Villain’s Golden Finger – Chapter 2

T/N: Disclaimer that this is not my normal updating schedule, please don’t expect daily updates 😛 I just happen to have quite a bit of free time now that my finals are over and I’m stuck in a room haha.

Note: Ning Zhao is the name of the original host, whose body Kong Wu Ying is inhabiting.

Chapter 2 – Using our treasures to lay the floor

This… this this… This is not fucking possible!

Has it even been a minute since he started refining?

Carefully calculating, 36 seconds had passed.

Then that elixir…

A burst of medicinal fragrance was released as the lid of the cauldron was opened. Twelve black pills sat quietly within, its colour radiant, its shape smooth and round. Completely perfect.

System: …fuck…

It stared disbelievingly at Kong Wu Ying, as if a flower would suddenly sprout from his head.

His wood spiritual energy level was obviously only at 5, how was it possible to refine an elixir instantaneously.

The level of one’s wood spiritual energy was the most basic and fundamental attribute used to measure an Alchemist’s rank.

Generally, the wood spiritual energy of a rank 1 alchemist would be between 10 to 99, a rank 2 alchemist would be between 100 to 499, a rank 3 alchemist would be between 500 to 1999, and so on.

And this host, as an intermediate alchemy apprentice, had a wood spiritual energy level of 5.

With such little wood spiritual energy, how did he manage to instantaneously refine an elixir!!

And, these ingredients, they were clearly only enough to make 10 pills, how did he manage to pull off a heaven-defying stunt like making a total of 12 pills!!

(Translated by jillaimee at Silent Moon Translations)

The system’s eyes were almost popping out in agitation. Its host picked up a strengthening pill and popped it into his mouth. He furrowed his brows, and mumbled to himself, “This is very unpalatable ah.”

The system almost vomited blood. Unpalatable your sister! This is an elixir, did you fucking think it was a jellybean, being so fussy about the taste!

Kong Wu Ying ate the jellybean- no, the elixir. Although the taste was so-so, a burst of warmth rose from his dantian (2), filling his entire body with a comfortable warmth.

This was indeed his first time refining, but the recipe had appeared in his mind the moment he laid eyes on the ingredients. It was probably from the remnants of the original host’s memories.

Having finished vomiting its mouthful of blood, the system hastily announced “Congratulations to the host for successfully refining your first elixir. You have accomplished the first step of refining, and will be rewarded with a rank 1 elixir recipe.”

A flash of light appeared once again, and a recipe for the Wood Spiritual Elixir appeared in his mind.

The Wood Spiritual Elixir, a rank 1 elixir. It can increase an alchemist’s wood spiritual energy levels, and amongst the rank 1 elixirs, it was one of the most basic and important ones.

With an air of importance, the system issued the mission. “Mission 1: Successfully refine a cauldron of Wood Spiritual Elixir. Reward: Unlock the recipes of all rank 1 elixirs and the first volume of Medicinal Herb Illustrations.”

Kong Wu Ying accepted the mission, and found a wooden bottle to store the ten strengthening pills.

He didn’t have the ingredients needed to refine the Wood Spiritual Elixir. He could sell these strengthening pills at the market and earn some money to buy the ingredients.

Though it was his first time in this body, Kong Wu Ying had read far and wide over the years. He had a general understanding of the customs and streets in the Light Continent; finding his way around would not be a problem.

He walked out of the door, stepped on the road, and immediately stilled.

This sensation…

His Majesty of the Shadow Continent was dumbfounded.

The road was completely black, clear in its texture. Though the sun was bright, the light was completely absorbed by the dark stones – no reflection could be seen.

This… this… fuck, weren’t these the treasures of the Shadow Continent, the Shadow Stones?

What the system said – that no one would want it even if it was used to lay the floors – it wasn’t just rhetorical, it was actually true!

They actually used their treasures to lay the floor!

Too much!

This was too much!

Kong Wu Ying gritted his teeth with hatred, wishing that he could slaughter the fools trampling on God’s gifts like this.

Of course, he was the respected monarch of Shadow Continent; though precious, these Shadow Stones weren’t much to him, but… using them to lay the floors?

Even this monarch wasn’t so extravagant.

One should know, these Shadow Stones were the key ingredient to creating Spiritual Puppets. Most people could only dream of obtaining them.

Kong Wu Ying felt extremely bitter, but decided to focus on the task at hand for now.

(Translated by jillaimee at Silent Moon Translations)

When he got to the city, he found a medicinal hall and sold all the strengthening pills he had.

The Strengthening Elixir was considered high-grade amongst the outdated elixirs, and the pills Kong Wu Ying had were of good quality. It was sold at the market rate of 50 gold coins per pill, which would earn him 500 gold coins for the ten pills.

This could be considered quite a small fortune. The current Kong Wu Ying was poor and destitute; he only had a few gold and copper coins on him.

Kong Wu Ying very readily accepted this rate, then took out a list of ingredients that he wanted to purchase.

“One twenty-year green vine, 125 grams of loquat, 6 grams of Vernicia Fondii flower, and 9 grams of Xingmu grass.”

The shop assistant smiled warmly. “If you are buying herbs for a spiritual elixir, we have just launched a new package. You save 10% if you purchase by the package. How many packages would you like?”

Before Kong Wu Ying could speak, the system was yelling in his mind: “Three packages! Three packages!”

The host’s wood spiritual energy was too low, and it would be his first time refining this elixir. Even with the system’s help, the success rate would be less than 30%. This is already considered very good – for others, their success rate would not exceed 10%. It would be better to prepare more ingredients.

Kong Wu Ying followed the system’s words, and said: “Three packages.”

The shop assistant’s smile grew even warmer. “A package is 438 each, three packages would add up to 1314 gold coins. Our store has recently launched a new jade box packaging. It can prolong the shelf-life of the medicinal herbs and prevent its efficacy from fading with time. It is perfect as a gift, and perfect even for your own use, and it is not too expensive. It only costs 10 gold coins per box, would you like three boxes?”

Kong Wu Ying: “…”

System: “…”

Kong Wu Ying: “Cough cough… Then just one package will do, if there’s too much we won’t be able to finish it.”

Shop Assistant: “…Then the packaging?”

Kong Wu Ying: “I’ll carry it in my arms.”

The shop assistant smiled lightly and nodded, efficiently picking out the medicinal herbs and showing them to Kong Wu Ying, then packing it up in a paper bag and returning the change. “Thank you for your patronage, we hope to see you again.”

Picking up the bag of herbs, Kong Wu Ying took a few steps, then doubled back: “Get me a kilogram of liquorice as well.”

After buying the herbs, Kong Wu Ying went over to the grocery store next door and brought half a kilogram of sugar. Then he carried everything back home.

(Translated by jillaimee at Silent Moon Translations)

Just as he reached home, someone called out to him: “Teacher Ning?”

A tall youth walked out from the side. He had a handsome appearance and a smile on his face, and was dressed in a similar robe.

Gauging by his appearance, he was probably a colleague.

Kong Wu Ying remained expressionless, and asked blandly, “What is it?”

The youth had a brilliant smile on his face, but his gaze held a trace of arrogance. “I’m here to pass on a message from the Dean.”

“Regarding the master-oath competition, it is best if Teacher Ning concedes!”

His face was full of contempt, but his words were eloquent: “We are both teachers so I can understand how you feel. But this child, Han Xiu, has the Jin Mu constitution. His potential is boundless. He is not someone who can be taught by the likes of an intermediate alchemy apprentice like you. If you choose to hold on to him selfishly, you will be bringing harm to him! Besides, Alchemist Huang Xun is a rank 1 alchemist with many years of experience, you competing with him is like waving a broadsword in front of Guan Gong (3) – you’re just asking to be humiliated!”

He couldn’t care less about Ning Zhao’s honour, of course, but a master-oath competition was a huge event that would cause a great sensation throughout the entire city. If Ning Zhao lost, the Academy would be humiliated as well!

Kong Wu Ying nodded, and asked, “How much money are you giving me?”

“Your reluctance is understandable, but have you thought from Han Xiu’s perspective? If you refuse to concede, I’m afraid he will hate you…ah? What did you just say? What money?”

Kong Wu Ying set his bag down, and very seriously began calculating the costs. “There is no doubt that I will win this competition. If the Dean wants me to concede, of course he has to compensate me. If I concede, not only will I lose a disciple with the Jin Mu constitution, my reputation will also be affected. I should be compensated with at least… 3 times the prize money!”

He…he is still asking for compensation!

Did he really think he had a chance of winning?

“Teacher Ning! You…” Before he could even voice his disdain,  Kong Wu Ying furrowed his brows slightly, and said disdainfully, “Don’t tell me you really think that Alchemist Huan Xun will win? Sigh… it’s not that I want to insult you, but your IQ is really a little…”

What the fuck…

Snatching his lines was one thing, but he even…

Who did he say had a low IQ!

The young man was close to vomiting blood. He clenched his teeth tightly, “If you really win against Alchemist Huang, I, Yue Bin, will chop off my head for you to use as a stool!”

Seeing Kong Wu Ying frown, Yue Bin thought he had finally caught the mockery, but then Kong Wu Ying said, “But I’m not lacking stools ah.”

Fucking hell…

Yue Bin could feel the burning rage in his chest rush into his head. He forced out his next words between gritted teeth “If you win against Huang Xun, I will be your servant and at your mercy for the next 10 years! Now will that do?”

Kong Wu Ying’s frown finally lightened. “That is fine then, I’m lacking a cleaner at the moment anyway.”

I *bleep* *bleep* *bleep*!

Yue Bin almost fainted with anger. He snarled, “If you lose, you will kowtow to me in front of the Academy and admit your mistakes! Admit that you are a piece of trash! And leave Cloud Moon City forever. Hmmph!” Then he flicked his sleeves and left.

Kong Wu Ying watched him leave, hooking his lips in a slight smile. His expression was cold.

Afterwards he returned to his Alchemy lab, and began refining.

The system focused all of its attention, determined to observe closely this time and find out the secret behind his fast refining technique! In this world, how can there be another pill refining technique faster than this system’s?

Kong Wu Ying began refining, following the instructions to a tee. The initial few steps were exactly as the manual instructed. The ingredients were added in one by one – the green vine, loquat, Vernicia Fondii flower, Xingmu grass, liquorice…

Wait a minute, liquorice?

Why was he adding liquorice?

“Host, you added it wrongly…” Just as the host spoke up to remind him, Kong Wu Ying unhurriedly went on to add sugar into the cauldron.

System: “…”

The flames flared, and the cauldron began to shake violently.

“Shit, it’s going to explode! Host, hide quickly!” The system howled with all its might!

Inwardly, it had lost all hope. It’s over. Looking at how strongly the cauldron was shaking, the explosion this time must be massive. It’s over. This is such a small lab, even if one wanted to hide, there was no place to hide in ah! Looks like it would have to find a new host again.

Why was this person so stupid! How could he add ingredients willy-nilly, everyone knows that medicinal herbs cannot be randomly added. If there was a clash in medicinal effects, it would definitely result in an exploded cauldron!

Under the system’s despairing gaze, the cauldron shook harder and harder, then… stopped.

“Done.” Kong Wu Ying calmly removed the lid of the cauldron. There was a flash of golden light.

System: Bloody hell!

 

Terms:
(1) Chinese curse words
I’ve been translating certain phrases like 卧槽, 靠, 他妈 as fuck, or 我了个去 as bloody hell. There isn’t an exact translation, so I try to approximate with an English curse word of similar intensity.

(2) 丹田 dantian
The region in the body where a person’s spiritual energy is concentrated.

(3) 关公面前耍大刀 waving a broadsword in front of Guan Gong
Guan Gong (also known as Guan Yu, or Duke Guan) was a famous military general, and he is worshipped as a warrior god. To wave a broadsword in front of him, therefore, means that you are being a fool and overestimating your abilities.

When the Golden Finger lands in the hands of the Villain – Chapter 1

Chapter 1 – The friendly neighbour, Light Continent

Where am I?

Whose body is this?

Dressed in a long white robe, barefoot, Kong Wu Ying stared bewilderedly at his surroundings.

The room was furnished very simply.

One table, one chair, and one bed. The furniture was somewhat old, and it carried an air of decay.

Kong Wu Ying turned his neck slightly. The action was stiff and slow, as if he was a cold and hard marionette.

Looking at the calligraphy paintings on the wall and the woodgrain patterning of the furniture, he didn’t seem to be in the Shadow Continent, but in the distant neighbouring Light Continent.

And he seemed to be possessing the body of a recently deceased youth.

The Light Continent was separated from his homeland, the Shadow Continent, by a great distance. Their customs were very different, but the citizens were simple and kind, warm-hearted and sincere. Over the years, the relationship between the two remained harmonious, and they shared good trading relations. Being placed here was not a big problem; once he regained his strength, he could return to his homeland.

Kong Wu Ying inspected the condition of his body, and felt slightly satisfied.

(Translated by jillaimee at Silent Moon Translations)

Just at this moment, a light flashed across his eyes.

Following that, a voice rang out, “The binding was successful! Congratulations on becoming the second host of the Core Emperor system! This system will protect you and help you become the Light Continent’s next Core Emperor!”

Kong Wu Ying’s expression changed slightly, and he subconsciously reached out to grab a strange stone hanging around his neck, because that was where the voice was coming from.

The voice carried some traces of glee. “There’s no need to panic! No need to feel lost! This system is not a bad guy, obtaining this system is worth eight lifetimes of blessings! As long as this system is here, no matter how poor your talent is, you can become the roaring dragon over the seas and dominate Light Continent!”

Kong Wu Ying furrowed his brows slightly, his long fingers stroking the stone and sending a trace of spiritual energy to investigate it. This seemed to be quite an interesting little thing.

The voice was completely unaware that it would soon be investigated thoroughly, and was still following its usual routine of answering all the questions on the host’s mind.

“What? Do you not believe me? You are this system’s second host, whereas for this system’s first host, I believe you must have heard of his great name! He is one of Light Continent’s three kings, the famous and awe-inspiring Godly Spiritual Eight Paths Core Emperor – Chu Li Yuan. Even the most ignorant person must know who Emperor Chu is!”

The voice spoke factually; Kong Wu Ying became slightly distracted as he searched for the name Chu Li Yuan in his memories.

Oh… so it was that young man. He was indeed a child full of vitality.

“Of course, your qualifications are still far from Chu Li Yuan’s, but it’s alright, with this system’s help, you will definitely become a Core Emperor, the strength of Light Continent! At that time, you can attack Shadow Continent, allowing us to vent the anger we’ve endured for so many years!”

“Attack Shadow Continent?”

Why?

The theme of today’s world was to work towards peace and progression ah?

“What is it? Coward, are you scared after hearing that we have to attack Shadow Continent? That Kong Wu Ying has already died three years ago, and his twelve godchildren have been fighting relentlessly amongst themselves for territory, this is the perfect time for us to counter-attack! Do yo want us, the Light Continent, to remain as the colony of Shadow Continent forever?”

“…Colony…?”

What colony? Haven’t they always been upholding the policy of peaceful diplomacy and friendly relations? Aren’t Light Continent and Shadow Continent as close as family?

There seems to be some sort of misunderstanding here.

“What is it if not a colony? Don’t tell me you really believe what the wicked Shadow people said, that we are as close as brothers? Peh! Since a thousand years ago, that devil Kong Wu Ying has been forcing us to pay tributes every year, otherwise he would send troops over to Light Continent. A thousand odd years, how many precious resources have been snatched away by Shadow Continent ah!”

Tributes? It wasn’t a tribute ah, they were just peacefully trading. The Shadow Continent also took out their most precious Shadow stones to exchange for these resources ah.

