Chapter 1337: Forcibly Borrowing the Mountains and Rivers Cauldron

"Good!" Chuan Ying agreed readily, and the group proceeded together.

Beneath the towering Han imperial palace lay an underground treasury. With the Emperor and his honored guest personally present, the entrance to the subterranean palace was opened.

The group entered. There were guards outside, naturally, and rotating guards within as well. Heavy doors blocked the underground passage one after another, each opened in turn. Yet once they reached the true treasure vault, there were no guards inside, only shelves displaying all manner of rare and precious objects.

As Chuan Ying stepped into the treasury, he glanced down and saw that the floor had been cast from molten copper and iron.

"They're all ordinary worldly things. Compared with the treasures of the Sacred Lands and immortal pavilions, they're crude and hardly worth mentioning." Nie Zhenting gestured around, clearly inviting him to look as he pleased.

Accompanied by the others, Chuan Ying wandered through the treasury. Most of what he saw really was mundane: gold and silver, large cast bricks of gold stored in stacks, so-called precious vessels, calligraphy and paintings, and a scattering of spirit herbs.

After making a full circuit, he stopped before a multicolored jade carving and looked around with apparent surprise. "This is all the imperial palace has in its treasury?"

Nie Zhenting smiled with restrained embarrassment. "It is rather modest. I'm afraid I've given Mr. Chuan Ying something to laugh at."

Chi Qingli added, "Naturally, it can't compare with the Ice and Snow Pavilion."

Chuan Ying waved a hand. "That's not what I mean. In my view, Your Majesty must still have some treasures you aren't willing to show me."

Nie Zhenting froze. There was obvious displeasure in the remark, so he hurriedly said, "Mr. Chuan Ying, everything the palace keeps in its treasury is here. Beyond this, there are only the furnishings in the various palace halls, and none of those are as valuable as what you see here. Of course, if you wish to look, we can go see them as well."

Chuan Ying shook his head. "I'm not talking about those ordinary things."

Nie Zhenting looked puzzled. "Other than these, the palace truly has no other treasures."

Chuan Ying laughed loudly. "Is Your Majesty taking Chuan Ying for an ignorant fool?"

Nie Zhenting hurriedly said, "I wouldn't dare, I wouldn't dare..."

Chuan Ying raised his voice slightly. "What about the Mountains and Rivers Cauldron, the State-Protecting Divine Artifact?"

The moment he said it, everyone qualified to enter the treasury fell silent and exchanged looks.

After a moment, Nie Zhenting cautiously asked, "Does Mr. Chuan Ying wish to see the Mountains and Rivers Cauldron?"

Chuan Ying said, "Your Majesty said there were no other treasures in the palace. Does the Mountains and Rivers Cauldron not count? Or is it somewhere among these displays and my eyes are simply too poor to recognize it? If it isn't here, then Your Majesty's intention is quite clear: either you don't wish to let me see it, or you're treating me as an ignorant man."

Nie Zhenting quickly waved both hands. "You misunderstand, sir. There was absolutely no intention to slight you. None at all!" As he spoke, he shot Chi Qingli a look.

Chi Qingli immediately stepped in. "Mr. Chuan Ying, the Mountains and Rivers Cauldron is the State of Han's State-Protecting Divine Artifact. It truly isn't convenient to bring it out casually."

Chuan Ying's face gradually cooled. "If it isn't convenient to bring out, then simply say so. Why claim there are no other treasures in the palace? If that isn't treating me as ignorant, what is it?"

The remark left everyone embarrassed and uneasy. It was obvious they had offended him.

Who would dare treat someone from the Ice and Snow Pavilion as ignorant? Everyone could more or less grasp the implication in his words. Chuan Ying seemed to think they were mocking him for having married into the Ice and Snow Pavilion while understanding nothing himself.

Some secretly blamed Nie Zhenting for speaking without enough care.

Nie Zhenting had been made thoroughly anxious. He repeatedly waved his hands. "Mr. Chuan Ying, you've misunderstood. Truly, you've misunderstood. The Mountains and Rivers Cauldron is an exception. It isn't counted among what we call the palace treasures."

