Chapter 51: From the Flower Reflects a Picture – Part 8
XiangXiang waved her handkerchief and rolled her eyes, “Come on, scatter, scatter!”
Zhu Rong pulled Zhao XiaoLan up causing the flower petals in his bosom to fall down.
Zhao XiaoLan swayed for a bit, his clothes were stripped till only undergarments remained with the two other layers hanging down by his wrists. His hair was also scattered, with the slanted butterfly hairpin still in his hair. Whenever he laughed the wings on the butterfly would also tremble for a bit.
“Where’s your outer robe.”
Zhao XiaoLan hiccupped, his left hand balled into a fist and suddenly used it to hit the palm of his right hand, he abruptly realized, “I’m hungry!”
Seeing the state he was in, Zhu Rong didn’t need to link together the clues of where this person’s outer robe went.
Zhao XiaoLan stooped down to pick up the flowers on the ground but was unexpectedly grabbed on the collar by Zhu Rong. He dragged him away, Zhao XiaoLan staggering as he ran.
After running for a short while, he cried out breathlessly, “I can’t anymore!”
Zhu Rong slowly said, “What can’t you do?”
Zhao XiaoLan closed his eyes and shouted, “I, I can’t breathe!”
Hearing this, he immediately released him.
Zhao XiaoLan sobbed and sat on the ground, “I want to see Maiden Li Li…”
Zhu Rong said, “You still haven’t found her?”
Zhao XiaoLan was heartbroken, “YanZhi-jiejie said that she didn’t like me! This, this young master is very upset!”
Zhu Rong said, “How long are you going to cry.”
Zhao XiaoLan stubbornly said, “I didn’t cry! Number one in the world doesn’t shed tears!”
Zhu Rong continued, “But you’re not number one in the world.”
After Zhao XiaoLan was choked by him, he thought: Right, I’m not number one in the world yet.
After thinking it over, he cried out, “I’m heartbroken!”
Zhu Rong said, “Sometimes you’re able to make ten different women heartbroken in a single day.”
Zhao XiaoLan rubbed away a tear, “I’m actually heartbroken today! In the future, Li Li is going to be the only person I feel heartbroken over!”
Zhu Rong found a stone to sit down on while slowly waiting for him to finish being heartbroken.
Zhao XiaoLan began to cry even more passionately, moreover, due to being drunk, he was somewhat delirious. His crying was on and off, in between he yelled, “Li Li—–Li Li——”
Following closely, almost in a bubbly murmur, he called out while crying, “WanWan—-XiangXiang—-QingQing—-XiaoMier—-YanZhi—-”
Zhu Rong finally smiled, “Zhao SuHe, are you calling for ghosts?”
Zhao XiaoLan cried so selflessly that after shouting out a whole row of names, even he got a little bit confused.
Zhu Rong said again, “Exactly which woman were you heartbroken over?”
Zhao XiaoLan sniffed and hiccupped, blankly saying, “I forgot….”
“Pfft.”
Zhao XiaoLan was sullen as he furiously wiped his tears away, he was grief-stricken and felt that his livers and intestines were cut into tiny pieces, “I forgot….how could I forget!!”
Zhu Rong saw him drunk and acting crazy, patiently, he played with the little bell on his fan while waiting for Zhao XiaoLan to finish crying and wear himself out.
Sure enough, this idiot couldn’t cry for very long, after he finished crying he dumbly sat on the ground.
Zhu Rong put away his fan and stood up, adopting the attitude of helping him up.
Unexpectedly, Zhao XiaoLan got up from the ground and stood up straight, “You don’t need to help me! From now on, Zhao SuHe is going to be a resounding, and upright manly man!”
“Manly man” Zhao XiaoLan couldn’t hold up the sky for too long, his body going askew and smashing into Zhu Rong’s.
Zhu Rong hardly cared, lifting him by the collar and dragging him to the alleyway.
On the way, spring rain began pouring down. Zhao XiaoLan said with a faint breath, “Zhu-xiong…my neck….my neck is breaking…”
Zhu Rong retorted, “Then walk by yourself.”
Hearing this, Zhao XiaoLan sobbed, “I’m not walking, my legs are also broken. I’m so sad today, why are you so indifferent! Are you still Zhao SuHe’s friend!”
Zhu Rong said, “What do you mean?”
Zhao XiaoLan sincerely said, “Please, Zhu-xiong, can you carry me.”
Zhu Rong smiled, “I can’t.”
Zhao XiaoLan vigorously nodded his head, he sprained his foot and stumbled, “Then that’s fine, then let’s change it to me leaning on your back….”