The system continued, “The most infuriating thing is, those damnable Shadow people, acting like whores but still wanting to be praised for being virtuous _{(idiom for hypocritical and shameless).}  Giving us some rubbish stones in return, even if you use them to lay the floor, no one would want it!”

Kong Wu Ying: “…”

That was the incomparably precious Shadow stone, a large piece could buy an entire city!

Rubbish your sister ah!

Once the system started talking about the faults of the Shadow people, it had an unending stream of comments: “The Shadow people are all despicable, shameless and evil, they are practically inhumane! In the past, my first host Chu Li Yuan once rode alone towards Shadow Continent to challenge them for the sake of Light. That despicable and shameless devil couldn’t win against him, and so sent a bunch of beauties to xx him, causing that generation of Core Emperors to meet such a hateful end, tell me, isn’t that shameless!”

Kong Wu Ying: “…”

That year, the young man suddenly proposed a life and death duel; although he didn’t really understand, he thought that it was possibly a tradition of the Light Continent, it seemed that they were all filled with that sort of hot-blooded Knighthood belief. Out of respect for their culture and traditions, he accepted the challenge, and showed his greatest sincerity in his response. He sent out the most beautiful, most talented female spiritual puppets to face him, there was nothing wrong with that ah.

Why is it that it has become an example of shamelessness and evil? xx, poisoning, sowing dissension, assassination, weren’t those very common strategies?

“Anyway.” The system was already concluding the entire affair on its side. “There is not a single good thing in Shadow Continent. We must cooperate together and resist their violent acts, save the entire Light Continent! Work hard! Work hard! Work hard!”

(Translated by jillaimee at Silent Moon Translations)

Kong Wu Ying slowly withdrew his hand. He had already almost completely understood this so-called Core Emperor system. In terms of its mechanism it was similar to the spiritual puppets of Shadow Continent. The material used was a little crude, but it contained some knowledge and skills he was unable to make complete sense of. Truly quite interesting.

Recalling his spiritual energy, a trace of smile appeared on Kong Wu Ying’s face. This body had a clean and fresh appearance, and when he smiled, it portrayed a quiet, gentle demeanour.

But the Core Emperor system shivered slightly. Was it its imagination? Even from earlier, it had the feeling as if it had been completely stripped bare and exposed. Was it because he had been drifting for too long without having a host to nourish itself, resulting in it becoming a little weak?

Thankfully that feeling faded away quickly.

The system saw that Kong Wu Ying remained unmoved despite all its dramatic rhetoric, and decided that it needed something more concrete.

“Tomorrow is the day of the master-oath competition between you and Alchemist Huang Xun. Though that brat’s refining skills are rubbish, he is still a true blue rank 1 alchemist. You can’t even refine a strengthening elixir, to surpass him in this competition is a feat as impossible as ascending to the heavens, but now, with this system, things are different. I guarantee that you will shock everyone, destroy Hung Xun, and successfully save your beloved disciple!”

Master-oath competition?

Kong Wu Ying pondered for a while. Although he was not a citizen of Light Continent, he was quite well-read, and had some general understanding of Light Continent’s customs.

A disciple could only recognise one master in his lifetime, and revere him like a father and brother. But there were times where one would recognise the wrong master, and that was when a master-oath competition would take place. When a disciple caught the attention of another master, a challenge would take place between the two masters. The challenge could not be refused, and if the master who was challenged lost, he would have to give up his disciple to the challenger.

Of course, if the challenger lost, he would have to offer enormous compensation, otherwise if everyone went around conducting master-oath challenges willy-nilly, things would be a huge mess.

From this, it could be seen that the original host’s disciple had excellent talent, to be able to be the cause of a master-oath competition.

From Kong Wu Ying’s perspective, how could any random trash issue a challenge to this monarch? It was only because he was following the customs of the place he was in.  Perhaps he could also experience a little of this Alchemy.

Seeing that it had roused the host’s attention, the system immediately struck while the iron was hot. “To help you quickly improve your Alchemy skill, this system will generously gift you a newbie package containing a Pill Refinement manual. This manual contains the essence of Alchemy. It is different from the general Alchemy methods of this Continent, the host should follow the instructions strictly and not modify it arbitrarily.”

A ball of light appeared and darted into Kong Wu Ying’s forehead.

When the boundless spiritual energy in Kong Wu Ying’s body sensed the intruder, it roared and made to surge forward. Had Kong Wu Ying not managed to rein it back in time, that light would have been completely consumed without a trace.

(Translated by jillaimee at Silent Moon Translations)

A large amount of information entered Kong Wu Ying’s mind.

“Manual of Pill Refinement, instructions for use:

1. This product must not be used with other Pill Refinement packages.
2. Those with heart disease, mental illness, or epilepsy, please do not use this product.
3. Those below 12 years old, please use only with parental supervision.
4. If you feel unwell within 4 hours of using this product, stop immediately and seek medical advice.
5. The right of interpretation of this product belongs to the manufacturer. The manufacturer will not take any responsibility for any accidents that occur.”

What nonsensical rubbish was this!

At least the main text after the instructions for use was somewhat normal.

A huge amount of information and pictures flowed into Kong Wu Ying’s mind, allowing him to understand all the information in an instant.

Seeing Kong Wu Ying open his eyes, the system said, “Done, now go and try refining an elixir.”

Kong Wu Ying nodded, entering his Pill Refinement room.

It was located beside his living quarters, a very humble room measuring five feet square.

The system sighed inwardly as it appraised his refining equipment.

Blue iron furnace, coal fire, heartless water, and these medicinal herbs that obviously dried up within less than three years… this new host was really poor! How it missed Chu Li Yuan’s alchemy lab, as big as a football field, the countless rare herbs that could be obtained with a wave of the hand, the Heaven-grade cauldron…

Sigh, beginnings were always difficult. Since it ended up with such a host, it could also make do, it was not as if it could just leave.

As it thought like this, its new host had already swiftly opened the lid of the cauldron and started the fire, adding in mugwort leaf, goosegrass, Fengyang flowers, amongst another herbs. It seemed like he was going to refine a strengthening elixir.

The strengthening elixir was considered outdated, but amongst the outdated elixirs it could be considered high-grade. It had the effect of quickly restoring one’s stamina. Its host was only a mid-grade Alchemy apprentice, and had previously failed countless times when trying to refine the strengthening elixir. But things were different now. With the help of the Pill Refinement Manual, it was guaranteed that he would succeed in one go!

Mn… he has already thrown in all the ingredients, and mixed it up, not bad, the technique was completely identical to what was written on the manual, without the slightest mistake.

The next step was to infuse wood spiritual energy. With the host’s wood spiritual energy levels, it would take approximately an hour.

The process of refining pills has always been laborious. A high grade elixir could take more than a year to refine. Although this strengthening elixir was outdated, with such low quality ingredients and cauldron, if not for the guidance of this system and its manual, it was completely impossible to refine it!

Hmmph… this was already the shortest possible time needed to refine the elixir. If there was someone who could refine it in a shorter time under some circumstances, this system will chop off its head for him to use as a stool!

Just as the system thought so smugly, Kong Wu Ying withdrew his hands and opened the cauldron. “Done!”

System: “…!”

Rare Treasure – Chapter 3

T/N: As mentioned before, this novel starts off slow but gets good later on! If you’re finding it as tedious as I do with these early chapters, I would say try to bear with it for a bit more! It starts to pick up from Chapter 5.

I’m not taking this up officially. If anyone is interested in taking over, please feel free to do so; no need to ask for permission or wait out the 3 month courtesy period.

 

Chapter 3 – To repeat a grade is to humiliate the Xu family and their IQ

With tears of blood, Xu Ran toiled over her desk for 3 days and 3 nights, and finally managed to finish her homework just before school restarted.

It was fortunate that the questions were not as difficult to understand as she had imagined – it mostly comprised of text interpretation and explanation, and could be answered by flipping through a few books. In the process of doing her homework, Xu Ran sorrowfully realised that many of the questions texted in her exam were found in her homework.

She remembered the blank piece of paper she submitted, and her intestines almost became green from regret. She memorised it as she wrote it out, and after going through it once, she managed to memorise bits and pieces of it.

It was ultimately impossible to cram everything at once, thus Xu Ran would have to come up with some other method. After finishing her homework on text interpretation, she was left with her homework on current affairs and arithmancy.

She took one look at the questions and silently put down her book.

She couldn’t swell her face up by slapping it to look imposing ah (idiom – to act big by feigning beyond your abilities)…if she couldn’t do it, she couldn’t do it.

(Translated by jillaimee at Silent Moon Translations.)

When he learnt about Xu Ran burning the midnight oil and studying hard, Xu laoye felt very reassured. The day Xu Ran was to return to school, Xu laoye happened to be off work, and in high spirits, he personally escorted her to school.

The Ceremonial Rites Pavilion was located on the East side of the Imperial street, surrounded by government offices. The privy council and Senate offices that Xu laoye often frequented was located in the innermost part of the East side. The Ceremonial Rites Pavilion was near the Xuande entrance, less than a mile away from the bustling city centre.

The Ceremonial Rites Pavilion was filled with the children of government officials; Xu laoye immediately saw many of his colleagues and subordinates in the Senate office. As a Senate official and assistant to the Prime Minister, though he had yet to enter the Cabinet, Xu laoye was considered to be of higher rank. His colleagues gathered around to greet him.

They occasionally addressed Xu Ran, their words full of praise. Everyone was an expert in waxing poetic, and they praised her so unreservedly that Xu Ran felt embarrassed listening to them.

On the other hand, Xu laoye was very pleased with the praises. Regarding this daughter of his, he understood clearly that though she was a little stubborn, she definitely had the ability to live up to their praises. As long as she was willing to put in some hard work, it was entirely possible for her to rank first.

Inwardly pleased but maintaining his solemn expression, he patted Xu Ran’s head and said: “You’re too kind. My daughter still needs to work harder.”

Officials A, B and C exchanged glances, and smiled: “Sir has taught your daughter well. You are too humble.”

Xu laoye smiled and escorted Xu Ran into the academy.

The moment they left, the officials immediately changed their tune.

Official A: “I heard his daughter handed in a blank piece of paper for 8 exams, and he actually still has the face to send her here personally. If it was me, even if you beat me to death I wouldn’t come and embarrass myself here.”

Official B: “Lower your voice. But you’re right, I’m afraid there has never been a case of submitting blank papers for 8 consecutive exams in our entire history since this dynasty was established. Although it is only a minor academy exam, such an act is truly too wilful.”

Official C: “I heard that the Xu family’s second miss has always had mediocre grades. She probably realised her own inability and gave up altogether.”

It looked like she would share the fate of Zhao family’s young miss – marrying someone and entering through the back door!

Xu Ran followed behind Xu laoye. Their walk was followed by several people pointing and whispering about them. Xu Ran felt uncomfortable all over, and pressed closer to Xu laoye: “Father, let’s not look for Teacher Lü any more. School has just started; he must be busy.”

Xu laoye glared at her. “What are you afraid of, I’m just going to explain a few things to Teacher Lü. Don’t tell me that he can’t even squeeze out enough time to listen to a few words from me?”

Xu Ran closed her mouth and didn’t dare to speak further.

Teacher Lü was in the process of sorting out the exam papers; upon seeing Xu laoye, he immediately put the papers down, and instructed the servants to serve up some tea.

The tea was served by servant Tian Er.

The original Xu Ran had a good relationship with Tian Er, and outside of serving Teacher Lü, would help Xu Ran with a few things. For example, now that Teacher Lü was about to show the eight blank exams papers to Xu laoye, Tian Er aggressively blinked repeatedly at her.

Xu Ran froze, completely missing the point. She thought in her heart: This servant must have a problem with his eyes.

Teacher Lü cleared his throat. He allowed the words that he was about to say to stew in his stomach for a while, removing any phrases that could provoke unhappiness, then carefully said: “Regarding the examination, I believe Master Xu has heard about it.” As he spoke, he picked out Xu Ran’s answer sheets and held them out.

Xu laoye‘s face went green.

Teacher Lü coughed, and continued: “Xu Ran was on break from school for 2 months; the homework that she has fallen behind on must be remedied. If her grades at the year end examination isn’t desirable, it Is best for her to enter the Primary 5 grade, and redo the year.”

Xu laoye’s face turned greenish black.

Falling by a grade and redoing the year – this was simply a shame upon the Xu family’s intelligence.

(Translated by jillaimee at Silent Moon Translations.)

When he left, Xu laoye repeatedly reminded Teacher Lü: He must monitor Xu Ran carefully. Even if his methods are a little strict, he should go ahead and use them.

Then he turned and said to Xu Ran: If she doesn’t work hard in the new semester, then she best be prepared to spend some days in hell.

Xu Ran swallowed, and suddenly felt an enormous weight on her shoulders.

Tian Er, taking advantage of being the supporting role to Teacher Lü, secretly came up to her, “Miss Xu doesn’t need to be anxious. Prepare well and you will definitely score well next time.”

Xu Ran thanked him for his well wishes, and prepared to continue walking towards the Academy.

Tian Er followed closely, “The prescription Miss Xu gave the last time was very effective; the medicinal herbs used were cheap yet effective, my mother took three courses of the medicine, and her cough has improved significantly.”

Listening to this, Xu Ran couldn’t help but feel curious. It couldn’t be that the original host also had medicinal skills? Looking at Tian Er’s attitude towards her, he seemed very grateful.

To treat even a servant boy so well, the original host should be a kind little lady. Xu Ran couldn’t help but sigh again, good people don’t live long ah. To be replaced by counterfeit goods like her, even becoming the rebellious daughter in her parents’ eyes – if the original host knew, she would probably be enraged to the point of puking blood.

Xu Ran shook her head, she couldn’t trample over someone else’s life and body in vain like this. She needed to live well, summon up her vigor, even if severe floods and great beasts laid ahead of her, she must still live every day well.

Xu Ran smiled at Tian Er, “It is good that it is effective. Anything you need, just let me know.”

Tian Er stammered out, “Today is the first day of school, and it is a half-day. Teacher Lü has given me half the day off, I wish to go home with my younger brother. Could Miss help me pass a message?”

Xu Ran thought for a long while, and still couldn’t recall just who Tian Er’s younger brother was.

Tian Er quickly said, “My younger brother is Han Tong, he is in the same class as Miss. Miss is a person of high rank, it is normal not to remember.”

Xu Ran finally remembered who Han Tong was.

The top student of the Primary 5 grade; other than in the two subjects of governance and music in the Six Arts, there was essentially no one who could score higher than him. As an average student, the original host had little contact with him.

Xu Ran asked, “Why don’t you go yourself, he should just be in the classroom.”

Tian Er mumbled, “… I’m afraid others will laugh at him…” for having a servant boy as an older brother.

Xu Ran pursed her lips, and agreed.

When she entered the classroom, Xu Ran scanned the room for Han Tong. The class consisted of 30 students. The new school term had just started, and everyone was clustered in groups chatting away.

She had yet to find Han Tong when someone came up to her, greeting her merrily.

“Ran Ran, you’ve recovered!”

Xu Ran looked up and saw a young lady with a round face and almond shaped eyes. When she smiled, two dimples appeared on her freckled cheeks, looking as sweet as the nectarine flowers in spring.

Xu Ran had long done her research from the human Google(1) Fei Cui, and knew that this was Xu Ran’s good friend Su Tao. Also the sister of the Sir Su that Older Sister was always trying to defeat. The original Xu Ran was not a fan of networking, and wasn’t very close with Su Tao, so Xu Ran wasn’t worried that Su Tao would detect anything amiss with her identity.

Although the original host did not leave her all the memories regarding the exams, it was still enough for her to handle conversations with the acquaintances of the original host.

Xu Ran smiled at her, “I’ve recovered, thank you for specially coming over to visit me the last time. I’ll invite you to our manor to play next time, sorry for the trouble.”

