Chapter 31: The God of the Yellow River takes a Wife – Part 1

Translated by: Ritpoppy

 

 

“So bitter! How long do I have to drink this medicine?”

Ming ChangYan lowered the bowl and exaggeratedly motioned throwing up. He had already been recuperating from his injury for about half a month.

Huai Yu took the bowl and turned around to set it on top of the table, ignoring the goblin beside him.

Ming ChangYan clutched his throat and sighed, “It’s really bitter, I want to throw it up.”

Huai Yu coldly said, “If you spit it out, it’s going to only 10 percent.”

Ming ChangYan closed his mouth and obediently sat down.

Previously, Huai Yu agreed to help him recuperate his health which he kept his word on. When they returned to Egret Academy that same day, he proceeded to bring all the previously prepared medical pills and herbs to the Academy and boiled medicine three times a day to pour into Ming ChangYan. Even though the medicine cleared his nostrils, Ming ChangYan seemed to have lost his sense of smell every time he finished drinking it. But it really did wonders. Recently his body hasn’t been as weak as it was before, plus his heart and lungs stopped aching. Therefore, he didn’t dare provoke Huai Yu too much. It’s only at times when he’s bored that he’d call him over to toy with him a little.

However, if he was simply eating medicine, then he wouldn’t complain so much about the suffering. It’s just that those medical baths are actually torture to mankind. Like a white radish, he would steep his body in there for an hour. After he soaked in there for a while, Ming ChangYan was sure that he had already acquired a flavor on him. As soon as he came out of the tub, his entire body would be bitter. Plus the entire room would smell like medicine.

Ming ChangYan laid on the bed for a while as half of his bones eased up. Suddenly, several books smashed onto the bed. Their covers were flashy and complicated, clearly vernacular folk stories bought from a vendor’s stall. He abruptly sat up and glanced at Huai Yu with eyes full of expectation. The latter indifferently leaned his head to the side. Every novel was from different genres with each title having their own merits, for example:《In Ruthlessness Hides Infatuation》, 《The Scholar in White Trouser’s Alluring Wife》,《Sentimental Bias Meets Heartless Anger》, etc.

“Is this enough, what’s so good about these books?”

“Don’t look down upon these books, they’re very interesting! For example, look at this one,” Ming ChangYan picked up《The Cold Nobleman and Merciless Concubine》and handed it to Huai Yu, “I like this one the best. It’s seriously so touching, I almost cried when I first read it! If you don’t believe me give it a try!”

Then, Ming ChangYan went and grabbed another book. He only got two pages in when his eyes glistened and held his belly as he erupted into laughter.

“Huai Yu! Huai Yu!”

Huai Yu glanced at him inexplicably.

Ming ChangYan held up the book and with a deadpan voice asked, “Little Huai Yu, do you know the contents of this book?”

Huai Yu replied, “I have no interest.”

Ming ChangYan earnestly read out loud, “….Who would’ve imagined that after Immortal Yun Qing drank the wine, he still refused to leave. Sitting in front of this concubine, misty-eyed as he gazed intently at this concubine’s body….”

Huai Yu’s complexion changed at once, forcibly snatching the book away.

Ming ChangYan burst out into loud laughter.

The popular customs of the Central Plains were very receptive. Fabricated stories about government officials were no longer part of the minority. Huai Yu had a high position while also being the most popular ideal partner within the community of young girls in Kyoto. All the female writers here use him as their basis to make some money off of rich girls with money to spend, taking advantage of the powerful Huai Yu. In a single year, the number of scandalous novels written with the Young Prime Minister as the main character could count up to 800 copies.

When purchasing the books Huai Yu absent-mindedly grabbed a few, not aware that among them there was one pertaining to himself. Now that it had been discovered by Ming ChangYan, he was extremely embarrassed.

After Ming ChangYan had his laughs, he firmly said, “Alright, I’ll stop laughing. Don’t get angry, I’m not trying to make fun of you, I just think that it’s amusing!”

He had a passion for reading these kinds of vulgar novels. He especially had a soft spot for those hopelessly muddled love stories preposterous beyond belief.

Ming ChangYan gathered up all the books and stopped teasing him. What he was most afraid of was Huai Yu getting angry, it’s impossible to coax him with that little missy temper of his.

Sure enough, after Huai Yu put away all the books he let out a humph and left abruptly.

Ming ChangYan thought: This child!

Not even a moment passed by when he heard the creak of the door open. Ming ChangYan laid in bed flipping through the pages of his new book when he said, “I thought you were crying from anger and ran out, why did you come back?”

No one responded.

He let out a “huh?” and leaned his head to take a look. In the doorway a little snow-white deer peeked at him before promptly bouncing away.

Ming ChangYan took one glance at the little snow-white deer and identified it as that bad-tempered little brute of Huai Yu’s. His enthusiasm immediately rose again as he jumped up and ran outside, catching it after two or three tries.

He hugged the snow-white deer’s neck, conjuring up two flat bean cakes.

“You secretly came here to ask me for food, right? Haha, your Ge won’t feed you, so I’ll leave some for you. How is it, aren’t I good to you? Still going to kick me in the future?”

The little deer compliantly bumped him with his head and began to eat the flat bean cakes in his hand.

During this period while Ming ChangYan was staying in Egret Academy, he carried out a total of two big events.

The first one: He urged a group of students to dig a hole in the rear end of the mountain and captured Huai Yu’s white deer.

The second: He made amends with this little brute and did a good job of developing a relationship.

Ming ChangYan sighed, he patted the deer’s head, “If only I was like you; only engrossed in eating every day, after eating then sleeping, and not have to think about anything after waking up.”

He played with the little deer’s tail while he was lost in his thoughts, his movements weren’t severe but he didn’t pay attention and squeezed the deer’s tail. The little deer’s old temper came back at once as it began shaking its body with detest trying to get that hand to let go.

Ming ChangYan came back to reality and patted the little deer’s butt, “You stupid deer, you dare to be disgusted by me!” He mumbled, “I’m number one in the world.”

After thinking about it, he thought it was a bit improper and added another verse, “Even though it was in the past.”

Ming ChangYan continued to touch the deer’s butt, “There aren’t many days left where you can be disgusted by me, the moment my condition improves, it’s going to be even harder for you to see me. Tch, it’s a pity that this shaoxia is so charming and unparalleled under heaven, yet nowadays gloomily converses with a deer about my sadness and loneliness.”

Sighing he said, “I still have YuLou, YuLing, and YuMi. Those children must be waiting for me, and are surely missing me to death. I don’t even know how their situation is going. Now that I think about it, contrarily Deer-xiong you’re quite miserable. All you have for company is that ill-tempered little missy of a master. You and me, a deer and a human, yet we both are reduced to the same situation.”

He happily groped the deer’s butt a few more times, seemingly very attached to this plot of fur. Just when he was about to squeeze it again, the little white deer’s ears twitched, letting out three more howls, it spread its hooves and ran East.

Ming ChangYan stood up, turning his head he smiled, “I thought you steamed off in anger because of me.”

The one standing behind him was Huai Yu, he coldly snorted, “You’re right, I’m an ill-tempered little missy.”

Ming ChangYan laughed out loud, he slapped his hands together and humbly said, “Huai Yu, no, dear brother, I was wrong, I didn’t do it on purpose.”

The Noble Gentleman timely admitted his mistake but didn’t repent no matter what. Just as he thought to diverge the subject, Huai Yu said, “I will be gone for a while, starting tomorrow you must remember to take your medicine on time.”

Ming ChangYan asked, “Where are you going?”

“GuangLing,” Huai Yu paused for a moment then added, “Don’t even think about coming.”

Ming ChangYan retorted, “I haven’t said anything yet!”

Huai Yu said, “Your body’s not completely healed yet. The carriage will be constantly on the move when we arrive at GuangLing you don’t even need to get out of the carriage, we might as well just buy you a coffin and bury you.”

Ming ChangYan said, “I think that my body is already good enough. Huai Yu, you’re so amazing!”

Huai Yu ignored the flattery, pushing his waist back into the house, “Go back inside, no means no.”

Ming ChangYan said, “Ok, ok, ok, don’t push me, I’ll walk by myself.”

Just as the two entered the house, from outside came Liu Kuang’s voice.

Ming ChangYan sat by the window and said, “I sit here all day long, even if I’m unable to do anything, I’ve heard a lot of information.”

The little room he was recuperating in just so happened to face the back door of Liu Kuang’s parlor. Ming ChangYan had superb hearing, plus Liu Kuang completely disregarded him. So just by secretly sitting near the window every morning, he’d be able to hear the context of the conversation.

However in the past few days, Ming ChangYan hasn’t heard anything important. But he’s heard plenty of fascinating affairs, for instance: A hole was found in an imperial concubine’s skirt and she wore it for half a day without noticing; whoever’s plack was flipped over by the emperor yesterday, whoever’s unpleasant to the eye, whoever secretly planted poison. So-and-so prince is really stupid and couldn’t even recite his text causing Teacher Liu to make him haul water as punishment.

Hearing about these trivial affairs made him drowsy.

He turned his head to receive his visitor, “There’s no need for you to see me out Teacher Liu.”

Liu Kuang said, “Then I won’t bother.”

Ming ChangYan gazed his way and saw a middle-aged man wearing the uniform of a government official hurriedly walked towards the academy with documents wedged between both his arms.

Huai Yu said, “It’s the Ministry of Rite’s succession ceremony.”

Ming ChangYan commented, “Is it that XiaoCheng-daren*? I have an impression of him, Fu Ling mentioned him once, he’s in charge of the tributes received from other countries. I originally suspected that he was the one who had the Immortal Grass. But what is the Ministry of Rite doing at Egret Academy?”

(TN: Title of respect towards seniors)

Huai Yu explained, “Cheng MingLi is here to pick up the Jianghu Daily.”

Ming ChangYan, “Jianghu Daily?”

Huai Yu, “News for the emperor has to be collected a day in advance.”

Ming ChangYan pushed open the window and yelled, “Liu SanQing! Do you have any prints left, give me one!”

Liu Kuang asked, “What do you want the newspaper for?”

Ming ChangYan, “Don’t be so stingy, it’s not like I can use a newspaper to tear down your academy.”

As he finished his sentence, from the opposite building a roll of newspaper flew in. Ming ChangYan reached out and grabbed it, unfolding it to take a look. Immediately he found the section regarding the epidemic in GuangLing in the corner. Ming ChangYan rapidly read through it, his brows tightly knit together.

Huai Yu slanted his head to take a look, noticing that today’s Jianghu Daily was written once again by QinYue-Jun. This person who came from gossiping in a tea shop mixed themselves into political affairs. Moreover, QinYue-Jun’s writing style was very distinct, often including strong personal subjectives, not at all suitable for composing works regarding the nation. Writing about the epidemic should be impartial and fair, under his hands, it became a tear-jerking tragedy.

Ming ChangYan said, “QinYue-Jun this person, their writing style is like someone playing the huqin in their trousers, a bunch of insipid nonsense.”

Huai Yu inquired, “What did he write?”

Ming ChangYan, “A whole lot of nothing. This lengthy article full of nonsense can be summed up in three words: Ah, how tragic! Tell me, what do you think he wrote?”

He poured himself some tea, saying, “Seeing is believing, rather than sitting here and gossip, wouldn’t it be better if I went to GuangLing to take a look myself? Huai Yu, thank you for taking care of me these past few days but I must go. I know the emperor asked you to help those in GuangLing with their epidemic so I won’t need you to look after me. Just remember to give me a horse carriage and some food rations.”

Huai Yu, “You can’t go now.”

Ming ChangYan, “I have always done things that no one else would do. I can’t win against you if you decide to stop me, however, it’s not like you’re able to keep an eye on me all day long. If you care about the spec of friendship between us, then you’re going to have to let me go to GuangLing.”

Huai Yu pursed his lips. Ming ChangYan was iron-hearted and determined, unwilling to let this go until he achieved his goal. The two in the room were deadlocked for a while before Huai Yu exclaimed, “You’re not allowed to go.”

Ming ChangYan smiled softly, “That depends on whether or not you can stop me.”

Huai Yu’s complexion wasn’t good, leaving he closed the door behind him and locked it. Ming ChangYan didn’t object, however, Liu Kuang knocked on the door. Standing outside the entrance he commented, “I just saw Yun Qing storm out of here furious. What did you do to him?”

Ming ChangYan answered, “He had one of his little kid tantrums. He locked me in here and won’t let me leave.”

Liu Kuang laughed, “I’ve never heard of the Young Prime Minister throwing little kid tantrums to anyone, perhaps it’s simply because you keep repeating the same old mistakes.”

Ming ChangYan proclaimed, “How am I supposed to know? Why don’t you go ask him why he’s always so stubborn and arrogant when it comes to me? Don’t tell me that you’re going to blame me for spoiling him too much?”

Liu Kuang, “Lord Ming certainly has a good memory. Words that I’ve spoken many years ago, you seem to still grudgingly remember.”

Liu Kuang’s words refer to the very first time the two met. During those days, Ming ShaoXia had become famous from a fight. He had just taken over the duties in TianQing sect and YuBao had only been 2 to 3 years old. He still hadn’t learned how to walk yet so he depended on Ming ChangYan. Ming ShaoXia was battling a thief at that time, on his left was a baby and on his right, he was fighting. After he settled the dispute in just a few moves he was still in the process of coaxing the little child. Because this was such an unusual sight, Liu Kuang laughed at him for overly indulging the child and that the child was bound to become someone arrogant and unreasonable in the future, bound to give him a headache.

Ming ChangYan paused for a moment before uttering, “Did he seem especially angry?”

Liu Kuang, “He obliterated the flock of chicks you were raising outside your door.”

Those chicks were something that Ming ChangYan acquired from a peasant woman at the foot of the mountain and raised in his courtyard since he had nothing else to do. The chicks had hatched quite a while ago under his utmost care.

Hearing this, Ming ChangYan cried out in grief, “MY CHILDREN!”

He busted through the door.

Just as expected, the chicken coop was broken and in disorder. Clearly caused by a certain someone. A flock of young chicks was crowded in a corner, shivering and letting out mournful chirps.

Ming ChangYan felt very guilty so he scattered a little bit more feed, looking at the chicks with nothing to say.

After quite a while, he collapsed onto the lawn, feeling bleak.

 

 

 

 

This was translated by https://poppyscanlations.video.blog/, any repost of this is stolen, and if you steal my work I will obliterate your chickens from the face of this Earth.

 

 

 

 

A pretty laid-back and funny chapter. I hope you enjoyed!

As some of you guys may notice, the format for the chapter title changed. We’re starting a new adventure! WOOP WOOP!!

If you see any grammatical/translation errors, please notify me! Via email or comment.

Stay warm! The weather’s starting to get chilly

 

 

 

 

Chapter 30 : Table of Contents : Chapter 32

Chapter 30: The Doubting Gentleman – Part 1

Translated by: Kestrel

Edited by: Ritpoppy

 

 

Huai Yu slammed the medicine he was carrying heavily onto the table, “Stop acting!”

Ming ChangYan refused to open his eyes, acting as if he hadn’t heard.

Huai Yu was good at equestrian archery, and had incredibly sharp eyes; he’d only needed a single glance from a distance to see him standing out in the courtyard. Because Ming ChangYan had only just settled down a few days ago, he’d promised Huai Yu that he absolutely wouldn’t go out and cause mischief. Now, having been caught red-handed, he felt incredibly guilty – which was exactly why he was playing dead.

“Get up and drink your medicine.”

Ming ChangYan didn’t move.

Huai Yu humphed, picking up the medicine and sitting at the side of the bed. If the enemy wouldn’t move, he would. Although Ming ChangYan had his eyes closed, he could feel a prickling sensation at his back, the niggling feeling that something was off. Suddenly, he smelled the overwhelming stench of medicine.

Ming ChangYan immediately opened his eyes.

Huai Yu smiled, “I thought you were asleep.”

Ming ChangYan startled up in fright, hurriedly retreating backwards, only to have Huai Yu promptly put down the bowl, lift both hands, and close them over both his wrists, pressing him against the bedhead.

Ming ChangYan saw he was in a bad spot, his long legs both kicking out – but Huai Yu was faster, flipping onto the bed and restraining him with his knees. Just as they were busy countering each other’s moves, the door was suddenly pushed open.

The two on the bed both turned to see Liu Kuang with one foot in the door, staring right at them.

After a moment, Liu Kuang pulled back his foot and turned around to leave.

Ming ChangYan turned his head, breaking free from Huai Yu’s grip; his cheeks had been pinched sore, but Ming ShaoXia was unyielding, calling out as soon as he was free, “Liu Kuang! Take him down for me!”

Liu Kuang calmly sat down, and let out a sigh, “My sympathies, but I cannot help you.”

Huai Yu bullied him for a while, began feeling that there was no point to bullying a cripple, and climbed off of him, not in a particularly good mood. Ming ChangYan took note of the look on his face, and had no recourse but to obediently drink his medicine, talking for the sake of it, “Huai Yu, your medicine is so bitter, have you been secretly adding something into it every day?”

Huai Yu, “I haven’t.”

Ming ChangYan said, “You haven’t? No way. I don’t believe it, why don’t you try a sip?”

Huai Yu gave him a skeptical look. The bowl really did have just a sip of medicine left in it.

Ming ChangYan said, “Other people’s medicine is nowhere near as bitter as yours, are you teasing me, childish tricks like this are way too mean.”

Huai Yu took the bowl, and with a quick tilt, downed that sip of medicine. To his surprise, something sweet entered his mouth, and after the medicinal liquid had entered his stomach, the only thing left on his tongue was a piece of honey; he turned his head to look at Ming ChangYan.

Ming ChangYan smiled mischievously, reaching a hand out to flick his forehead. Huai Yu blinked once, his lashes trembling with the motion, his appearance one that would certainly invoke tender feelings from anyone watching.

“It’s sweet right, you’re not mad anymore, are you? I’ve given you my last piece of honey now, hurry and stop being angry with me, you’re giving me a headache.”

Liu Kuang coughed, causing Ming ChangYan to impatiently turn his head and ask with concern, “Did you catch a cold?”

Liu Kuang sucked in a breath, then slowly breathed it out again, “No. Lord Ming, sometimes you really fail to understand people’s intentions.”

Ming ChangYan fell back onto the bed and stuck up his legs, feeling very pleased with himself: I’ve raised so many children, and for so many years, there’s no child in the world I can’t coax out of a temper. Just look at how huffy and spoiled he is, and yet this shaoxia still got him sorted out nice and proper.

He subconsciously felt at his chest: It was empty.

It was then that he remembered, he wasn’t wearing women’s clothes.

Liu Kuang had a cup of tea, “Watching you play with Yun Qing just now, I can see you’re quite lively – I suppose your condition has improved by quite a lot.”

Ming ChangYan, “I’m already totally recovered.”

Liu Kuang nodded, “If you say so, I feel much more relieved. Lord Ming, I need to take you to meet someone.”

Ming ChangYan sat up, “Who?”

Liu Kuang put down his teacup, “It’s someone you definitely recognize. Since you’ve recovered, we shouldn’t delay any longer – we’ll set out right now.”

Huai Yu said, “Are you in that much of a hurry?”

Liu Kuang said, “I’d originally planned to bring this person to see Lord Ming the day we first met. I never expected him to have lost his memories along the way, and to suffer such a shock; because of this we’ve been delayed for quite a few days.”

Ming ChangYan said, “Alright then, I’ll go with you right now.”

Liu Kuang nodded, when Huai Yu suddenly stopped him, “I’m going too.”

He pulled a piece of clothing off the bed, draping it over Ming ChangYan’s shoulders, “Let’s go.”

They headed down the mountain from Egret Academy, then crossed a brook, walking in a northerly direction, until they reached the public road past the main gate. Following this road a little ways, the scenery on either side slowly began to add a good number of peddlers. Some were barefoot, some carried wooden frames – the frames were disorderly, built in such a way that they were leaning unsteadily from side to side, and hanging from them were a variety of spice pouches, fans, bags, and other things.

When they reached the market, they came across a scholar selling newspapers outside a bamboo pavilion. Ming ChangYan grabbed a copy of the National Daily News, then picked a few brushes to shove in his pocket; Huai Yu paid the money, and the two continued on after Liu Kuang.

Ming ChangYan spun a brush between his fingers, talking incessantly, “Little Huai Yu, the first time I met you, you were only this tall.”

He very exaggeratedly gestured to around waist-height. Huai Yu replied, “Do you want to die?”

Ming ChangYan promptly begged for mercy, “Alright fine, you were this tall.”

This time, he gestured at his current height—Ming ChangYan currently only reached his shoulders.

Huai Yu gave him a cold glare, and Ming ChangYan shamefacedly drew back his hand, “You sure are mean.”

The third time, Ming ChangYan was nice and honest, standing on tiptoes as he made another gesture, “This tall, this tall should be okay, right! Unless you want me to start jumping.”

Huai Yu was satisfied by this, and therefore willing to listen to him, “Why are you bringing this up?”

“I’m saying you’ve got money. When you shop you can throw out golden beads like it’s nothing. When’d you learn to start carrying spare silver around?”

Ming ChangYan was walking as he talked when suddenly he paused in his step.

Huai Yu turned his head, only to see he’d already jumped over to a booth by the wayside.

Liu Kuang laughed, “He was incapacitated from serious injury for near two years, and he’s been trapped in the imperial palace ever since he recovered—it’s inevitable he’d be excited going out today.”

Huai Yu gave him a cold glance, “Is that any of your business?”

Liu Kuang stared blankly, rendered mute, then smiled, “I shouldn’t have spoken.”

Ming ChangYan lifted a string of wind bells, shaking it as it dangled from his hand. These wind bells were of unusual make – there was a colored glass globe tied in the center, the greater part of which was filled with water, with a half-inch-long little fish peacefully swimming around inside. Ming ChangYan shook it again, making the little fish move excitedly around, while the little piece of cloth hanging from the bottom of the globe swayed back and forth in the wind.

“Ai, how much are your wind bells?”

After asking the price, and having Huai Yu pay the money, Ming ChangYan smiled happily, “It’s for you.”

Huai Yu said, “Giving me something bought with my own money, you sure are great at doing business.”

Ming ChangYan shamelessly replied, “So I’ll owe you for now, write me an IOU. It really is for you, see this little fish inside, doesn’t it look like you?”

Huai Yu held it up to his eyes, carefully examined it for a moment, then immediately put out his verdict, “Nonsense.”

Ming ChangYan mumbled to himself, “Isn’t it though?”

He reached out and tapped the glass; the fish promptly turned its back to him, fuming.

Ming ChangYan let out a heartfelt sigh, thinking: They’re clearly exactly alike!

A quarter of an hour later, Liu Kuang brought the two to TongWen Inn. A waiter came up to welcome them, Liu Kuang gave his name, and the three were all led to the central building.

Liu Kuang spoke as they walked, “I only know this person is a mutual acquaintance of yours, but she refuses to tell me anything more detailed than that; perhaps if she meets you, she’ll be willing to speak.”

Once they reached the entrance and dismissed the waiter, Liu Kuang knocked on the door, and a woman’s voice arose from inside.

She was clearly not fluent in central plains speech, as she asked, “Who?”

Liu Kuang said, “It’s me.”

After a good while, the door was slowly opened.

Though she was wearing central plains clothing, the woman behind the door had amber-colored eyes, and she was slightly darker-skinned than the women of the central plains.

The moment she saw Ming ChangYan her whole body shook, both legs went soft, and she kneeled there at the entrance; immediately following that, what she blurted out was a string of Tokharan language.

Ming ChangYan froze in shock, “Little Bell!”

Huai Yu said, “What did she shout?”

Liu Kuang replied, “I only know a little bit of the Tokharan language, but what she said should mean little prince.”

Ming ChangYan helped up Little Bell; the woman was on the verge of tears; like someone lost at sea, she grabbed onto Ming ChangYan’s arm the way one might a piece of floating wood, an action full of desperation.