He used both his arms and legs to crawl on Zhu Rong. Halfway up, he asked, “Zhu-xiong, were you injured?”
Zhu Rong was silent.
Zhao XiaoLan had one foot on the ground while his other foot was audaciously trying to climb up. He had a vacant expression on his face as he opened his mouth to mutter, “It seems like you’re bleeding…..I, I think I can smell the scent of blood…”
In the dark, Zhu Rong’s complexion was extremely somber.
The wine had already made its way up to Zhao XiaoLan’s head so he didn’t find any of this inappropriate. He said to himself that he had to pull off Zhu Rong’s clothes to see where he got injured.
Zhu Rong smiled, but the smile didn’t reach his eyes. It was detached and eerie, creating a chilliness in the air.
The hand that Zhao XiaoLan was using to pull off the other’s clothes had paused, mainly because one of Zhu Rong’s hands was clutched around Zhao XiaoLan’s neck. Zhao XiaoLan was very intoxicated, asking, “Zhu-xiong….does it hurt….”
Zhu Rong softly smiled, his thumb caressed his neck till it landed on an acupuncture point. With just a gentle press, he could be killed on the spot.
Zhao XiaoLan just felt that as the hand around his neck was becoming tighter and tighter, it was becoming harder and harder to breathe. After gasping for a long time, he shouted, “Zhu-xiong….Zhu-xiong!”
Zhu Rong worried, “What’s wrong?”
Zhao XiaoLan couldn’t make a sound.
He struggled to pull off the hand around his neck, but that hand wouldn’t move even a single joint, as imposing and motionless as Mount Tai. As his breath gradually became smaller and he was on the verge of his last breath, Zhu Rong looked at him pensively before he slightly relaxed. Zhao XiaoLan’s entire body grew so weak that he was almost about to fall on the ground.
Zhu Rong trapped his shoulders so he wouldn’t go as far as to fall on the ground. He finally got a breath of air, it was like his throat was cut with a knife, coughing up two to three mouthfuls of blood.
At darkness, the bells on his waist gently collided together, creating a jingling sound, lyrical and odd.
“Next time, don’t be so curious.”
Ming ChangYan spent the entire time chasing after that monk from XiaoHan Temple, yet because of a mistake in his vision, when he turned the corner, the monk was already gone.
He secretly cursed before saying, “The illumination from the bald head of those monks are brighter than that of a night pearl, how could I lose sight of it!”
After turning through several alleys, Ming ChangYan still couldn’t find the person.
Before, even if he couldn’t find the person, he was still able to recognize the roads. But now, he had impatiently run in disarray. The Hundred Flower Abyss was filled with alleyways like this, he had brainlessly wandered around like a housefly for half a column of incense, making him depressed and frustrated!
Ming ChangYan had no choice but to admit that he was stranded in the middle now and couldn’t find a way out. The sky was dark, without a single lantern lighting his way and misery always loved company because it also began raining. Although it wasn’t too big, after a continuous sprinkling, it got him dripping wet.
The spring rain mixed together with the cold air all dug into the depths of Ming ChangYan’s bones. He only recovered 50% of his cultivation, so he still couldn’t use his spiritual powers to dry himself yet. If he wasn’t careful and acted with haste, all his previous efforts would go down the drain. Therefore, he gritted his teeth next to the rain, grudgingly he thought: They constructed these alleys to be way too flat, except for the two rows of stone brick walls, there’s not a single ledge to be seen!
“This is infuriating!”
Ming ChangYan was so angry that he stomped his foot and twisted his clothing which generated a handful of water.
He continued to move forwards, hoping that the road will straighten itself out and lead him towards an exit. The longer he walked, the darker the pavement got. The rain didn’t make a sound when it landed on the limestone planks, instead creating a mist that was commonly seen in Jiangnan. He thought that even though the pavement chose to be misty at this moment, it didn’t matter because his eyesight was already bad in the evenings.
Ming shaoxia let out a sigh. While pondering he thought, even though he was out running the night path, he wouldn’t be able to meet some kind of Miss Fox Fairy who could come and present to him an umbrella. Momentarily, all the fortuitous encounters that he had read about in books rushed into his head one after another. As Ming shaoxia was lost in his fantasy, within the mist there seemed to have really appeared a graceful figure up ahead.
He thought to himself: Could it be possible that there really is a Fox Fairy-jiejie that came to give me an umbrella? It’s a pity that I’m not a scholar, my current circumstance is a bit special, otherwise, I would definitely be amidst the flower and under the moonlight with her.