Su Tao had visited the manor once when Xu Ran was ill. At that time, Xu Ran had only just transmigrated over, her entire being had still been in a state of turmoil and she hadn’t dared to meet with anyone.

She had rejected her directly.

(Translated by jillaimee at Silent Moon Translations.)

Thankfully Su Tao had a good personality. She didn’t mind in the slightest, and smiled sweetly, “Seeing that you are fine now, I’m relieved.”

The two of them sat together for a while, and the atmosphere slowly become awkward.

Xu Ran searched through her memories, and realised that the original host was not good at networking. She had few friends, and even with Su Tao, someone whom she had known for five years, they had never had any meaningful conversations.

Was this some form of social anxiety? Xu Ran thought for a while, and decided to take the initiative in conversation. “Su Su, do you know where Han Tong is?”

It was the first time she had heard Xu Ran use such an intimate form of address. Su Tao startled a little, but quickly replied warmly, “I just saw him leave to look for Teacher Liu, did you have business with him?”

Xu Ran nodded. She would just have to wait for him to return.

The two of them continued to stew in silence.

Xu Ran thought that she had to make more friends. Su Jiao’s gossip would come in handy at this time.

When she brought up the topic of Zhao Yan, Su Tao was indeed interested. When two ladies got together, gossiping about others was the best way to deepen their friendship.

The two of them expressed sympathy regarding this matter. Marrying someone to take a shortcut was truly not something glamorous.

Su Tao remarked, “Look on the bright side, at least she can fulfil her own dreams and successfully enter Radiant Pavilion. Zhao Yan might have been a little fierce, but she was still our fellow classmate, hopefully everything goes well for her.”

At the mention of Zhao Yan’s fierceness, Xu Ran immediately remembered. Some time back, during the sixth paper of the Primary School examinations, she had accidentally bumped into someone, and had immediately been glared at harshly, and it seemed like… she had even been scolded.

If she remembered correctly, the person who had scolded her was Zhao Yan!

Mn, truly not a person easy to get along with.

As they were chatting, Su Tao suddenly pointed to the door, and Xu Ran saw that Han Tong had arrived. He was a young man dressed in a light green robe, looking coldly imperious and charming.

Xu Ran passed Tian Er’s message to Han Tong. After hearing the message, Han Tong remained expressionless, and walked past her without even a word of thanks.

Xu Ran was left awkwardly standing there.

Su Tao hurriedly stepped forward to resolve the situation, murmuring, “The teacher will be here soon, we should get back to our seats.”

(Translated by jillaimee at Silent Moon Translations.)

The first thing Teacher Lü did upon entering the classroom was to hand out the papers from the exam.

Holding eight pieces of blank paper filled with a bright red question mark, Xu Ran’s entire face was red.

Incomparably…shameful.

The entire class knew that she had handed in a blank piece of paper, and kept looking over at her. Xu Ran practically couldn’t tolerate it. Su Tao considerately moved her chair closer to her.

“It’s okay Ran Ran, you were just ill…” Su Tao was about to continue with ‘to the point of being muddled’ but quickly swallowed the words back.

Teacher Lü gaze swept through the classroom, and rested on Xu Ran. He cleared his throat, “Xu Ran, change seats and come to the front.”

Fifteen minutes later.

Xu Ran sat in front of the teacher’s desk and received the special treatment of Teacher Lü spittle flying everywhere as he spoke. She choked speechlessly.

If she turned her head, she had a perfect view of everything that was going on in the class. The feeling of having her desk moved to the podium to look down at the entire class – Xu Ran had never experienced it in her previous life, and now got the opportunity to experience it in this lifetime.

Truly painful.

Just as she finally managed to get to the end of Teacher Lü’s class, and was about to sigh with relief, a mocking voice rang out, “Yo, Xu Ran, now that you’ve been moved right in front of the teacher’s desk, are you going to throw a tantrum and pretend to be sick again when you get back home?”

Xu Ran straightened imperiously. It seems like this person wants to pick a fight with her ah.

Terms:
(1): 人肉机 – An App on Baidu Tieba, a Chinese communication app. It allows one to dig up information about a user, including their IP address, phone number, address etc. Translated to ‘Google’ for more universal understanding.

 

Thoughts:
It’s been a bit of a hectic period. Hope everyone is well in these chaotic times. Stay strong and at home! This was my final year at uni, and I wouldn’t have had time to do another chapter tbh if not for all this happening. Not going to make any promises, but continuing updates on this novel looks to be more likely than before.

 

 

Rare Treasure – Chapter 2

T/N: So I skimmed read up to about Chapter 70, and I must say, for its slow start, this is quite a charming story. I’m not going to officially take this up, because I know that I can’t promise regular updates with my other commitments, but it’ll probably be the main thing I work on for a while like I did OZY, until someone else who can devote more time to it takes it up.

PS. I’m not a professional translator, and this novel can be a bit tricky, so please let me know if you think of a better translation for certain phrases. I’ll give you due credit in the chapter.

Note: changed “Literature and Philosophy” High School to “Mainstream” High School as it is a better translation. It also encompasses things like athrimancy etc.

 

Chapter 2 – Every single person could flatten her with their intelligence

Lady Xiao sighed: “Ran Ran hates studying to this extent, what should we do? It’s lucky that it has just been revision tests so far, and these are not going to affect her assessment for progressing, but in a few months time it’ll be the year-end exams, which are extremely important. If she continues to be like this for the year-end exams, I’m afraid she will not be able to enter Radiant Pavilion for her High School.”

To enter High School, one must not just pass the exams; the results from the year-end examinations every year in Primary School will also be used to make the final decision. If Ran Ran suffers a defeat in her year-end examinations, it might affect her entrance exam in the future.

Xu laoye shouted angrily: “She dares! If she messes around again, I will definitely break her legs!”

The eavesdropping Xu Ran trembled, her legs feeling weak, and did not dare listen any more. From what she observed in the past few days, Xu laoye, though he looked to be friendly and easy to get along with, when it came down to it, he would definitely follow through on his threats.

She might be his biological daughter, but if she continued to be in this good-for-nothing state for her year-end exams, even if she escaped having her legs broken, she would be grounded for a year.

Her cheaply-gained big brother Xu Fei, who became an Imperial Guard, was a prime example. In the past Xu Fei was very mischievous, always coming last in his Primary School exams, to the point where it looked as if he would not be able to even enter the Martial Arts High School. Half a year before the entrance examinations, Xu laoye resigned from his concurrent job as a Scholar Official in Guan Wen Hall, and personally supervised and taught Xu Fei every single day.

Using Xu Fei’s words, that half a year was practically an un-liveable existence.

Now, even if her cheaply-gained parents came to the conclusion that she simply hated studying, once they found out that she didn’t even know how to take an exam – she didn’t even dare think of the reaction Xu laoye would have.

Yes indeed, Xu Ran was feeling a great foreboding of danger; not only because of Xu laoye‘s violent rage, but also because she was at a complete loss as to what her own future would entail.

(Translated by jillaimee at Silent Moon Translations)

In Zhou Dynasty, High School made the difference between the gutter and the mountain peak. Poor families who wanted to change their fate went to great lengths to support their children in entering the Mainstream High School, if they managed to get into the public school, then all the better – the school fees were cheaper and it was subsidised; in today’s context, it was like getting a bursary at a prestigious school. Within these, Radiant Pavilion was the number one High School, and the academy where every single generation of the Xu family had studied at.

Those who could not make it into the public High Schools could still go into the private High Schools. It was just that the school fees were a little more expensive, and there was no guarantee of teaching quality – one often had to separately hire their own private tutors. This is usually the best place for wealthy landlords and merchants.

Or, one could enter the Martial Arts High Schools. It was not difficult to get in; they had lower educational expectations, and as long as one passed the Martial Arts module, they could enter the school. The top scholar in Martial Arts each year generally came from the Martial Arts High Schools. Even if they performed mediocrely in the Imperial Examinations, as long as they graduate from the Martial Arts High School, they could become military officials and guards, or join the Army.

And as for those coming from poor families with average grades, they usually entered the career-oriented High School, where they could choose from 360 careers. It was similar to today’s professional schools, where upon graduating, they could immediately enter the relevant industry and work.

And now, putting the issue of entering High School aside, to her, even successfully completing Primary School was a huge problem ah!

The more Xu Ran thought about it, the more her heart throbbed with pain, and she returned to her room whilst sighing in despair. She casually flipped through the books “Essays on Current Affairs” and “The Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art”, from right to left, up to down twice, gazing at the tiny and densely packed traditional Chinese characters, and she found herself simply unable to calm down.

Just then, her maid Hong Yu entered the room with a bowl of ginseng soup, saying that Lady Xiao had ordered the kitchen to stew it for her to nourish her body. Anxious and distracted, Xu Ran finished the entire bowl in one gulp, scalding her tongue.

Hong Yu hurriedly got her a cup of cooling tea to rinse her mouth. Xu Ran rinsed her mouth, and seeing the silver-green patterned tassel hanging on Hong Yu’s waist, asked: “Hong Yu, you have passed the attendant exams?”

She had two higher-ranking maids Hong Yu and Fei Cui, four lower-ranking maids, and a few others serving in the courtyard – a total of ten or so people. Out of all of them, Hong Yu had the most authority. There was no other reason; it was simply that she had scored the highest in the attendant exam.

Hong Yu was a little abashed; she busied herself with tidying the jadeware on the table as she answered: “I took it 5 times before I passed.”

Xu Ran clapped her hands together: “That is very impressive, within the entire residence, you are the second one to pass the Grade 4 attendant exam!” The first to pass was Xu residence’s steward, Old Tang, who was now a Grade Six servant.

After she spoke she felt a little dejected again, and muttered: “If it were me, I’m afraid I wouldn’t even pass Grade 1.” If she had transmigrated into an ordinary, commoner family, she probably would not even have the qualifications to become a servant.

Lucky ah, lucky, she was now a child of an official! At least she wouldn’t starve to death.

Hong Yu lowered her head and smiled: “Little Miss likes to joke around. Little Miss will be someone who enters the Imperial College of Supreme Learning in the future, you wouldn’t be taking the attendant exam.”

Xu Ran raised the corners of her lips, and slumped on the table.

Imperial College of Supreme Learning yo, such a remote and sacred existence, she reckoned she wouldn’t be able to even reach the edges of it in her entire lifetime.

(Translated by jillaimee at Silent Moon Translations)

After falling into a daze for a long time, Xu Ran suddenly remembered the question Lady Xiao tested her on earlier. She copied it down based on her vague memory of it, prepared to seek some help from her scholar-tyrant(1) older sister Xu Jia.

As long as she was willing to learn, it was never too late. If she wanted to change, she had to start from now.

Xu Ran silently cheered herself on. Just as she stepped out of the room, paper in hand, she bumped into Xu Jiao, who was on her way over.

Xu Jiao had changed her clothes. She wore a celestial dress that fluttered and swayed lightly around her, and a pair of five-coloured sandals; whenever she raised her hands or took a step, she appeared delicately charming and cute.

留仙裙 (“celestial dress”)
image taken from: http://www.jd.com

The moment Xu Ran saw her, she knew that Xu Jiao must have gotten some new gossip.

As expected, the first words out of Xu Jiao’s mouth was: “Second Sister, Official Zhao’s daughter got engaged, it must be to the second son of Official Wang from Chen Nan’s Ministry of Appointments.”

“Hah?”

Xu Jiao leaned in, acting all secretive: “I heard that it was because the examination official from the Wang family had already been decided behind closed doors. Zhao Yan has taken the exam for three years but still failed to enter Radiant Pavilion, she probably wanted to take a shortcut.”

The examination officials were overseers of all the Academy examinations. Because they would not have the qualifications to enter the other six government departments and be promoted, being an examination official was the highest position they could ever attain. As compensation, the Imperial Court had a quota in the High Schools reserved for their family members, who could enter without needing to take the exam.

Xu Ran didn’t have much of an impression of Zhao Yan, but vaguely recalled that she was in the same Academy, and her fellow classmate. It was not a glamorous thing for a member of a noble family to take a shortcut; she probably had no other choice.

Xu Jiao shot a glance at Xu Ran, and smirked evilly: “Second Sister, if you mess up in your exam again, Father would probably also have to set an engagement for you to take a shortcut.”

Xu Ran hurriedly raised her hands: “Don’t joke around, I won’t be able to take that.”

Xu Jiao shrugged and handed over a small box. It was filled with embroidered silk flowers – they were exquisite and realistic, and each petal was even embroidered with unique patterns – it was undoubtedly the work of a high ranking maid from some family.

“From Princess Xiang Luo. Choose a few. You’ve recently been dressing a little too plainly, this is completely unlike how you were before.”

Xu Ran could only choose a few flowers casually, still focused on asking Xu Jia for help with the math question. She turned to leave, only to be pulled back by Xu Jiao, who looked unhappy: “Why didn’t you ask me about the reason why Princess Xiang Luo gave me this?”

Xu Ran knew that she must be looking to show off again, and reluctantly asked: “Why?”

Xu Jiao delightedly said: “I’m now one of the top ladies in the capital, once I wear this flower in my hair, it will definitely become extremely popular. Princess Xiang Luo could then show off to others about her maid.”

Xu Ran repeatedly agreed as she spoke.

(Translated by jillaimee at Silent Moon Translations)

This cheaply-gained younger sister of hers had little interest in studying, and instead enjoyed chasing after novel trends. Her academic results weren’t too bad, and so the elders didn’t interfere too much with her hobbies. Despite her young age, she had good taste, and she was always dressed radiantly.  She was essentially the equivalent of a beauty blogger in ancient times.

Xu Jiao had yet to finish showing off, but Xu Ran was uninterested in further small talk, and waved the exam question in front of her: “See this, your second sister needs to attend to proper business; studying is a bigger priority.”

Xu Jiao clicked her tongue twice, and smiled: “You must be thinking of going to find Older Sister; she’s too busy to care about you now, she has to study for tomorrow’s exam. If she loses again to the Minister of Rites’ son, Sir Su, she would probably be enraged to the point of coughing up blood. You better not go and disturb her now.”

At Xu Jiao’s words, Xu Ran felt conflicted.

In High School, Xu Jia was always ranked number two, and always yearned to defeat Sir Su, who was ranked first. Her determination was so great that the entire residence knew about it. It was indeed not very appropriate for her to ask Xu Jia for help now.

Xu Jiao glanced over at her, and her gaze fell upon the question in Xu Ran’s hands. She murmured the question out loud to herself, then grinned widely: “Second Sister, you don’t know how to solve this question? I’ll teach you.”

Xu Ran received another blow to the heart.

… … If she recalled correctly, Xu Jiao was younger than her by two grades, and had just began learning The Nine Chapters of the Mathematical Art… …

Xu Jiao picked up some paper and a brush, and easily solved the question.

“1 old chicken costs 5 dollars, 1 mother chicken costs 3 dollars, 3 chicks cost 1 dollar. With 100 dollars, 100 chickens were brought. You can get 4 old chickens, 18 mother chickens, and 78 chicks.”

Xu Ran did some calculations. 4 old chickens would cost twenty dollars. 18 mother chickens would cost 54 dollars. 78 chicks would cost 26 dollars. It came together to exactly 100 dollars.

Heavens, how exactly did Xu Jiao solve this!

Seeing Xu Ran’s shocked face, Xu Jiao was very satisfied, and happily began explaining: “It is impossible to calculate it directly, you have to approach this in another way. First, make the old chicken disappear, and you only have to consider the mother chickens and chicks. That would be 25 and 75 respectively. If you added 3 chicks, you have to reduce the number of mother chickens by 3 so that you have a total of 100 chickens, but then you would be missing 8 dollars. If you look closely, the old chicken costs 2 dollars more than the mother chicken, so by replacing 4 mother chickens with 4 old chickens, you’ll get 100 chickens, and 100 dollars. Therefore, it’s 4 old chickens, 18 mother chickens, and 78 chicks.”