Once she’d cried enough, Little Bell suddenly knelt back down on the ground, knocking her head against the wooden floor; judging by her appearance it seemed she planned to kneel there for a good while.

As the two’s conversation was entirely in Tokharan, which Huai Yu couldn’t understand, he turned a stare to Liu Kuang.

Liu Kuang could feel his back go numb under the brat’s stare, and had no choice but to force himself to attempt the task of an interpreter.

“It looks like this Little Bell is Lord Ming’s sister’s maid.”

Huai Yu asked, “What else?”

“She appears to be apologizing.”

Little Bell, kneeling on the floor, was indeed apologizing.

Ming ChangYan asked: “How did Yi Yue get to the central plains, didn’t I tell her I’d bring her over in another year, did you just allow her temper to get her into trouble!?”

Little Bell cried, “Our ruler was terrifying those days, sentencing people to beheading or lingchi at the slightest provocation, not showing kindness even to the princess – he even wanted to present her to the fourth prince of Southern Liang, Lu HangGeng. The princess was frightened, she really couldn’t wait for you any longer, so she packed her things and ran in the middle of the night, thinking to find you herself. Once we arrived in the central plains, we stopped at an inn to rest—the princess could speak a little of the central plains language, while I couldn’t speak any, and was afraid to go anywhere at all. At the time we’d already reached GuangLing, and would soon arrive at Lin’an; a few days later, a man appeared carrying your silver bracelets, and saying he was your friend.”

Ming ChangYan thought to himself: My friend? What friend do I have who’d know I had a sister!

He stood up, raising his voice, “And you just let Yi Yue walk away with him?”

Little Bell was crying so hard she could barely breathe, stammering out, “I…I was sent away at the time, the princess wanted me to pack our bags and prepare to leave—I didn’t think she’d be gone when I came back! It was my fault, I didn’t watch the princess properly…”

Ming ChangYan softened at that, and helped her up, “I’m not blaming you. Let me ask, do you remember what that man looked like?”

Little Bell violently scrubbed at her face, “I, I only caught a glimpse, so I can’t describe him properly, but…if I saw him, I’m sure I’d recognize him…”

“That’s right! I remember the man was wearing an unusual jade ornament too, the design on it was…”

Ming ChangYan’s expression shifted, frozen with disbelief.

Huai Yu asked, “What did she say?”

Liu Kuang hesitated a moment before replying, “A jade ornament? She said the man who took Lord Ming’s sister had a jade ornament hanging from his waist.”

Huai Yu said, “Was it sheep-fat white jade, with an image of a qilin on clouds?”

Liu Kuang said, “How did you know?”

Huai Yu stepped forward, supporting Ming ChangYan’s shoulder.

Ming ChangYan sucked in a deep breath, before slowly opening his mouth, “That jade ornament, is something Yi Yue had seen before. I once wore it at my waist; it’s because it’s something she’d seen before, plus the silver bracelets, that she trusted this person like she did.”

Huai Yu pondered over this, then asked, “Ming Yue?”

There was a moment’s silence before Ming ChangYan replied, “Yes.”

Huai Yu said, “That night at the window, when you told me about your sister, he heard it too.”

Ming ChangYan said, “But how would he know that Yi Yue came to the central plain? And why would he take her away?”

Huai Yu squeezed his shoulder, “There are some things you need to go ask yourself. Rather than making pointless guesses, it’s better to have him personally confess.” He paused, then amended, “If he was the culprit, what do you plan to do?”

“I don’t know.” He sat down on a stool, his whole body stripped of energy, then added, “I don’t understand.”

Ming ChangYan sat a while before standing up again, “We’re going. Little Bell, you go rest in bed. Liu Kuang, have the shopkeep make her some good soup, her body can’t handle crying this long.”

Little Bell said, “Your Highness, I want to go with you!”

Ming ChangYan comforted her, “I’m not longer any highness, Little Bell, if you go with me, how will that work? I won’t lie to you, these days I’ve pretty much lost all my martial abilities, I can’t even protect myself—if I bring you along, there’s a good chance we’ll all end up dying here on the central plain. Don’t worry, Liu Kuang can take care of you; just wait until I’ve got everything finished, and I’ll take you back to XiYue Mountain to live.”

Little Bell couldn’t be older than twenty, her appearance the kind that tugged at one’s heart-strings, wide-eyed and trembling.

Ming ChangYan had no choice but to bend down and gently muss her hair, “Listen to me, I’m not going to trick you.”

Once Little Bell was settled down, the three left TongWen Inn. Liu Kuang still had other business to attend to, and so took his leave from the other two.

Ming ChangYan sighed and went to find a shady spot to sit. Not long afterwards, it began to rain.

After the start of fall, the weather was continuously rainy and grey, dragging along unceasingly.

The fine rain was like needles, stabbing into his body. Huai Yu opened an umbrella, and Ming ChangYan let out a laugh, “Thanks.”

He asked, “There’s a lot of work to be done in the palace, and you’ve got a high position, too—isn’t there anything important you should be doing? I appreciate your kind intentions, but there’s no need for you to waste time with me.”

This past half-month, Huai Yu had come to Egret Academy pretty much daily to watch him take his medicine. Based on what Zhao XiaoLan and the others had said, the Eldest Prince’s death and the chaos brought about by a plague in GuangLing had left the imperial palace in a complete mess. As a Prime Minister whose purpose was to dispel disaster and pray for blessings, there was no way he could just take a break during all this, and run out of the palace every day. Egret Academy and the imperial palace weren’t particularly close to each other, generally taking about two hours for the average person to walk from one to the other; even if he took a horse and carriage back, it would still be quite a hassle.

Or maybe he was just acting according to his temper—rushing into things without any forethought.

Huai Yu said, “It’s fine, Chang Xu came back.”

Ming ChangYan thought: Chang Xu? The Prime Minister Chang that Fu Ling mentioned? Is that Huai Yu’s master? If he managed to teach a student this spoiled, wouldn’t that make him even more…

Ming ChangYan pinched at the ends of his hair, fiddling with it for a while, “So you’re going to keep wasting time together with me?”

Huai Yu humphed and proceeded to ignore him.

Ming ChangYan said, “If you really think of me as a friend, and want to help me, then find the Immortal Grass.”

After a moment, Huai Yu said, “You want to recover your martial abilities?”

Ming ChangYan: “Of course I do, or else how could I investigate the truth of things? Do you have any ideas?”

Huai Yu smiled slightly, “I know a method that can recover 30 percent of your martial power.”

Ming ChangYan immediately stood up, “Why just 30 percent? Can’t you completely restore it?”

Huai Yu scowled and turned his head away, “If you don’t want it then fine.”

At that, Ming ChangYan hurriedly spun to follow the movement of Huai Yu’s head, “I want it, I do, I really do!”

Huai Yu lowered his eyes, looking at him. Ming ChangYan grinned, politely taking the umbrella: “I’ll hold this for you. Here you are, Lord Prime Minister, you go ahead.”

He wasn’t tall enough for this, and so had to stand on tiptoes, raising the umbrella up in his hands; at the same time, the gaze with which he looked at Huai Yu was an incredibly lively one.

Huai Yu felt pleased with himself, and so relented, “40 percent.”

Getting what he wanted so easily only led Ming ChangYan to continue acting contrary, “50 percent, come on!”

Huai Yu callously said, “20 percent.”

“Alright alright, 30 percent, 30 percent!!!!”

Huai Yu humphed, took back the umbrella and walked away. Ming ChangYan let out an affectatious scream, lamenting incessantly, “I’m a cripple! Ai, you, you little brat! Gege! Huai Yu! Do you have an umbrella-stealing habit or what!”

The rain came down harder than before.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This was translated by https://poppyscanlations.video.blog/, any repost of this is stolen. If you steal our work I’m going to force bitter medicine down your throat.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Whoa what, a new chapter this early. That’s impossible.

I hope you enjoyed it~ ᕦ(✧ᗜ✧)ᕥ

What do you think about all this tension with Ming Yue and that jade ornament? I want to see how close you guys can get with your theories.

If you see any grammatical/translation error, please notify me! My email will always be at the very top of the website.

Remember that you’re gorgeous, love you guys!

 

 

 

 

Chapter 29 : Table of Contents : Chapter 31

 

Chapter 29: The Fake Gentleman* – Part 2

(TN: “伪君子”; which also means a hypocrite)

Translated and Edited by: Ritpoppy

 

Ming ChangYan opened his eyes.

Huai Yu said, “You slept for a long time.”

He blinked but didn’t say anything.

Huai Yu carried over a bowl of medicine, “You went under qi deviation, your core is diminished, and your old wounds still haven’t healed yet. If you continue like this even an immortal wouldn’t be able to save you. If you truly want to avenge your sister, drink the medicine.”

Ming ChangYan sat up and said, “I killed Wan QianQiu.”

Huai Yu repeated, “Drink the medicine.”

Ming ChangYan looked at him then reached out to grab the medicine. But both his hands were lacking in strength and his heart along with his lungs were surging with pain. Huai Yu pressed on his hand, “Don’t move.”

He used the spoon to stir it a few times before scooping up a spoonful and feeding it to Ming ChangYan.

Ming ChangYan finished the bowl in two to three bites, then let out a sigh.

Liu Kuang pushed opened the door, saw the situation and said, “Am I disturbing you two?”

Ming ChangYan, “I’m not in the mood right now to joke around.”

Liu Kuang, “I’m aware that you’ve just now remembered these things and it’s difficult for your heart to bear. But, this matter is already two years old, no matter how much you regret it, how much you don’t want to resign yourself, you should just let it go. The dead are already dead, you should continue to move forward for those that are alive.”

He put down his book, “Plus you’ve already killed Wan QianQiu, what else do you want? To dig up his corpse and whip it?”

Ming ChangYan coldly said, “Even digging up his corpse and dismembering it a thousand times wouldn’t dispel my hatred. I never exterminated his entire sect, never poisoned them. Yi Yue was innocent, was dragged into this by me, and lost her life in the Central Plains. She was my only sister, I grew up together with her. Till the moment I became sensible, I was the one who had always looked after her.”

As he was rapidly saying these, hot rage suddenly erupted in his heart causing him to ferociously pant for air.

Liu Kuang said, “Stop talking. With your current state, being able to finish living this life in your manner of expression is already pretty good. Why are you still thinking about the things that don’t exist anymore.”

Ming ChangYan gazed towards Huai Yu, the latter set down the porcelain cup, “What were you going to say.”

Ming ChangYan said, “When I woke up, there has been a continuous disturbance occurring within the palace; I don’t believe this to be a coincidence. On the day of GuiFeng sect’s death, it was also a case of people turning old. Similar to Imperial Concubine Yuan’s state of death but with a different method, likely from the hands of the same person. The only difference being that one aged faster and the other aged slower.”

Huai Yu said, “You believe that the person who currently wants to harm you is the same person who killed off GuiFeng sect two years ago?”

Liu Kuang said, “You’ve just recovered your memories, aren’t you afraid that there will be forks in your road?”

Ming ChangYan, “It won’t happen. After Yi Yue was kidnapped, I became anxious. Now that I look back on it, there were many minor details that I’m unable to think over. And that female Daoist, after she murdered Wan QianQiu, she disappeared. During that afternoon when I was trying to reverse a desperate situation, I passed through the YanBo river while the six major sects tried to purge me. They came so fast, it was evident that they had been well-prepared for this. I was poisoned, incapable of responding, so I jumped in the river to protect myself.”

Liu Kuang said, “You killed Wan QianQiu in the morning, then besieged in the afternoon? This truly was too fast, even the most well-trained troops would be unable to band together in such large groups within half a day.”

Ming ChangYan nodded his head, “There were already plenty of people in the Central Plains that didn’t like me, even framing someone who’s already in danger was a possibility. The only difference this time is that they planned ahead of time; if there hadn’t been someone who secretly added fuel to their fire…” He contemplated for a while, then said, “Why was Yi Yue in the Central Plains? Why was she able to be taken away by Wan QianQiu? She’s clever and quick-witted, even if she wasn’t familiar with the Central Plains, she wouldn’t just blindly trust a stranger.”

Huai Yu said, “Stop thinking about it, sleep.”

Liu Kuang added, “Yun Qing’s right. You’re already recovering from a serious illness and with your body dragging with so many ailments, it’s not suitable for you to be thinking too much. It’s better to wait until your body is fully healed to begin thinking of a plan.”

Ming ChangYan said, “I can wait but I’m afraid that there’s already someone who can’t wait any longer. There’s such a ruckus going around the palace right now. They already know that I haven’t died yet. This ShaoXia just came back from the gates of hell yet this person didn’t even wait before I’m already forced to go back on the bridge….hey, Huai Yu–”

Huai Yu pressed on his shoulder regardless of how much Ming ChangYan bared his fangs at him and tried to struggle, pushing him into the quilt, “Do you really think that you’re that far away from that bridge? If you say just a bit more nonsense, even without other people sending you off, I can already see you jumping off there myself.”

He sat on the edge of the bed with his eyes boring into Ming ChangYan’s, not allowing him to get up.

Ming ChangYan couldn’t make the other change their mind so he laid back down and said, “I’ve already slept for quite a while, I can’t fall asleep.”

Huai Yu humphed, “If you can’t fall asleep then just shut your eyes and rest.”

Upon seeing this situation, Liu Kuang smiled then got up to leave.

Ming ChangYan impishly said, “My eyelids won’t close either.”

Huai Yu sat closer creased his eyebrows and said, “You can close them now.”

Ming ChangYan laughed out loud till it felt like he was going to tear his lungs, coughing, “Don’t rely on the fact that you’re in better shape than I am right now to bully me. Suppose in the future I regain my cultivation, I’m going to take my revenge.”

Huai Yu was silent.

Ming ChangYan closed his eyes until the other was ready to speak to him again.

“I don’t know how to mimic the call of a nightingale.”

Ming ChangYan smiled, “Although I don’t feel well, it’s not to the point where you have to coax me like a child. It’s because I’m Yi Yue’s older brother that I learned how to mimic a nightingale to make her happy.”

He was halfway done with his statement when Huai Yu let out a soft hum.

Ming ChangYan suddenly withdrew his previous remarks, “I forgot, it’s Huai Yu-gege now,” He grinned, “Alright alright, good gege. Mimicking bird calls is a no, but there are other ways. Do you know any stories? Back in my hometown, if someone couldn’t fall asleep family members would tell them stories.”

Hearing this, Huai Yu thought deeply for a moment before saying, “I don’t have any stories.”

Ming ChangYan laid down for a while and when he thought that his injuries were almost healed, he crossed his legs with his foot sticking out and said, “Ai, fine, since you don’t have a story, I’ll tell you one.”

He started with a very vulgar beginning, “A long time ago there was an extremely tall building. It was extraordinarily tall, it’s highest part was able to reach the Nine Heavens. Within the building lived a very ill-tempered little fairy who only liked to say, ‘Humph, humph! Annoying to death!’ Over time nobody wanted anything to do with him. His hair was very long and his skin awfully fair. He also raised a little brute of an animal with the same temperament as him. Apart from its ability to use its hoof to kick people, it didn’t have any strong points.”

“The little fairy was always bored living in his tower. So, he let down his hair. Whoever was able to see his hair could use it as a ladder and climb up to play with him.”

Pausing, Ming ChangYan reached out and stroked Huai Yu’s hair. He pinched it in his hand, having too much fun fiddling around with it before Huai Yu snatched it back.

“What happened next,” Huai Yu faintly asked.

Ming ChangYan laughed and said, “Then he took back his hair!”

He joked around for a bit longer until the medicine slowly began to take effect causing Ming ChangYan to become drowsy. After a short while, the person who was lying on the bed’s eyebrows unknitted, their breath turned steady.

Liu Kuang pushed open the door, his footsteps suddenly softened and mouthed: Asleep?

Huai Yu nodded his head. Liu Kuang looked over and saw that the tips of his hair were held tightly within Ming ChangYan’s grasps.

Ming ChangYan stayed in Egret Academy recovering for several days. Huai Yu was there every day to supervise his intake of medicine. He had no idea what he was being fed. It reeked so bad it was hard to speak and had a tart aftertaste, making it almost unbearable for Ming ChangYan.

After drinking the medicine as usual Ming ChangYan laid down. Not even a moment passed when the sound of something making noise outside his window woke him up. He straightened himself up and heard the voice of a young maiden. It was rather familiar, precisely that of A-Jun’s.

“Zhao XiaoLan, what are you writing?”

Ming ChangYan looked out from his window. It turns out that there was a small courtyard outside that must’ve been built to provide students a place to rest. Just now the bell was stroked three times, indicating that class must’ve ended and students came here to have fun.

Zhao XiaoLan leaned on a stone table, one hand grinding ink while the other was writing characters. He seemed extremely busy.

“I’m writing a letter!”

A-Jun sat on the other side of the stone table while Duan Duan was being pressed down by her, sitting obediently. It was like she was playing the cat’s cradle game as she weaved Duan Duan’s hair into a low braid.

“Writing a letter to whom? Your Maiden Li Li?”

Hearing this, Zhao XiaoLan’s face blushed red, stammering, “I-I-I-I-I-I’m writing letters to a lot of people! There’s my second sister! And my Zhu-xiong!!”

A-Jun joyfully laughed at him, “How come you have so many letters that you have to write every day? One for this young lady, and another for your sister, so romantic!”

Zhao XiaoLan muttered and said, “I’m, I’m a gentleman!”

A-Jun snorted, “What kind of gentleman are you? Every day, you visit the deepest parts of all kinds of flowers. Don’t think I don’t know what kind of places those are, in those famous brothels, which one of them isn’t your good sister?”

Zhao XiaoLan said, “Don’t look down at prostitutes. I just think they’re really interesting. I want to play with them.”

Lu HangJiu passed by and without concealing his disdain, severely rolled his eyes at them.

He was caught by A-Jun, she yelled, “Hey! Lu HangJiu, what’s wrong!”

Lu HangJiu replied, “The wind was just blowing into my eyes.”

A-Jun smirked, “The winds today sure are strong if it was able to blow your eyes to the back of your head! Duan Duan, stop him!”

When Lu HangJiu heard this, his entire body went rigid. Duan Min was considered to be Princess YuNing’s personal bodyguard. Even though he isn’t properly educated, his strength was exceptionally vigorous and only listened to the words of Princess YuNing. Even though Lu HangJiu frequently mocked Duan Min to be living like a dog, however, in reality, he was just afraid that the princess would instruct Duan Min to teach him a lesson.

Although Duan Min has the princess’s support, the princess didn’t consider him as a man. Coincidentally, he had a very delicate appearance, like the man was carved out of porcelain which A-Jun cherished very much. Thus, whenever this woman had some spare time she would fiddle with him; if it wasn’t braiding hair, then it changing clothes and accessories, merely viewing him as a beloved object.

To have a twenty-old man playing with a young girl this way is really too funny. Lu HangJiu found him displeasing several times which resulted in him receiving several beatings from A-Jun. There were quite a lot of beatings, and this time, the two met up once again.

Lu HangJiu hastily retreated back two steps and almost tore his throat as he yelled, “What are you doing! What are you trying to do! This is Egret Academy! You, you you you you you, don’t tell me that that you want to start a fight in the academy!”

Liu Kuang suddenly appeared, smiling, “Who’s starting a fight?”

A-Jun was startled, “Duan Duan, Duan Duan come back.”

Lu HangJiu pointed at A-Jun, “Teacher Liu! Chu JinHua is ignoring school rules and is trying to beat someone up again!”

Liu Kuang glanced towards her, A-Jun was pursing her lips while she hugged her chest and turned her head.

Zhao XiaoLan pasted the last flower onto the letter, he raised his head and asked, “Teacher Liu, has Yan-jiejie gotten better?”

Lu HangJiu promptly replied, “Better! How could she not be better after eating then sleeping, sleeping then eating in the academy!”

Liu Kuang said with a smile, “Much better, you can all go visit her.”

Lu HangJiu interjected, “Who would dare go see her! The moment you arrive at her door you’ll be glared at by the Young Prime Minister until you leave! I don’t even know if the person resting there is the emperor’s wife or his wife!”

A-Jun said, “Lu HangJiu, do you have an ailment? Every time you open your mouth, blah blah blah, out comes nonsense. You’re the best at fighting if you stopped talking everyone would’ve guessed you’ve died!”

Liu Kuang stopped Lu HangJiu from replying, “Alright, nobody in this academy can stop you from speaking. If you go out and shoot off your mouth like that, be careful not to make a mistake. The affairs of the royal lineage aren’t something you and I can freely talk about.”

Lu HangJiu unwillingly cupped his hands, “Yes, this student will obey your caution.”

Liu Kuang said, “The maple leaves on the mountain are turning red, you all are to write a poem on it. I will inspect them later when night classes begin.”

Zhao XiaoLan said, “Teacher Liu, I would like to request an absence!”

Liu Kuang replied, “Why are you requesting an absence again? You just requested one last month.”

Zhao XiaoLan rapidly slapped his hands together, clearly skilled in the art of sweet-talking, “Teacher Liu, Teacher Liu, this is the last time! I promise!”

“You promised the same thing last time.”

“This will really be the last time!” Zhao XiaoLan said as he furiously bowed his head. He was born lovable and cute and these actions always had everyone laughing.

Liu Kuang’s heart softened and could only say, “Then I will comply with your words, this is the last time.”

A-Jun questioned him, “What are you taking an absence for?”

Zhao XiaoLan quickly gathered up the letters scattered around the table, “I’m meeting up with Zhu-xiong this afternoon to go to SiLe House to listen to songs. He probably already arrived at Kyoto, I have to go.”

He burst into the school, grabbed his school bag, flipped it around his shoulders and proceeded to descend the mountain. Along the way he was stopped by Ming ChangYan, “What is it that’s so urgent?”

Zhao XiaoLan’s collar was being lifted by Ming ChangYan making him shrink his neck back like a little kitten. He was pleasantly surprised and said, “Yan-jiejie, you’re alive!”

Ming ChangYan hooked his arm around the other’s shoulders, “What do you mean ‘you’re alive’, it’s not like I died. Where are you going?”

A student replied, “To see his Zhu-xiong!”

Ming ChangYan said, “You can go see him later. I have you ask you a question before you’re allowed to go.”

Zhao XiaoLan was brought back to the stone table by him. Ming ChangYan poured himself a cup of water and asked, “Has anyone else died in the palace recently?”

Zhao XiaoLan shook his head, “A few days after you fainted it was the start of a new term in Egret Academy. I rarely visit the imperial palace so I don’t know.”

Ming ChangYan pondered for a moment then continued, “Is the Eldest Prince’s corpse still there?”

Zhao XiaoLan supported his chin and answered, “It’s definitely buried already, you’ve been staying here for half a month.”

Ming ChangYan was astonished, “So long? Did the emperor not come to find me?”

He thought: I still have the position of the emperor’s wife within the palace. After disappearing for so long, not to mention how to explain all this to Fu Ling and Peony, if the emperor begins to look for me wouldn’t this be asking for trouble?

Zhao XiaoLan replied, “Nope. Uncle has been in terrible shape lately from overworking, even Eldest brother’s funeral was hastily arranged. When would he have the time to track down where Yan-jiejie’s been.”

Ming ChangYan said, “Wow, this emperor is rather heartless to be so unconcerned for his own son’s death.”

Lu HangJiu was standing to the side as he heard those words, he cut in, “Imperial Concubine Yuan’s son died, what’s there to grieve about! It’s not like it was the empresses son.”

Ming ChangYan, “You seem to be implying something.”

A primary student standing beside Zhao XiaoLan began, “It’s because Imperial Concubine Yuan looks so similar to the empress that she received favor from the emperor. The emperor only spoils her, he doesn’t love her. If her son died, of course he’d be indifferent about it.”

Lu HangJiu said, “It’s a pity that the empress is quite arrogant, besides her husband she looks down on everyone.”

Ming ChangYan asked, “Isn’t the emperor her husband?”