Ming shaoxia thought again: If she could bring me a hot pot of tea too then that would be even better. I would definitely bring offerings to her memorial tablet and pay respects to her every day by burning her three sticks of incense.
Thinking up to here, he had another thought: What if Fox Fairy-jiejie sees that this shaoxia is handsome and insists on giving her heart to me? That would be absolutely unacceptable, if she was to marry me, then Huai Yu….
Ming ChangYan’s footsteps stopped, slightly surprised he thought with anything but assurance: What does this have anything to do with him?
He shook his head, only thinking: It seems that I really depended on him too much during my time at the palace, it’s reduced this shaoxia to a position of always watching his complexion for everything. Nope, nope, I have to recover the dignity of being the elder the next time that we meet.
Moving forwards, that ‘Fox Fariy-jiejie’s’ silhouette grew increasingly clearer. Ming ChangYan was a little surprised, after taking a few more steps he smelled a muddled fragrance.
His footsteps stopped all of a sudden and he smiled, “It’s been a long night, I didn’t know that the Young Prime Minister had such a refined interest in coming out of the palace to take a walk at night.”
Holding the umbrella, Huai Yu coldly stared at him.
Ming ChangYan coughed, taking large strides forward, he burrowed under the umbrella, “Squeeze in a little. How did you know that I was here?”
Huai Yu began, “You said you were going to come find me in the evening. I don’t remember ever living in a brothel.”
Ming ChangYan was momentarily startled, his guilty conscience causing him to jump a few times before he promptly offered up Zhao XiaoLan, “You can’t blame me for this, it’s because Zhao XiaoLan said he wanted to find Li Li that I came, he forced me!”
Huai Yu snorted, “He can force you?”
Ming ChangYan shivered in the cold, he asked, “You still haven’t explained how you found me. Huai Yu, tell me the truth, did you put something on me? Otherwise, how are you able to accurately find me every time?”
“Even if you did it several times before, but this time the alleys in the Hundred Flower Abyss are so intricate, how did you do it?”
Huai Yu ignored him and walked forward.
Ming ChangYan didn’t let him get away, chasing after him while asking, “Come on Huai Yu, tell me!”
Suddenly, from the alley beside them came a strange ‘he he’ sound.
The smile on Ming ChangYan’s face gradually faded away, holding his breath he walked in that direction. Huai Yu grabbed his arm, “Stand behind me.”
Ming ChangYan said, “Don’t worry, I won’t be too far away from you.”
Huai Yu insisted, “Your eyes don’t function well at night.”
Ming ChangYan soundlessly laughed, “Thank you for still remembering this.”
Huai Yu stood in front of him as the two turned a corner and entered their neighboring alley.
A sudden chill made its way up Ming ChangYan’s chest. He quickly pulled Huai Yu back and whispered, “Don’t rush, I think there’s something weird here, let’s stay in the dark and survey first.”
Huai Yu stopped, nodded his head, and leaned over till only half his body could be seen as he watched.
He along with Ming ChangYan looked over, the scene in front of them caused a coldness to spread all over his body.
In the middle of the alley, a person was frantically hitting his head against a wall. This person was precisely the monk from XiaoHan Temple that Ming ChangYan had lost track of. Ming ChangYan slightly narrowed his eyes but was still unable to see clearly. He could only ask Huai Yu, “What’s wrong with this person?”
Huai Yu replied, “Needles.”
Ming ChangYan was startled, “What?”
Huai Yu, “There are needles sticking out of his neck.”
Ming ChangYan said, “Is it the Thousand Needles Piercing the Throat again?”
Huai Yu, “Yes.”
All of a sudden, he blocked Ming ChangYan’s line of sight.
Ming ChangYan asked, “What are you doing?”
The next second, a thick and nauseating scent of blood drifted over.
Ming ChangYan was a little bit alarmed, swiftly making a decision, he quickly stretched his head to take a look at the situation. He coincidentally rested his chin on Huai Yu’s shoulder, the muddled fragrance from his body smelled much better than the stench of blood.
Huai Yu faintly froze and didn’t move for a long time.
After a while, he suddenly put his arm around Ming ChangYan’s waist, his actions scaring Ming shaoxia so much he jumped. Huai Yu held onto the umbrella and jumped on top of the wall. The lightness of his movements was excellent, even while holding Ming ChangYan it didn’t seem to affect him at all.