Xu Jiao drew circles on the paper, using pictures to illustrate her words, and realisation dawned upon Xu Ran.

It was actually the linear indeterminate equation in modern times, with three unknown variables and two equations – first, eliminate one of the unknown variables, then set the parameters to derive a whole number.

Xu Jiao continued: “Actually, this is not the only answer. 4 old chickens and 3 chicks cost the same as 7 mother chickens, so you can use substitution. If you remove 7 mother chickens, you get 4 old chickens and 3 chicks.”

Xu Ran tried using the methods, and indeed, she came up with two answers.

8 old chickens, 11 mother chickens, and 81 chicks. Or, 12 old chickens, 4 mother chickens, and 84 chicks.

(Translated by jillaimee at Silent Moon Translations)

Xu Jiao set down her brush, folded her arms together, and raised her chin, smiling: “How about it, aren’t I great?”

Xu Ran gave her a thumbs-up, and unreservedly praised her.

Indeed, everyone here could crush her in terms of IQ. What a sin ah!

Xu Jiao smiled, and unable to bear seeing Xu Ran’s dejected demeanour, reassured her: “This question is quite difficult.  Mother was too strict to have used this as a test. This is calculation at the High School level, it is normal for you not to have known this. I’m not outstanding in any subjects, but Math… I’m quite good with calculations.”

Xu Ran felt depressed again.

She was silent for a moment, then embarrassedly asked Xu Jiao: “Do you have any simpler Math questions, let me do some…”

Xu Jiao dealt her another blow: “You finished all of your homework?”

… … She actually forgot about the legendary homework assignments…

Xu Jiao reminded: “Second Sister took a break from school for two months, in addition to the one month long winter break in between, and refused to let Father hire a tutor during this period of time – the homework must have piled up. So you definitely can’t delay any further with finishing your homework, at least finish the assignments from the winter break first.”

Xu Jiao pulled her into the house, and picked out three crinkled books, flipping through them casually: “Second Sister, you have great courage and insight ah. You haven’t even written a single word.”

(End of Chapter 2)

 

Terms:
Would you prefer titles to be roughly translated into English, or kept as its original? Lady Xiao vs. Xiao shi? Princess vs. junzhu?

(1): literal translation of 学霸. Basically means a student with excellent grades. They are like ‘tyrants’ of the bell-curve/the grade system because they’re at the very top- that’s the best I can explain this phrase in English.

(2): 长史 There are a lot of titles like this, it’s hard to translate them succinctly in English and it usually isn’t that important (like 长史 is just a title for a female official apparently) so I’ll leave them as ‘Official’ unless someone comes up with something better, or if I think of a better substitute.

 

Thoughts:
My math days are behind me, and I was shocked when I thought that the question was considered Primary School level in this novel, until it was revealed that Xu Jiao is just really really good at Math. @Murong Qingyu : good job on working it out! I was never the best at Math, and personally I would have gone for Xu Jiao’s first method, but with much less finesse – just randomly allocate numbers to each type of chicken so it added up to 100 chickens, then shuffle the numbers around till I get the cost right.

Rare Treasure – Chapter 1

T/N: I finally found time to do some translation only to realise that someone had picked up OZY, so I just randomly chose a novel from the pick up request forum and did a chapter. Hopefully this will inspire someone to take this up!

 

Novel: Rare Treasure (物以稀為貴) by 阿白不白
Chapter 1: The lady who handed in a blank sheet

The moment Xu Ran got her exam paper, she knew that she was going to be dead last again.

Including this time, this would be her eighth time getting the last place.

Xu Ran couldn’t even find any tears to cry as she persevered through the entire exam.

Her household servant Ning Fu and her maid Fei Cui was waiting outside the examination hall, and went up to her the moment they saw her come out. Fei Cui took out a hot water bottle to warm her hands, and pointed to the guardian lion statue on the other side of the administrative office: “Eldest Young Miss and Third Young Miss are waiting in the sedan.”

It was in the middle of winter; snow blanketed the entire area, and there was a chill to the air. At the front, Ning Fu shouted a command for the sedans to be raised, and then the three sedans began moving.

Xu Ran. despite hiding in the sedan, still felt the chill in her arms and legs. Because of the belief that one’s character was refined through poverty and suffering, the academy’s examination hall did not allow for the use of a warming stove. Entering the hall was like entering an icehouse.

Her younger sister Xu Jiao was in the sedan next to her, and as both sedans drifted closer, Xu Jiao remarked through the curtains of the sedan: “The morals of today’s world have been skewed by some perverse wind – a simple joke by Imperial Scribe Liu(1), and all the academies start competing to set an example to others. What trying to learn the way of the poor, my hands have been frozen to the point of developing ulcers!”

She was referring to the incident a few days ago, when Imperial Scribe Liu gathered all of the officials to discuss about the candidates taking the exam this year. Somehow, they had got onto the topic of the newly promoted top scholar Feng Jian. Feng Jian was born in poverty, and had once covered his body in snow during winter to keep clear-headed. He memorised the entire book of “Laws of Zhou Dynasty” and became known for his diligence. Using Feng Jian as an example, Imperial Scribe Liu expressed his worry about the current state of today’s students, with their greed for the pleasures of life.

(translated by jillaimee at Silent Moon Translations)

Imperial Scribe Liu’s passing remark brought suffering to all students everywhere. Since the coming of winter, in order to emulate his policy of “Before one can take on large responsibility, one must first endure great suffering”, even the stoves in the Academy was taken away.

Despite Xu Ran’s Primary School being full of children from influential families, they were unable to escape the pressure from the policy.

“Rather than discussing these useless things, you should instead spend more time thinking about today’s exam question. There were a few questions on filling-in-the-blanks and comprehension of the text, did you answer all of them?”

The sedan on the left sat the eldest daughter of the Xu Family, Xu Ran’s older sister Xu Jia. Xu Jia was now in High School, and was an honour student holding one of the top ranks.

The High School also had an exam today on text comprehension and fill-in-the-blanks, in a different hall within the same venue. It was rare for Xu Jia to travel together with her two younger sisters who were both in Primary School, and hence the moment she spoke, Xu Jiao immediately went quiet. Xu Ran was even more afraid of engaging her in conversation to the point that even her breathing slowed by a beat. She was deadly afraid that Xu Jia would ask her about her exam today.

With the both of them remaining silent, Xu Jia lost interest and opened the book “Zhou Bi Athrimancy” on her lap, and began to seriously revise for tomorrow’s exam on the Pythagorean Theorem.

Xu Ran hugged her hot water bottle and leaned back against the seat. The thought of this tragic transmigration existence was so bitter it almost made her shed tears.

The dynasty she was in was the Zhou Dynasty, where knowledge was the main currency. Here, everyone had to take exams, everyone had to study – from the three-year-old toddler to the old man, as long as they’re alive, the core of their existence was to take exams, take exams, take exams.

The Zhou Dynasty has remained so for 271 years, and has since developed a complete governing system. The ruler believed in governance through a well-educated workforce, and therefore created an environment that would promote such.

The citizens of the Zhou Dynasty received lessons from the time they were foetuses in their mother’s stomach. The Imperial Court established pregnancy classes specialising in teaching through music. The babies would be born listening to elegant and formal ceremonial music, then immediately move on to receiving lessons on speaking and recognising words, and when they turned five, they would enter Primary School. In Primary School they would learn to recognise and write words, phonetics, the Six Arts, then learn the Analects of Confucius, and the Five Classics of Confucianism. It was similar to the compulsory national education now, except instead of starting at 9 years old, you started at 5.

Primary School usually comprised of 7 years; the first 5 years would be spent learning, and the last 2 years spent preparing for the High School exams. There were some people who passed the exams to get into High School immediately after the first 5 years, but such people were the minority.

(translated by jillaimee at Silent Moon Translations)

Xu Ran’s original body was 12 years old, and had just finished her Primary School learning, and about to enter the High School exams. Only students who passed the exams were eligible to take part in the Imperial Examinations.

In Xu Ran’s opinion, High School was like today’s universities, and could be divided into three types. The first type was the most popularly subscribed Literature and Philosophy High School, then there was the career-oriented High Schools that was popular amongst the commoners, and the Martial Arts High School for practitioners.

Those with the ambition to become an official would usually choose the Literature and Philosophy High School, and upon graduating, they would enter the Imperial College of Supreme Learning.

This was the highest educational institute, and the goal of most people. Those who graduated from the Imperial College of Supreme Learning could, without taking the  Imperial Civil Service Examination, be recognised as a successful candidate.

The women of the Zhou Dynasty could become officials in the Imperial Court. Even if they had no ambition to enter the civil service, the noble ladies aimed to gain entry into the Imperial College of Supreme Learning, and even if, the number of people who managed to graduate after gaining entry were few and far between.

Xu Ran felt that she must have been cursed with eight lifetimes worth of extremely bad luck, to have transmigrated into such a fraudulent dynasty. The original host was a daughter of an official, the second child, called “Ran Ran” by her family, and had a disagreeable character – just because she was not selected as one of the candidates for the silkworm ceremonial rites(2) the following year, and was mocked for it, she fell ill from anger.

When she woke up, she had become a different person inside.

The sedan stopped and Fei Cui helped her off it. Just as she entered the inner courtyard, a servant was sent to request her presence in the study, stating that Xu laoye wanted to ask the ladies about their homework.

Xu laoye had just returned from the meeting hall. A while ago, he was sent out to Dong Shan, as part of his official duties, to inspect the iron and salt mining industries. He had just reported back when he overheard the examiners discussing about the Primary School exams.

Concerned about the studies of his two beloved daughters, he inquired a little. Coincidentally, Xu Ran’s Head Teacher Ping fuzi was there, and he mentioned Xu Ran’s submissions of a blank paper in seven consecutive exams.

When Xu laoye heard this, he immediately erupted in anger, and rushed back to the residence.

When he got back, he remembered Xu Ran’s recent bout of illness, and his anger subsided a little. His daughter was prideful, and tended to stifle all her emotions in her heart – she had probably not fully recovered from the blow of not being chosen for the silkworm ceremonial rites. When Xu laoye  thought of his, his heart softened.

Xu Ran stood in the middle, with Xu Jiao on her left, and Xu Jia on her right. When she raised her head, Xu laoye and Lady Xiao stood in front of them. She lowered her head back down.

Xu laoye first picked Xu Jia, and asked about her Astronomy and Zhou Dynasty Laws. Xu Jia answered perfectly, and Xu laoye nodded in satisfaction. His gaze shifted to the middle, hesitated, then moved on to the left, where he picked Xu Jiao.

He tested Xu Jiao on her foundational skills in text interpretation, and though Xu Jiao stuttered her way through it, she was able to answer.

It was finally Xu Ran’s turn. Xu laoye pursed his lips and turned to Lady Xiao, with the intention of asking her to set the test.

Lady Xiao immediately understood his intentions. He was worried that if the question asked was too difficult, Xu Ran would receive a blow if she could not answer; if the question was too easy, it would prick her pride and trigger another temper tantrum.

Every single person in the residence was aware of Second Young Miss Xu Ran Ran’s extremely prideful nature. When she threw a tantrum, even her own parents had to give in to her.

Lady Xiao glared at Xu laoye, her mind working furiously, before she decided to test Xu Ran on Athrimancy.

“1 old chicken costs 5 dollars, 1 mother chicken costs 3 dollars, 3 chicks costs 1 dollar. With 100 dollars, 100 chickens were brought. How many old chickens and chicks were brought?”

This question was neither too difficult nor too easy, and was at an appropriate level. Lady Xiao ordered the servants to prepare paper and ink, and purposely lowered her voice to tell her gently: “Ran Ran, take your time to think over it. Mother and your Father will return inside for some tea; when you’re done, just write it down and bring it over.”

She waved her hand, gesturing for Xu Jia and Xu Jiao to return. Then she went inside with Xu laoye, and started to prepare some tea.

(translated by jillaimee at Silent Moon Translations)

Xu Ran stood at the desk for half an hour, and once again couldn’t even find any tears to cry as she submitted a blank paper. When she first saw the question, her mind went completely blank. After she finally managed to translate the Classical Chinese into colloquial Mandarin, she faced yet another difficulty.

Maths was her Achilles heel ah; be it in her past life, or in this life, asking her to do a Math question was practically asking for her life. Not to mention, she had absolutely no memories from the original host – she only had an empty shell, and she didn’t actually know anything, let alone use Classical Chinese to solve this question.

In other words, compared to others, Xu Ran lacked 12 years of Zhou Dynasty’s meticulous teachings. Now, even the butcher by the roadside was more cultured than she was.

She took her blank paper into the house, and only whispered four words “I do not know”. Xu Ran was afraid to even look at her parents’ faces

Xu laoye could no longer hold it in; thinking that Xu Ran was still throwing a tantrum over the silkworm ceremonial rites, he slammed his hand down on the table and rose.

Xu Ran startled, and took a step back.

Seeing her daughter’s white face, Lady Xiao immediately stopped Xu laoye, and told Xu Ran to return to her room.

Xu Ran’s footsteps were weak and listless as she left. When she thought of the life of examinations she was going to have, her entire body almost collapsed.

As she stepped out, a few servants came forward; Xu Ran was in a bad mood, and waved them away, wandering the courtyard on her own. By some curious coincidence, her feet took her to the window on the South side of Xu laoye‘s study.

Xu laoye‘s furious shouts rang out; Xu Ran pressed her ears against the wall below the window.

“A blank paper for seven exams ah, it is the shame of the Xu family! We still don’t know if she submitted another blank paper for the eighth exam today; such wilfulness, it is truly our family’s misfortune.”

Hearing this, Xu Ran’s heart shivered with a slight inexplicable tearfulness, feeling quite wronged.

Zhou Dynasty’s kids entered the academy from 5 years old. The children of noble families started from 3 years old, and therefore had a casual grasp of poetry and musical talent, but she didn’t even know how to make an antithetical couplet ah, to catch up to people her age, she had to learn everything from scratch.

Now, even if she skipped past the foundational teaching, even though she had led another life before, but in her past life, she had never received any form of ancient Chinese teachings, and so it was difficult to try to learn. For example, her Analects of Confucius exam a few days ago, out of 10 questions, she only recognised a single question, because it finally had two names she actually knew. She was very moved.

“Zhuge Liang lacks the heart to be ruthless yet uses the principles of law, Wang An Shi uses the ruthless principles of law yet doesn’t call it such.”(3)

When she saw the question she was dumbfounded again.

What was it saying?

Later Xu Ran realised, she had never even heard of this Dynasty, and so it was completely impractical ah. What if this Zhuge Liang was not Zhuge Liang, and this Wang An Shi was not Wang An Shi? She totally didn’t dare to write anything down!

There was a rule in the academy – those who write nonsense would be punished with ten strikes of the rod and their parents notified. And what was defined as writing nonsense? That is, if you say a cause but cannot say its consequence, it’s illogical and cannot make the mark. This rule aimed to teach the students logical reasoning, as long as it is a theory that comes out of your mouth, even if you have to do it through tears, you have to make it logical and sensible.

Unable to understand the question, and too afraid to answer haphazardly, Xu Ran expressed: her stress was really great ah!

(End of Chapter 1)

 

Terms I’m unsure of – if anyone knows this, drop me a comment to let me know! 
(1): 阁老 : From what I surmise, a rather high ranking title. Head of a department responsible for recording and announcing the emperor’s edicts and other matters of governance etc. Translated as Imperial Scribe because that’s the general gist I got out of it.