Lu HangJiu sneered. He looked around and after seeing how A-Jun was sticking to Liu Kuang like a little tail, he might as well continue, “The empress was the imperial concubine for the previous dynasty’s Crown Prince. Her husband was never the emperor, it was the previous Crown Prince. The emperor ascended the throne, noticed her good looks, and forced her to become empress in spite of government officials protest. Otherwise, why would the empress spend her years at DaHan temple and rarely visit the palace!”

Zhao XiaoLan almost never got angry, “Lu HangJiu!”

Lu HangJiu noticed his slip of tongue and shut up at once.

Immediately everything was silent.

Though Ming ChangYan’s heart wasn’t well, he instantly wanted to say something to lighten the mood. Right this moment, a very light tinkle carried over, the jingling echoing. It was interrupted and trembled endlessly.

Zhao XiaoLan who was sitting opposite to him seemed to have seen something, quickly standing up. As expected, just outside the courtyard stood a young man. He was dressed in black draped in a twilight-colored outer robe. His temperament was grave with a tiny birthmark on the corner of his eye. As a result, it gave him a sort of cold demeanor yet also softening up his expression.

Zhao XiaoLan’s eyes shone with excitement and lept up like a rabbit, rabidly waving his arm, “Zhu-xiong!”

He ran so fast that the maple leaves on the ground flew up in disarray.

“I waited for a long time below the mountain but you never arrived, so I came to take a look.”

Zhao XiaoLan laughed out loud, “I was originally going to descend down the mountain to find you but now that you’re up here, it saves me the trouble. Come, I want to introduce you to someone.”

“Who?”

At this moment Zhao XiaoLan brought his good friend in front of Ming ChangYan, “She’s a good friend that I met in the imperial palace. Even though she’s an imperial concubine, she also really likes Ming ShaoXia!” He paused and turned towards Ming ChangYan, “Yan-jiejie, this is Zhu Rong.”

As Zhu Rong approached, Ming ChangYan had the sudden misperception that his entire body temperature dropped down.

Ming ChangYan smiled, “It’s an honor to meet you at last.”

Zhu Rong smiled back, “Those words should be said by me, It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

Ming ChangYan sized up Zhu Rong. The number of experts he met in the past were too many to count, every time Zhao XiaoLan groveled over his Zhu-xiong he had always thought the other was over exaggerating, a joke from the youngster. Now it seems like truly wasn’t flattering without a good cause. Even though he currently lost all his cultivation, his eyesight was still good. With just a single glance, he could tell this person was enigmatic and difficult to predict.

After this Zhu-xiong walked a “vigorous path” to arrive at Egret Academy, his breath was still steady, complexion normal, not a single part of him in disorder; clearly showing that his inner core was strong. In his hand he held a pitch-black fan, on it hanged two small and delicate copper bells. A simple movement would cause a soft echo, the sound gentle giving the listener a tranquil feeling.

Ming ChangYan said, “Zhu-xiong your little bell looks quite cute! Where did you get it?”

Zhu-xiong smiled, “It’s something I received from the head of a temple. It’s just an ordinary item.”

It was a pity that his smiles were soft and gentle, but never reached his eyes. It made Ming ChangYan have the impression of looking face to face with a viper.

Zhao XiaoLan wasn’t aware in the slightest, interjecting, “Let’s stop with the polite greetings, Yan-jiejie, I’m leaving. Zhu-xiong, last time I mentioned the new singing prostitute, wow, that jiejie from Jin Ling’s ballad is so nice to listen to! Right, it’s been so long since I’ve visited Maiden Li Li, let’s go together this time. Otherwise it might seem like I’m deliberately trying to see her…”
After he finished speaking, Zhu-xiong and him left Egret Academy

Ming ChangYan pensively stood there for a bit when Lu HangJiu said, “Why are you still here? The Young Prime Minister is going to arrive soon. If he catches you out here strutting your legs and catching a breeze, you’re dead.”

Ming ChangYan was insufferably arrogant, “If he’s arriving then he’s arriving, what, you think I’m afraid of him!”

Just as he said those words, Huai Yu’s figure appeared at the Academy’s entrance.

Lu HangJiu proudly turned his head, “Then you can stay here…where did she go?”

Beside the table, there was no one in sight.

Ming ChangYan had already sprinted away like a rabbit, climbing and flipping over the wall in succession before finally rolling into his bedsheets.

Huai Yu just happened to reach the doorway.

Lu HangJiu lowered his head and hurriedly left after giving his salutations.

He pushed open the door to Ming ChangYan wrapped in his quilt playing dead.

 

 

 

 

This was translated by https://poppyscanlations.video.blog/, any repost of this is stolen. You steal my work, I steal your cultivation.

 

 

 

 

You know, I sometimes forget that Zhao XiaoLan is literally 18-19 years old and not a little kid. Same goes with A-Jun and the majority of the juniors in here.

If anyone is curious about who my favorite characters are in this novel, it’s the Empress and LiMin-Jun. Why? You’ll find out in my favorite chapter which I’m really excited to translate (it’s in a couple of chapters)

If you see any translation/grammatical errors, please notify me! Also, comment. I love your comments and they really make my day!

I’m also adding a character guild to the table of contents in case anyone gets confused on names, cause I sure do.

Personal question here, do ya’ll have any fantasy bl novels you could recommend me? I’m bored and in need of reading material.

Have a wondrous day ⌒(•ㅅ•)⌒

 

 

 

Chapter 28 : Table of Contents : Chapter 30

Chapter 28: The Helpless Gentleman – Part 1

Translated by Kestrel

Edited by Ritpoppy

 Warning: Some really angsty stuff in this chapter, so beware.

 

At XiYue Mountain, one of TianQing’s outer disciples ran all the way from the bottom of the mountain to the top.

LiMin-Jun hurriedly stood up from his seat, asking, “How’d it go?”

The approaching outer disciple said, “Er shi-xiong, it’s no good, GuiFeng Sect still refuses to see us. Some of the smaller seniors even got beaten up.”

Zhong YuLou slammed a fist against the table, “This is ridiculous! We aren’t the ones who poisoned them, so why are they putting the blame on us!”

LiMin-Jun said, “What can we do about it, they refuse to believe it was anyone other than us this time around! What about YuNan, how’s that situation I sent him to investigate?”

Zhong YuLou paused a moment before letting out a sigh, “Still no results.”

As LiMin-Jun walked another circle around the room, Ming ChangYan returned.

The outer disciple said, “Da shi-xiong! They told me to give you something, too.”

Ming ChangYan was vexed beyond belief at the moment, massaging the space between his brows as he answered, “What thing.”

These past few days had been anything but comfortable for TianQing. Ming ChangYan sat on a stool, refusing to take a single step. The outer disciple lifted his head to glance around at everyone, then stepped forward and opened up an elaborate handkerchief; they all looked to see that inside were four silver bracelets of exquisite craftsmanship.

Zhong YuLou said, “What’d Wan QianQiu send us silver bracelets for?”

Just as he spoke, Ming ChangYan’s entire body froze, his face paling in an instant.

He grabbed the bracelets, pinching them in his palms, and for a long time didn’t say a word.

These four silver bracelets were none other than the ornaments Yi Yue had worn ever since she was a child; there was even a delicate silver bell hanging from each one. He had four identical ones as well, so he could recognize them at a glance. But how did these silver bracelets make their way into Wan QianQiu’s hands, and why did Wan QianQiu send them to him? A chill began to spread from the pit of his stomach.

He pondered over it, his mind a confused mess: Does this mean Yi Yue came to the central plains? No, she might have guts, but not to that degree. I haven’t revealed information about Yi Yue to anyone else, either, so how did Wan QianQiu find out!

Ming ChangYan left Tokhara for the central plains when he was 15 years old; all these years being secretive, refusing to reveal his true face to people, had all been because he didn’t want to involve Yi Yue due to their similar appearances. If something happened to her…

He couldn’t bring himself to follow that line of thought any further, and put away the bells.

LiMin-Jun noticed something off about his mood, and asked, “ChangYan, what’s wrong?”

Ming ChangYan said, “I’m heading over to GuiFeng Mountain.”

LiMin-Jun, “Well that’s a weird thing to say, what’s the point of going to GuiFeng Mountain–hey, ai! Ming ChangYan! Fuck! What’re you running for!”

LiMin-Jun chased him a few steps, but Ming ChangYan had already disappeared into XiYue Mountain. His qinggong had always been world-renowned, and no one present was capable of catching up to him; add on to that the fact that nobody there could figure out what had set him off, and there was really no point in trying. LiMin-Jun could only wait for him to come back and explain it himself.

Ming ChangYan didn’t stop once on the way, making a beeline for the entrance to GuiFeng Mountain. When the two disciples at the door saw that the man approaching them was covered with a black veil and had a longsword at his waist, they immediately guessed he was the Noble Gentleman, and made to block him. Ming ChangYan didn’t say another word, dispatching them in two moves, and headed straight up the mountain.

Wan QianQiu knew he would certainly come, and had already been waiting for a good while, standing in the courtyard with a cold look on his face.

“You’re here. Where’s the antidote.”

Ming ChangYan kicked over a stone stool, a sign that he wasn’t here out of good will, “Where’s my sister.”

Wan QianQiu let out a hearty laugh at that, “Lord Ming, your attitude truly disappoints me.”

Ming ChangYan’s expression froze even more, turning cold as frost, as he spat out his reply one word at a time, “I’ll ask you once more, where’s my sister.”

Wan QianQiu laughed grimly; Ming ChangYan’s body tilted to the side as he moved his hands, and in an instant was clutching Wan QianQiu’s neck, leaving him unable to move.

Ming ChangYan’s tone of voice was frightening, “Last time, where is she.”

Wan QianQiu’s face was swelled a bright red, clearly unable to breathe. Ming ChangYan loosened his grip a little, and he vomited a mouthful of blood before smiling, “I’ll ask you a last time as well, where’s the antidote.”

There was a miserable shriek as, just when Wan QianQiu finished speaking, he was smashed violently into the stone wall before collapsing in a heap to the floor. After a moment, his body moved a bit, and he let out a miserable laugh, “Your sister’s life is a life, but does that mean my shidis’ lives aren’t?”

The noise he made was like a laugh but not, like crying but not, forcing himself up into a swaying stand, his appearance like that of a madman with bloodshot eyes and noticeably burstin veins, “My wife’s life! My child’s life! Do neither of those count as lives!?”

“I really should have trusted you…I should have listened to you! You told me not to provoke Wedding Yama, and yet I insisted on doing it—I never realized you were warning me! How could I have known that you were King of Hell Adorned in a Wedding Dress all along!”

Ming ChangYan was as alarmed as he was surprised, replying, “What the hell kind of crazy talk is that? The situation wasn’t my doing, and even less so TianQing’s. I already explained to you a long time ago, and since it wasn’t my doing, how am I supposed to have an antidote! This past month your people have refused to even see me, and now you’re blaming me for not having an antidote?”

“Hahahahahahahaha! Ming ChangYan! Ming ChangYan!” Wan QianQiu sat down, poured himself a cup of wine, and downed it in one gulp. After being pressured by the GuiFeng elders and suffering through the successive losses of his wife and disciples, his hand was shaking terribly, but the man himself was abnormally calm, as if he were no more than a walking corpse: “Ming ChangYan…all I want is the antidote. I don’t care where you go looking for it, that’s your problem, not mine. If I don’t get the antidote, even if you kill me, or slaughter my entire sect, you’ll never find your little sister.”

He drank another cup, then wiped his mouth, “I know I can’t beat you in a fight, but against your sister I have more than enough—”

Before he could finish speaking, Ming ChangYan lifted his foot and kicked him in the stomach, sending Wan QianQiu flying a few meters away and causing a scream to let loose from his throat.

“If you do anything at all to her before I find the antidote, I’ll never let you get away with it.”

He hurriedly left, heading back to XiYue Mountain. After reaching TianQing, he wasn’t in the mood to eat dinner, instead bursting straight into Xiaoxie Terrace.

Xiao A-Chai was startled as she said, “Lord ChangYan.”

Ming ChangYan asked, “Where’s Maiden Hua?”

Xiao A-Chai had never seen a time when Ming ChangYan lost self-control to this degree; normally he was always happy and lighthearted, making those moments he turned serious seem especially frightening. Xiao A-Chai said, “Maiden Hua just went to bed…”

But to her surprise, the door screen was pushed aside, and Hua YunChang came walking leisurely out.

“I’m already up. Zhao Zhao, you don’t look well, what happened?”

At the sight of her, Ming ChangYan got straight to the point, “Yi Yue’s come to the central plains.”

Hua YunChang’s hands stopped in the middle of lifting a cup of tea, “Xiao Yue’er?”

Ming ChangYan nodded, “I don’t know how she got here. This morning Wan QianQiu sent two pairs of silver bracelets to XiYue Mountain. They were hers.”

Hua YunChang took the bracelets, lifting them up for a closer look, “I remember you had two pairs of the same—when we first met as children, you wore them on your hands and feet, and were always jingling when you walked, very lively.”

Ming ChangYan spoke up, “Wan QianQiu is dead-set on believing we poisoned them, and wants me to get him the antidote, or else he won’t let Yi Yue go. I…I don’t know where Yi Yue is, and I don’t know whether or not he’s tricking me, but I’m seriously too afraid to gamble on it.”

Hua YunChang said, “I know. I recently heard YuLou say that the poison afflicting GuiFeng Sect is incredibly potent, beyond what I’ve ever heard of.”

Ming ChangYan’s expression wavered, looking noticeably flustered, “Is there really nothing you can do?”

Hua YunChang nodded, “I have no solutions. If I did, I would have given them to GuiFeng Sect long ago, rather than letting things turn into such great discord.”

Ming ChangYan sucked in a deep breath, sitting in silence.

Hua YunChang loved him dearly, and was just about to console him when Ming ChangYan stood up, “I’ll look for someone else.”

Hua YunChang said, “Who will you look for?”

Ming ChangYan, “Anyone who can help me.”

Xiao A-Chai interrupted, “Lord ChangYan, forgive this one for speaking bluntly, but TianQing’s reputation among the martial circles isn’t at all good, and people outside have all sorts of misunderstandings about you; I’m afraid a single cure will be difficult to obtain.”

Hua YunChang said, “She’s right. I know you’re a proud and arrogant man, and you won’t be able to avoid suffering grievances while beseeching others. Zhao Zhao, if they don’t help you, you aren’t going to kill them, are you?”

Ming ChangYan waved his hands, “I’m asking them for help, so of course I won’t attack them. If the first time doesn’t work, I’ll ask a second time; the world’s a big place, surely someone out there will be willing to help me!”

But on the first day, Ming ChangYan found himself rejected at the door.

Every sect’s head would treat him with respect and fear at first, pouring him tea and whatnot, all of them polite as could be. But no matter how sincere Ming ChangYan acted, all of them politely declined. He couldn’t just pressure them into it by force, so after hitting a wall, all he could do was look for a different sect. Unexpectedly, the news that the Noble Gentleman Ming ChangYan was running around begging people for help took flight over night, spreading all throughout both sides of the Yangtze River. Some were derisive, some were astonished, some looked on with interest, still others viewed it all with indifference—but not one of them was willing to offer help.

Half a month passed without any results. There was more gossip about him spreading through the country than there were sects he’d gone to visit. The story of his grievances with Wan QianQiu grew increasingly distorted, until it became a huge knot that couldn’t be untied. The martial circles only helped to fan the flames; those enjoying the show who didn’t think the situation was that dire went on to add details to the story, saying that Ming ChangYan really was the type to kick a benefactor in the teeth, poisoning his good friends to death, and consequently causing TianQing sect’s reputation to suffer a sudden, devastating decline.

It all got to the point that, as soon as Ming ChangYan was seen coming in the distance, the sect heads would rush like someone had lit a fire under their bottoms, immediately closing the front gate and rejecting all visitors. By the time Ming ChangYan reached the foot of the mountain, the doors up above him would already be shut tight; the wind blew, dried yellow leaves twirled past him, and suddenly, it began to rain.

He stood staring blankly at the great door, until the servant boy sweeping the entranceway – having watched him for a good while – got up the courage to call out to him, “Ming, Ming ChangYan! It’s raining, you should go home!”

Ming ChangYan said, “I want to meet your sect head.”

The boy shouted back, “The sect head said, if you come here, we’re absolutely not to open the door for you. He, he warned me a bunch of times, so now that I’ve told you, you’d better not let him know I told you. A-anyway you should go, if you stay out in the rain like this, you’ll catch cold, so you really should go home!”

Ming ChangYan kept standing there a while longer, and the child let out a sigh, saying, “XiaoHan Temple’s master already told everybody that you’re not a good guy, and that none of us are allowed to help you.”

Ming ChangYan asked, “XiaoHan Temple?” He nodded: “It’s definitely something that bunch of old baldies would do, they’ve always been targeting me.”

The child said, “If you know, why do you keep trying!”

Ming ChangYan didn’t answer, and continued standing at that door for the rest of the afternoon. The sky gradually darkened, the rain only coming down harder; when his lips had turned a ghastly white and his skin had grown ice cold, already a portent of a serious illness, only then did he turn around.

Unexpectedly, he’d only just turn around when the servant boy called out to him again, “Ming, Ming Chang-Yan!”

Ming ChangYan looked back to see him dash forward a few steps, then stop, hesitating as if afraid to go any farther. Although he’d stopped moving, the boy still hesitantly opened his mouth, his quiet voice just loud enough for Ming ChangYan to hear.

“The, the sect head says, this time…you must have gotten targeted by the King of Hell, and if you have, there’s nobody who can escape that calamity, not even you.”

“If we start relations with you, all of us will be doomed.”

“You…you can’t blame the sect head for this! If you need to blame anything, blame your own bad reputation, blame the fact you refused to help everybody take care of the King of Hell Adorned in a Wedding Dress before…that’s why nobody will help you now!”

Just then, the servant boy finally began to move forward again, all the way until he was standing right before Ming ChangYan; he handed the umbrella in his hand over to Ming ChangYan, then hurriedly backed up a few steps, saying, “I won’t help you either! I’m really weak, I can’t even protect myself properly! You can take this umbrella, you don’t have to return it, what I’m trying to say is…do your best on your own!”

.

On the road home, with no one to hold up an umbrella for him, Ming ChangYan walked forward with sword in hand. At the sound of thunder, he dodged to hide beneath the eaves of a nearby building. A young woman had already been standing there for a long time, hiding from the rain. When Ming ChangYan entered the space, he simply cupped his hands toward her, to show respect. Unexpectedly the woman suddenly spoke, “Are you having troubles?”

Ming ChangYan, “Is there anyone in the world who doesn’t?”

The woman said, “I am a nun, and harbor mercy in my heart; if you have troubles, and fate brings us together, then I am bound to help you.”

Ming ChangYan was curious, “You’ll help me? You don’t even know what my problem is, so how will you help me?”

The woman gave laughed with a smile, “That’s up to you.”

Ming ChangYan gave her a pensive look, and after an incense stick’s time, told the woman about GuiFeng Sect’s poison. The woman smiled slightly, “That’s nothing so difficult. He’s wrongly accused you of using poison, but I have a way to ensure he will never be able to accuse you again.”

Ming ChangYan felt a chill run through his heart, and thought to himself: Judging by her look, she must have some trick up her sleeve; does she really have a plan? Inwardly he thought he was getting muddled in his worry, if these days even a few words from some random Daoist priest could make him want to believe her. But aside from this, Ming ChangYan had been unable to find anyone else willing to help him, and every day Yi Yue stayed with Wan QianQiu was another day he was filled with unease. Fine, if she had a plan then he’d let her try it, Yi Yue couldn’t wait any longer.

He only pondered over it for a little while before deciding that anything was worth trying in a desperate situation, and led the woman to GuiFeng Sect.

Ming ChangYan was already desperate, seeming almost to be burning in his hurry, and demanded that Wan QianQiu hand over the hostage the moment he arrived at GuiFeng Sect. Wan QianQiu saw that he’d brought a women with a very spiritual demeanour about her, and felt a measure of doubt in his heart. Ming ChangYan said, “I’ve brought someone who’ll save your entire GuiFeng Sect by tonight. As for the poison, I’ll say the same thing I did before; it’s because of me that you ran into this disaster, but I’m not the one who did it to you, and my saving you is already a great kindness on my part. Give her back to me.”

Wan QianQiu’s voice was still hateful, “If you’re—”

Ming ChangYan coolly replied, “I wouldn’t make jokes with her life.”

They stayed in a deadlock for a moment, before Wan QianQiu said, “All, all right, alright, Ming ChangYan, you’d best make sure not to forget what you just said, and I’ll trust you one more time. Once the members of my sect have all recovered, I’ll return your sister to you.”

The woman said, “Why don’t you go home, and leave this to me. No one will wrongly accuse you again, soon enough.”

Ming ChangYan took his leave, his form disappearing once he reached the bottom of the mountain.

Wan QianQiu looked at the woman, then cupped his hands, “DaoZhang, please follow me.”

The woman smilingly said, “May I ask how many there still are for me to save?”

Wan QianQiu led her to the main hall, “A few elders have been poisoned, and according to my observations, it seems to be contagious. But the outer disciples have yet to be infected.”

The woman checked the pulse of one of the victims, then nodded, “There’s still hope.”

Wan QianQiu’s eyes lit up, wild with happiness, “DaoZhang, he—”

There was a flash of white as the woman suddenly pulled a dagger from her sleeve and ruthlessly punctured the elder’s throat, blood spattering everywhere; as she licked off a drop that had landed near her mouth, the elder made a gurgling noise, and died with his eyes wide open.

While Wan QianQiu was still staring blankly at the sudden turn of events, the woman shook a meter-long strip of white silk from her sleeve, and tied him to a pillar within the hall. It was only then that he finally reacted, shouting and screaming, his eyes so red they seemed about to drip blood.

The woman smiled slightly, nodding as she said, “Benefactor Wan, I am truly sorry, but my promise to Ming ChangYan comes first, and that promise is to scrub him clean of unjust treatment. This poor Daoist is terribly ignorant, unable to think of any solutions to the problem, and could only come up with this clumsy method: If I kill you all, there will naturally be no one left to wrongly accuse Ming ShaoXia.”

She made a patrol around the hall, with all the air of someone taking a stroll through a quiet courtyard.

Suddenly, the woman stopped, full of interest as she opened a chest in the corner. Within the chest lay a white-clothed young lady covered head-to-toe in blood, eyes serenely closed; she’d already stopped breathing a good while ago.

The woman let out a “wow”, before facetiously saying, “Wan ShaoXia, oh Wan ShaoXia, I’d thought you were an incomparably righteous man, but here you’ve killed someone’s little sister, and even tricked him into helping you look for medicine. You’re truly capable of carrying the title of chivalrous hero.”

She promptly bowed to him, laughing as she continued, “Aiya, that was rude of me, excuse me.”

Wan QianQiu’s yelling was miserable to the extreme, jolting the woman so hard her ears hurt, so she simply found a piece of cloth and plugged his mouth with it.

She smiled, “Just sit back and watch as I slaughter your entire sect. That’s right, I won’t kill you; this task was entrusted to me by Ming ShaoXia, so if you want an answer, you can go find him for it!”

As she spoke, the woman’s dagger rose and fell, blood spashing all around.

On XiYue Mountain, Ming ChangYan had gone a full day and a night without sleep.

Hua YunChang poured him a cup of tea, saying in a soothing voice, “You’ve found someone who can save GuiFeng Sect, and Wan QianQiu isn’t the type of person to break his promises; once morning comes, I’m sure Xiao Ming’er will come back to us. You’ve always wanted to bring her to the central plains, haven’t you? Now that she’s here, you should be happy, not frowning and worrying like you are.”

Ming ChangYan rubbed at his temples, “I’m not thirsty.”

Hua YunChang sighed, “You won’t drink, you won’t eat – you’re making me worry.”

LiMin-Jun tried to persuade him, “Ming ChangYan, you can at least eat a little.”

Ming ChangYan absent-mindedly gulped down a bowl of tea, after which Hua YunChang cleared it away for him.

Just then, Ming Yue called out from the doorway, “Da shi-xiong! Someone’s coming up the mountain!”