As they floated down onto the wall, Ming ChangYan relied on the darkness to shield him so that other people couldn’t see him. He wasn’t able to suppress the blush that had covered half his face and adopted the posture of wanting to push Huai Yu away. As a result, he became off balance. When he pushed him, the wall was thin and tall, it caused Ming shaoxia to enter a state of panic where he completely forgot how to use his cultivation. After rocking back and forth, in the end, he still shamelessly fell back into Huai Yu’s arms.
Huai Yu inexplicably asked, “What are you moving around for?”
Ming ChangYan opened his mouth, “I didn’t!” He assured him twice, “I didn’t randomly move, there was no such thing!”
Both his face and body were burning hot, Ming shaoxia felt that the rain in his clothes was almost about to evaporate from this steaming heat.
He was so close to Huai Yu that Ming ChangYan feared his abnormality would be discovered, thus he coughed and changed the subject, “Could you carefully explain to me how it’s pierced through?”
Huai Yu tilted his head and calmly described, “He scratched his neck till the bones were visible, the thinly scattered skin and flesh are falling on the ground.”
The fine hairs on Ming ChangYan’s back completely stood up, “That terrible? No wonder the scent of blood was so concentrated. But it’s strange, when were the needles put in? He still could clearly run and jump when I had chased after him earlier, it’s unlikely that someone conspired against him in that short period of time apart.”
“What’s more, it’s inevitably a difficult task to place those needles in someone’s throat. Didn’t this idiot know how to struggle? Or did XiaoHan Temple’s cultivation fall back so much and made people’s blood boil for so long that they’re being trampled upon by others?”
Huai Yu commented, “Maybe when they put it in, he couldn’t feel the pain.”
Ming ChangYan suddenly froze. He quickly turned his head and asked, “What…”
As a result, he turned his head around too abruptly and his lips brushed past Huai Yu’s face, arousing a bizarre feeling of trembling.
Ming ChangYan’s pupils slightly shrank as his entire body felt like it had been struck by lightning, causing him to nearly fall off the wall.
Huai Yu’s eyes were sharp and his hand agile, instantly catching him, he warned, “Stop moving all the time!”
Ming shaoxia usually loved to save face, but at this moment when he was reprimanded by someone younger than him, he unexpectedly didn’t think that it was improper. Of course, this could also be due to his currently preoccupied mind. Ming shaoxia thought: What, what am I so nervous for!
He instantly turned grim, “What happened?”
Huai Yu pointed below them, “The person’s already dead.”
Ming ChangYan swiftly nodded his head, “Oh, oh! Yes yes yes, dead, already dead, that kind of wound, even an immortal wouldn’t be able to mend it, that’s right, yep!”
Huai Yu glanced at him.
Ming ChangYan was afraid that he might recall the “carelessness” just now, so he hurriedly said, “Well, so it seems that I must take a visit to Huating now. Mn? What are you staring at me for? Alright, I know, even though I’m blind it doesn’t mean that I’m deaf, I heard you, I’m not allowed to move and I can’t move! I won’t move, all right?”
The longer Ming shaoxia talked the more it turned into rambling. Afterwards, he finally didn’t have anything else to say so he shut his mouth.
He thought: After all that, he’s probably forgotten by now.
Huai Yu waited for him to finish, then very leisurely said, “You kissed me?”
This time Ming shaoxia fell off the wall for real.
Landing on the ground, he shouted in panic, “I, I didn’t mean to!”
Huai Yu hummed then looked down at him, “So what did you mean?”
Ming shaoxia felt like he had been wronged for a crime. He felt like crying but had no tears, the anger made him muddle-headed, he thought that he might as well just face the charges as he said, “I kissed you so what! Did this shaoxia break the law!”
The author has something to say: Love affects legal cases.
Let’s randomly talk about age. Liu Kuang and Hua YunChang are about the same age, they’re both about a year or two older than ChangYan. Zhu Rong is a year or two younger than ChangYan, Huai Yu is the same age as Duan Min, they’re both older than XiaoLan by three years, XiaoLan is at least four years older than A-Jun. YuNan is the same age as Huai Yu, YuLou, YuLing, and Ming Yue are together with XiaoLan. Although XiaoLan is dim-witted, he’s already a grown adult~
This was translated by https://poppyscanlations.video.blog/, any repost of this is stolen and if you steal my work I’m smashing your head against the wall.
⁽˙³˙⁾ kissy kissy (but not really because it wasn’t really a kiss, real kiss happens–) *shush*
Fast chapter, next chapter will be out soon too because yeah. I’ll get it done fast for you guys, oh don’t you worry.
If you see any grammatical/translation errors please notify me! Don’t know what else to say so imma just sign out.
Have a wonderful day (inside)!
Poppy Scanlations 
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