(2) 亲蚕礼上的礼乐人选: the gist I got was that this is a ceremony/rite usually hosted by the Empress, who will lead the rest of the Imperial Harem in offering prayers to the gods, and to pick mulberry leaves to feed the silkworms. It’s meant to help encourage the people to be diligent in weaving. It is in contrast to the farming ceremony/rite hosted by the Emperor, and together they encourage the fields of farming and weaving, and also delineate the typical gender work roles of men farming and women weaving.

(3) 诸葛亮无申商之心而用其术，王安石用申商之实而讳其名论: the gist i got was that Zhuge Liang wanted to use law (concept of 法家) to govern the country yet did not have the necessarily ruthlessness required to successfully do it, so the country perished. Wang An Shi was ruthless enough to set down the law, but because he didn’t want to be known as a ruthless evil person, he denied that he used the principles of 法家. So he doesn’t use the name but still used the ideas of this concept.

 

Thoughts:
This was a lot more difficult and tedious than translating OZY. The amount of terms and titles specific to Chinese historical novels that I had to research… I don’t MTL when I translate so I had to stop every few sentences to look things up. I can completely understand where Xu Ran is coming from – the ancient way of speaking Mandarin is completely different to the way we speak today (for me, at least). I was not born and raised in China so I was not taught Classical Chinese/poetry etc. Someone from China would probably be more knowledgeable!

I haven’t actually read past this chapter. I’m not really planning to pick this up, but if I fall in love with this like I did OZY then perhaps? I really want to see OZY completely translated though so that’ll always be my priority if it gets dropped again (though I think with the recent surge in popularity it seems unlikely)

If you have any recommendations for novels, let me know! I’m happy to jump around and do a few here and there even if the story doesn’t particularly interest me – hopefully it can interest someone else to pick it up officially.

Ostentatious Zhao Yao – Chapter 10

T/N: It’s been a long time, and I’m truly sorry. Unfortunately I can’t promise that future chapters will come quickly. I love this novel and I’m not going to drop it, but if anyone can devote more time to this, please feel free to take over at any time and just drop me a comment here so I know to stop working on it. Otherwise, I’ll keep at it, slowly but surely!

---

That very night,  I rushed over to the main peak of Chen Ji Shan.

At the entrance to the Wu E Hall, I reported Zhi Yan’s name, and the guards swiftly allowed me entry. Mo Qing must have already given them instructions.

His words before, ‘If she enters your dreams again, report to me,” were not empty words.

I was very pleased. Mo Qing’s fervor at wanting to grasp my whereabouts showed how much his heart itched with hatred and fear that I would one day make my comeback and steal his position and riches, just as he had done to me.

I waited in the side hall for some time, yet no one arrived, and so I decided to take a look around the place.

The Wu E Hall had, on the whole, no major differences compared to before. The treasures, the presence, the atmosphere; all that should be here, was present. The fierce ghosts carved on the resplendent pillars, the nine-headed snake that curled around them, the skulls on the ceiling lights – all of which brought out an atmosphere of cold cruelty and murder.

It was just like Wan Lu Sect’s style when I was still around.

Standing here in such an atmosphere, I suddenly felt as if I was still alive, with the power to command life and death, living an indulgent life where I was feared and respected by the entire world.

I sat on a chair and leaned back, closing my eyes. Back in the old days…

“Du!” A crisp sound rang out from the main hall to the side. Yi, there were still people in the main hall at this time? Curious, I stealthily crept over and leaned against the door, listening through the wall.

An aged voice, full of suppressed anger, said, “Sect Leader’s recent actions have been increasingly going against Wan Lu Sect’s purpose and goals.”

His loud voice rang out in the empty and deserted hall, and it provoked thousands of resounding echoes in my heart. Yes indeed! Very correct! I hadn’t thought that there was still someone so clear-sighed in our Wan Lu Sect!

I felt that simply listening by the wall was no longer enough to satisfy me, and so I pulled open the door a fraction and peered through, hoping to see this old immortal hero.

But from my angle, the first thing I saw was instead the figure reigning over the hall – Mo Qing, sitting in a chair with the shape of a celestial dragon, his face expressionless, as stern as the statues of the gods in the hall. He was completely different from the Mo Qing in the past, who would often hide himself in a huge cloak.

His sitting posture today, was also completely different from how I used to sit on that huge chair, leaning lopsidedly to a side with one leg crossed over the other.

The him now, was more like the drawing of the ancient Demon King passed down over thousands of years – silent yet formidable, his presence powerfully oppressive even in the absence of anger.

I pursed my lips. In my heart I had to resentfully admit that Mo Qing had indeed inherited his bloodline; now that Mo Qing is all dressed up, he looked worthy of being the Demon King’s descendant.

At the moment, there was no one else in the Hall but an old man with a head of white hair. He was leaning on a green steel walking stick; the sound of something hitting the floor from earlier must be from the walking stick.

Even though I could only see his back, I had already recognised this old man.

My Wan Lu Sect had countless disciples, and it was impossible for me to manage it all alone. Therefore, under the Sect Leader, there were 4 Peak Leaders – North, South, East and West. This old man, Yuan Jie, was the North Peak Leader during my reign.

He was a stubborn and insidiously evil old man who deeply hated the celestial sects.

Before entering Wan Lu Sect, his entire family had been slaughtered by the celestial sects, and from then on, he was wholly focused on demonic cultivation, killing any celestial sect disciple he came across. In the past, there was a common saying amongst the celestial sects: “Better to come across Lu Zhao Yao, rather than the North Peak Leader.”

He could be considered a capable person. Whenever a particularly reckless celestial sect came to offend us, you can’t go wrong with letting him handle it. It was just that he had an overly stubborn and eccentric personality, and so we were not particularly close.

Come to think of it, now that Wan Lu Sect had changed leaders, other than such a stubborn person like him, who would defy the new Sect Leader’s words?

(If you are not reading this at Silent Moon Translations, you are reading a stolen copy.)

Yuan Jie said hoarsely, “In the past, when you got rid of the arrays at the entrance of Wan Lu Sect, those were merely formalities, and did not matter…”

Hey, old man, you’re making me unhappy with those words. How were those formalities, those were Symbols! Spirit!

“But now, that Jiang Wu of Xin Shan is first-rate, and he is a scourge that must be destroyed, but no matter what, Wan Lu Sect must not ally ourselves with Qian Chen Pavilion!”

I furrowed my brows; I haven’t heard of Jiang Wu of Xin Shan before – he is probably a figure who has only emerged in recent years – but I do know of Qian Chen Pavilion.

Like Jian Xin Sect, Qian Chen Pavilion was one of the ten Great Celestial Sects. In the battle at the Sword Tomb, they had also contributed. But because their contribution was neither too large nor small, they had not been as showy as Jian Xin Sect, and I didn’t have much of an impression of them. Upon mentioning them, rather than remembering any grudges, I remember their Sect Leader, Qin Qian Xian, far better – that was truly a world-renowned beauty.

And he was not just beautiful, he was beautiful to the point of transcending genders.

Qian Chen Pavilion cultivated the path of the Bodhisattva. This cultivation had no distinction between genders, and shared both genders in a body; upon cultivation the boundaries between gender identities would blur, and as one becomes more advanced in their cultivation, their gender would become more and more indistinct, becoming similar to the legendary Bodhisattva. And this Qin Qian Xian was probably the  one living person most alike to Bodhisattva in this world.

Yes indeed, his beauty was a feast for all, appealing to both men and women.

I remembered when I first heard of Qin Qian Xian’s beauty, I captured and locked him in the dungeons so I could stare at him the entire night. I had looked to my heart’s content, and it was immensely satisfying. Even now, thinking back, my heart still felt a little itchy; it wouldn’t be too bad if I had another chance to stare at him again…

“Xin Shan is located in the boundary dividing the Celestial and Demonic Sects.”

Mo Qing’s voice pulled me back from my wandering thoughts. He coldly said, “Jiang Wu and his people have made use of the differences between the two Paths to remain at large for a long time, and with this alliance with Qian Chen Pavilion, we can eliminate this scourge quickly without going as far to leave ourselves vulnerable to an enemy, how is that inappropriate?”

I mulled over this; hearing Mo Qing put it this way, I also feel that there was nothing inappropriate about this.

My principle of doing things has always been: simple, convenient, fast. It did not matter whether or not we ally with the Celestial Sects, what mattered was – if the goal is to destroy this bunch of people, as long as they are quickly destroyed in the end, everything is fine.

I nodded. Mn, that’s decided, then.

“Sect Leader!”

“Enough, I have decided,” Mo Qing cut him off.

I sighed dejectedly; I was no longer the one making the decisions within the sect now… I hadn’t even finished my sigh when I felt a wave of killing intent sweep towards me.

Glancing up, I caught Yuan Jie’s sinister gaze fixed on me.

Having just had his suggestion rejected by Mo Qing, he was ashen-faced with anger, and as our gazes crossed, his eagle-like eyes flashed with killing intent.

“Who’s there!”

Following his words, an invisible blade of energy was thrown at me. I startled and tried to avoid it, but Zhi Yan’s body was truly disappointing! Threatened by the pressure of a power stronger than her by many times, her entire body was frozen stiff.

The blade reached me in an instant. That’s it, I thought, now I don’t even have to worry about paper money or getting a body, I can go with Zhi Yan hand in hand, and spend our days playing ‘catch the ghost’ by that green grave.

But it was at this moment that the blade, upon reaching me, seemed to have smashed against some kind of barrier. The sound of the two things colliding was deafening, so much so that I was forced to retreat two steps by the sound alone. The huge stone door of the main hall, having been outside the barrier, had already been reduced to powder.

Mo Qing waved his hand expressionlessly, motioning for the guards who had heard the commotion to retreat. “North Peak Leader was too impulsive.” He glanced at me, then at Yuan Jie. “It was simply one of my informants, here to report to me.”

“Your subordinate knows his mistake.”

Hn, know your mistake? As if I didn’t know how you guys are like. This old man was simply venting his temper on me after having been snubbed by Mo Qing.

Mo Qing did not punish him. Yuan Jie saluted and retreated, his green steel walking sick resounding loudly against the ground with every step. Just as he left the main hall, he turned to look at me. I returned the stare unflinchingly.

He stepped out of the main hall, his face full of condescending disdain.

I raised my eyebrows, and suddenly remembered that the body I’m in was one that practised celestial cultivation. I pursed my lips. Seeing how he said that Mo Qing’s actions have gone against the purpose of Wan Lu Sect, I shall forgive this transgression and not count this against him.

I had just watched Yuan Jie leave when Mo Qing’s voice rang out behind me. “You’re more audacious in the evening.” I turned my head, and saw that Mo Qing had already entered the side hall, his hands behind his back as he stood only three steps away, glancing at me. “I let you wait in the side hall, why were you not as obedient as you were this morning?”

I casually found an excuse, “We were at a grave in the morning, of course I had to be more reserved…”

“Oh.” He responded. Before I could even blink, a shadow flashed by, and in the next moment he was right in front of me, mere inches away.

I raised my head to gaze at him uncomprehendingly.

His dark eyes were so clear I could see Zhi Yan’s face reflected in them. “And you’re not as scared of me as you were in the morning?”

He’s suspecting me, but I cannot panic. The more panicked one becomes, the more mistakes would be made. Therefore I calmly addressed his suspicion: “Master, this is me being scared silly.”

Mo Qing: “……”

A silence descended over the hall. I cleared my throat, unwilling to let him continue thinking on it. “Master, I rested earlier and dreamt of Lu Zhao Yao again.”

“En.” He turned and languidly sat down on a chair, no longer appearing as imposing as he was in the Main Hall as he played with something in his hands. “How was she in your dream?”

I spoke a load of nonsense at him: “Nothing much, she was just standing there. But Master, I think that it’s not a good idea to keep letting her enter my dreams. She’s hidden while you’re in the open; no matter what you do, you have already lost the initiative. Why don’t we find her first?”

(This is translated by jillaimee and if you’re reading it off a site with other novels, you are reading stolen stuff.)

Mo Qing raised his head to glance at me, his gaze evaluating. “You can find her?”

“Not now.” I walked over to the chair beside Mo Qing and sat down. Only a square table separated us, and I leaned half of my body over, trying hard to get close enough so my breath could flutter the strands of his hair. “If I could look through a few tomes, perhaps I could find a spell to look for deceased people.”

I firmly believe that Mo Qing is interested in Zhi Yan’s body. Otherwise, how could I have so easily fooled him the last few times?

But just as I got closer and closer to his face, an invisible barrier appeared in between the two of us. My face was squashed against it, looking rather unsightly, so I had no choice but to angrily lean back again.

He didn’t look at me, wholly focused on the object he was playing with in his hands. “First tell me how she was standing there, with what kind of expression and posture.”

Mo Qing, this little ugly monster, was really so strange to the point that I can’t even comprehend him. Why would he mind something so off-topic and unimportant? I wracked my brains, and finally said, “Just…floating in mid-air, not much expression.”

“Didn’t she make you burn money?”

“Ah…yes.”

“She never begrudged that the money was not enough? Never asked you to continue burning? How about tomorrow? Are you no longer burning them?”

Yes…the money was so little it practically was asking for my ghostly life. We definitely have to continue tomorrow, and also think of ways to let others burn money for me as well – it is completely impossible to stop burning money! I sorrowfully replied in my heart; raising my gaze, I saw that Mo Qing was staring directly into my eyes…

I suddenly remembered a scene from long ago. At that time, I had yet to establish Wan Lu Sect. I had just ran out from Wan Lu Shan, and accidentally saved Mo Qing, who was still a boy then. I took him along with me; he had always been taciturn, wearing the black cloak several sizes too large for him and a mask over his face, never revealing it to others.

One night, I had drank too much, and found an inn in the village at the foot of Chen Ji Shan to rest at. I woke up in the middle of the night in a sleepy daze, trying to reach for some water to drink. Then, by my side, a small hand raised my head up, and brought the water to my lips.

I saw his face full of greenish scars. It was so horrifying it made one’s scalp go numb.

When he saw that I was gazing  at him, he let go of the unfinished bowl of water in a panic, shattering it and spilling water everywhere. He then quietly retreated to a side, clumsily shielding his face from view.

But it was not the scars on his face that I remembered; it was his eyes: “Like a sea of bright stars.”

At that time…I seemed to have described it as such.

That scene had originally been forgotten amidst all of my accumulated memories, until now, when I saw the current him, it was like a veil had been removed, and everything became clear.

I flinched back, unconsciously hiding from his gaze.

For in that split-second, I had an illusion that his clear eyes had seen right through me, and into my very soul.

Ostentatious Zhao Yao – Chapter 9

T/N: This is a pretty long chapter. I’ve been off for a while, but hopefully I’ll get a few weeks of respite now, finally. whew.

---

“Come, repeat after me.” I said calmly to Zhi Yan. “Yesterday I dreamt of Lu Zhao Yao again. She still wanted me to burn Netherworld Money for her. I couldn’t enter the Forbidden Grounds, so I had to make do here.”

“I….I dreamt of Lu Zhao Yao again yesterday, she made me burn Netherworld Money…I could only come here….to make do.” She stammered through such a simple statement, but at least the meaning was still the same.

Mo Qing fixed his gaze on her, looking like he was pondering something, but before I could work out just what he was so intently thinking about, he turned his gaze away. He looked at the cart of Netherworld Money burning at the side, and the other cart full of Netherworld Money close by.

Zhi Yan laughed awkwardly. “Haha, it’s a bit too much. I had no choice, she insisted on so much…”

“Shut up, who said you could reveal so much!” I berated her.

For such matters of deception, it is best to be mysterious and vague. You have to keep others guessing; explaining everything clearly would only have the opposite effect.

After being rebuked, Zhi Yan immediately bit her lip, her face full of grievance and frustration.