Ming ChangYan immediately stood up, his body swaying a moment as if he were seriously ill, but he stubbornly hurried forward regardless.

He walked all the way to the foot of the mountain to see that the person had already left, leaving XiYue Mountain’s entrance completely empty save for a white lump of sackcloth on the ground, which appeared to have something wrapped within it.

Ming ChangYan’s feet were unsteady, and he almost fell over, leaning against a pillar for support; after taking in a deep breath, he ran stumblingly forward, practically crawling on the ground on all fours by the last few steps.

He pulled open the sackcloth, only to have Yi Yue’s lifeless face appear in his vision; a check for breath showed she was dead.

Ming ChangYan hurriedly dug her out of the bag, distraught, his movements confused and flustered as he pulled his sister into his embrace, tight against his chest.

Hua YunChang gasped in shock when she came upon this scene.

She’d known since childhood that Ming ChangYan and his sister were incredibly close, and that Yi Yue was practically the entirety of his resolve in coming to the central plains and working so hard. Ming ChangYan, his mother and sister had only had each other to rely on throughout his life; as children they lost their mother, and now he’d lost his sister, his years-long cherished desire destroyed in a single instant, forever separated from the people most precious to him—how could he not go mad?

At this moment, his mind was a total blank, unable to think anything at all.

Ming ChangYan was like a child, a confused look in his eyes, completely out of his mind, trembling in fear as he asked, “Why isn’t her heart beating?”

Hua YunChang paused, then said, “Zhao Zhao…”

Ming ChangYan’s hands gripped tighter, shutting his eyes, almost seeming to have stopped breathing, as a trace of terrifying, bone-chilling hatred arose from within him.

“Wan QianQiu, I’m going to make it so you’re unable even to become a ghost.”

 

 

 

This was translated by https://poppyscanlations.video.blog/, any repost of this is stolen and if you steal our work I’m going to poison your entire sect then yourself.

 

 

 

YI YUE!!! I’VE KNOWN YOU FOR ABOUT 1 CHAPTER AND A HALF AND NOW YOU’RE LEAVING ME????!! UNACCEPTABLE!!!

I’m so sorry for the angsty chapter ;^; It had to be done.

I’m so packed with school right now, I’m contemplating whether I should find another translator or not. I guess if anyone’s interested, they can email me if they want.

Don’t worry ya’ll! Fluff will be coming soon so stay tuned! I promise it’ll give you cavities because of how sweet it is.

If you see any grammatical/translation errors, please notify me or comment! I love reading your comments so much, they make my day ♡ඩ⌔ඩ♡

Have a great day~~

 

 

Chapter 27 : Table of Contents : Chapter 29

Chapter 27: The Noble Gentleman – Part 10

Translated by: Kestrel

Edited by: Rita

 

 

Unexpectedly, the next instant Ming ChangYan suddenly lost strength, head crashing into the crook of his neck – he was already sound asleep.

Huai Yu’s breathing stopped for a moment, before he let out a sigh.

Ming ChangYan’s clothes were loose, the struggle from before having pulled it down to reveal a large portion of his skin, and under the light of the moon, Huai Yu noticed a faint shadow on his shoulder. Removing his clothes to look at his back, Huai Yu realized this wasn’t an injury as he’d assumed. On his clean, porcelain-white back was a pattern of five little moons, from new moon to full, plus a series of complicated and primitive characters – most likely the language of ancient Tokhara.

He bent Ming ChangYan’s shoulders, helped him put his clothes back on, and pushed him upwards. After a moment, he belatedly remembered to feel shamed into anger, and viciously pinched Ming-shaoxia’s handsome face to let off some steam.

The next morning, Ming ChangYan pushed open the door, rubbing his face, and LiMin-Jun said, “So you’ve sobered up, have you? Your Huai Yu’s already long gone.”

Ming ChangYan, “Gone? Why didn’t he tell me, I could’ve seen him off!”

LiMin-Jun, “Hehe, you sure are tasteless. You walk out of a person’s room, and have the nerve to ask why they didn’t say goodbye. Ming ChangYan, you’re really a ruthless guy – I bet you were coveting his charms last night, and had the evil intentions but not the guts to do it, so you got drunk and went to have your way with him!”

Ming ChangYan turned around, and sure enough, the room behind him wasn’t his, but Huai Yu’s.

“Oh, I did drink a little wine–can’t remember what happened after that. Sss, LiMin-Jun, get me a piece of ice, my face really hurts.”

LiMin-Jun spat, “Most likely that’s from getting slapped in the face. My guesses are never wrong – do you see this, YuLou, you’d better not learn from your Da shi-xiong.”

Zhong YuLou was eating breakfast, and hurriedly nodded as he stuffed his face, “I know!”

Ming ChangYan swore as he collapsed himself over the mouth of the well, cupping water in his hands to cool himself off. As he tended to his wounds, he didn’t forget to keep exchanging insults and jabs with LiMin-Jun.

At 1pm, GuiFeng Sect’s visiting card was sent to the entrance of XiYue Mountain. The outer disciples delivered it to LiMin-Jun, who handed it over to Ming ChangYan – he skipped over the punctiliously polite greetings at the beginning, moving straight to the very end of the note.

“When does it say they’re coming?”

“The fourth of the fourth month. Go find a good place for the meetup, I think the shore of the west lake should be good. Oh yeah, ask Maiden Hua how she’s faring, if she’s doing well she should come over, if she can’t get out of bed then have YuLou send food over to the small pavilion terrace.”

LiMin-Jun, “Should we change out the weapons at the training ground?”

Ming ChangYan said, “Change them for new ones. Add some more swords, GuiFeng Sect has a lot of sword users. Also, take down all the snack stands next to the grounds.”

Zhong YuLou tilted his head at that, “Da shi-xiong, you’re the one who put up those stands.”

Ming ChangYan coughed, “Normally it’s no problem, but if the people from GuiFeng Mountain see it I’m afraid they’ll say a big sect like us is lacking in discipline. Do you get it?”

Zhong YuLou pondered this for a moment, then honestly replied, “I don’t get it.”

Ming ChangYan gently pinched Zhong YuLou’s ear, saying in a stern voice, “We’re opening the mountain gates here, and we won’t be able to avoid a few ‘hunters’ showing up for the bounty. Who knows what kind of tricks they might use from the shadows? Little snack stands like this are exactly the kind of thing they’ll want to take advantage of.”

The boys of TianQing’s inner circle stared attentively at Ming ChangYan, as Ya YuNan asked, “Da shi-xiong, who’ll be fighting when the time comes?”

Whoever came out to fight this time around would inevitably be representing the face of TianQing, so naturally it’d have to be the most outstanding inner disciple with the greatest martial arts – this choice would also be a show of respect to their opponent.

Ming ChangYan said, “YuLou’s it. Also, it’s fine if you don’t get it, hurry and go practice your swordplay, I don’t want you making any mistakes when the competition comes around.”

Ming Yue pursed his lips and balled his fists, his gaze lowering slightly.

YuBao asked, “Da shi-xiong, you’re picking YuLou shi-xiong again?”

Ming ChangYan, “Yeah. YuLou’s got great talent, and good comprehension.” He then turned around and continued: “YuLou, when you’re fighting, don’t forget to watch and memorize the other guy’s fighting approach, I’ll be checking on you at night.”

With the meeting finished, they all headed for the training grounds.

On the way there, they met the outer disciples. Ming Yue was walking at the very back; the outer disciples all cupped their hands towards him in twos and threes, then joined the group in their forward procession.

One said, “It looks like Zhong YuLou’s taking the stage again for this competition with GuiFeng Sect.”

Another picked up where he left off: “Everyone knows he’s Da shi-xiong’s favorite. He’s beautiful to boot, seriously how could a boy grow a face like that, he looks like a sissy!”

“Zhong YuLou’s cousin is Wan QianQiu’s wife, who else would be fighting besides him? He’s totally leaning on relationships. Ai, it’s really unfair…”

“What’s so unfair about it? If you’ve got what it takes, why don’t you become an inner disciple yourself? After all these years at TianQing, have you caught even one glimpse of Da shi-xiong’s face?”

“Aside from those few in the inner circle…nobody else has seen it.”

“Da shi-xiong spoils Zhong YuLou way too much, the way I see it the next head of TianQing is already obvious at a glance. You’d be better off doing some more toadying up to him!”

“Having people with power and influence to back you up sure must be nice – unlike us, we’re never gonna be able to get into the inner circle!”

One of them lowered his voice and said: “To tell the truth, getting into the inner circle isn’t actually as great as you think, just look at that Ming Yue. Da shi-xiong rescued him from outside a few years back didn’t he? He was barely alive back then, relying entirely on Da shi-xiong using inner circle mantras to keep him going; in the end, he conveniently picked up those mantras for himself, so they had no choice but to take him into the inner circle. His attitude isn’t all that great, barely better than you or me, and even that little boost is from Da shi-xiong’s personal directions! Lemme tell you, if Da shi-xiong taught me a technique or two one of these days, I bet I could be even better than him!”

“Haha, me too – too bad we don’t have that kind of luck!”

As they chatted and laughed, they reached the training grounds.

Ming Yue sat up in a tree, listening to these outer disciples crack jokes, and curled his hands into fists, an incredibly nasty frown on his face. Just as he was busy fuming, his train of thought was suddenly interrupted by a burst of light laughter; lifting his head, he saw a strange woman looking up at him from the foot of the tree. Ming Yue quietly let out a curious noise, then asked in a stern voice, “Who are you?”

But the woman didn’t answer Ming Yue’s question, only directing an ever-more-deepening smile towards him.

.

After dinner, Ming Yue was stopped by Zhong YuLou.

“Hey, where’ve you been all day? Why didn’t I see you at the training grounds?”

Ming Yue coldly replied, “Why don’t you look after yourself more and leave me alone.”

Zhong YuLou humphed, “Who wants to look after you, don’t pretend we’re friends! I just wanted to ask, how’s your foot?”

Ming Yue’s expression changed immediately. He and Zhong YuLou had each broken a leg when their last fight sent them rolling down the mountain. By now, Zhong YuLou’s leg had already healed, whereas he still had a slight limp, making him look incredibly comedic when he walked.

This matter hit a sore spot for Ming Yue, and he said, “What about it? Whether it’s better or not is none of your business, are you just here to make fun of me?”

Zhong YuLou gave him a funny look, then pulled a small porcelain bottle from his shirt and tossed it towards him. Ming Yue caught it without thinking, and hear Zhong YuLoud say, “My family sent this medicine. It works pretty well, try using it!”

Ming Yue gritted his teeth, “I’m not using your leftovers, do you think you’re giving alms to the poor!?”

Zhong YuLou’s eyebrows twitched, “You’re such a pest, I haven’t even used this medicine, I finished mine already. Forget it, I can never get a word in edgewise when I try to talk to a yin yang-face like you, if you want to use it then use it, if you like being a cripple then go ahead and be one. Oh, while I’m at it, your limp is hilarious to watch!” He let out a few forceful laughs, “Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!”

Ming Yue’s face was green one moment and white the next, “You!”

Zhong YuLou made a face at him before galloping far away.

A few months later, on the sixth of that month, GuiFeng Sect arrived as scheduled. The disciples which Wan QianQiu brought with him were all well-known figures in his sect; Ming ChangYan understood this was to ease the tense relation between TianQing and the rest of the martial circles, and so was particularly thankful towards him. TianQing Sect had expanded too quickly, attracting criticism and envy within the central plains. As a result of this, they garnered discrimination and scorn from a great many older sects; add to that was the fact that he was the wielder of the Common People’s Order, yet refused to pay any attention to the King of Hell situation. These past two years especially have seen their reputation plummet like a rock, but the King of Hell problem really was a terrible mess, and Ming ChangYan had enough problems of his own to give him a terrible headache – he honestly didn’t have the energy to go play the “warrior of justice”.

In short, no matter how hard Ming ChangYan tried to pull against the tide, it was about as useful as a cup of water on a burning cart of firewood. GuiFeng Sect was a sect of good moral standing and reputation among the martial circles, and with the added backing of Wan QianQiu’s unparalleled benevolence and righteousness, they were respected by all. Wan QianQiu’s current methods, therefore, were meant to announce to the world: TianQing isn’t as arrogant or morally corrupt as you think.

Zhong YuLou ran up from the foot of the mountain, almost late for the banquet because he’d been too busy playing around; as soon as he arrived he saw Wan QianQiu and his wife Hua XiuYuan, excitedly calling out, “Cousin!” As she caught sight of him, Hua XiuYuan smiled and said, “Did you roll your way up the mountain? Your face is a mess, hurry and go wash.” Zhong YuLou then disappeared to go wash his face.

At the banquet, TianQing’s inner disciples each took their seats one by one. Everyone exchanged greetings and raised their cups for a toast; as soon as the cups were lowered, a girl carrying a lantern appeared at the door, saying with a smile: “Xiao A-Chai has met all of you.”

The moment she spoke, a woman in red suddenly appeared from behind her, delicate and gentle, her face pale; with Xiao A-Chai to support her, she gave a nod to the seated crowd.

Ming ChangYan stood up, hurrying down from his seat, “Maiden Hua.”

Hua YunChang said, “ZhaoZhao, have I disturbed your meal?”

Ming ChangYan smiled, “Of course you haven’t. Your health isn’t good, why did you come here? Xiao A-Chai, help the maiden sit down.”

Hua YunChang covered her mouth with a kerchief and suddenly began to cough. LiMin-Jun immediately pulled out a chair for her to sit, as she sucked in a deep breath, “I came to see all of you.”

LiMin-Jun said, “Running around with your health like this, you’re making us worry for nothing.”

Hua YunChang said, “I apologize.”

Her body was like a catkin willow; having lingered in a sickbed for many years, there was a lack of vitality in her complexion, looking extremely thin and pallid.

“Alright, let’s not talk about this. YuLou, spoon up a little light congee for Maiden Hua.”

Hua YunChang shook her head, “I’m not staying to eat. I came to send you a little something – the osmanthus flowers bloomed a few days ago, so I had Xiao A-Chai make some osmanthus cakes. After you’ve all finished your meal, you can have them for dessert.”

She looked around at everyone, then continued, “I’m returning to the small pavilion terrace.”

Ming ChangYan worried her health might suffer some problem, and let out a sigh of relief at hearing she would be returning to small pavilion terrace. He repeatedly warned Xiao A-Chai that she absolutely must keep a close watch on Hua YunChang, and make sure she didn’t trip or bump into anything on the way back.

Wan QianQiu spoke up, “Lord Ming, this Maiden Hua…”

Ming ChangYan introduced her, “She’s a good friend of mine – we were playmates as children, then ran into each other again in the central plains. I saw that her health is a lot worse than it used to be, so I had her brought back to XiYue Mountain so she’d be easier to take care of.”

Wan QianQiu said, “Lord Ming is truly caring.”

Ming ChangYan waved his hands, then heard Lady Wan said, “Has Maiden Hua always been like this? You must have sought out doctors before.”

Ming ChangYan said, “She wasn’t born this way. I met her a few times when I was little; my father told me to compete with her, her father said to go easy, and I assumed he meant I shouldn’t bully girls. But in the end, it turns out he was reminding her not to beat me up too bad.”

Wan QianQiu said with astonishment, “Lord Ming lost?”

Ming ChangYan said with a smile, “I sure did. What are you so surprised for, it’s not like I was born number one. Before I got that title, I obviously would’ve had to go through being second in the world, and third, and fourth, and all the rest.”

Wan QianQiu by now was already used to Ming ShaoXia’s running-wild, mouth-full-of-nonsense personality, so all he did was smile as he replied, “The way Lord Ming speaks is truly interesting, and perceptive as well.”

Hua XiuYuan said, “If it isn’t a natural condition, then I may know of a solution. Ming ShaoXia must have heard of KuFei Mountain Range’s Grandma Sang.”

Ming ChangYan said, “I have. Isn’t KuFei Mountain Range in Mimi Valley? I’ve had a few little conflicts with Mimi Valley recently.”

Hua XiuYuan said, “Mimi Valley is the steepest mountain in the central plains; poisonous insects and wolf packs frequently appear there, making it impossible for ordinary people to set foot there. Those who call themselves Mimi Valley are just a bunch of show-off swindlers who set up their barracks outside of Mimi Mountain, built a few buildings, and started taking the valley’s name for their own.”

Grandma Sang, on the other hand, was the only living person inside of Mimi Valley. This old woman was already around sixty years or more, and there was no-one in the world who could compare to her skill in the medicinal arts. But she had an eccentric personality, only saving five people a year – and besides that, she had three rules to who she saved. The first was that she wouldn’t help the owner of the Common People’s Order, the second was that she’d help no-one over fifty, and the third was that she wouldn’t help dogs of the imperial court. Grandma Sang never took a single step out of Mimi Valley; if anyone wanted to meet her, they had to risk their lives passing through the treacherous valley themselves. Most people would be scared off at the entrance by the poisonous creatures there, so those who could actually enter, let alone reach the depths of KuFei Mountain Ridge, were fewer than few.

Ming ChangYan, after hearing all this, “I appreciate your good intentions, Lady Wan, but you’ve said yourself that she won’t help the owner of the Common People’s Order. There’s no way she’d be willing to meet me.”

Wan QianQiu said, “There’s no need to worry about that, Lord Ming. I’ll make the trip to Mimi Valley, and will not fail to bring the request for Grandma Sang to come treat Maiden Hua.”

The two sat apart from each other, raising their cups in a distant toast.

After eating and drinking to their hearts’ content, Wan QianQiu said, “Lord Ming, there is one more thing I wish to say.”

Ming ChangYan smiled, “Then go ahead and say it.”

Wan QianQiu said, “While investigating the King of Hell Adorned in a Wedding Dress affair with a few elders of GuiFeng Sect, we discovered a few points of suspicion.”

Ming ChangYan said, “Go on.”

Wan QianQiu said, “I suspect that there are two people causing mischief. Although they both use needles, one kills people using the silver thread those needles are strung on, while the other the needles themselves, their victims often a mess of punctured guts…furthermore, I believe these two have no relation to each other.”

Ming ChangYan said, “In other words, they’re each killing separately? Well that’s just great, they could’ve used any weapon out there, and they decided to use the same as me – because of them, the old bastards have been all over me, clamoring constantly that I’m the one doing it.”

Wan QianQiu, “Naturally I trust you, Lord Ming. You understand as well that they only speak this way in hopes that you will take the risk in sorting out the King of Hell; it’s just that the country is full of rumors right now, and with opinions flying everywhere, some people have really come to believe it. Because of that, your reputation really isn’t all that good right now.”

Ming ChangYan laughed, “When has my reputation ever been good?”

Wan QianQiu said, “Don’t worry, Lord Ming, as GuiFeng has begun our investigation on The King of Hell Adorned in a Wedding Dress, we won’t be returning empty-handed. If we can truly solve the issue, it will lessen a lot of the burden on you.”

But Ming ChangYan replied in a stern voice, “Wan ShaoXia, I’m really thankful for your kindness, but while I didn’t put much importance on investigating the King of Hell before, after that visit to Banpo Village, I’d definitely prefer you not to do this.”

Having had his wholehearted enthusiasm get hit with a subtle splash of cold water, Wan QianQiu couldn’t help frowning slightly, “And why is that?”

Ming ChangYan continued, “The rumors say that the Joyful King of Hell only kills people when it rains; if you ask me, I think this King of Hell doesn’t like an overly strong smell of blood. They kill too many people at once, and the people they kill aren’t any common fighters either. They’re extremely powerful, so strong that even when I went to visit a few days after the rain, every last silver needle was still stuck firmly as ever into the marrow of the victims’ bones – their bodies were already rotted, but the needles looked like they’d only just been stuck in. This has nothing to do with my thoughts on Guifeng Sect, it’s just…as a friend, I don’t want you to take this risk.”

After hearing this, Wan QianQiu actually shook his head and smiled, “Lord Changyan, I never would have thought that someone as fearless as you could still have moments where you are unwilling to press forward. We’ve already made the decision to get involved in this matter, and are most definitely prepared for what may come. Those sects that were eliminated before weren’t particularly large, and their strength couldn’t compare to GuiFeng; seeing as we’re resolved to do this, you can be assured we have faith in that much.”

Ming ChangYan was speechless. Wan QianQiu normally wasn’t this stubborn; he felt as if he must have worded things poorly and irritated the man, to have achieved the opposite effect of what he’d intended, and so decided to ease things a bit by changing the subject. Rubbing his nose, he said, “Let’s not talk about this anymore—on my way back from HuaTing a while earlier, I saw there were a whole bunch of XiaoHan Temple baldies, both old and small, all stationed there. Do you know what they’re doing?”

Wan QianQiu said, “Probably XiaoHan Temple has finished deciding on a location. I saw it mentioned in the National Daily News that they’d relocated their temple to the burned-down Zhuang family property. Right now I’d assume they’re renovating the courtyard, so naturally there’d be a few more people around.”

Ming ChangYan replied, “The Zhuang family? You mean that family that got wiped out in a fire?”

Wan QianQiu nodded, “That’s right, now that you mention it what happened to the Zhuang family really was a pity. Young Master Zhuang was a very handsome and honest young man, both benevolent and kind, and his wife was the descendent of a Japanese princess, named Zhu ShiYing; she knew a strange form of martial arts that used music to control people’s minds.”

Ming ChangYan was curious at this, “She used music? What kind of music?”

Wan QianQiu said, “I don’t know the specifics. But Zhu ShiYing was born to a sect which was extremely well-known at the time – they say her beauty could topple cities, she was good at music, and she was accomplished in the four arts as well. The Zhuang clan husband and wife were masters one in the literary arts and the other in the martial; the literary one was brimming with artistic talent, and the martial one had the highest attainments, making them a truly ideal couple, as happy together as if their marriage was chosen by the heavens themselves.”

Zhong YuLou asked, “In that case, what happened? If they were both so good, who in the world could manage to hurt them? How’d the Zhuang family manage to get annihilated in a single day?”

Wan QianQiu replied, “Not long after Lady Zhuang gave birth to the young master, her health permanently declined, and her foundation wore down. Then one day she and the young master disappeared halfway on the road to her parents’ home. A few months later, the head of the Zhuang family caught wind of the lady and young master’s location, gathered a good number of martial artist friends, and all went to save them together. The young master was returned safely, but it seems as if Lady Zhuang was…”

YuBao was clutching tightly to Zhong YuLou, and having listened this far, looked incredibly sick at heart, “Did Lady Zhuang die?”

Wan QianQiu let out a laugh, drank a cup of wine, and didn’t speak further.

When the moon began to climb the willow branches*, Guifeng Sect and its people took their leave. Ming ChangYan saw them all off to the foot of Xiyue Mountain, debated a bit more with Wan QianQiu, then finally turned back to his room to sleep.

(TN: Around dusk)

Unexpectedly, an accident happened barely a few days after this meeting with GuiFeng.

At first, GuiFeng Sect’s disciples came down with a low-grade fever. As luck would have it, all these disciples had been guests that day, and were the backbone of GuiFeng Sect. Many disciples collapsed one after the other, causing GuiFeng Sect to immediately descend into chaos.

The sect elder asserted that Ming ChangYan was the one who’d poisoned them, with the intent of ensuring that GuiFeng Sect would be consigned to eternal damnation. Having said this, he wanted to head immediately over to XiYue Mountain to wring a confession out of him. Despite everyone’s dissuasions, Wan QianQiu stubbornly continued to speak for Ming ChangYan, and arranged for a doctor to come up the mountain to treat them.

But after many days of medication, the feverish disciples showed no sign of improvement; rather, something even stranger made itself known. The doctor discovered that after their fevers had passed, they began to show signs of organ failure throughout their bodies. To make matters worse, after another few days passed, the disciples’ bodies began to age; their skin hardened and lost its moisture, and they became unable to move or eat, forced to simply starve to death. For some of them, the hardening symptom reached all the way to their brains, making them entirely impossible to save. The way they died was terrifying, with no hope of reversing the situation. Everyone was helpless to do anything about it, able only to watch as their fellow disciples died.