Chuan Ying immediately pressed him. "Then I wonder whether Your Majesty would do me the honor of letting me see it?"

"This..." Nie Zhenting genuinely had no idea what to do. Taking the Mountains and Rivers Cauldron out casually for someone to inspect was inappropriate, but refusing this particular man was inappropriate as well. Under Chuan Ying's cold gaze and caught between the two choices, he looked toward Chi Qingli.

Among Han's three great sects, the Sect Leader of Tiannü Sect held the highest standing among those present. He wanted her to make the decision.

Chi Qingli was troubled too. In the end, she forced a smile. "Your Majesty, since Mr. Chuan Ying wishes to see it, there's no harm in letting him have a look. Why not bring it out for him?"

What else could Nie Zhenting say? He too forced a smile. "Very well." Then he cupped his hands toward Chi Qingli.

Chi Qingli turned and extended a hand toward Chuan Ying. "Mr. Chuan Ying, the Mountains and Rivers Cauldron is kept in a secret chamber within the treasury. Only His Majesty knows the method of opening it. It would be improper for the rest of us to watch. Please step outside for a moment and allow His Majesty to open the secret chamber."

"Of course." Chuan Ying nodded and turned away at once.

The others withdrew of their own accord. Nie Zhenting gave Chief Steward of the Inner Palace Chang De a slight look.

Chang De understood. He bowed, retreated several steps, and left as well. But upon reaching the inner treasury entrance, he shut the great doors and personally stood guard outside, watching everyone there and allowing no one to approach.

Left alone inside the treasury, Nie Zhenting sighed, shook his head, and wore an expression of helplessness.

He took an engraved silver pot from a nearby shelf, walked to a water vat, and bent down to fill it.

Carrying the full pot to a corner, he stopped before two wooden stands. A transparent crystal bottle sat on each.

Nie Zhenting slowly poured water from the silver pot into one bottle. He did it with extreme care, stopping precisely when the waterline reached the peak of a mountain carved into the landscape scene on the bottle.

The wooden stand and crystal bottle began sinking together. They descended until they reached a certain depth, then stopped.

Only then did Nie Zhenting walk to a wall covered in a grid of characters. He pressed several characters in sequence.

Click.

A soft mechanical sound came from within the wall.

Directly opposite the main entrance to the underground palace, an iron screen rumbled and creaked apart to either side, revealing a hidden chamber glowing faintly with treasure-light.

Nie Zhenting hurried back to the crystal bottle, poured the water from it into the silver pot, then carefully exchanged the positions of the two crystal bottles.

After that, he returned to the water vat, poured the water back in, and replaced the empty silver pot where he had found it.

At last he went to the treasury doors and called, "Chang De, please invite Mr. Chuan Ying inside."

With a low hum, the treasury doors opened again. Chang De stood outside and invited everyone in, while Nie Zhenting extended a hand from within. "Mr. Chuan Ying, please follow me."

Everyone who entered saw that the secret chamber stood open. Chuan Ying nodded and followed Nie Zhenting toward it.

The moment he stepped inside, he discovered that the treasure-light came from several luminous pearls placed along the two walls. At the center, atop a raised platform, sat a black iron cauldron about one chi square.

Chuan Ying hurried forward and circled the platform, staring at the cauldron. Mountains and rivers were sculpted across its surface, the carving broad and majestic, giving the vague impression that the mountains and rivers themselves were being offered in sacrifice through this vessel.

After looking it over, he reached out and ran a hand across it for a while before finally raising his head. "This is the Mountains and Rivers Cauldron?"

Nie Zhenting squeezed out a smile. "That's right. This is it."

Chuan Ying spread his hands to indicate its size and asked in surprise, "Something this small is really the legendary Mountains and Rivers Cauldron?"

Chi Qingli smiled. "Someone who has never seen it might imagine it must be something grander, but in truth, this is all there is to it."

Chuan Ying grasped the cauldron with both hands and lifted it experimentally, then nodded. "It looks small and inconspicuous, all black with a dull sheen, but it's certainly heavy!"