Just as I thought she had made a mistake, and she also thought she had made a mistake, Mo Qing, who had a cold expression all the while, suddenly…seemed to laugh softly. His lips had not even opened – it was more like a light breath of laughter.

“It is her style.”

I startled, and raised my head to glance at him, only to see that he was gazing at the crackling flames, the embers burning brightly in the darkness of the night. He seemed to have fallen into an absent-minded daze, but it was only a moment later that his gaze darkened.

His gaze was shuttered, hiding his thoughts. His emotions were carefully restrained.

This demeanor…it did somewhat match the emotion Zhi Yan was talking about… grief.

(Translated by jillaimee at Silent Moon Translations)

“Nn…there’s still some incense and candles here, do you…do you want to burn some for her?” Zhi Yan was similarly staring at Mo Qing, and she suddenly spoke, her voice trembling.

“I don’t want him to burn it.”

“She would surely not like to see me offering up incense to her.”

Mo Qing and I spoke at the same time.

I saw the kneeling Zhi Yan’s neck turn slightly, as if it took her everything to not glance over at me.

I did not explain my reasons. Mo Qing, too, remained silent, and did not speak further. Only Zhi Yan, who knelt in between us, fidgeted like she was sitting on a bed of needles.

“Then…I’ll continue burning?” Zhi Yan seemed to muster all of her courage to ask, and it was unclear if she was asking me, or Mo Qing.

Mo Qing took two steps back. “Continue.” His back was leaning lightly against the trunk of the tree directly opposite; he faced me, yet was unable to see me. He lowered his head to gaze at the fire, which burned with increasing brilliance, and stared at the ashes dancing in the sky. I could not fathom his deep thoughts.

The Netherworld Money finished burning, and Mo Qing left just as suddenly as he appeared, without any warning whatsoever.

Zhi Yan, after seeing the last of the embers die down, turned around while still kneeling. When she saw that there was no one behind her, she released a breath of relief, and slumped onto the ground as if her legs were paralysed. She lightly pounded on her legs, massaging them. “You two Demon Kings…just what sin did I commit…”

“Be careful with your words in the future,” I said. “The moment you started burning the Netherworld Money, he appeared. Who knows when he might be watching you with the Thousand Li Gaze.”

Upon hearing this, Zhi Yan’s entire body went stiff and unmoving.

“But there is no need to be too afraid, the Sect Leader is always busy. He just came by personally, so now he probably has no time to be watching you.” I guessed: “When a demonic cultivator reaches Chen Li Lan’s level, he can easily move between places with simply a thought. Yet yesterday we were able to talk for so long in the Forbidden Grounds; he only arrived after 11pm. He likely saw you when coincidentally glancing across the mountain range, and therefore came over even before anyone reported the matter to him. It is probably the same situation today – he noticed you by coincidence. Otherwise it wouldn’t have taken him so long.”

Zhi Yan finally relaxed slightly, and softly asked, “Then in the future, should I come up with an explanation before I do or say anything? So I can at least explain myself if  I get seen again.”

“If your body can be completely taken over by me, then there wouldn’t be so many problems.” I glanced at the sky. “It is midday, the money has all been burnt. I’m going back to rest before I take over your body at night.”

I figured that I should first go to the Ghost Market tonight. Once the money Zhi Yan burnt for me went through, I would be able to buy Godly Speed Pellets and float over to the Hidden Books Chamber. I wouldn’t even need to seek Mo Qing’s permission and risk arousing his suspicion.

To seduce and flatter someone, it is best not to discuss any conditions or requests in the beginning. One should seduce whole-heartedly and focus on ingratiating yourself, to the point of letting others think that you are single-mindedly devoted to this man… That is the true path of seduction.

(Translated by jillaimee at Silent Moon Translations)

Time: Late night.

Xi Yue Peak was completely silent, but there were still people roaming about outside. Demonic cultivation was unlike Celestial cultivation; there were some cultivation paths that were best practised at night. I possessed Zhi Yan’s body, made her stay in the house, and left.

When I met people along the way, I did not avoid or hide. They greeted me with bows and bended knees to curry favour, and as  I nodded and said I was going for a walk, they were all smiles as they sent me off with their gazes, and even from a distance I could hear them shouting for me to take care. Compared to the situation Zhi Yan had described to me, this was like the difference of the sky and earth.

I was very pleased. Indeed, I, Lu Zhao Yao, can only live magnificently as a human.

When I reached the forest, I made a hand seal, and in the blink of an eye, I was at the Ghost Market, which had previously taken me three days of floating to reach.

But it was odd. Today, there was only a dense forest of withered old trees before my eyes, and none of the stalls that had flanked the road on both sides, manned by unhurried ghostly peddlers. I turned around in a circle. Looking at this road, I should be at the right place.

I stroked my lower jaw and pondered for a moment, then walked to a side and sat down, before letting the top half of my body come out of Zhi Yan’s body. Just as my spirit left Zhi  Yan’s body, there was a flash of light, and on the same road, there were rows upon rows of stalls on both sides. In front of the stalls were numerous stall-keepers floating and drifting around – a quiet yet oddly festive atmosphere.

It is the Ghost Market, no mistake about it.

I leaned back, going back into Zhi Yan’s body, and indeed, the moment I was in her body, using her eyes to gaze at the road in front of me, I could see nothing once more.

Could it be, Zhi Yan’s body can only see me, and not other ghosts?

I once again came out of her body and stood. I turned my head, and saw her body slumped limply against the tree trunk – Zhi Yan’s soul did not return.

It seems like only when the sun is out, will Zhi Yan’s soul return on its own. Just as I was pondering this, suddenly there was a female ghost floating past behind me, unsteadily floating towards Zhi Yan’s body.

Not good! If she possesses Zhi Yan’s body… before I even managed to complete the thought, that female ghost passed through Zhi Yan’s body, then through the tree behind her, and continued floating on her way.

I pondered again. Could it be, Zhi Yan’s body can only be possessed at night by me? Was it because of the incident a month ago, during that stormy night when she slammed into my gravestone head-first, breaking her head open, causing some kind of special connection between us?

“Oi.” I called out to a ghost scholar nearby. He quietly turned his head to look at me.

“This…scholar…gives…salutations…”

“Mn, nice to meet you, Gives-Salutations(1), there is an empty shell here, you go and try it.”

“Men…women…are…different…must…not….”

Even dead, he is still so pedantic. I rolled my eyes at him, and grabbed an old lady from the side, who was holding on to a cane. “There is an empty shell here, you try possessing it.”

The old lady glanced at me, pursed her shriveled lips and asked, “Young lady, what are your Eight Characters(2)? My son is dead too, how about a Ghost Marriage ah?

“… …”

Forget it, I should not have talked to these ghosts…

I turned and glanced at Zhi Yan’s body, and thought: Just leave it there. If I find that it is missing when I get back, then it means that it can be possessed by other people as well. If the body is still there, then it means only I can possess it. Anyway, regardless of who possesses it, in the morning Zhi Yan would still be back in control, so there is no worry of losing the body.

I am rich now. Let’s first go get a Godly Speed pellet.

I happily entered the Ghost Market, looking around, and eventually found the store selling the Godly Speed pellets. In front of it stood the store assistant with his ghostly white face, downward slanting eyebrows and drooping eyes; he stopped me, and asked, in a dispirited and sickly tone, “What’s your name ah?”

“Lu Zhao Yao of Chen Ji Shan.”

Just like the ferocious looking ghosts at the entrance of the Soul Return Store last time, he took out a mirror and conversed with it, then stepped forward, blocking the door. “You may not enter.”

I startled. “Why?”

“You have insufficient Netherworld Money!”

I startled again. “Insufficient? Why? I had someone burn so much for me just today!”

“For a living person, they can only burn a thousand dollars for a ghost in a day. The excess amount don’t count, they are all confiscated.” He lazily replied me. “You only had one person burn money for you today right? You have a hundred dollars in your account. Our store only allows those with at least ten thousand dollars to enter.”

Recently there has been too many things that made me want to puke blood. I feel that my throat is parched now, with no more blood to spare.

I massaged my forehead to stall for some time.

I felt that my calculations were a little lacking. Putting aside how dastardly the Netherworld rule of only allowing a living person to burn a thousand dollars a day for a ghost was, just this one thousand dollars, other people can have a thousand dollars added to their account, but why is it that my account only has a hundred dollars? Before I could ask, the store assistant pointed to another store opposite and said “Any questions, go ask the Big Netherworld Money Store.”

I followed his finger, and turned, only to see a tiny and cramped little store, with a crooked sign proclaiming “Big Netherworld Money Store”.

Are you trying to cheat ghosts here?

I floated over to that store, and saw a dried up and shriveled little ghost sitting at the cramped counter, his fingers like withered bamboo sticks as they flew over an abacus with loud clicks. He raised his head up to gaze at me. “What name, and what occupation?”

“Lu Zhao Yao of Chen Ji Shan…” My temper has been grinded down to nothing by these ghosts. “Today someone burned two large carts of money for me, but I only had a hundred added to my account.”

The ghost gazed towards a huge standing mirror by the side. “Lu Zhao Yao, is it, mm, when you were alive you commited the sins of massacre, making outlandish claims, lying and cheating…Hn, there are too many sins, I won’t recite any more. For every sin, ten percent is deducted from your account. It would have deducted everything, but because you also have virtues of redemption and doing good deeds, there was also an addition of a few percent. Combining everything together, if others burn a thousand dollars for you, you can get ten percent of it.”

He spoke quickly and I was befuddled at first, but eventually I managed to piece the general meaning together. Meaning, this Netherland money store operated based on the deeds a person did when they were alive, dividing them into virtue and sin.

If there was a sin, the money burnt by a living person, would be deducted. If there was a good deed, the money burnt by a living person, would be increased. Basically, it was just a single principle, which was –

The amount of wealth one has in the Netherworld, is based on one’s character and deeds.

Based on how many people were willing to burn money for you. Based on how many good deeds you did when you were alive.

I finally understood. Why, upon becoming a ghost, I was stuck in such wretched poverty. It was because, I, Lu Zhao Yao, when I was alive, I lacked for nothing; the only thing lacking, was my character and deeds.

The world of ghosts, towards demons like me who oppressed others and threw the world into chaos when we were alive, was full of discrimination and malice.

Having understood this, I pondered deeply on the possibility of using my current incorporeal form to kill Yan Wang(3), overthrow the current regime of the Netherworld and take over… then thought that I should just obediently go back and find people to burn money for me.

I floated back, feeling vexed. Why had I rejected the opportunity of having Mo Qing burn money for me today? If he had burnt some for me, then I would at least have two hundred dollars now! A mosquito might be small, but it is still meat! If I don’t accumulate the little, how can it gather into a lot?

I found Zhi Yan’s body still lying under the tree and possessed it, standing up and brushing myself off, thinking. Now that there is no more hope for getting a Godly Speed Pellet, it looks like I still have to go over and meet Mo Qing, and get permission to enter the Hidden Books Chamber.

And here’s the problem now: tonight, just how am I supposed to flatter and seduce him……

(Translated by jillaimee at Silent Moon Translations)

---

I’ve decided to use “Netherworld” instead of “Hell” in translation as it is a slightly more encompassing term (also to avoid the popularised meaning of Hell, in terms of Biblical interpretation. The context is different here.)

(1): This scholar gives salutations – 小生(this scholar) 有礼 (salutations, greetings). A formal way of greeting by scholars. There is a play on words here as one can also introduce himself as 小生 (this scholar) 有礼 (named, You Li) hence why Zhao Yao calls him 有礼 (gives-salutations/You Li). Obviously the scholar isn’t called You Li, so she is essentially calling him “gives-salutations”.

(2): Eight Characters (八字) – comprised of 4 pairs of characters stating the year, month, day, and hour of someone’s birth. The exact art of interpretation is pretty complicated, but essentially it is believed that you can calculate someone’s compatibility, luck, fate etc based on these characters, and especially before marriage, one must make sure the Eight Characters of the bride and groom don’t ‘clash’, which will bring huge misfortunes.

(3): YanWang (阎王) – King Yan, the God of Death, ruler of the Netherworld, oversees the ‘Ten Kings of Hell’. Passes judgement on all the dead. Also known as Yama or Yan Luo Wang.

 

Next Chapter

Ostentatious Zhao Yao – Chapter 8

T/N: Sorry for the long wait. I should be more free after about a month or so, and I’ll try to get the chapters out faster then! I haven’t had time to proof-read this as carefully as usual, so let me know if you spot any mistakes.

---

Demonic Sect! What is a Demonic Sect!

A Demonic Sect should have the qualities of a Demonic Sect! There should be fire! Blood! Lava! Swords! It should be bursting with murderous aura! Anyone who gets near dies – It should have this kind of imposing and majestic manner!

What springtime abundance, full of life, what planting vegetables and grains, reaping great harvests – Are you the Earth God? Are you the God of Wealth?

We are a Demonic Sect! We eat devils and monsters for dinner!(1)

“Where is the Corpse Whipping Stage? It is still around, right?” I asked him, “The gigantic white jade stone signifying Wan Lu Sect’s wealth and prestige, the one that took so much digging before we managed to dig it out – that is still around, right?”

“Ah, Corpse Whipping Stage ah. Last year, Shun An Town was developing their tourism industry; lots of demonic cultivators, after hearing of our reputation, came from afar to tour our Wan Lu Sect. The town decided to build a restaurant, and the town mayor came to look for Sect Leader for help, so Sect Leader gave them the Corpse Whipping Stage to use as a cornerstone.”

Ah….A cornerstone…..

My lifespan is shortening… my heart is hurting so much I’m starting to have difficulty breathing.

“What about the Corpse Hanging Pillar?” I weakly asked. “The ten-thousand year old Yin Chen wood that took years of manpower to carve on it several thousands of human skulls, that symbolised Wan Lu Sect’s decisiveness in killing and subjugating – this extremely formidable pillar, where is it?”

“It was rejected.” Little Flat-nose replied very straightforwardly. “It was chopped up and grounded into little pillars, and then used to erect a pigsty.”

A pigsty! A pigsty? Which household actually dared to use my Corpse Hanging Pillar to rear pigs! Let me go and see! I promise I won’t beat him to death! Is he not afraid that the skulls on it will terrify all his pigs to death!

“Speaking of such, Miss seems to have a very good understanding of how our Chen Li Shan was like in the past.”

(Translated by jillaimee at Silent Moon Translations)

“The Jianghu(2) rumours I heard about Chen Li Shan were exactly like that. Don’t talk to me now, let me have some quiet, I just want to be alone for a bit.”

I perfunctorily pacified Little Flat-nose, walked over to a side, squatted down, covered my stomach, and felt like all my five viscera and six bowels were spasming in pain.

My Chen Li Shan ah, it took so many years of careful planning before I finally managed to instill a Chen Li Shan that could, even from a distance, terrify people into wetting themselves. Your fiendish manner, your widespread infamy, your ability to deter the righteous sects just by throwing your name around… It has been completely ruined just like that ah!

Mo Qing! Chen Li Lan! You and I, we cannot live under the same sky!

I want you! To come to the real Hell to acknowledge all your wrongdoings to me!

Afterwards, I was carried back to Xi Yue Peak. I stayed in my courtyard meditating for the whole night, with no desire to sleep, all of my attention focused on thinking of a method to kill Mo Qing.

Dawn broke; the morning light spread across the highest part of Xi Yue Peak, and as it shone into my courtyard, it was as if my entire body suddenly weakened, and in the next moment…..

I was once again, f*cking pushed out of this body.

Again!

Again!

I floated outside of the bed canopy, watching Zhi Yan’s body, which had suddenly gone limp on the bed, feeling a burst of devastation. I clearly didn’t fall asleep this time! Why was it so sudden!