Watching as the brothers he’d seen every day took their last breath one after the other, Wan QianQiu was dismayed and sorrowful to the extreme. When TianQing Sect learned of the situation, they’d sent people multiple times to GuiFeng in the course of half a month, but every time they were beaten by the GuiFeng elder hard enough to leave serious injury and then expelled from the premises, with the threat that he wanted TianQing to pay this debt in blood. This misunderstanding caused a great fissure in the relationship between the two sects as well.

The situation grew ever-more serious, until finally reaching a point where it could no longer be controlled. One evening, Lady Wan pushed open the door to see her husband with bloodshot eyes as usual, not having had a good rest in quite a few days, and said with distress, “Is there truly a need for this? If you suspect them, you could simply go straight to TianQing to ask for an explanation.”

Wan QianQiu’s voice was hoarse as he asked, “Do you think it was Ming ChangYan’s doing?”

Hua XiuYuan said nothing.

Wan QianQiu slammed his fist against the table, “If it really was him…if it really was him! I treated him with so much favour, why would he harm me to such a degree! I even…I even helped him investigate The King of Hell Adorned in a Wedding Dress, helped him sort out that terrible mess he was in…!”

Hua XiuYuan wrapped her arms around his, laying her head against his shoulder, “You sound so sure that Ming ChangYan did it. You saw yourself that day, he never once took a single step away from his seat – how could he have used any tricks? Maybe this actually has something to do with The King of Hell, instead?”

At the mention of The King of Hell, Wan QianQiu went silent, seemingly unable to acknowledge that this could have anything at all to do with that case, and said, “If he wanted to poison us, he’d have other ways to go about it.”

“Or perhaps…he, he actually is…so that’s it, I see how it is! No wonder he didn’t want me to investigate Wedding Yama, it all makes sense now!!”

Hua Xiuyuan shook her head as she said: “If you’ve already decided in your heart that he is the culprit, then what was the point of asking me?”

Wan QianQiu’s chest heaved, breathing heavily as he looked at Hua XiuYuan, and didn’t manage to calm down for a good while; eventually he let out a sigh, gently saying, “You’re still with child, you shouldn’t sit too long; go lie in bed for a while.”

Around 11pm, Wan QianQiu returned home through the front garden. He poured himself a bowl of tea; Lady Wan had forgotten to warm it, the liquid pouring ice-cold down to his stomach. Getting into bed, Wan QianQiu lay on his side and embraced his wife, only to notice that she was even colder than the tea.

In an instant, Wan QianQiu’s mind felt as if it had taken a great blow, his thoughts a total blank.

Hua XiuYuan’s body was stiff, her belly bulging, like she was carrying a rock.

“XiuYuan…”

“XiuYuan…XIYYUAN, XIUYUAN! XIUYUAN!!!”

Wan QianQiu turned Lady Wan over to look at her; she’d already stopped breathing a long time ago.

Unwilling to give up, he reached out again to check if Ha XiuYuan was breathing, immediately following which he let out a cry and burst into heartrending tears. Wan QianQiu was grief-stricken, and for a moment was overwhelmed with hatred; once he’d cried out all his tears he went charging out of the house with sword in hand, swearing to cut Ming ChangYan into a thousand pieces.

To his surprise, a figure appeared in the courtyard.

Wan QianQiu was mad with grief, completely lacking any sense of rationality, eyes practically bulging out of their sockets as he cursed, “Get out of my way, or I’ll kill you!”

The visitor cupped his hands: “Wan ShaoXia, I came to give you a present; if you wish to kill me, there is no harm in first seeing the gift.”

Wan QianQiu hesitated a moment. The stranger suddenly took the bundle off his shoulder and threw it to the ground; the white cloth fell open, and a girl in white rolled out from inside it. Her face looked pale in the moonlight, and her breathing was weak.

Wan QianQiu roared, “Ming ChangYan!”

The visitor said, “You have it wrong. This is Ming ChangYan’s younger twin sister.”

Wan QianQiu turned his head quickly around to glare at him, “What is the meaning of this!”

The visitor said, “I can have no say in the things Da shi-xiong has done, but neither can I stand idly by and watch. All I can do now is bring his sister here. There is no other way besides you using his sister to threaten him.”

Wan QianQiu was choking with sobs as his gaze fell upon Yi Yue. His right hand was shaking slightly, instinct and morality at war with each other inside him; after a moment he backed up a few steps, clenching his teeth as he said in a voice filled with regret, “I, I can’t…”

Suddenly, his expression stilled, breath stopping, all sound around them falling completely still.

A flash of silver shone beneath the moonlight.

 

 

 

This was translated by https://poppyscanlations.video.blog/, any repost of this is stolen. Please don’t steal work!!

 

 

 

I don’t wanna translate the next chapter (;´Д`)

Nothing much to say….

(Not related to this novel but have you guys watched The Untamed??? I saw the ending ahead of time and had to deal with it for a whole week before being able to cry together with my friends. What did you think about the drama as a whole? I’m personally very satisfied with the ending and the drama as a whole. Best summer of my life.)

If you see any grammatical errors/mistranslations, please notify me! Comment your thoughts and opinions before I got torture myself once again with chapter 28.

Have a great day~

 

 

 

 

Chapter 26 : Table of Contents : Chapter 28

 

Chapter 26: The Noble Gentleman – Part 9

Translated by: Ritpoppy (2/3) and Kestrel (1/3)
Sorry, I just couldn’t muster up enough energy to translate the last part, so I used her translation.

Not edited, we die like real men

 

 

In October, Ming ChangYan came back from Tokhara and returned to the Central Plains. Upon approaching the entrance of XiYue Mountain, the laurel trees had all turned into bare branches, a very ugly sight.

Just as he arrived at the top of the mountain, a cool breeze brushed past his face, and a figure appeared in front of him.

Ming ChanYan’s eyes glistened, and quickly shouted, “Huai Yu!”

He took off his bamboo hat, rushed forwards and hooked an arm around his shoulders. He was both alarmed and ecstatic, “I thought you’d already left, how come you’re still here?”

After being pulled into his embrace and rubbed for a while, Huai Yu was vexed as he shouted, “Ming ChangYan!”

“What are you calling me for, did you miss me?”

Huai Yu pushed him away and patted his clothes, “You’re so annoying.”

“Annoying how? If others asked me to annoy them, I wouldn’t even give them the chance!” Ming ChangYan asked, “Where’s LiMin-Jun and those little rascals? Ah, I remembered, they should be attending class at the library right now. Alright, I’ll go find them later.”

Huai Yu said, “A month ago, two of your disciples got into a fight, fell down the mountain and broke both their legs.”

Ming ChangYan paused before asking, “Who?”

Huai Yu humphed, “I don’t know.”

Ming ChangYan pondered for a moment and asked again, “Was it the prettiest one, and the one that doesn’t like to talk?”

“One of them had a sour expression.”

Ming ChangYan said, “Yup, that’s them. Ming Yue and YuLou. LiMin-Jun that disgrace of a human, I warned him numerous times to keep an eye on those two children. But here he goes, allowing the two to break their legs under his supervision!”

After talking for a while, Ming ChangYan suddenly said, “Was it because those two fought that you stayed behind?”

Huai Yu refused to speak. Ming ChangYan didn’t have to wait for him to answer before he guessed the situation. He was just about to speak when Huai Yu’s footsteps sped up, turning a corner and disappeared out of sight. Ming ChangYan withdrew his hand and raised an eyebrow.

At 9:15 p.m, Huai Yu was prepared to go to bed when from outside his window, came the chirping of a bird. After carefully listening to the birdcall, he was able to identify it as a nightingale. The more he ignored it, the more jubilant the nightingale’s screeches became, to the point where the screeches sounded more like a goblin spirit that anything else, yelling from outside his window, “Huai Yu! Huai Yu! Huai Yu!”

Huai Yu stood within the room and deeply pondered for a while before he finally decided to take a look at this goblin spirit of a nightingale.

The moment he opened the windows, Ming ChangYan was sitting on top of a tree with his legs dangling down. He swayed them back and forth, smiling, “Why did it take you so long to open the window!”

Huai Yu said coldly, “It’s the middle of the night and instead of sleeping you’re imitating a bird’s call, is it very fun?”

Ming ChangYan was extremely curious as he asked, “You looked like you weren’t in a very good mood so I thought I could tease you happy by imitating a bird call. Hey, how did you guess that it was me?”

Huai Yu replied, “Because birds can’t speak the human language.”

Ming ChangYan jokes, “You can’t be sure of that. Have you read the《PuZhou Night Talks》? A student that was in a hurry rescued a small sparrow, so at night, that small sparrow turned itself into a pretty young lady to come find him…..”

Huai Yu saw him making gestures and poses as he narrated the story, one moment mimicking the scholar, and the next playing the young lady, his words colorful and livid making the story come to life. Furthermore, the moment they reached the pivotal part of the story, Ming ChangYan brutally stopped.

Huai Yu asked, “Why did it want to come find him?”

Ming ChangYan was waiting for him to ask that question, his eyes curved to resemble two small bridges as he smilingly opened his mouth, “Naturally it’s because it liked him and wanted to repay him for his kindness.”

Huai Yu continued to ask, “Then why did it turn itself into a young lady?”

Ming ChangYan said, “Would it have turned itself into a man instead?”

Huai Yu said, “Why did it come at night?”

Ming ChangYan joyfully laughed, “Because evenings are the perfect time to let loose and have fun! Who would do those things in broad daylight? Oh, you still don’t know what happened next, right? Near the end, the young lady took off her shoes and socks–hey! Don’t close the window!”

He snapped off a twig and wedged it between the window opening. Huai Yu didn’t succeed in closing the window before Ming ChangYan had already opened the window, “Are you angry? Then I’ll stop talking.”

Huai Yu said, “Why are you mimicking the sounds of a nightingale.”

Ming ChangYan crossed his arms, sitting on the tree trunk, he tilted his head and smiled, “In the past when a certain person was sad, I would always do this outside her window. After a while, she would open the window and we would play around.”

Huai Yu said, “Who?”

Ming ChangYan smiled, “My little sister.”

Huai Yu’s hand slightly loosened, he let out a cold snort, “Little sister? You would tell these to your little sister? Letting loose and having fun?”

Ming ChangYan said, “Of course not. The story differs depending on the person I’m telling it to. When I’m telling this to my little sister, naturally when the young lady comes to visit the student at night…”

Huai Yu listened carefully.

Ming ChangYan slowly said, “It’s to read by the nightlight.”

“So it turns out that the little sparrow was the reincarnation of a well-known scholar and began lecturing, teaching, and clearing up any confusion the student had. Naturally, the student was diligent and eager to study. He studied assiduously and passed the exams, earning him scholarly honor, returning home in glory!”

After he finished listening, Huai Yu coldly said, “It makes a person think.”

At this moment, the two heard a creak coming from behind them. Ming ChangYan looked over and said, “Ming Yue? What are you doing up so late?”

Ming Yue stood by the corridor. He took a glance at Huai Yu, then took a glance at Ming ChangYan, his expression changing, “Da shi-xiong, why are you outside his room.”

Ming ChangYan said, “You little brat, I don’t go minding your business, you come around and start minding mine! Go to sleep, put on your clothes, don’t catch a cold.”

Ming Yue nodded his head, with one last glare at Huai Yu, he went back to his room.

Just as he left, in the side room, Ming ChangYan jumped off of the tree; patted down his clothes then faced Huai Yu and said, “Let’s go, I’ll treat you to some alcohol. As the saying goes one intoxicated moment is able to solve a thousand worries. It doesn’t matter what you’re worried about, you’ll be able to forget all of it after drinking.”

Huai Yu stared at him. Ming ChangYan suddenly stepped forwards and grabbed his hand, pulling him out the window. Huai Yu caught off guard and couldn’t help but be surprised. He immediately responded, falling down as light as a feather. Ming ChangYan praised, “Your skills aren’t half bad, it’s pretty efficient.”

Huai Yu turned around and looked back, causing Ming ChangYan to promptly seize his shoulder, “What’s the point of looking back when you’ve already arrived outside. Don’t tell me that you want to go back, that’s really disrespectful to this ShaoXia’s reputation.”

Half-forcefully, Ming ShaoXia hauled him away towards XianYue Mountain’s wine cellar. Even though he was deemed number one in the entire country, with excellent martial art skills, and addressed as a ShaoXia by everyone; this person who’s been called the number one in the country has never drunk alcohol before, something that didn’t match up to common practices of martial heroes. Not only did Ming ChangYan not know how to drink alcohol, he also didn’t know how to properly smell the alcohol. He could only randomly pick around the wine cellar, looking from left to right, listening and looking in all different directions, before finally picking out two jars of wine that looked quite nice. Lifting them up, he exited the wine cellar.

Huai Yu wondered on why his way of picking wine resembled someone who was at the market trying to pick out watermelons, every jar of wine was knocked twice, then he stuck his ear on top of it to listen, all while looking completely serious.

Ming ChangYan talked for quite a while before he discovered the other’s mind was preoccupied, he asked, “What are you thinking about?”

Huai Yu hadn’t come back to reality, blurting out, “You.”

Ming ChangYan gave him a blank stare.

Immediately, he laughed out loud, “I’m right beside you, what’s there to think about? Aiyah, little fish-xiong*, you really only see the seeds in watermelon!”

(TN: The “yu” he uses here is 鱼 (fish) rather than 瑜 (excellence), so he’s literally calling him Little Brother Fish. The two characters have the same tone.)

Just then, Huai Yu came back to his senses, his complexion changing, “You!”

Ming ChangYan’s smile became even more arrogant, nearly falling over as he rocked back and forth, “Alright alright alright, it’s me it’s me, no need to emphasize it a second time!”

As they passed by a pigeon coop, they saw a plump pigeon perched on top of the wooden cage preening its feathers. It was round and fat, with a high and mighty aura, an embodiment of arrogance. Ming ChangYan said, “How did you come out?”

Huai Yu took the two jars of wine, while Ming ChangYan was already walking towards the pigeon. The one that was grooming itself under the moonlight and showing off his good-looks was none other than Little Eight. Huai Yu remembered him only because their first meeting had left a big impression on him, causing his mind to be filled with suspicions: Just how was this pigeon supposed to deliver letters? It was the spitting image of half a gourd*.

(TN: http://www.amishgourds.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Bottle-Gourd-4-Inch-2.png )

This was translated by https://poppyscanlations.video.blog/, any repost of this is stolen and if you steal our work I’m going to release Little Eight’s Wife to peck you to death.

Ming ChangYan took advantage of the fact that Little Eight wasn’t paying attention as he grabbed it and stuffed it into its cage. Within its cage, there were other similar-looking pigeons, all of them were TianQing Sect’s carrier pigeons.

Ming ChangYan took a handful of millets, stood a distance away from the cage and teased the pigeons. Pretending to feed them, but when the pigeons got close, he’d suddenly pull back. After toying with them for a while, he laughed before finally scattering the millets into the cage.

“Little Eight, ah Little Eight, every time you eat you’re the fastest, yet when you deliver mail you’re the slowest. I think you look good enough to be stir-fried, the next time you only eat but refuse to deliver mail, I’m going to have to cook you!”

Little Eight’s feathers trembled, completely unaware as he cheerfully pecked at the rice.

Huai Yu asked, “Have you given names to all of these pigeons?”

Ming ChangYan, “Of course, if I only name one of them, the others are going to get jealous and won’t properly deliver my letters.”

He paused, then suddenly pulled Huai Yu over, seemingly wanting to introduce the rest of the pigeons to him.

Ming ChangYan waved his hand, pointing and said, “This is Little Eight’s little brother, this is Little Eight’s older brother, and that is Little Eight’s Wife. Come come come, come over here, look at this one.”

He pointed as the pigeon coop beside it, “This one is Little Eight’s Concubine that we raise on the side. Little Eight got to know her last time he went to HengZhou to deliver a letter, so he brought this female pigeon back and demanded that I keep her. This ShaoXia can’t just go around beating pigeons, but Little Eight’s Wife was extremely ferocious, even I’m afraid of that fierce female pigeon, so I found another cage to put her in. She just couldn’t live with them or else Little Eight’s Wife would peck Little Eight’s Concubine.”

Huai Yu, “…..”

Ming ChangYan continued to chat eagerly, reciting all of Little Eight’s ancestors and love affairs for Huai Yu to hear.

Huai Yu slightly bent down, pointing to one of them he asked, “What’s this one’s name?”

“Hm?” Ming ChangYan said, “Little Eight’s little brother.”

Huai Yu said, “I know. I’m asking for its name.”

Ming ChangYan replied, “His name is Little Eight’s little brother.”

Huai Yu pointed to another one, and just as expected, Ming ChangYan said, “Little Eight’s Wife,” he then added, “That’s its name.”

Ming ChangYan laughed out loud, “This pigeon coop is called ‘Little Eight’s Happy Family’, what do you think? Let me inform you beforehand that this name was come up after collecting the opinions of all those in the TianQing Sect, you aren’t allowed to say they’re bad!”

Huai Yu said, “It’s horrible.”

Ming ChangYan said, “All right all right, if you say it’s bad then it’s bad, come on, let’s not waste time, I’ll take you somewhere nice!”

He winked his right eye, as Huai Yu tilted his head.

XiYue Mountain was a mountain range that extended eternally into the distance. TianQing Sect was just situated on its main peak. The two headed halfway down the mountain, passed through a natural karst cave, walked a hundred li, and arrived at a wide clearing.

Huai Yu squinted slightly, feeling like his whole body was surrounded in curling tendrils of mist, as if he were standing in a fairyland. After they’d kept walking for another quarter of an hour, the full moon broke out through the clouds, and the clear, reflective surface of a great lake appeared in his field of vision.

Ming ChangYan said, “We’re here!”

Huai Yu asked, “What is this place?”

Ming ChangYan found a piece of smooth rock, sat himself down on it, and cracked open the mud seal on one of the jars, letting the aroma of wine waft out.

“I found this place while taking a midnight walk a while back – still haven’t thought of a name for it.”

“What were you doing taking a walk in the middle of the night?”

Ming ChangYan passed a wine jar to him: “Obviously because I was in a bad mood. Everyone’s going to have times when their spirits are low; the older you get, the more unhappy moments there are.”

Huai Yu sniffed at the wine, then expressionlessly drank a bowl. Ming ChangYan was pleasantly surprised, “You’re a pretty good drinker for your age!”

“Aren’t you drinking?”

Ming ChangYan smiled, “I…of course I’m drinking.”

Huai Yu, “I haven’t seen you drink any.”

Ming ChangYan had yet to ever taste wine, but tonight he had the moon for company, and an immortal-like beauty by his side, making him feel particularly cheerful; so he decided to have a small cup.

He lifted his bowl, taking a sip as he said, “My little sister is the most beautiful girl in my homeland. You could spend three days and three nights counting the number of warriors who want to marry her, and you wouldn’t be able to finish. I won’t agree to any of them though—there’s not enough food over there, and the standard of living is too low; I want her to come live with me in the central plains.”

Huai Yu said, “Where are you from?”

Ming ChangYan got half a bowl of wine in his stomach, wiped his mouth, and said, “Tokhara.”

Huai Yu, “Tokhara. What was the previous dynasty’s Princess Han Zhu to you?”

Ming ChangYan was silent for a moment, not speaking, then suddenly stood up, Huai Yu standing along with him. The former stumbled once, then suddenly dropped down, hugging onto his waist like he was at the edge of imminent peril; it was only by this that he prevented himself from collapsing entirely onto the ground. Huai Yu was startled, saying, “What are you doing?”

To his surprise, Ming ChangYan’s hold on him only grew tighter, and as if not satisfied with this, he was now attempting to lean his entire body into Huai Yu.

Huai Yu grabbed his hand and tried to pull him off, only to discover that Ming ChangYan was holding on with a death grip. He scrunched his eyebrows, heart full of doubt, and called out, “Ming ChangYan?”

Ming ChangYan didn’t answer.

Huai Yu gave into a sudden temptation, and gently smoothed his hair a few times. At Ming ChangYan’s continued lack of reaction, he confirmed it: This man was drunk.

Once Ming ChangYan got drunk, he didn’t throw a drunken fit, nor did he speak nonsense—his only problem was that he couldn’t stay standing, completely losing his sense of balance, and absolutely needed to hold onto something or else he’d be as wobbly as if the whole world was spinning around him. Huai Yu just had to move a little bit away from him and he’d stubbornly pull him back. Not talking, only acting, and if you pushed him too hard he’d even bite. In short, he was very hard to handle.

Huai Yu had never been faced with such a situation before. Ming ShaoXia was like a sugar cake, his arms and legs latching onto him, grabbing the ends of his hair, completely forcibly occupying the space his body was in. Huai Yu was tangled to the point he couldn’t move for a good while; the more he moved, the less his opponent was willing to let go.

Huai Yu had no alternative but to say, “Ming ChangYan, let go of me.”

Ming ChangYan hugged his waist, face expressionless, and pretended not to hear.

“It’s no good, I can’t stand steady, I’m going to fall…help me!”

Huai Yu clicked his tongue and took a few steps forward, dragging Ming ChangYan along with him; droplets of water stuck to the edges of his clothes, still looking at the picture of a man who’d crashed into the south wall and still wouldn’t bother to turn around*.

(TN:Don’t hit the south wall and don’t look back” is an idiom meaning to stubbornly insist on your own ideas, though in this case it’s being taken literally; well-to-do homes in ancient China generally faced south, with a wall surrounding them, so once you headed out you’d need to turn if you didn’t want to crash into the wall.)

Huai Yu humphed, “If you want to hold onto me then go ahead, I’ll do the walking myself.”

He began striding forward, pulling Ming ChangYan along for seven or eight steps. Ming ShaoXia firmly persevered, absolutely refusing to let go, inextricably intertwining himself with Huai Yu, who finally had no choice but to reach over and help support him. After some forceful pulling, he managed to get a good hold around Ming ChangYan’s upper body, and walked another short distance.

Ming ChangYan said, “I feel really dizzy.”

Huai Yu stopped, panting, “Then walk on your own.”

At that, Ming ChangYan – not wanting to end up falling on the ground – firmly and quickly grabbed once more for Huai Yu. Huai Yu saw something was off and immediately backed away. Sadly, he was too late—Ming ShaoXia had once more used his old trick, and shamelessly latched onto his waist!

The two were thus deadlocked in this position.

After a long while, Ming ChangYan stirred. Huai Yu said, “Now what are you doing?”

Ming ChangYan was drunk out of his mind, knowing nothing but that holding onto him would keep him from falling over, and so treated Huai Yu like his only hope for survival. His stirring now was just to change to a better position, making it easier to hold on securely.

Huai Yu was at a loss, “Ming ChangYan, let go, I’ll carry you back.”

“No good, I can’t.” Ming ChangYan shook his head, paused, decided he hadn’t emphasized hard enough, and shook his head again, “I can’t, I can’t!”

Ming ChangYan insisted on walking back on his own two feet, moving forward while hugging onto Huai Yu, and so the two of them staggered along a few steps. Suddenly, Ming ChangYan’s ankle twisted – he’d tripped right over a fallen branch. He promptly pushed himself onto Huai Yu, and they went spinning to the floor.

Huai Yu’s back hit the ground, scratching against the rocks and causing him to gasp. Ming ShaoXia used him for a meat cushion and fell into his embrace, entirely uninjured and incredibly content. At this moment Huai Yu felt a fire light itself in his mind, his brows twitching as he decided he wanted to get even with Ming ShaoXia.

“Get off of me!”

Ming ChangYan didn’t notice the great catastrophe about to befall him, feeling around his body with both hands as he mumbled, “The ground sure is soft….”

This was the first time Huai Yu had ever met such rough treatment as being tackled to the ground, and he had seriously reached the limit of his patience; he was just about to grab Ming ChangYan’s mischievous hands when the other suddenly straightened up slightly and, to his surprise, cupped his face in both hands. This time, Huai Yu was so startled even his anger disappeared.

