally before him. With a flutter, the little phoenix flew down and landed steadily on his fingertip, shaking its wings.
Phoenix Ming Zun watched from the side, frowning deeply.
The little phoenix carefully glanced toward Ming Zun, cautiously shuffling closer to Xingyi's side, tucking in its wings and cowering into a small round ball.
Xingyi used his finger to scratch the little phoenix's fluffy little head. "Do you have some mistake to reflect on, hmm?"
The little phoenix had flown down, but that flower was still pinned to his head.
The little phoenix shrank even tighter, staring at him with beady little eyes in a righteous and confident manner. "Chirp chirp chirp."
Xingyi reached up to remove the flower from his head, placed it at the table's edge, then raised his eyes to look at Phoenix Ming Zun. "Is there anything else? If you want to play chess, you may make the first move."
Seeing him remove the flower, the little phoenix dejectedly lowered its head and extended a wing tip to poke at Xingyi's hand in protest. Xingyi stroked the feathers on its belly, and seeing the bird had become motionless again, after a moment's thought, he picked up that flower again and pinned it behind his ear.
Phoenix Ming Zun: "......"
He composed himself and cleared his throat. "The Emperor seems to dote on this little fat bird quite a bit."
Xingyi said indifferently, "It has nothing to do with this bird. As mortal poetry says, 'Playing the flute horizontally before the wind and rain, drunkenly wearing flowers with the cap askew'—I'm simply taking the spirit of this carefree abandon."
Phoenix Ming Zun smiled slightly. "Whatever you say is correct. Since you don't dote on him that much, then that's even better. I didn't come to play chess with you—I came precisely for this little bird. Emperor, he is the next little phoenix from my clan who has long failed to take human form. I'm very fond of him. Could you allow me to take this little bird back?"