Everyone smiled along and nodded.

Holding the cauldron, Chuan Ying turned it over and over, examining it from every angle. "Legend says this cauldron is one of the eight treasures left behind by Shang Song of the Wu Dynasty. If it can serve as a State-Protecting Divine Artifact, surely there must be something extraordinary about it. Does anyone know what that might be?"

Chi Qingli said, "In truth, it's simply a small cauldron. The eight treasures were originally in the hands of the Sacred Venerables. They must have examined them repeatedly, yet found nothing particularly extraordinary. Their significance is probably more symbolic. The various states divided the territory of the Wu Dynasty among themselves, and these objects serve as tokens of the Wu Dynasty validating that possession."

"I see." Chuan Ying turned the cauldron over several more times, then shook his head slightly. "In my view, it shouldn't be that simple."

Chi Qingli smiled. "I'd be glad to hear your insight."

Chuan Ying pondered for a moment. "I can't say right now. I'll take it back and study it carefully. Perhaps I can discover what's special about it."

Everyone fell speechless.

Chi Qingli stared at him. "Take... take it back to study?"

Chuan Ying looked up. "Is that not allowed?"

Nie Zhenting was equally dumbfounded and immediately shot Chi Qingli look after look.

Chi Qingli swallowed and hurriedly tried to dissuade him. "Mr. Chuan Ying, this truly isn't appropriate. This is the State of Han's State-Protecting Divine Artifact. Under Misty Pavilion's rules, it is the very foundation of Han's legitimacy. It really cannot conveniently be taken away. Please understand."

Chuan Ying said, "Sect Leader Chi and Your Majesty can rest assured. I'm only taking it back for a look. When I'm done, I'll return the original object without the slightest damage." Seeing both of them still wanting to stop him, he cut them off. "Don't worry. Just treat it as a temporary loan I'm taking on behalf of the Ice and Snow Pavilion. Surely you don't think the Ice and Snow Pavilion would borrow something and then break its word by refusing to return it?"

Chi Qingli looked completely disordered. "Mr. Chuan Ying, this... this object truly isn't suitable for lending out."

"I say it's suitable, so it's suitable. It's settled." Chuan Ying threw down the words, hugged the cauldron to himself, and strode away.

There was no room for the others to refuse.

He knew he was being unreasonable, but he had run out of alternatives. He genuinely could not think of any other way to make the State of Han lend him the cauldron. If he tried to borrow it through ordinary means, there was no chance they would agree.

He had been forced to this point. If he failed to obtain the cauldron, the consequences were more than he could bear.

Everyone stared, dumbfounded.

He was simply walking off with the State of Han's State-Protecting Divine Artifact?

Nie Zhenting panicked. Chi Qingli hurried after Chuan Ying. "Mr. Chuan Ying, this isn't appropriate. Please listen to me. It truly isn't. Why don't we first report the matter to Misty Pavilion? If Misty Pavilion agrees, we won't say another word. You can take it away and examine it for as long as you please."

Still carrying the cauldron, Chuan Ying replied as he walked, "If Misty Pavilion investigates, tell them I borrowed it on behalf of the Ice and Snow Pavilion. Put the responsibility directly on me."

The group followed after him in a fluster. They truly wished they could pin him down or simply snatch the thing back, but all they could do was fret. Who among them could actually use force against this man?

Driven to the end of her options and seeing Chuan Ying about to leave the underground palace altogether, Chi Qingli suddenly shouted, "Mr. Chuan Ying! If you insist on borrowing it, we don't dare stop you, but at the very least you must leave a written acknowledgment proving that you borrowed it on behalf of the Ice and Snow Pavilion. Otherwise, how are we supposed to prove afterward that it was you who took it? And if anything happens to the artifact, what are we to do? If you refuse to leave a written loan note, then we truly cannot comply. We can only stop you here and wait for Misty Pavilion's instructions."

With the matter pushed this far, Chuan Ying stopped.

He stared at Chi Qingli for a moment, then finally nodded.

"Fine."

[End of Chapter 1337]