Ming ShaoXia had an extremely attractive face, with long and narrow eyes that curved slightly upwards at the corners, a real standard pair of fox eyes. At the moment these eyes looked confused, hazy and brimming with moisture, as they stared straight at Huai Yu. Ming ChangYan had moved extremely close to him, their breaths mingling together, their lips so close they almost touched.

Huai Yu suddenly shut his eyes tight, his lashes straight and overly long, leaving a large, slightly-trembling shadow.

 

 

This was translated by https://poppyscanlations.video.blog/, any repost of this is stolen and if you steal our work I’m going to release Little Eight’s Wife to peck you to death.

 

 

I’M SO TERRIBLY SORRY THIS TOOK SO LONG TO GET OUT!!! Please forgive me. It was all because of procrastination. The next chapter will come out after I finished editing it!

School will be starting soon, so isn’t that just amazing.

I hope all of you had a good summer vacation! If you went on a vacation, do tell me about it! I’d love to hear them~

If you see any translation/grammatical errors, please inform me or comment down below! Your comments are like my stable food, I need them to survive.

Thank you for keeping up with me, and remember to drink water to stay hydrated (●´□`)♡

 

 

Chapter 25 : Table of Contents : Chapter 27

Chapter 25: The Noble Gentleman – Part 8

Translated by: Kestrel

Edited by: Ritpoppy

 

 

The 13 Guardians promptly shut the door in alarm.

Fu Ling said, “I told you our ShaoShi was bathing!”

Ming ChangYan asked, “Fu Ling, what’s going on out there?”

Fu Ling replied, “The 13 Guardians is performing an investigation.”

Ming ChangYan said, “Who are they investigating, are they investigating me?”

Huai Yu bent his long legs, half his face buried in the water, his eyes staring straight at Ming ChangYan.

Ming ChangYan said, “Let them search the room. Just pull out the folding screen for me.”

The 13 Guardian cupped his hands, “This subordinate does not dare.”

Ming ChangYan said, “Oh, you all heard that. It’s not that I didn’t let them search, it’s them that didn’t dare. Fu Ling, see off our guests.”

After the 13 Guardian was escorted out, Ming ChangYan – dripping wet all over – said, “How’d the Eldest Prince just up and die all of a sudden?”

Huai Yu was the same, not a piece of him safe to look at, “I don’t know.”

Ming ChangYan pondered a moment, then decided to go ahead and speak honestly, “What do you think of what’s been going on in the palace? First off, my being alive rules out the explanation that my ghost is haunting the place. But I’ve already been dead two years, so why are there still people who want to hurt me?”

Huai Yu didn’t answer.

Ming ChangYan said, “What’s wrong?”

Huai Yu said, “Your steamed bun.”

Ming ChangYan lowered his head to look. When playing the part of a woman, this person had put the utmost dedication into his disguise, not forgetting to wear his two foodpanions even when taking a bath. At present, the mantous were floating on the water, looking extremely comical.

Ming ChangYan hurriedly picked them up, saying, “Sorry sorry, guess we can’t eat these anymore. Huai Yu, you’d better not forget your promise, in a few days you’re taking me to Egret Academy.”

Huai Yu shot an unenthusiastic glance in his direction, not offering any sort of response, and a thought flashed across Ming ChangYan’s mind.

“Gege! Huai Yu ge-ge! Just look at this memory of mine, I forgot again. Hahahahaha!”

Ming ChangYan gave him an enigmatic look; after the rain stopped, Huai Yu left.

Another three days passed, Ming ChangYan tore the bandages off his now-healed hands, and Zhao XiaoLan came knocking at his door.

He was carrying a book as he rushed into Listening Lotus Building as if he were on fire, Fu Ling and Peony not daring to hold him back as he yelled, “Yan jie-jie! Yan jie-jie!”

Ming ChangYan stepped out the door, “Zhao XiaoLan, what are you running in such a hurry for, slow down.”

He poured a bowl of tea for Zhao XiaoLan, who set down his things, hurriedly drank it, wiped his mouth and said, “Da Huang-xiong* died, though that doesn’t really matter to me. I came to find you so we can go to Egret Academy.”

(TN: Eldest Prince-xiong, or Elder Brother Eldest Prince, anyway it sounds better in Chinese.)

This was translated by https://poppyscanlations.video.blog/, any repost of this is stolen and if you steal my work, I’m going to jab you with my donkey horns.

Ming ChangYan ignored his first sentence, eyes lighting up as he said, “Okay! When are we going, now?”

Zhao XiaoLan, “That’s right. You can’t go like this though, you should change your clothes.”

He opened the pack he’d been carrying, and pulled out a man’s outfit, “My royal uncle hasn’t really been paying attention to you lately, so just change your clothes and you can go with us out of the palace.”

Ming ChangYan didn’t waste another moment in going to the inner room and changing into the man’s outfit. The effect of the age-returning pills Hua YunChang had given him was gradually lessening as time went on. Compared to the day he first entered the imperial palace, Ming ChangYan was already a little taller, the outline of his face a little more clear, and overall he looked quite handsome.

Zhao XiaoLan tilted his head this way and that as he looked at him, before saying in a puzzled voice, “Yan jie-jie, did you get taller?”

Ming ChangYan laughed, “Did I? That means I’ve been eating well lately. If you eat more, you’ll grow tall too. How old are you this year?”

“Eighteen.”

Ming ChangYan gave encouragement as he finished with his clothes, “Eighteen, so you’ve still got room to grow. XiaoLan, do your best to grow, there’s no need to be too jealous of me.”

After they left the Listening Lotus Building, Zhao XiaoLan called out, “A-Jun, Duan Duan.”

A-Jun was in the middle of playing with Duan Min’s hair; after hearing Zhao XiaoLan’s voice, she carefully tied a knot at the end, which even had a few tassels hanging from it, and gave the result a serious once-over before showing satisfaction in her newly-made dressup. It was only then that she let go of Duan Min’s long braid and said, “What took you so long?”

Zhao XiaoLan, “We were already really fast, it’s only because you want to meet Teacher Liu too much that you’re blaming us for being slow.”

A-Jun looked Ming ChangYan up and down, as he cupped his hands and said:,“Hello Princess.”

A-Jun asked, “How are your injuries, are you still spitting blood?”

Ming ChangYan said, “Many thanks for your highness’s concern, I’m not spitting any more, and I’m eating just fine too. Let’s not waste time on words, and hurry to Egret Academy.”

These words struck directly at A-Jun’s heart; upon hearing she could soon meet Teacher Liu, she was immediately bursting with joy. Duan Min was helping her carry presents for Teacher Liu. The four all struck out together, heading straight for Egret Academy.

Dressed in men’s clothes, and accompanied by Princess YuNing and Zhao XiaoLan, Ming ChangYan was able to leave the imperial palace without anyone to stop him.

It had been many days since he’d entered the palace by this point, and on leaving for the first time, Ming ShaoXia was in quite a good mood, stretching out his limbs and hooking an arm over Zhao XiaoLan’s shoulders, “XiaoLan, how long have you been studying at Egret Academy?”

Zhao XiaoLan politely answered, “Many years now. I’ve studied here all my life.”

Ming ChangYan asked another question, “Then have you ever seen the Misty Chronicle?”

Zhao XiaoLan said, “That’s on the mountain behind the academy, and we study in front; nobody’s allowed back there without a password. I saw it from far away once, it’s an especially tall rock. Teacher Liu mentioned to us before that when the Great Homage Feast comes around, this rock has to be carried outside, and whoever gets first place in the competition, they’ll immediately wipe off the name on the rock and write out the new one. Although-”

Ming ChangYan raced to answer ahead of him, “Let me guess, the number one name on the rock hasn’t changed in many years?”

Zhao XiaoLan said, “That’s right! Ever since Ming ShaoXia made his public appearance, the number one name on the Misty Chronicle hasn’t ever changed!”

Ming ChangYan inquired, “It must have changed in the two years since he died though, right?”

Zhao XiaoLan paused a moment, then said in a voice filled with resolve, “I don’t know!”

Ming ChangYan, “……”

Zhao XiaoLan continued, “But I think it probably hasn’t changed, especially since the Common People’s Order hasn’t recognized anyone else!”

Ming ChangYan teased him, “But Huai Yu ge-ge has the Common People’s Order, doesn’t he? Maybe he’s secretly unsheathed it before, do you think he could manage it?”

Zhao XiaoLan turned green.

This question was like when his mother had interrogated him in his youth: Who exactly do you like better, your father or your mother?

This really made things incredibly difficult for Zhao XiaoLan, like an ant on a heated pan, a fine sheen of sweat quickly beading his forehead.

Ming ChangYan hadn’t for the life of him expected this lighthearted question to stump Zhao XiaoLan so badly, and he hurriedly said, “All right all right, I was just joking.”

Zhao XiaoLan wiped the sweat from his brow, gave a tight squeeze to the book at his chest, and let out a sigh of relief.

A-Jun grew tired halfway through their walk, so the last half – which was an uphill mountain path – involved Duan Duan carrying her. She had a higher point of view than the rest of the group, and was therefore the first to see the great entrance to Egret Academy.

She let out a questioning noise, leading the others to crane their necks in that direction–only to see that the entrance to Egret Academy was shut tight.

A-Jun jumped down from Duan Duan’s back, grabbed one of the guards at the door and asked, “Why are the academy’s doors closed today?”

The guard gave her an extremely deferential salute, “To answer your highness, this is…”

“I closed them!”

A young man’s voice sounded out from behind them. When they turned around to look, they saw Lu HangJiu and a few of his friends walking slowly up the stairs towards the entrance.

A-Jun said, “So it was you – what did you close the doors for?”

Lu HangJiu said: “Egret Academy forbids outsiders from visiting, did Princess YuNing not know about this rule?”

His gaze landed on Ming ChangYan.

A-Jun said, “Whether or not I know, it’s none of your business to care.” She turned her head, “Open the doors for me.”

The guard stepped forward to open the doors.

Lu HangJiu refused to let the have their way, promptly saying, “Don’t you dare! Egret Academy has a written rule that we aren’t allowed to bring in outsiders; once you’re found out you’ll undoubtedly receive a heavy punishment! Chu JinHua, don’t tell me you want Teacher Liu to be disappointed in you!”

Egret Academy did not discuss junior or senior status, treating all students as fellow schoolmates, and so Lu HangJiu called her directly by her proper name.

A-Jun stilled a moment, “Wait! Open it later.”

Zhao XiaoLan said, “Yan jie-jie, it’s true that Egret Academy doesn’t allow outsiders. Normally we would have just snuck in, but now we’ve run into Lu-xiong, and he’s a tattletale who likes to rat people out to Teacher Liu – so how about we just look around outside? Do you have to go in?”

Ming ChangYan nodded, “I absolutely have to.”

He took a couple steps forward; Ming ChangYan was dressed as a man today, so while Lu HangJiu thought he looked incredibly familiar, he couldn’t remember where he might have met him before.

Ming ChangYan said, “Have you ever seen a ginkgo tree bear fruit?”

Lu HangJiu stared blankly at the unexpected question, saying, “No.”

Ming ChangYan said, “Of course you haven’t. Ginkgo trees don’t bear fruit.” He asked again, “Have you ever seen a dog catch mice?”

Lu HangJiu pondered over that for a moment, “That’s another no.”

Ming ChangYan smiled, “That’s how it should be, if dogs don’t catch mice*, what’re you meddling in other people’s business for?”

(TN: “A dog who catches mice” is an idiom referring to a meddler.)

Lu HangJiu immediately reacted, “You-!”

Ming ChangYan said, “Me? Me what, huh? Does your family run Egret Academy, is that why you get to decide if it’s open or not?”

Lu HangJiu raised his voice, “It’s the rules!”

Ming ChangYan played dumb, “Turtle butts*? What turtle butts, oh–you’re talking about tortoise butts. Have you seen a tortoise’s butt before?”

(TN: Rules 规定 and turtle butts 龟腚 are pronounced exactly the same, down to the tone. (That’s not how anyone would normally say turtle butt though.)

Lu HangJiu yelled, “You’re an annoying troublemaker!”

Ming ChangYan lifted a foot to kick him in the bottom, “Have you seen a tortoise’s butt now?”

His kick sent Lu HangJiu crashing to the ground; before he could get back up to hurl verbal abuse, Ming ChangYan grabbed a sprig of blossoms like it was a club, raising it up in his hand, “Lu HangJiu, does this stick of mine look familiar to you?”

Lu HangJiu gaped slightly, then suddenly reacted, “You’re that damn woman!”

“Hahahaha, what damn woman? Zhao XiaoLan, watch this, today I’m going to teach you the second TianQing Six Sword Technique: Beating a Meddlesome Dog with a Stick.”

Lu HangJiu’s bottom began to ache on reflex upon seeing that stick; all Ming ChangYan had to do was scare him a little, and he began to wail like some tragic ghost, “Help!!! Save me!!!!”

Ming ChangYan laughed out loud, “I haven’t even hit you yet, what’re you screaming for help for?”

A-Jun was convulsing with laughter at this; Zhao XiaoLan started to laugh along with her, when suddenly he squinted his eyes, then began waving his hands, “Huai Yu ge-ge!”

Lu HangJiu’s screams stopped immediately, turning his head around to see Huai Yu slowly walking towards them.

Ming ChangYan was struck dumb for a second, guiltily hiding the sprig of blossoms behind his back. Not even this tiny movement could escape Huai Yu’s sight.

He didn’t even lift his eyelids, asking, “What are you hiding, can you show me?”

Ming ChangYan knew he couldn’t hide it, so he simply held the branch out in front of him as he tried to coax the other with a grin, “Didn’t you say you weren’t coming? Beautiful people deserve pretty flowers, so when I saw you coming I picked this to give to you!”

Huai Yu took the flowers; everyone was standing up straight and proper, their gazes flying everywhere except at him.

A-Jun said, “Huai Yu-gege, what are you doing here?”

Huai Yu said, “I’m just on a stroll.” He lifted his head, “Open the doors.”

Lu HangJiu didn’t dare utter a word, allowing the guard to open the doors. Although Huai Yu wasn’t much older than them, he had a high position and great authority, and was incredibly stern as well; they didn’t dare to act rashly around someone even the emperor had to show some humility towards. Especially as they were all his juniors, not a single voice could be heard at this moment.

Only Ming ChangYan was reckless enough to keep chattering away, “Wow, Young Prime Minister you sure have a reputation, looks like I sent those flowers to the right guy.”

With the entrance now wide open, a set of stone stairs so high you couldn’t see the end appeared in Ming ChangYan’s line of sight. Zhao XiaoLan gave an introduction, “This is ‘The Hard Road’, which symbolizes the trials on the path of education.”

Ming ChangYan said, “Amazing, a real marvel!”

Everyone stepped onto the stairs together, except for Lu HangJiu and his friends, who trailed behind at a distance, as if monitoring them. Ming ChangYan couldn’t help finding it odd, “This boy is the prince of the Kingdom of Liang, isn’t he? Why is he going to the same school as our country’s princess, that’s really strange.”

Huai Yu said, “The emperor requires all countries’ leaders to send the son of their first wife to study our country’s etiquette, firstly so that they will assimilate our way of thinking, and secondly as a way of maintaining the balance of power. The surrounding countries would never be willing to truly send their first sons, so the students here are all their least-favored princes. Egret Academy will groom them to become incredibly ambitious successors, then choose a fitting time to send them home again.”

Ming ChangYan was both astonished and alarmed, “Starting power struggles in the royal family and weakening it at the roots, that’s a real ruthless strategy. If you know, are you saying they don’t?”

Huai Yu shot him a glance, “This country has unquestionable strength; as long as it is an imperial order, nobody dares to disobey.”

Ming ChangYan could pretty much understand that, at least. Just speaking from personal experience, he was entirely in favor of the view that strength could overcome anything.

After they got through The Hard Road, Egret Academy’s main gate came into view before them. As it was currently still on holiday, the school grounds were devoid of people, save for a pair of little page boys, dozing off one on each side of the gate.

A-Jun asked, “Zi You, wake up, where’s your teacher!”

The boy on the left stood up, saw that the one calling him was A-Jun, and said, “A-Jun jie-jie, I didn’t know you were coming. Teacher just left down the mountain, it’ll be awhile before he gets back.”

A-Jun’s whole spirit seemed to droop, as she mumbled, “That’s really too bad.”

Ming ChangYan smiled, “Since he’s not back, why don’t we go check out the rear mountain?” He pointed at a plank walkway hanging high up in the air between two extremely high overhanging cliffs, and said, “Where does that road go?”

Huai Yu, “The rear mountain.”

Ming ChangYan clapped his hands together, raring to go. He’d only managed one step forward when Huai Yu grabbed onto his arm, “What do you think you’re doing?”

Ming ChangYan said, “I’m going to the rear mountain to play!”

Zhao XiaoLan said, “Egret Academy’s students aren’t allowed to enter the rear mountain.”

Ming ChangYan cunningly said, “I’m not a student at the academy. Besides, we already broke rules passing through the first gate back down the mountain, breaking one more won’t make much difference. I won’t drag you guys into trouble though, I can go alone just fine!”

Huai Yu pulled him back, refusing to let go of his hand, “I forbid it.”

Ming ChangYan was unable to pull free, and had no alternative but to say, “What’re you getting angry for now? I have important things to do, let go already.”

Seeing that he refused to be stopped, Zhao XiaoLan immediately abandoned his previous position, following Ming ChangYan’s bad example by leaping forward and squeezing in: “Yan jie-jie, are you going to see the Misty Chronicle? I want to go too, take me with you!”

A-Jun was still downcast over being unable to meet Teacher Liu, idling around with nothing to do; when she heard the mention of the Misty Chronicle, she asked, “What’s the Misty Chronicle? You guys were talking about it all the way here – it’s just a rock on the rear mountain isn’t it, what’s there to look at?”

Zhao XiaoLan said, “It’s not just a rock. It’s an extraordinary rock! The names recorded on it are all those of the very best martial artists in the world. Ming ShaoXia’s ranked number one on it!”

A-Jun asked, “Why is he number one? There’s so many people in the world, how do you know there isn’t anyone better than him!”

Zhao XiaoLan said, “They make the decision at the Great Homage Feast! Not only that, but the number one spot on the Misty Chronicle doesn’t just refer to having the best martial abilities. You’ve got to be the best at everything, all the four arts*, a combination of strengths, do you understand!”

(TN: The four arts differ depending on where you look, but generally include calligraphy, math, music, chess, horseback riding, and/or painting.)

A-Jun, “And what if people refuse to accept it?”

Ming ChangYan laughed, “Then beat them up until they agree!”

This line was really just Ming ChangYan talking nonsense. The Great Homage Feast’s selections for the Misty Chronicle were a legitimate general election, but aside from that, there was another place with its own ranking list, which also carved the names onto a rock. The Great Homage Feast’s stone tablet was called ‘Towards the Sky’, whereas the heartless women of LingLong Pavilion had picked up their brushes and carved their own called ‘Ends of the Earth’.

‘Ends of the Earth’ wasn’t actually the horizon’s edge or the corners of the sea. The names carved on this rock were also the rankings the came out after the Great Homage Feast every four years. The difference between this and Towards the Sky was that, aside from names, Ends of the Earth also included a list of bounties.

Heartless woman Xiu LingLong once spread the news that if you could kill any one of the martial arts masters, you’d be able to receive a corresponding amount of silver. If a commoner lacked the ability to kill people, they could use a considerably high registration fee to wager on it instead; once the wager was made, if anyone successfully assassinated the target, they’d get a bonus cut of the prize money. It was truly a wise money making strategy, and about as kind as eating steamed buns made with human blood.

After hearing Zhao XiaoLan’s detailed explanation, including the price of Ming ChangYan’s bounty, A-Jun couldn’t help showing some misgivings, “If that’s really the case, then why didn’t the imperial family send out soldiers? The bounty on that Ming ShaoXia’s of yours is already about equal to half the national treasury!”

Xiu LingLong had always been vicious and merciless, acknowledging money rather than people; Ming ChangYan held the number one position on the Ends of the Earth bounty list, the prize money a sky-high amount, and in ten years not a single person had ever succeeded. When the six great sects purged the Noble Gentleman two years ago, he slipped and fell into the Yanbo River, finally dying for good, Xiu LingLong and those who’d bet on his death earned an insane amount of revenue, enough to probably even buy ten whole courtyard manors in the area surrounding the Imperial City.

Zhao XiaoLan pinched at his book, “I don’t know…”

Lu HangJiu let out a supercilious snort, quietly sneering, “You really are pigheaded!”

Zhao XiaoLan didn’t pay the slightest attention to his ridicule; he had an incredibly good temper, and was extremely naive on top of that, so he didn’t at all feel ashamed to ask his senior, “Does Lu-xiong have a wise opinion to offer?”

Lu HangJiu brushed off his clothes, slightly lifted his head, and said in a louder voice, “Not only did the imperial family not try to stop him, they were perfectly happy to look on!”

Zhao XiaoLan asked, “Why is that?”

Lu HangJiu, “Let me ask you, how many powerful martial artists are out there who could kill people without batting an eye? How many great sects are there with expansive schools and thousands of disciples? Most sects are well trained and not to be underestimated; if they were to join forces and revolt, this country’s armies are all stationed in the northwest, so how well could the imperial family contend against them? Regardless of whether or not they could succeed, a disturbance like this would be more than enough to give the emperor a headache!”

“If Xiu LingLong’s way of handling things out there didn’t have the imperial family’s tacit acknowledgment, would she be able to do as much as she has? There’s a thousand famous names on that list, distributed among all the great sects, all of them well-known figures who act as the pillar of their respective sects, if they couldn’t protect themselves then how could they put up the effort to revolt?”

Zhao XiaoLan was stupefied, “I-I never thought of that.”

Just then, the children by the mountain gate called out, “Teacher Liu is back!”

A clean and handsome man came walking up from among the flowers, carrying two jars of wine; this was Egret Academy’s president: Liu Kuang.

A-Jun’s eyes brightened on the spot, lifting her skirts to run to his side.

Liu Kuang said, “A-Jun, don’t run so fast.”

A-Jun held up a basket, “I brought this for you, Teacher! And this, this is a peace charm, if you wear it around your neck you can find happiness every day!”

Liu Kuang smiled as he said, “All right.”

He lifted his head; Zhao XiaoLan and friends all bowed respectfully as they called out, “Teacher Liu!”

Liu Kuang nodded his head, then said to Ming ChangYan, “A rare visitor, I see.”

Zhao XiaoLan promptly started talking, “That’s right! Teacher Liu, this is Yanjie-jie, a few days ago she said she wanted to come to Bailu Academy, so I-”

Liu Kuang’s footsteps paused, “Yan-jiejie?”

Ming ChangYan’s complexion changed as Liu Kuang suddenly turned to Zhao XiaoLan, “Do you know who they are?”

Ming ChangYan’s gaze turned cold, staring at Liu Kuang.

Zhao XiaoLan didn’t notice in the least, saying, “She, she’s Yan jie-jie, of course.”

Liu Kuang paused a moment, then nodded, “Yes, yes that’s right.”

Ming ChangYan pulled his hand back from Huai Yu’s waist; seeing that his hand had left the Common People’s Order, Liu Kuang let out a sigh of relief.

Huai Yu lowered his voice to interrogate him, “Why are you touching my waist.”

Ming ChangYan said, “I just felt like touching it, it’s not like you’re gonna lose a chunk of meat. Or you can grope me back if it makes you feel better.”

He struck a pose, actually bumping his waist against Huai Yu.

Huai Yu wasn’t prepared for that at all, and the bump knocked him off-balance. Ming ChangYan promptly pulled him back, “You’re like some rich young lady, can’t even handle a little bump.”

Huai Yu’s gaze fell onto their interlocked hands, “What are you holding my hand for.”

Ming ChangYan said, “You sure ask a lot of questions – not everything in the world needs to have a clear answer, you know. People hold your hand because they’re being nice to you, they like you, they’re looking after you, if you’re gonna be that ungrateful about it you’ll never find a wife.”