For that body which had gone limp, just as before, there was a moan as it awakened, and also just as before, after staring blankly, Zhi Yan stared at me with wide eyes, sucking in a breath of cold air, “You…My body, it came back again?”

“I know you got your body back, there’s no need to be so surprised every time, let us talk about something useful.” I floated onto the bed, seating myself in front of her, and rapped on the bedframe. Even though I didn’t actually knock on anything. I needed to put on a serious appearance like I was focusing on the main point of this matter. “Just how were you able to, in your ghostly form, float tens of li in one night to come here? Did we not already reach an agreement yesterday, what do you mean by doing this?”

Zhi Yan also looked completely shocked and astonished. “I…I didn’t ah!” She turned her head to look at her body. “Why is it like this…clearly, yesterday, when I saw that you had left, I couldn’t catch up because I was floating too slowly, so I just stayed there, I didn’t do anything at all… why…”

Hearing this, I stroked my chin and quietly thought it over.

Carefully thinking about it now, regarding the few times I’ve possessed Zhi Yan, the first time I succeeded was at night, and then I was pushed right out during the day; the second time I succeeded was also at night, and then I was pushed out during the day as well.

Could it be that this body of hers could only be possessed at night, and during the day when the yang(3) is strong, her soul is able to… return?

My expression sank. “We need to settle this matter.”

“How to settle this. What are we settling…”

“There, do you see that.” I floated over to the window and pointed outside, where the sunlight blanketed a mountain peak which glinted like a knife blade. “That place is called Thousand Edge Precipice, and on top of it there is a library. There are millions of scrolls hidden there, and quite a few hold information related to supernatural subjects. Go and turn a few books, check out a few ancient records, and perhaps we can find a way to prevent your body from expelling me out during the daytime.”

“I can go there?”

“Of course you can’t. The ancient records hidden there are filled with **, you need the Sect Leader’s permission before you can browse them. Otherwise why would you build it on top of a precipitous cliff, you might as well hand out a book to everyone and let them all study together.”

“So?”

“So, you go and curry favour, flatter, and seduce Chen Li Lan, make him agree to let you enter the Hidden Books Chamber.”

“……” Zhi Yan took a step back and hugged her chest. “I won’t.”

I narrowed my eyes. “You don’t want to take revenge anymore?”

Zhi Yan’s face was bitter. “I…When I see him, my legs will start trembling. That icy aura of his can terrify someone to death. I don’t dare to go.”

How bizarre; Mo Qing’s method of discipline today could not be considered very harsh, he erased the arrays of the previous Sect Leader, gave away the Corpse Whipping Stage, chopped up the Corpse Hanging Pillar. By all standards, he had built a very amiable Wan Lu Sect. But seeing the reactions of those people yesterday, and Zhi Yan’s terrified appearance today, why is it that every one fears him so ?

“Why don’t you go instead.” Zhi Yan shot a glance at me, coming up with her own plan. “No one can see you anyway, you can just drift over yourself, you won’t even need the Sect Leader’s permission.”

“My soul, let’s not even talk about how slowly it moves, I still have to be down-to-earth, you know what down-to-earth means?” Zhi Yao shook her head, and I said, “The next time you become a ghost, try to float to thirty feet high, then try and see if you can go any higher than that.”

“Only up to thirty feet huh……” Zhi Yan furrowed her brows. “Why are you ghosts completely different from those in the legends……”

I rolled my eyes at her, and coldly said, “If I stick to the ground like that twisting and turning to drift over there, it’ll take at least twenty days, then I have to twist and turn to drift back another twenty days, let me ask you, forty days later, in this Xi Yue Peak, would your corpse even still be in one piece?”

She shut her mouth, her expression turning bitter again.

(Translated by jillaimee at Silent Moon Translations.)

I thought of something else. The situation right now has changed, and there was a need to come up with a back-up plan. What if, even with the trip to the Hidden Books Chamber, the matter of body switching by night remained unresolved? Mo Qing and I have such a deep enmity between us now, I can’t possibly stop torturing him, and simply give up just like that…yes, I still need to increase my own strength. Depending on yourself is the way to go about doing things.

Mn, I need to make some preparations for my trip to the Ghost Market.

I pondered this; the last time I went to the Ghost Market, other than the Soul Returning stall, I also saw some stalls selling Godly Speed pellets, proclaiming that it could make one float as fast as a person running. If I get my hands on such an item, even if I have no body in the future, travelling anywhere would be more convenient. I also need to get a Sun Shield pellet – apparently it can allow one to bask in the sun as if it was moonlight. I should go and see if there is any other good stuff…

That being the case…

I am broke in the netherworld.

I turned my head and glanced at Zhi Yan. “Good sister.”

“Ah?”

“This matter of asking Chen Li Lan for permission, if you don’t want to go, it is fine, we can discuss everything between us amiably. I won’t make things difficult for you. Wait till I possess your body in the night, I’ll go speak with him.”

Zhi Yan’s eyes shone brightly with deep gratitude. “Good good good, you really are a good person.”

I slanted the corner of my lips in a smile. “Yes indeed, I think so too. Now then, I have a small matter that I need your help with.”

“What is it?”

“Burn some money for me.”

“… …”

Zhi Yan went to Shun An Town and bought some Hell Money(4) back. I had instructed her to  buy out all of the Hell Money stores in Shun An Town; when she returned, there were two store assistants dragging two entire carts of Hell Money behind her.

Under the gazes of all the demonic cultivators on Xi Yue Peak, she made the two assistants drag the carts to a deserted part of the forest.

This part of the forest was so dense that not even a ray of sunlight permeated through. I slumped under a tree, and ordered: “Light the candles first, then offer up the incense, report my name – Chen Ji Shan Lu Zhao Yao – don’t do it wrongly and burn the money for someone else. Ai, dig a hole first ah, clear the debris. You need to be careful with fires, are you trying to burn down my Chen Ji Shan?”

Zhi Yan was being ordered around by me till she was in a flustered mess, and eventually snapped. She threw the candles and incense down in front of me: “You do it yourself!”

I crossed my legs, and remained calm: “Young people need to learn to endure a little suffering.” I  glanced at the candles and incense on the ground. She glared at me angrily for a while, but ultimately she was still a good child of a Righteous Sect, and she relented, picking up the candles and incense and obediently going to a side to dig a hole.

I watched her from the side, and suddenly noticed that there was something missing from her waist. I casually asked: “Where is your jade pendant?”

“Pawned it,” She replied blandly.

I frowned slightly. “When you arrived, you were wearing clothes of high quality – you must have been quite respected and pandered to in the past. You can’t even afford to buy Hell Money?”

She bit her lips for a split-second, then immediately shot a glare at me: “When you were alive you were such a mighty demonness, why is it now that you’re dead, you don’t even have a single person to burn Hell Money for you?”

“Hmmph, naïve.” I laughed coldly, and declared firmly: “The ambition of my entire life was precisely to make these people so terrified that they don’t even dare to visit my grave!”

“… …”

Yet just as I finished speaking, I felt an odd wind blowing from behind me. I narrowed my eyes and turned behind to look, only to see an figure approaching from the dark shadows of the forest.

“Who are you speaking to?”

Hearing this voice, Zhi Yan turned. When she caught sight of Mo Qing, clad in his black robes, she was so terrified she almost sat on the crackling fire pit. “Li… Li Li….” Her tongue was completely tied.

Mo Qing frowned slightly at her behaviour.

When I saw this, I immediately sat straight up. Crap, I haven’t had time to tell Zhi Yan about the lie I told Mo Qing yesterday. I can’t have any discrepancies appearing now. “Steady, calm, don’t panic. Say you were talking to yourself.”

At my words, Zhi Yan calmed herself, immediately rearranging her legs into a kneeling position, and she knelt primly in front of Mo Qing. “I was…talking to myself.”

Kneeling so obediently and neatly… indeed a disciple from a Righteous Sect!

---

Glossary:

(1): 就吃凶神恶煞这碗饭的- Figurative meaning: Our livelihood/career is based on being fiends!

(2): Jianghu – In wuxia novels, it often means the pugilistic world, the circle of martial artists. Culturally, it can mean the network of communities  separate from mainstream society.

(3): Yang – the complement to Yin. The Yin-Yang is a concept in Chinese philosophy (and religion) relating to duality and energy. Yin is often associated with darkness/femininity while Yang is associated with light/masculinity. Yin is also often related to death, and Yang with life. It is hence believed that spirits have Yin energy, so they are more powerful at night, and cannot tolerate the Yang energy in daytime.

(4): Hell Money – also known as ghost money/paper money. It is burnt as offerings for a deceased person so he/she has enough money to spend in the netherworld.

 

Ostentatious Zhao Yao – Chapter 9

Ostentatious Zhao Yao – Chapter 7

T/N: Happy Chinese New Year! It’s a little belated; this chapter was a bit of a nightmare to translate. I’m currently going through a bit of a busy period, so next update might be a little late as well, but it shouldn’t go beyond a month, hopefully.

---

As Mo Qing was about to turn the corner, he finally turned his head back slightly, glancing at me with an indifferent expression. I caught his gaze, and immediately ran forward. “Sect Leader, are you allowing me to leave with you?”

“No one that stays here is allowed to live.”

I grovelingly chased after him. He stood, unmoving, waiting for me to catch up. Seeing him display such an attitude, I understood that there would be no consequences for today

But…

He may have no more issues with it, but I have an issue – that is, to tattle on some people.

“Sect Leader, there is still one more thing I have to tell you about.” I said, “Even though I am now your direct disciple…”

“Who said that?” His footsteps came to a halt as he interrupted me, his expression chilly. Again he turned his head to fix his gaze on me.

I met his gaze straight-on. “The last time we met, I spoke to you about being your disciple ah.”

“Did I agree?”

“You didn’t disagree.”

“……”

He fell silent again, and so I simply took it for tacit agreement. I confidently returned to my earlier topic, “As I was saying, even though I am now your direct disciple…” I deliberately paused here, giving him a glance, and seeing that he no longer objected, I nodded my head in satisfaction, and continued, “But I am still someone who joined the Sect later, so I have the utmost respect for all my brothers and sisters in Xi Yue Peak…”

Zhi Yan was unable to catch up to me, but I could hear her make a “Pu!” sound, as if she had vomited up a mouthful of blood at my words.

(Translated by jillaimee at Silent Moon Translations)

I ignored her and continued saying, “Even when they were extremely strict towards me, I only treated it as if they were training me. But who would have thought that some of these brothers would begin to act dishonorably, even taking advantage of me; it was truly going overboard. I had planned to burn some paper offerings today, but after being chased by them, I lost all of my paper offerings, you see…”

Mo Qing’s footsteps did not falter, nor did he bother to turn his head back as he said, “No one asked you to respect them; in Wan Lu Sect, we speak with our strength.”

Meaning, he is not going to interfere.

I nodded. That is fine, the body now belongs to me anyway. In front of me, if you little demons on Xi Yue Peak even dare to smile, I can only respect you for being such stupid bastards!” (1)

I followed behind Mo Qing. Before we even left the valley, I could hear the sound of arguing coming from ahead. On one side of the argument was little Flat-nose’s voice, he said, “I must report this matter to Sect Leader first, before we can go inside and capture the intruder.”

The other side was the demonic cultivators’ voices, talking over each other vigorously. “There is no need to bother the Sect Leader, we might not be able to enter this divine valley, but you can enter ah. You can go in and bring that little ** from the celestial sect out then kill her directly. That way, neither of us would have to be troubled over this matter. If Sect Leader asks, just say that she was so determined to barge into the valley that you couldn’t stop her, and had to resort to killing her. Then everything would be settled.”

From their words, I understood that even though Zhi Yan had intruded upon the forbidden grounds for such a long time, they had yet to report it to the Sect Leader.

I raised my eyebrows, coming to a conclusion about the nature of this matter – it is basically the stereotypical behavior of bullying the ones below you and hoodwinking your superiors, and colluding with other people to plot and kill someone.

In my opinion, doing bad things is not a crime. For us people of the Demonic Path, things like murdering to practice our skills, stealing divine treasures, viciously killing and fighting within our own sect, being two-faced and betraying each other – all these are the inherent qualities we should possess, otherwise what was the point of being a demonic cultivator? If you want to scrupulously abide by the rules of those prestigious and righteous sects, then you might as well cultivate to be a celestial. Those who chose to cultivate the Demon Path – we are all basically looking to cultivate in a convenient and self-satisfying way.

Therefore, in view of this, my method of handling people and their affairs have always been very simple. Two principles.

One, it depends on my mood.

When someone does something wrong : if my mood is good, I don’t care; if my mood is bad, I’ll break his legs and throw him out of the Sect doors.

The other principle is: if the wrong he commits has brought harm to me, then regardless of my mood, I’ll beat him to death, whip his corpse, then drag him out publicly as an example to the rest.

Hence, regarding these demonic cultivators who brought up the suggestion of deceiving the Sect Leader, if this had occurred in the past, then before dawn, their corpses would have already been hung on the “Corpse-Hanging Pillars” in front of the Sect doors to feed the vultures.

What a pity that I am not the Sect Leader now. I turned my head to glance at the composed Mo Qing. I’ll wait to see what tactics he would use to discipline these people.

As we turned the corner, I could see that there was a large stone standing in front of the path, inscribed with the words “Forbidden Grounds”. In front of the large stone was a flat area of land, where the demonic cultivators and Little Flat-nose were arguing.

There were around seven or eight low-ranked demonic cultivators from Xi Yue Peak, with a mix of females and males. The one arguing the most passionately with Little Flat-nose was the one acting as the leader of the group – a short-furred(2) male demonic cultivator. They did not detect our approach.

It was the Little Flat-nose facing our direction who abruptly snapped his mouth shut. This prompted a few of the other demonic cultivators to turn their heads to glance at us, but the implications had yet to sink in, when Little Flat-nose called out, “Sect Leader”. Immediately every one’s faces was like a face-changing opera performance(3), turning pasty white in the blink of an eye. When they saw me standing beside Mo Qing, still alive and well, some of them were so petrified even their necks turned white.

En, looking at this scene, it seems that Mo Qing’s ability in establishing his dominance in the Sect was still pretty good.

“The Forbidden Grounds were intruded upon, yet why had no one stopped the intruder? Why had no one reported this?” Mo Qing asked, even though he already knew the answer.

The demonic cultivators fell to their knees immediately, not even daring to raise their heads.

(Translated by jillaimee at Silent Moon Translations)

Little Flat-nose awkwardly looked at me, then at Mo Qing, and said, “Sect Leader……I really…didn’t know if I should kill….” His face displayed clearly his embarrassment; this matter was obviously past the limits of his brainpower.

If I think about this matter from his perspective, I could actually somewhat empathise with him. But he was seriously a little too stupid, and I couldn’t help but add, “The question was why you didn’t stop me and report it, not why you didn’t kill me.” I turned my head to glance at Mo Qing, an adorable smile on my face. “That was what you meant, right? Master.”

My words made the expressions of the demonic disciples on the floor turn even more exciting; their faces circled through a variety of colours, like a lantern with a rotating carousel of paper horses(4). Little Flat-nose clenched his fists, an expression of “I’ve finally understood” all over his face. (5)

Mo Qing shot a glance at me, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.

He walked in front of the demonic disciples, speaking slowly and lightly in an indifferent tone, “It has been a long time since I’ve paid attention to the matter of taking in new disciples. I was not aware that the disciples taken into my Wan Lu Sect could be so audacious – internal strife aside, they are also capable of inciting others, concealing the truth from their superiors, and acting impudently around the Forbidden Grounds.” As he paused, the surrounding pressure abruptly became heavier; even I, standing at the back, could feel my chest tighten.

For those demonic disciples kneeling on the floor, those with slightly weaker internal strength coughed out a mouthful of blood.