Huai Yu snorted, then after a while began to turn fussy again, “Your pulling me is uncomfortable.”

Ming ChangYan said, “I won’t pull you then, you can walk by yourself.”

He suddenly tugged his hand back–but it wouldn’t budge.

Huai Yu wasn’t looking at him, yet he was holding his hand in a vice grip and refused to let go. He kept nonchalantly walking forward, making Ming ChangYan stumble as he was tugged along.

“Ai! Slow down!”

This time it was Ming ChangYan’s wrists that were hurting.

The two were in the back of the group doing this in plain sight, pulling each other along as if nobody else were around to see; indeed, aside from Lu HangJiu, nobody else noticed anything wrong.

He looked at Ming ChangYan, then looked at Huai Yu, his face as deathly pale as if he were mourning his deceased parents.

They passed by a green-tiled, red-walled building; everyone within the building looked stressed, walking hurriedly around with bowed heads, all of them carrying stacks of white paper. Ming ChangYan offhandedly asked, “What’s this place?”

Liu Kuang: “This is XiaoXiang Pavilion, where we print the National Daily News.”

When Liu Kuang talked, A-Jun loved to ask all sorts of questions in order to extend the conversation, wishing more than anything that he could talk with her for a night and a day.

“What’s the National Daily News?”

Zhao XiaoLan said, “You don’t even know the national daily news!?”

A-Jun glared at him, “I wasn’t asking you, what are you answering for! Teacher Liu, tell us, what’s the national daily news?”

Liu Kuang, “It records all matters big and small which occur across the land, publishing issues every day with the help of the imperial family’s funding, and uses post horses at relay stations to deliver papers around the country.”

Ming ChangYan said, “This newspaper is boring and ugly, the only part I like looking at is the teatime gossip column!”

A-Jun asked again, “What’s the teatime gossip column?”

Ming ChangYan laughed out loud, “What else could it be, it’s obviously things like some capital’s rich young mistress ran off with some poor scholar, or some sect’s sect head lost a gamble, or some chivalrous minister snuck off to a cheap brothel behind his wife’s back, that sort of thing.”

A-Jun’s face turned red as she turned her head away, saying, “That’s obscene!”

Aside from private bedroom affairs, the National Daily News’s gossip mostly focused on Ming ChangYan. For example: It was rumored he was especially wild in private, with this or that miss or madam…doing who knows what inappropriate things! Sleeping around at random, teasing respectable married women, showing no sense of shame, and so on. He was just about to mention some more of the gossip he’d seen, when Huai Yu pinched the palm of his hand.

“Do you often look at this sort of thing?”

Ming ChangYan paused a moment, then asked, “What’s the matter?”

“I look at it once in a while. What of it? If you want to look, that’s easy enough, next time I’ll buy one and we can look at it together!”

Huai Yu didn’t feel particularly happy for some reason, and said, “I’ve seen it before.”

Ming ChangYan saw he was angry, so he didn’t say anything, instead thinking to himself: There it is again, he’s mad again.

Liu Kuang gave the two a meaningful look as he said, “I see you two get along quite well.”

Huai Yu shot him a cold glance, “That’s none of your business.”

Liu Kuang choked, swallowing whatever other teasing words he’d originally planned to say.

The group all reached a pavilion halfway up the mountain. Having walked The Hard Road, A-Jun was already exhausted by this point; Duan Duan made to carry her on his back, but she waved her hands in refusal, saying only that she wanted to rest.

Zhao XiaoLan said, “It’s not much farther until we arrive, we just have to hold on a little longer.”

Lu HangJiu said, “If you can’t make it up there, you might as well just stay and wait here.”

A-Jun hated being looked down on more than anything, and immediately retorted, “Who says I can’t make it! I can still walk! I just, I just wanted to stop to get a drink of water.”

Ming ChangYan, however, was definitely tired out; he took the initiative in stepping into the pavilion, plopping himself down hurriedly down on the seat as he gasped for breath.

Huai Yu spoke up, “We’re stopping.”

Liu Kuang finalized it by saying, “Then we’ll sit down and rest a while.”

The pavilion wasn’t large, but you could still manage to find space for everyone to sit if you tried. Ming ChangYan was thirsty; catching glimpse of a well outside, he promptly left the pavilion in search of cool refreshment, bending over and using his hands to drink.

He’d only just taken a sip when a hard stick poked him in the head. Ming ChangYan lifted his head to look, only to have a pair of big, damp eyes abruptly intrude on his field of vision. He stared blankly for a good long while, murmuring to himself, “What a big pair of donkey eyes–what a big donkey!”

Without warning, that ‘donkey’ bumped heavily into him. Ming ChangYan let out a cry of pain, and fell back on his bottom.

Huai Yu said, “YouYou, don’t move.”

Ming ChangYan shouted, “Huai Yu, is this your donkey!”

A-Jun laughed out loud, “Look a little closer, does that look like a donkey to you?”

Everyone stepped out of the pavilion at that. Ming ChangYan rubbed his forehead as he got up, complaining, “A donkey this vicious would make a terrible millstone donkey.”

While Huai Yu was helping him up, Zhao XiaoLan hurried out past them in a flash as he went to stand in front of that ‘donkey’.

“It’s been a really long time since I last met it.”

Liu Kuang said, “This little white deer must have known Yun Qing was coming today, for it to come running out from deep in the mountains.”

“Deer?” Ming ChangYan exclaimed in a grieving voice, putting on an act as he said, “Are you sure it isn’t a donkey?”

Zhao XiaoLan said, “A donkey and a deer are too different to be mistaken for each other.”

Ming ChangYan objected, “Too different? As far as I can tell they’ve both got two eyes and four legs, so they’re pretty much the same.”

He squinted his eyes to look – what stood before him really was a little white deer, as snow-white as a cloud, absolutely spotless, exquisitely beautiful and nimble.

A-Jun said, “This little white deer was given to Huai Yu ge-ge by my royal mother; my father the emperor wouldn’t allow it to be raised within the palace, so we brought it to Egret Academy. It will only get close to Huai Yu ge-ge though, if anyone else tries it’ll kick them with its hooves, its temper is so bad!”

Ming ChangYan was inwardly rueful: Just look at the rich-girl attitude of the owner who raised it.

The little white deer pawed twice at the ground with a front hoof, then obediently walked over to Huai Yu’s side, turning circles around him. Once it had finished spinning, it noticed its little master had an unknown guest beside him and immediately butted Ming ChangYan with its antlers, pushing him off to the side. Ming ChangYan had a weak constitution, and had let blood a few days ago as well, so he was currently no match for this deer; after a bit of fighting, he really was pushed away.

“This horrible donkey certainly looks majestic, but why does it have to be so rude!” Ming ChangYan clung desperately to Huai Yu’s sleeve; the more the deer tried to separate him from Huai Yu, the closer he tried to stick to him in retaliation, doing exactly the opposite of what it wanted. He and the little beast were having a standoff. “What’re you shoving me for, do you think having antlers makes you so special!”

Ming ChangYan spoke energetically, his limbs wrapping around Huai Yu in a self-satisfied manner. Seeing them get increasingly closer, the little white deer anxiously began to spin in circles, biting Huai Yu’s clothes and trying to pull him away.

Huai Yu said, “Stop causing trouble.”

Ming ChangYan promptly shot the deer a glare, “Hear that, he told you not to cause trouble, so you’d better let go!”

Having been scolded by Huai Yu, the little deer lost much of its vigor, but it still refused to leave. It rubbed itself against him, then made another attempt to sneak attack Ming ChangYan.

This time Ming ChangYan had an overwhelming victory, and felt incredibly pleased with himself.

After they’d rested, the group set off once more. Ming ChangYan plucked a foxtail and used it to bully the deer, “The deer cries you you, eating wild weeds. A good name, a good name!”

He inclined his head toward Huai Yu, “Can your donkey be ridden?”

Huai Yu corrected him, “It’s a deer.”

Ming ChangYan said, “It has such big eyes, and such long lashes, and such a bad temper, and it’s so handsome too, why does it seem to me more and more like a certain someone?”

Huai Yu said nothing.

Ming ChangYan giggled, “Its tail is like a furball, it’s real soft.”

The white deer walked with a proud and long-legged gait; Ming ChangYan was beset with a sudden urge, reaching out to pinch off a bit of tail fur. Right when he plucked it, the deer startled, rear legs kicking out on a conditioned reflex. Ming ChangYan let out a cry of surprise, not because he’d been kicked, but because he’d crashed into Huai Yu.

Ming ShaoXia patted his solar plexus, “What a horrible temper, that donkey’s a real menace!”

Huai Yu said angrily, “Who said you could touch it!”

Ming ChangYan said, “Is it so precious I can’t even touch it?”

Having said that, he suddenly straightened up, forcing an awkward smile, “Thanks a lot, by the way.”

Ming ShaoXia let go of his hand and turned to look at YouYou again, only to see that the little white deer was still angrily glaring at him; he proudly turned away again, feeling particularly cheerful.

Once they entered Egret Academy, Liu Kuang made arrangements for Zhao XiaoLan and the rest, then turned to Ming ChangYan and said, “Come with me.”

Zhao XiaoLan put down his book, promptly following close behind Ming ChangYan, only to hear Liu Kuang say, “Su He, what are you following him for?”

Zhao XiaoLan’s name was Zhao Lan, but his courtesy name was Su He. Because the empress liked to call him XiaoLan, over time, everyone within the palace began copying her in calling him Zhao XiaoLan. He studied at Egret Academy, and had registered there with his courtesy name, so Liu Kuang was used to calling him by that name instead.

Zhao XiaoLan said, “I’ll go together with Yan jie-jie.”

Liu Kuang said, “Wait in the outer room, I didn’t tell you to come along. I just need your…Yan jie-jie to come in.”

Although Zhao XiaoLan had his misgivings, he was particularly obedient to his teacher, so if Teacher Liu wouldn’t let him enter then he’d stop right at the door. A-Jun called out, “How come Huai Yu ge-ge is allowed to go in, but the rest of us aren’t!”

Everyone looked to see that Huai Yu was confidently following along at Ming ChangYan’s side, and showed no signs of stopping.

After A-Jun shouted, Huai Yu looked at her and said, “There are so many people in this room, yet why is it you are the only one who talks so much?”

A-Jun went silent, her expression growing timid as she shut her mouth tight and proceeded to stop speaking.

Liu Kuang pushed aside the cloth screen, “Come in.”

Ming ChangYan strode in together with him; the room was decorated very plainly, and in its very center stood a gently smoking incense burner.

He backed up half a step, moving a little closer to Huai Yu. Huai Yu said, “What are you doing?”

Ming ChangYan said, “I don’t like the incense in this room.” He wiggled his nose, then smiled, “You’re different, you smell really good.”

Huai Yu stared blankly, “What?”

Ming ChangYan mouthed, “I said you smell good, Young Prime Minister.”

Liu Kuang said, “Excuse me for interrupting. I’m sorry to ask, but did either of you hear a word I just said?”

Ming ChangYan lifted his eyebrows, “Did you say something? Liu SanQing, that’s certainly improper of you, talking while other people are chatting.”

Liu Kuang said, “The guilty party files the suit. I’m not going to argue with you over this; Lord Ming, you really are quite lucky, to fall into the Yanbo River and manage not to die. Although I never imagined you’d run off to the imperial court–and from what Su He was saying, you ran there to play a woman?”

Ming ChangYan said, “Of course not. I went to be the emperor’s wife.”

Liu Kuang cupped his left fist with his hand, laughing, “I should expect no less of you. You’re the only person I know who could do a thing like this.”

Ming ChangYan laughed as well, “Heaven helps the worthy. Liu SanQing, let’s not beat around the bush. I came to find you because you have the fastest and most reliable information. I don’t trust what everyone else is saying, so you tell me, why did the troops that purged me then include people of the imperial family?”

Liu Kuang said, “You received the Common People’s Order at a young age, and have long been a thorn in the sides of everyone in the martial circles. The imperial family wanted to join forces with you to control the martial circles of the central plains, but you both refused and ignored them; If I was the emperor, I would consider you – Ming ChangYan – to be a serious hidden danger.”

“Moreover, you are of a different ethnicity from us, so how many people in the central plains truly obey you? I reminded you a long time ago not to put yourself too far out in the public eye. The emperor is naturally disposed towards suspicion, and in the years he’s been on the throne, he’s racked his brains trying to find a way to weaken the martial circles’ power; how could he tolerate the existence of a person like you? Lord Ming, you must know the popular nursery rhyme about the Common People’s Order.”

Ming ChangYan said, “I know it. The Common People’s Order commands the common.”

Liu Kuang asked again, “Then do you know the latter half of the saying?”

Huai Yu gave Ming ChangYan a look, “Who under heaven does not know the lord.”

Ming ChangYan said with a bitter laugh, “That’s thinking way too highly of me!”

Liu Kuang said, “It isn’t necessarily thinking highly of you. TianQing at the time was the number one greatest sect in the country, and with you, the Noble Gentleman, to oversee it, if you decided to band together to wreak havoc, it would need only be the work of a short moment.”

Ming ChangYan said, “I never wanted to be emperor.”

Liu Kuang: “Whether you wanted to or not doesn’t matter; it’s whether you could or not, and whether or not the emperor believed you wanted to.”

Ming ChangYan said, “Not long after I’d gotten the Common People’s Order, the imperial family came looking for me, and the list of conditions they gave was so long I got dizzy just looking at it. No matter how many advantages they offer me, I’m not going to accept all that; if I was that uneasy, what would be the point of me leaving Tokhara to come to the central plains?”

Liu Kuang poured two cups of wine, but Ming ChangYan rejected the offer, “I don’t drink. Do you have tea?”

Liu Kuang said, “I’m afraid even if I had tea, you wouldn’t be able to drink it.”

Ming ChangYan restrained a smile, and said, “Back then it was me that was too impatient, I just wanted to stabilize TianQing’s position in the central plains as soon as I could. If I knew this would happen, it would’ve been better to let Yi Yue stay in Tokhara for a few more years. Now that things’ve turned into this whole mess, forget bringing her to the central plains, even going back to see her is difficult.”

A particularly odd expression suddenly flashed across Liu Kuang’s face at hearing his words.

Ming ChangYan didn’t notice at all; he downed half a cup of tea, feeling as if its bitterness was seeping into his heart and lungs.

He lifted his head, realized that Liu Kuang hadn’t spoken for a while, and suspiciously asked, “Something wrong?”

Liu Kuang opened his mouth, “There was something strange about what I heard you say just now – the beginning and end didn’t quite match up. At first I thought I was just being oversensitive, but I’m beginning to think that’s not entirely the case.” Liu Kuang paused a moment, as if he were somewhat hesitant to continue.

For some reason, a peculiar feeling suddenly swelled in Ming ChangYan’s chest.

“Lord Ming, what nonsense are you saying? Back when you killed Wan QianQiu…”

He really did kill Wan QianQiu?

“It was because he murdered your twin sister.”

Ming ChangYan stared blankly, a distracted look on his face.

…What did Liu SanQing mean by this?

Wan QianQiu killed his little sister? Who?

Was he talking about Yi Yue?

After a long silence, he abruptly threw his teacup onto the floor, letting out an ear-piercing screech before the porcelain shattered; droplets of water rolled slowly through the air, stretching and twisting into the shape of bygone years, before splashing all over the floor with a bang.

Something seemed to be converging together, one drop after another squeezing into the sea of his mind. He trembled softly, as a fragmented ringing noise suddenly sounded by his hears; Ming ChangYan’s body abruptly turned empty, inconsolably mournful, a vacuous expression on his face, his ears gone deaf, light and darkness crisscrossing before his eyes, like a resplendent sea of stars, or a goddess chasing the moon.

Suddenly, a small window was pushed open, and a young girl rested her chin on her hands, looking at him with a smile.

“Brother draws such ugly eyebrows, and the shells you pick up aren’t as pretty as mine; are the shells in the Central Plains the same as the ones here?”

“……”

“Why aren’t you talking, brother? If I’m the only one talking, it feels like I’m being noisy.”

“……”

“I don’t like the moon, it’s so big and boring.”

“……”

“Brother’s lying. When will you take me to the Central Plains? You said you would last year, and the year before that too!”

“……”

“Brother, take me with you to the Central Plains.”

The moment she smiled, the moment he blinked, black clouds covered the moon, plunging the sky into darkness. All of this was false, like a dream within a bubble.

The only thing left that he could see was – at the foot of XiYue Mountain, wrapped in a white cloth, already devoid of any sign of life – a girl with nearly the exact same face as his.

Liu Kuang frowned as he called out to him: “Lord Ming?”

Huai Yu shared a look with him; Liu Kuang said, “Something’s wrong with him.”

Huai Yu yelled, “Ming ChangYan? Ming ChangYan!”

Liu Kuang’s face paled, “Yun Qing, hold him down!”

Just as he’d surmised, Ming ChangYan’s face twisted, looking to be both sorrowful and pained, like his soul and body had been fully extinguished, like all his insides had ruptured at once. His suffering was at a breaking point, beyond saving by gods or buddhas, his heart hurt, and it felt as if his head were bursting; tears of blood mingled together as he suddenly lost strength, vomiting a mouthful of blood–a portent of qi deviation!

He remembered.

Yi Yue, his younger twin sister, had long since ceased to exist at that distant FuYue shore.

Nor did she exist in any other corner of the earth.

 

 

 

This was translated by https://poppyscanlations.video.blog/, any repost of this is stolen and if you steal my work, I’m going to jab you with my donkey horns.

 

 

 

DUN DUN DUN!!!

There are mysteries to unravel and murders to solve. But that comes in the next chapter, which is a flashback by the way. I think this will be the last flashback. I count flashbacks by how long they are. There’s going to be short snippets of the past that are written in this novel, but you’re brought back to the present halfway or near the end of the chapter so I don’t count those.

It really took a turn there at the end huh. Is this was second-hand embarrassment feels like when you witness your parents do PDA.

If you see any translation/grammatical errors, then please notifying me or commenting down below! Love your comments, they’re the best.

Anyway, see you guys in a month! Love you all~

ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ

 

 

 

Chapter 24 : Table of Contents : Chapter 26

Chapter 24: The Fallen Gentleman – Part 12

Translated by: Ritpoppy

Edited by: Ritpoppy

 

 

”When you are unable to bear the karma that you have created, you will run into retribution.”

It was completely silent.

The youngsters that were all huddled around him to hear the story stared at him, expressionless. They were motionless like they themselves just experienced the massacre.

“This person definitely won’t have a good death.” Zhao SuTong suddenly said.

Zhao XiaoLan turned around to glance at him.

After a long time, Zi Gui was the first to come back to his senses. He let out a tragic sounding wail, waking everyone who was in a daze.

“That scared me to death!!!!” Zi Gui hugged himself, violently rubbing his arms as he closed his eyes and yelled, “Why are there so many bad people in this world!!!”

Zhao XiaoLan couldn’t endure the ear-shattering shout, promptly saying, “What are you squawking for? Stop yelling, my ears hurt.”

Ming ChangYan said, “What did that Sect Leader do to attract such an awful person?”

This black-clothed man that BaiLi mentioned in his story, was truly vicious beyond redemption. They were clearly toying with the other’s life like it was merely a game. Besides ordering disciples from the same sect to slaughter one another, furthermore even going as far as to boast to the man to tell him to come take revenge? Wouldn’t he be afraid that his actions might have consequences?

One of the youngsters said, “He must’ve committed an offense towards him before, so the other came back for retaliation.”

Zhao XiaoLan said, “Then does that mean that everyone else in the same sect offended them as well?”

“This…..we can’t say for sure!”

Another person tolerated the noise and asked, “Then what about that young boy, did he live? If he survived, then where did he go?”

BaiLi shook his head, “I don’t know. This story is just something I heard.”

Ming ChangYan stared blankly for a while. He had memory loss when he first came here, but hearing BaiLi Deng’s description and how similar it was to the murders in the palace – don’t tell me that it really was all done by him? After thinking about it, this story was explained in an extremely descriptive way; like the narrator was personally there when it occurred. But it still doesn’t rule out the possibility that this story was something spread among the people. It’s because of the possibility that it’s something that’s been spread around by the people, that some parts of it might’ve been fabricated, and it just so happened to fall into BaiLi’s ears. Then he may have tweaked it a little and then linked it together with the strange occurrences in the palace, and then just so happened to run into these little children to give them a scare.

When he raised his head, he noticed that BaiLi Deng had been staring at him with a smile on his face. Ming ChangYan unintentionally shivered, thinking: What are you doing looking at me for? Don’t tell me that this story was deliberately told for me?

Ming ChangYan remained calm as he lifted his teacup, and thought that his acting was extremely profound. Thinking that his disguise as a woman was imitated to perfection, so there was no way anyone found out.

BaiLi Deng asked, “Mistress, what happened to your hand?”

Ming ChangYan came back to reality, “Huh? Hand? Oh, my hand – was wounded.”

BaiLi Deng said, “I know. Mistresses body is important, so it’s best if you take value to your health more. I heard that last night you were supposed to attend-”

“ShaoShi!”

Fu Ling came rushing over, interrupting what BaiLi Deng was about to say.

Ming ChangYan stood up and cupped his hands together, “I’ll shall take my leave first.”

Zi Gui hugged his arms and curiously said, “XiaoLan, where did you find such a concubine, she’s quite interesting.”

Zhao XiaoLan smiled, “I think she’s quite interesting as well. She’s nothing like a concubine, more like…..more like a man!”

The people around them laughed and continued on to the next story.

“ShaoShi, Peony and I waited for in the Small Lotus Terrace, but you didn’t come back for the entire night. Where did you stay for the night?”

Ming ChangYan said, “Ah this, it’s not like I slept in the palace corridors, no need to ask further.”

Fu Ling’s complexion changed, she was unaware just how far she had considered this, but in short, she had the appearance of someone who held deep animosity and hard to dispel melancholy.

Along the way, many palace maids and eunuchs casted sidelong glances at them. Ming ChangYan touched his chest, consoling himself: Could it be that I forgot to stuff the steamed bun in today.

Peony stomped her foot, cursing, “What are you guys looking at??!”

The palace eunuchs quickly bowed their heads and rushed away. In moments, no one was looking.

Ming ChangYan said, “Don’t worry, don’t worry, although my get-up today is a little ragged, I’m still handsome, it doesn’t matter if they take a glance or two.”

Peony said, “ShaoShi, you really are stupid, they’re mocking you!”

Ming ChangYan was surprised, “You can get mocked at for being handsome? What kind of world is this? Ai, public integrity isn’t what it used to be.” He said, “Do you guys have food, all I did back there in the pavilion was talk, so I didn’t get to eat my fill.”

Fu Ling said, “I knew that you wouldn’t have eaten breakfast yet, so I brought you some jujube cakes. You can eat these for now.”

Ming ChangYan took a piece and placed it in his mouth. He happily giggled, praising, “So sweet! The person’s sweet, so things that they bring are also sweet.”

But Fu Ling sighed, “ShaoShi, you really are too carefree.”

Ming ChangYan stuffed another jujube cake in his mouth, “People’s worries aren’t always necessarily shown on their face.”

Another palace maid passed by, upon spotting Ming ChangYan, they showed an expression that was both of pity and curiosity.

This was translated by https://poppyscanlations.video.blog/, any repost of this is stolen and if you steal my translations, I’m going to drown you in soapy water.

Ming ChangYan said, “Why are they looking at me like that?”

Peony fumed, “Of course it’s because of what happened last night! ShaoShi, yesterday was undoubtedly your turn to serve the emperor, yet you ran off to the Ninety-Ninth Temple. The Young Prime Minister stole you on your way, and then went to DaMing Palace Hall to say that your fortune this year can subdue the entire nation. Telling the emperor that you can’t serve him for an entire year and it’s for the best that he doesn’t even see your face, or else it would cause a disaster for the entire country and anger the gods.”

Ming ChangYan swallowed the jujube cakes too fast, causing him to choke. Upon seeing this, Peony quickly said, “I won’t say any more, ShaoShi don’t be angry. If you weren’t able to do it this time, there’s always next time!”

Who would’ve thought that at this moment, Ming ChangYan would let out a laugh.

Being stolen by the Young Prime Minister in the middle of the night can already be considered a major event, something that the emperor must attach important value to. As a result, this matter has already been widely spread across the imperial palace first thing in the morning. Causing him from being a no-name little concubine to someone who is rumored to have failed to gain the favor of the emperor; turning him into the object of ridicule within the palace. Ming ChangYan thought, no wonder Huai Yu didn’t want to tell him last night how he resolved the situation, he was deliberately allowing him to lose face without even being aware of the whole ordeal! Isn’t this simply just the mindset of a little child?!

Ming ChangYan thought for a moment, then said, “What kind of magic did the Young Prime Minister perform, that allowed the emperor to trust his nonsense to such degree?”

Fu Ling was startled, “ShaoShi! How could you say such a thing! Long ago, the imperial concubines, princes, and officials of the palace caught a serious illness; even the imperial physician couldn’t do anything about it! But as soon as the Young Prime Minister took a visit, purged the evils and set down some spells, their health improved only after a few days. This isn’t something that was done to deceive people! How could you call it nonsense?”

When Ming ChangYan heard this, he suddenly came to a realization and began to laugh even louder. Apparently, this little brat had relied on his expertise in the medical field, secretly treated the patients with medicine, then turned around and told everyone nonsense that he just expelled evil that was causing disease by casting spells. Because of this, he gained both privilege and respect from this very superstitious country. This way of handling things was cunning to the highest degree!

He said, “Alright, alright, alright. You guys better stop feeling sad, or else I’m going to have a headache. I didn’t sleep well last night so I’m going to go back to the Small Lotus Terrace to take a nap. Peony, help me heat up some water, I want to drink some when I wake up.”

The three went back to the Small Lotus Terrace together, along the way Ming ChangYan remembered Huai Yu’s injunction: Telling him that he should rest for a few days, wait for Teacher to return to the academy, then he would personally bring him there.

After a huge issue in Ming ChangYan’s heart was resolved, he lied down and fell asleep. He was roused awake in the middle of the night, rolling around in his bed due to insomnia, he once again got up from his bed, and heavily sighed. He had so many thoughts in his head that it was making him unable to put his mind at ease, so Ming ChangYan grabbed his clothes and was ready to sneak away to the Ninety-Ninth Temple.

The moment he pushed open the door, Fu Ling was already guarding outside the door. She looked as if she had been waiting there for a long time, letting out a faint sigh she said, “You’re going to go look for the Young Prime Minister again aren’t you?”

Ming ChangYan curved his lips to form a lovable smile, “Does it look that way?”

Fu Ling patiently persuaded him, “ShaoShi, you’re already the emperor’s woman. Being with the Young Prime Minister….it’s already impossible! If you have an affair with the Young Prime Minister, it will become the biggest scandal ever circulated within the imperial palace. Even though he has an unshakable position in the palace, you’re merely but a simple palace concubine. You ought to understand the consequences. ShaoShi, you must think this over!”

Ming ChangYan was both startled and bewildered: Since when did I have an affair with him!

The more Fu Ling talked, the more sorrowful she became. Trying to persuade Ming ChangYan to repent, telling him that there wasn’t anyone in the imperial harem who isn’t the emperor’s woman, and how since ancient times those who weren’t loyal and didn’t keep to their own roles all met a horrible end.

Ming ChangYan didn’t know whether to laugh or to cry, “Okay, okay, I won’t go, I won’t go. Stop crying.”

Fu Ling said, “I’m not crying for myself, I’m crying for you. If ShaoShi doesn’t gain the emperor’s favor, I’m afraid that your days in the imperial harem will be hard to endure. If your heart truly cannot resist your desire and you want to meet with the Young Prime Minister, then go find him. At least with him taking care of you, your days will be easier. But by all means, you mustn’t allow anyone to find out about you two…..”

“Stop!” After Ming ChangYan heard her in such a way, like he was truly having an affair with Huai Yu, he exclaimed, “My good Fu Ling, you’re thinking too much, I’m…..!”

Ming ChangYan added in his mind: I’m a man!

But these words weren’t something that he should reveal to Fu Ling.

After all this trouble with Fu Ling, Ming ChangYan went back to his room and thought that he truly had been sticking too close to Huai Yu these past few days.

He went back and lied on his bed, he rolled over and thought that he’s always walked a straight and ethical path, what was there to be guilty about. He turned around again and thought, it’s better to avoid arousing suspicion. He currently has the identity as a woman, a single man, and a single woman being together all day long is considerably inappropriate. He rolled over a third time, exclaiming: I’m a man, what’s a man doing trying to avoid suspicion?

Ming ShaoXia rolled around his bed like he was pan frying sesame cake, frying the cake for over two hours. He suddenly pulled his quilt over his head: Stop thinking about it, stop thinking about it. The more I think about it, the harder it is to fall asleep.

His body still carried that faint muffled fragrance on him, clearly something that he acquired from Huai Yu. It precisely because of this, that caused him to be unable to not think about it, unable to not remember.

Ming ChangYan couldn’t take it anymore and sat up, shouting, “Fu Ling, Peony, come in!”

Fu Ling pushed opened the door, “ShaoShi.”

Ming ChangYan asked, “Where do you boil your water, I want to take a bath.”

Fu Ling was a bit astonished, “This late?”

Ming ChangYan replied, “Yup.”

After he ordered the two to go heat up some water, Ming ChangYan sprawled back on his bed.

Suddenly, noise was heard coming from outside his window.

Ming ChangYan raised his eyebrows. Turning over and leaping off the bed, he pushed open the window.

Outside the window, Huai Yu was sitting coldly on a tree.

Ming ChangYan stretched his head out of the window, after taking a look down below, he put on an act of admiration and said, “Wow, the Young Prime Minister sure has a lot of skills! You must’ve climbed a bunch of trees before, I presume?”

Huai Yu said, “Your clothes.”

He handed him an outer garment that was as thin as cicada wings, precisely the one that Ming ChangYan left last night at the Ninety-Ninth Temple. Just as he handed it over, a muffled thunder was heard outside. In an instant, rain began pouring down.

Ming ChangYan said, “Sitting on a tree during a thunderstorm, it’s like you’re inviting to struck get struck by lightning.” He reached his hand out, “Come in and have a seat.”

The rain sprinkled in, as Huai Yu came through the window as light as a feather.

As soon as he sat down, Ming ChangYan began to undress. Huai Yu suddenly bolted up from his seat, “What are you doing?”

Ming ChangYan answered, “Taking a bath.”

Huai Yu was silent for a moment, then sat back down.

Who would’ve imagined that Ming ChangYan would suddenly laugh, and began teasing him, “What did you think I was doing? What were you panicking for! Don’t tell me that after I impersonated a woman for so long, that you forgot that I was a man?”

Huai Yu picked up a book, callously saying, “I have not.”

Ming ChangYan laughed out loud, “You claim you didn’t. If you didn’t then why did you come through the window, we’re both men, why didn’t you come from the front door? Shy?”

Huai Yu said, “I’m not.”

Ming ChangYan smiled, “You’re not what?”

Huai Yu humphed, flipping over a page, “Shy.”

Ming ChangYan pointed at the book in astonishment, “If you’re not shy, how come you couldn’t even tell that you were holding the book in the wrong direction!”

Huai Yu looked distracted for a moment, promptly turning the book over. But when he took a look, the words were still upside down.

Ming ChangYan’s entire body convulsed with laughter. Huai Yu closed the book and decided to stop reading.

Lighting up a candle, Ming ChangYan said, “Alright, I was wrong. How come you can’t even take a joke?”

Huai Yu ignored him.

Ming ChangYan took a needle and a thread out from a case. After he finished threading them, he calmly began to mend his skirt. He was adept in his needlework skills, one look was enough to tell that he was accustomed to this kind of task. But to have the world-famous Ghost Gate’s Thirteen Needles to be used to repair a skirt, it truly was a comical and freakish sight to behold.

Huai Yu said, “What are you doing?”

Ming ChangYan tied a knot, only after nipping off the thread did he find the time to answer, “Weren’t you ignoring me. I’m repairing clothes; ripping open such a huge hole, I’m going to have to mend it before wearing it.”

Huai Yu found this hard to believe, “Did the Imperial Household Department deduct your allowance?”

Ming ChangYan said, “What?”

Huai Yu didn’t respond, he merely changed his expression as he looked at this number one in the entire world raise the lantern and thread needles.

The two sat facing the candlelight, both of them stayed silent. Only the raindrops from outside the window could be heard, the echo of the flow of water growing louder. In a flash, the sound of rain was suddenly mixed together with the sound of countless footsteps. The two in the room were experts in fighting, their vigilance and hearing range were exceptionally high. Ming ChangYan said, “There are a lot of people coming.”

Sure enough, from within the courtyard of the Listening Lotus Building, a person yelled, “The 13 Guardians are on patrol! You, you, and you go stand over there!”

Following that was Fu Ling’s voice, “What are you doing patrolling so late? Our family’s ShaoShi is inside taking a bath, how can I allow you to be so impudent.”

The 13 Guardians cupped their hands together, “Sorry to disturb you ladies, but the Eldest Prince has suddenly died in the Eastern Palace. This is uncommon occurrence, so I pray that everyone here forgives me.”

Peony was frightened for a moment, then said, “Are you guys suspecting that our ShaoShi is harboring an assassin!”

The 13 Guardians, “We are acting under orders. You guys, go open the doors of the Listening Lotus Building.”

Ming ChangYan suddenly stood up, he said, “We’ve got some big trouble. Huai Yu, you…..”

Before he even worked out a countermeasure for this situation, there was already the sound of knocking coming from the door.

Ming ChangYan and Huai Yu shared a glance, thinking: Granted that even if I’m not hiding an assassin, but with my current identity, hiding a man is also a capital offense.

Huai Yu calmly said, “What are you so nervous for. If the door’s open, then the door’s open, I’m–What are you doing?!”

Ming ChangYan suddenly let out a powerful force and pushed Huai Yu into the wooden tub. The water splashed everywhere as he said, “Hide!”

After Huai Yu was pushed in, he was drenched from head to toe, “Why should I…..”

The next second, Ming ChangYan proceeded to take off his clothes and stepped into the tub.

At the same time, the person who had been knocking on the door this whole time finally kicked the door open. Ming ShaoXia thought for a while, then perfectly imitated a woman and cried out in alarm.

 

 

This was translated by https://poppyscanlations.video.blog/, any repost of this is stolen and if you steal my translations, I’m going to drown you in soapy water.

 

 

 

I got it out! Whew, I didn’t know if I was going to make it.

One more chapter after this one and then I’m outta here and off to Taiwan. If you guys feel comfortable telling me, what do you plan to do this summer? I’m personally gonna get the rest I need and have fun on my vacation with my girls.

If you see any translation/grammatical errors, please notify me or comment down below. Love your comments about everything. Like if you comment anything, my day just becomes 20% better than what it was before.

Anyway, chapter 25 will come out later today! I just need to finish editing (つ >ω●)つ

Give some love to your pet today, and if you don’t have a pet, a sibling will do.

Have a wonderful day~

 

 

 

Chapter 23 : Table of Contents : Chapter 25

Chapter 23: The False Gentleman – Part 1

Translated by: Kestrel

Edited by: Ritpoppy

 

The first thing he heard was the ringing of bells.

The ringing sounds gradually woke the boy from his sleep. This was an extremely beautiful sound, like a clear spring and running water, like waves of Sanskrit*, tranquil and harmonious, making him feel very cozy. The boy had a habit of waking at the same time every day, so he judged that it should be early morning by now; today was his turn to make breakfast, so he slowly opened his eyes.

(TN: The language of Buddhism. Think of it as the equivalent of hearing holy choirs! )

What entered his vision was pitch-black darkness. With a sudden start, he was now fully awake.

Inadvertently his hand seemed to touch something-a person? Was someone lying next to him? There was liquid? Blood? In short, it was absolutely clear: He wasn’t in his own room.

“The last one has awoken, I see.”

The boy abruptly lifted his head; for some reason, every hair on his body stood up at the sound of that unfamiliar man’s voice. Above him, he saw a black shadowy figure.

The shadow seemed to lift a hand to make a simple movement, and with a flash, the oil lamp lit up.

What he saw before him was a sea of dead bodies. On both sides of the temple, they’d died in all kind of strange ways, their bodies twisted, faces sinister to look at, ten thousand needles puncturing their necks. Mouth, nose, chest, one thousand eight hundred silver needles bursting out of their bodies, blood spurting out like so much broth, flesh and blood indistinct beneath it. This sea of the dead had been alive not long ago-they were his fellow disciples. The scene he saw now was too sudden and incomparably terrifying; the boy’s pulse abruptly stopped for half a beat, his mind a complete blank. He’d clearly woken up the same as always, so why would a scene like this appear when he opened his eyes?

The boy was entirely unable to understand any of what he was seeing, his legs seeming to have been filled with lead as he didn’t dare move from his spot. He didn’t even dare look too long at the face of that youth in the black clothes, only seeing that by the youth’s feet were the only other living people: the sect head and his Da shi-xiong.

They had the same terrified expression on their faces as he did; the two of them had never been bound by any means before, and yet the aura of that youth in black – who couldn’t be much older than himself – had suppressed them so that they didn’t dare to move.

A shudder went through the sect head’s body, and he suddenly made his advance.

“I have no grievance or quarrel with you, so why…why must you do this?”

The youth in black shot him a cold glance as he said, “I don’t have the spare time to answer you.” He paused, fiddling with the unique and elaborate bell in his hands, before continuing, “But I’m in a good mood today, so I don’t plan to clean the place out entirely.”

The youth’s eyes were filled with haze, his entire body spiritless, completely lacking in any sort of vitality; he didn’t at all look like he was in the good mood he said he was.

“Sect Leader Lin, I’m giving you the right to decide. Between these two,” the boy watched as he pointed at him and Da shi-xiong, “which do you want to live?”

At that, the boy’s eyes widened, not for any other reason but because: he was doomed.

He had average talent, without a single outstanding thing about him, whereas Da shi-xiong had an amazing foundation, was generally the one the sect head doted on the most, and was loved and respected by all the younger disciples. Regardless of whether it was talent or position, there was no way he could compete with Da shi-xiong. Besides, he should already have died ten years ago; if the sect head hadn’t picked him up out of the snow back then, he probably wouldn’t have lived to today. If the sect head wanted him to trade back this life, he had absolutely no reason to deny. But even so, the boy’s desire to continue living didn’t decrease even a bit. The sect head had always been renowned for being benevolent and kind, so the boy held onto a tiny strand of hope that this man who was both his teacher and his father could find a way to get around it, allowing both his shixiong and himself to survive.

“Shiu! Shifu save me! I don’t want to die…I don’t want to die!”

Suddenly, Da shi-xiong crawled on his knees before the sect head, reaching out to grab tightly to his sleeve as he said, “Shifu please save me, you’ll choose me, won’t you! I’m good at everything, everything about me is better than this worthless trash! He, he doesn’t have any use at all, you brought him back just to eat our food and drink our water, we’ve already shown him the utmost benevolence, there’s no need to save him! Shifu, I’m your blood-related disciple!”

The boy’s face turned pale as he opened his mouth, “Da shi-xiong…”

Da shi-xiong cursed at him, “You shut up! I’ve always treated you so well, you aren’t thinking of fighting with me over the chance to live, are you? One who conducts himself properly must recognize kindness and seek to repay it, Xiao shi-di, now is the time for you to repay my kindness – don’t worry, after you’ve died I’ll make sure to give you a grand funeral, alright? So go ahead and die, go on!”

The boy was so frightened he couldn’t get out a single full sentence, his whole body trembling so hard he seemed to be twitching, his teeth chattering as he looked towards the sect head with both caution and dismay.

“Shifu…”

The sect head said, “I promise to bury you well.”

The boy suddenly sucked in a breath of cold air; that breath broke halfway as his heart dropped violently down from where it had been lodged in his throat, tears promptly pouring down his face.

The sect leader didn’t dare look at him, guiltily saying, “I…I truly have no choice. If I choose Da shi-xiong, there is a chance our sect might be able to make a comeback…otherwise we’ll be finished for good! This teacher has always treated you well; you were originally meant to die all those years ago, but I saved you and allowed you to live another ten years, so you should be thankful! Consider this repaying your life to me. Besides…I only make this decision because I have no other choice, you understand, don’t you?”

This was translated by http://poppyscanlations.video.blog, any repost of this is stolen and if you steal our work, don’t ever think about reading our chapters again.

Da shi-xiong, having gained a new lease on life, let out a sigh of relief before promptly kneeling before the sect head and giving him ten or more solid kowtows in thanks.

Meanwhile, the boy had already stopped listening, fear having enveloped his entire body.

Would he become like everyone else here? Swallow thousands upon thousands of needles, opening up his throat and splitting apart his belly? Thinking up to here, the desire to live made him want to pick up his feet and run, but his overwhelming terror made his legs too weak to stand. The boy crawled away as he cried out for help. Even now, he still didn’t understand why something like this could have happened, was it even real? It wasn’t a dream, was it? The entire sect was dead to the last man; there was no meaning to crying for help now.

But when a person reached the point of desperation, their belief in miracles often led them to do meaningless things. And the boy’s miracle occurred.

Behind him came the sudden sound of Da shi-xiong’s yells. At first it was just a tiny whimper, but immediately following, it changed into a miserable shriek of extreme pain. Loud enough to reverberate around the rafters for days, so terrifying it cut into one’s very soul. The boy turned his head to look, and saw Da shi-xiong curled up on the ground like a worm, his body ripped open from within. The screams continued for a while as he thrashed around, jerkily trying to pull something from out of his mouth. With a hard pull and a rain of fresh blood, he fished out a bloody red string. Da shi-xiong grabbed onto the red string as if it were a life-saving thread, tugging it outwards like a madman; what came out was silver needles, one after another, each with bloody flesh still attached to it.

The boy turned his head to vomit violently, terrified to the breaking point, and yet slightly relieved.

The youth in black watched Da shi-xiong with slightly narrowed eyes, as if the way the other struggled as he died had dirtied his eyes.

The boy started suddenly, and stared straight at the youth.

He hadn’t planned to let Da shi-xiong live from the start. Those thousands of needles had been buried in his body long before; the moment he performed any sort of substantial movement, such as kowtowing and crawling, the silver needles would pierce into his flesh, making him wish for life as he died and pray for death as he continued to live. Placing those needles without letting him feel the slightest thing off about his body was truly both evil and talented to an extreme. The boy realized that this man-was a terrifying madman with an innate gift for murder!

Once he’d thought up to this point, an unbearable itch crawled its way across his chest, as if he himself had been stuck full of needles just like his Da shi-xiong.

The sect leader staggered, his body almost falling backwards. After pulling himself together, he turned to give the boy a look full of vicious loathing, “Why are you the one to survive? You took away his chance to live!”

The boy let out a flustered shriek, “No…I didn’t…I didn’t!!”

Sect Leader Lin didn’t dare to take his anger out on the youth in black, and so had chosen to take it out on him instead. It was only then that the boy noticed the joints of the sect leader’s four limbs had all been stuck with needles; he could only cover him in verbal abuse, because he was unable to move his body.

Yet still the boy shuddered, chattering endlessly, “I’ll take good care of Shifu, I’ll, I’ll take care of Shifu in Da shi-xiong’s place, I’ll work hard at martial arts, I’ll work hard at eating, I’ll work hard at growing tall, I’ll do my best to become strong, I’ll take care of Shifu, I’ll take care of Shifu, whatever Shifu tells me to do I’ll do it, from now on I’ll take care-”

“You’re not worth a rat’s ass!!!,” Sect Leader Lin’s eyes bulged out of his sockets as he shouted sorrowfully, “I’m going to kill you!!”

Clang.

A sword was thrown before the boy; the youth in black said in a slightly cold voice, “If you don’t kill him now, he’s going to kill you. Look at you, stealing away his most beloved elder disciple’s life, what blame do you deserve? Do you think he’ll let you go?”

The boy was beside himself with panic, babbling nonsense; he was kicked and fell flat onto the floor. He wriggled his limbs as he crawled forwards, but could feel nothing peculiar about his body. Were there no needles inside him?

His hands were shaking, dropping the sword three times before finally getting a good hold of it; he was bawling. Sect Leader Lin angrily rebuked him, “What!? You ingrate! Beastly creature! Do you truly want to kill me??”

“I, I don’t…I don’t, I don’t, I don’t I don’t I don’t…”

Sect Leader Lin was almost entirely mad, cursing him in a dark voice, “The one who most deserves to die is you, I won’t let you get away with this.”

The boy’s breath hitched, his body stiffening like a stone statue; all that moved were tears pouring like rain.

“I…”

Sect Leader Lin was spouting obscenities, totally devoid of composure, seething in anger, “You disobedient beast, you thankless wretch, worthless dog, son of a bitch. You’re a disgusting wretch who doesn’t deserve a natural death, to think I actually thought of you as human…”

Hearing these words, the boy didn’t consider them unpleasant; they only felt familiar. In the sect before, because he lacked talent and was of lowly birth, he’d countless times had others call him names and beat him, ridicule and snub him. At this moment, all of these memories floated up into his mind, almost as if reminding him: Sect Leader Lin and the others aren’t good people. What’s so wrong about killing him so you can live?

He deserves to die.

“You forced me…you pushed me to do this…”

One step at a time, the boy lifted the sword with shaking hands, body held perfectly straight as he walked towards Sect Leader Lin. At the same time, there was no doubt that inwardly he was saying: He’s right, if I don’t kill him now then I’ll definitely be killed by him. I don’t want to die…I don’t want to die, I don’t want to die!

Seeing this, Sect Leader Lin finally snapped. He sprayed saliva from his mouth, shouting in a strange voice, “Who are you!! Who in the world are you!!! Why must you harm me to such a degree, even as a ghost I’ll never forgive you!!!”

The youth in black showed a smile, his eyes curving merrily.

“Then I welcome you to come get your revenge.”

“AAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!”

Sect Leader Lin was finally stabbed to death by the boy’s sword.

The boy stared blankly at the sect head’s dead boy, one moment thinking he’d done nothing wrong, the next thinking it was too late for regrets. He seemed sorrowful and regretful, yet also like it was none of his concern, looking like a puppet on strings as he stabbed the sword in with an empty-eyed expression on his face. After a pause, he stabbed again. Schk schk, the lamenting sound made by blade and flesh entangled together.

“Pfft.”

The youth in black, who’d been expressionless all this time, finally began to laugh out loud.

He laughed as he walked in front of the boy. The bells on his body made fragmented jingling sounds, amiable and soft – but hearing them once more at this moment, the boy could only feel that they were incomparably sinister, like the sounds of Avīci*.

(TN: One of the Buddhist hells )

The youth in black was satisfied, going so far as to even offer praise in his great mercy, “You did very well.”

He then cast a glance over the sect head’s thoroughly lifeless body, squatted down, and patted the boy’s head. The boy’s fear towards him stemmed from his instinct and innermost being; he was trembling from head to toe, like so much sifted chaff.

“What are you afraid of, do you hate me?”

The boy shook even more violently.

“Your fool of a shifu did things he shouldn’t have done, so he deserved to die,” said the youth in black. “If you hate me you can come find me for revenge.”

The person currently facing him showed him an entirely genuine and cordial smile, without a sliver of remorse, as if everything that had happened here just now was absolutely none of his concern.

He told the boy one last thing.

 

 

This was translated by http://poppyscanlations.video.blog, any repost of this is stolen and if you steal our work, don’t ever think about reading our chapters again.

 

 

In case anyone is lost, this is the story that BaiLi is telling the children.

It’s very dark.

If you see any grammatical/translation errors, please notify me or comment! Your comments brighten up my day~

Rest well and eat a fig sometime this week. They’re good for digestion (there’s no fig emoji so here’s a peach instead) 🍑

 

 

Chapter 22 : Table of Contents : Chapter 24