“Who gave you such guts?”(6)

When he asked them as such, all of the kneeling disciples shouted in trembling voices, “Sect Leader have mercy, Sect Leader have mercy.”

Yet despite their pleads for mercy, the enormous crushing pressure did not let up.

I thought to myself inwardly that Mo Qing was going to start a massacre tonight. Come to think of it, his way of handling such matters is similar to mine in the past. After this, these disciples would meet their ends by the Corpse Whipping Stage and Corpse Hanging Pillar.

Hmmph. My heart filled with condescension. How unoriginal.

I had been looking forward to showing off my skills –  I haven’t had the chance to sort someone out in ages and I’m itching to do it – yet in the end everything was settled by Mo Qing in such an old-fashioned way.  This time, when I return to Xi Yue Peak, there would no longer be the need for me to assert my dominance; once the story of what happened today spreads by gossip, it would be enough to terrify the rest of the demonic cultivators to death.

After all, Mo Qing allowed me to live despite my intrusion into the Forbidden Grounds, he quietly accepted my address of “Master”, and then he goes on to kill the demonic cultivators who offended “me”. Regardless of the actual cause-and-effect and specific details of this matter, it was enough to trick the eyes of the outsiders.

Yet it was at this moment, as the leader Short-Fur vomited up a mouthful of blood and his entire body slumped weakly to the ground, Mo Qing’s power slowly dissipated.

Huh?

I was a little taken aback – this guy is not dead yet, right? You are not going to continue pressuring him?

I turned my head to glance at Mo Qing; his eyes were cold and unapproachable as he looked at these demonic cultivators, who seemed at though they had taken a walk around Death’s door.  Their tragic state today, is even worse  off than that of a second-rate dog(7).

He ordered, “You are exiled to Shun An Town to farm, for ten years you’re not allowed to return.”

What?

Wait, wait….

Did I hear wrongly?

Where is the Corpse Whipping Stage? The Corpse Hanging Pillar? Are we not letting the vultures Tu Tu Tu peck them all, and just chasing them off the mountain like this? And ten years? They’re still allowed to come back? What kind of torture method is this, this farming? How is it that I’ve never heard of such a thing!

I stared at the demonic cultivators with a face full of astonishment, as they received their orders and helped each other off the floor, before limping away.

Everyone actually left with all their limbs intact!

Mo Qing, ah, Mo Qing, you really are an ugly monster that I can’t understand!

In the past, when I killed, it was always unexpected and caught people off guard. Now, this method of disciplining the subordinates is also indeed unexpected, catching people off guard.

I furrowed my brows, watching him with a measuring gaze. Once he had settled the matter of those demonic cultivators, he did not waste any more time, only turning his head briefly to instruct, “In the future if she enters your dreams again, report to me.” Following that, his figure disappeared into the dark night.

I stood in the darkness of the evening for a while, and Little Flat-nose came forward. “Miss.” He was very courteous this time. “I’ll call for a palanquin to send you back?” He was practically half-bowing as he spoke.

I turned my head to glance at him. “Little Flat-nose. Let me ask you.” I furrowed my brows, my expression stern. “This farming, what does it mean, explain it to me.”

Little Flat-nose, hearing the way I addressed him, silently pinched his nose a few times, and said, “It means to go to the farmland at the foot of the mountain to work the land ah.”

This perplexed me even more completely. Putting aside the whole matter of using “farming” as a form of punishment, the main issue was…..

“Where is there even a place at the foot of the mountain to farm?”

When I had been the Sect Leader, in order to display how especially formidable our Wan Lu Sect was, I had drawn up numerous dangerous barriers at the main entrance of Chen Li Shan.

Spear array, Arrow array, Demonic Burning Flame Array, Ruthless Frozen Tundra Array; any intruders would be doomed to death, or be condemned to a fate worse than death. All of the land within 30 li of the entrance of the mountain, without the permission of my Wan Lu Sect, even a fly could only dream of getting in. In the eyes of the righteous sects, my Chen Li Shan entrance was essentially the perfect embodiment of hell on earth!

Yet now someone is actually telling me…to send them to the foot of the mountain to..…to farm?

Ah, I understand now, so Mo Qing actually has such a preference. To give them a completely impossible task and force them to farm within a killing array, hence torturing them ah, right….

“En, there wasn’t such a place originally.” Little Flat-nose  earnestly explained to me. “After the Sect Leader took over Wan Lu Sect, he erased the previous arrays, returned the land to the people, and allowed them to farm and grow crops there.”

I almost spat out a mouthful of blood all over Little Flat-nose’s face. “What did you say? What did he erase?”

Little Flat-nose leaned closer to my ear and softly said, “The arrays of the previous Sect Leader. Sect Leader erased all of those. In the first year, the land was still infertile and there weren’t much of a harvest, but in the recent two years the harvest has been very bountiful, anything that we plant would reap a good harvest. Right now it is spring, the land in front of Chen Li Shan’s entrance is full of life. Yi, Miss, when you came before, didn’t you see it?”

I…….

If I had seen it, I would probably have been enraged to the point of gouging my own eyeballs out, blinding myself on the spot……

---

Glossary:
(1):  二狗子: literally translates to “number two dog”. It can be interpreted in many different ways, depending on context and region. I chose to translate it into “stupid bastard” because 二 (two) is commonly used to call someone stupid, and 狗 (dog) often has a negative connotation/meaning of bastard.

(2): 短毛: literally translates to “short fur”. Zhao Yao is low-key referring to him as an animal.

(3): 唱戏变脸: face-changing opera show.  In Sichuan opera, the performer can change their facial make-up in the snap of a finger, right on stage – this is known as the famous face changing skill.

(4): 走马灯: A lantern with a carousel of paper horses, rotating under convection, used at the Lantern Festival, which is celebrated on the 15th day of the first lunar month.

 

 

(5): Little Flat-nose’s expression:  He finally understands. Finally.

 

 

(6): 谁给你们的狗胆？: Translates to “who gave you such guts?” but it is meant rhetorically. It is basically saying “How dare you!”

(7): 二狗子: again as (1). This time translated into “second-rate dog” because it fit the context better. If anyone who has a better grasp of Chinese internet slang could clarify the exact definition of this phrase, I would be grateful.

---

T/N: And Mo Qing descends even deeper into Zhao Yao’s bad side…

Goodbye killing arrays. Now we have a nice little farmland sitting at the entrance to Wan Lu Sect lol.

Ostentatious Zhao Yao – Chapter 8

Ostentatious Zhao Yao – Chapter 6

T/N: I found this chapter a little trickier to translate both coherently and faithfully. Maybe it’s because we’re starting to get into the actual story now that I really want to make sure everything is as perfect as possible. Let me know if there’s anything I can improve on!

---

Having heard Zhi Yan’s sniffling complaints, I have a general understanding of her bullying situation now.

Previously before I left, I had told her to go and tightly hug Mo Qing’s thick thigh. However, this little lady is an aloof one with high self-esteem, and did not plan on doing so. She had planned to depend solely on her own abilities and cultivate properly in Wan Lu Sect, and, upon achieving success in her cultivation, seek out the Jian Xin Sect Leader Liu Wei for revenge.

I listened to her story with a mocking laugh- young lady, you are still too naïve.

Indeed, within a few days, the demonic cultivators on Xi Yue Peak discovered that this “Direct Disciple”, who had been carried in on a palanquin, was actually nowhere as formidable as they had imagined, nor had she as close a relationship with the Sect Leader as they had thought.

Instantly, those who had previously greeted her in an amiable manner began treating her coldly; those who had previously treated her with extreme consideration began mocking and even humiliating her. Her original plan of quietly relying on her own abilities to achieve success became completely impossible.

In less than a month, this lady, coming from a righteous celestial sect preaching ‘Harmony is to be prized’, was, due to her lack of resistance, attacked from all sides by people wanting to vent their frustrations. The male demonic cultivators on Xi Yue Peak started to take advantage of her, and today, their violations had gone too far and crossed a line. She finally began angrily resisting them, but by this point, there was no one left to help her.

The female demonic cultivators simply stood by and enjoyed the show; the male demonic cultivators called her a little slut, and intensified their efforts to take advantage of her.

In her panic, Zhi Yan flew away from them on her sword, but the demonic cultivators chased after her doggedly until she ran into the forbidden grounds, where no one else dared to enter.

When she finished recounting, in between her choked sobs, all the heart-wrenching things that had occurred over the past month, it was almost the zi hour (11pm – 1am).

I squatted in front of her. “Little lady, it is okay to depend on yourself; in this world, there are indeed many times when you can only depend on yourself. But the pre-requisite of depending on yourself is that you must be strong enough. And when you are not strong enough…” I stared at her incomprehensibly, “Couldn’t you use your brains and remember the words I said to you before, and go and suck up to Chen Li Lan?”

“I did realise that I couldn’t depend on myself, that’s why I’m here to find you…”

Mn, that can indeed be considered a solution as well.
(Translated by jillaimee at Silent Moon Translations)

She wiped her tears away and glanced at me. “Besides, if I went looking for Chen Li Lan… Chen Li Lan is the Sect Leader, he is so high up and unreachable… all those people who’ve stayed in Xi Yue Peak for tens of years, none of them have managed to see Chen Li Lan, what qualifications do I have…to curry favour with him and let him help me.”

Hearing this, I was enraged. “I am also the Sect Leader! I was also once high up and unreachable! Just because I’m dead so you think that I’m easier to bully, is that it!”

She glanced at me again. “Yeah.”

“……”

I gritted my teeth, thinking that this person in front of me, as well as that door guard Little Flat-nose – both of them are unable to discern things properly. But seeing as she was going to offer me her body to use, I decided to pardon her disrespectful words.

“The worry you have regarding Chen Li Lan is completely unfounded. Didn’t I say before – Chen Li Lan ordered ‘Kill all intruders’, but why did he not kill you?”

With her face full of tears, she stupidly stared at me. “Why?”

I solemnly announced “Because he has taken a fancy to this body of yours!”

Zhi Yan’s entire body jolted. “What!”

“Then what else, what other reason could he have not to kill you?”

Zhi Yan thought for a bit. “At that time, you were in my body ah, who knows, maybe he was looking at me and thinking of you then?”

I gave another mocking laugh. “Mo Qing is the Wan Lu Sect Leader now, a position he had snatched out of my hands. Now that he finally managed to stabilise his position, if he knows that I’ve reincarnated in someone else’s body, tell me, how would he treat me?”

“Kill…kill the weeds and destroy the roots?”

“You’re not too stupid then.” I raised my head to glance at the sky, and seeing that it was already the zi hour (11pm – 1am), I called out to Zhi Yan. “It is about time, let’s give it a try.”

Zhi Yan straightened her back. I centered myself, ridding myself of all irrelevant thoughts and desires, and pushed my way into Zhi Yan’s body.

Instantly, my fingertips warmed, my feet become heavy, and the familiar feeling of having a body surged over all my senses. I blinked my eyes and looked over to the gravestone, and saw Zhi Yan’s soul standing there blankly, where I’ve pushed her out.

Indeed! An act like usurping someone else’s body is best done at night!

I stood and clenched my fists, and feeling the strength in my hands, my heart immediately brightened. Finally! After going in such a huge circle, this body is still ultimately mine!

However, even before I’ve had time to savour my happiness at finally gaining a body, I suddenly sensed an aura flash behind me. My brows furrowed, but just as I was about to dodge, I felt a hand choke my neck, lifting me up.

In an instant, my breath was  stolen from me, and as I suffocated, I looked up at the person in front of me. I saw the familiar black robes, just as before, but his expression was frosty, and his gaze was like sharp knives that pierced into my bones. “You again.” His voice was cold as ice. “Intruding into the forbidden grounds, don’t think that I will spare you a second time.”

Zhi Yan’s soul beside me was so frightened that she continuously gasped and shrieked loudly “You see you see! You still wanted me to go curry favour with this Li demon, you still said he was interested in me – more like he’s interested in killing me!  Thank goodness I didn’t go!”

The fury in my heart. If not for Zhi Yan’s body being so useless, how could I be bullied by Mo Qing into such a sorry state!

This Mo Qing was also too laughable; why is it that every time I switched bodies with Zhi Yan he would come over to make things difficult for me – it must be fated for him to be a curse and plaque in my life!

I gripped his arm, using all my strength to try to get him to relax his stranglehold on me slightly, and hoarsely said, “Last time I was forced to, this time I…was also forced to…”

Mo Qing laughed coldly, and roughly threw me onto the ground.

I immediately covered my neck, coughing and choking for breath. Through the continuous buzzing in my ears, I heard his sarcastic and cold laugh, filled with an unmistakable murderous aura, “Forced to? By those demonic cultivators outside?”

The last time Mo Qing saw me, he received two sword attacks from me. Based on the power behind those two blows, indeed none of those lowly ranked demonic cultivators on Xi Yue Peak could pose any sort of challenge to me.

But when this body was being bullied, it was controlled by the even-weaker than-a-chicken Zhi Yan! I was unable to explain myself, and in order to deflect Mo Qing’s suspicion, I could only rely on my quick wits in this emergency situation – I pointed to my own gravestone, and said, “It was her, I was forced by her.”

The moment those words left my lips, Mo Qing abruptly stilled.

When I lifted my head to glance at him again, he was examining me, who was sprawled out on the ground, very closely. “You know who this gravestone belongs to?”

“I know, it is Lu Zhao Yao…”

His gaze was frigid, his face harsh. “Where did you learn this from?”

“From a dream.” I was thinking and making it up as I went, “She comes into my dreams every night to force me to burn paper offerings for her.”

“She enters your dreams?” Mo Qing interrupted me, his eyes narrowed and filled with suspicion.

I thought about it for a bit. Letting Mo Qing know that my soul is still around might not be a very good idea. But whatever, these supernatural affairs…If I had not died myself, even I would not have known if people became ghosts after their death. To the living, such matters are simply too illusory; no matter how much he investigates, he would never be able to find out anything concrete.

I might as well simply put all my pieces on the chessboard and set a trap.
(Translated by jillaimee at Silent Moon Translations)

If Mo Qing learns that my soul still exists, but has no way of finding me, he would definitely spend all his time jumping at ghosts in order to protect his Sect Leader position. While he is occupied with that, I can use Zhi Yan’s body to infiltrate and get closer to him using the excuse of Lu Zhao Yao entering my dreams. I can pretend to help him look for ‘Lu Zhao Yao’, manipulating his emotional state and getting close to him at the same time. I would enter into his life, attain his trust – the enemy’s every movement would be known by me, while I remain hidden and undetected – and as soon as he drop his defences, I would give him a killing blow!

How absolutely perfect!

I was momentarily bowled over by admiration at my own ability to think up such a complex plan in an instant. Then, keeping my eyes fixed on Mo Qing, with a solemn expression, I said, “Yes, she wanted me to burn paper offerings for her, otherwise, she would haunt and kill me.”

Mo Qing was silent for a long time; his dark pupils resembled a whirlpool, hiding all of his emotions, leaving me unable to fathom his mood.

I waited for him to express his stand. I waited for a long time, yet eventually when he opened his mouth, he only said three words, “That is impossible.” He bowed his head, as if he was murmuring to himself, “If she was still around, she would definitely have looked for me first.”

Ah, regarding this point, little ugly monster understood me quite well. My only regret in this mortal life was not being able to take you down with me at the very end. If I returned to life, of course I would look for you first, then take you down.

Exactly what I’m doing now.

But at this moment I could not say that, so instead I said, “I don’t know why she only looked for me, perhaps…it is because I hit my head against her gravestone last time, and so she started to haunt me… she was so terrifying in the dream, I had no other choice… Sect Leader, my second intrusion into the forbidden grounds can’t actually be blamed on me.”

I gazed at him pitifully – because Zhi Yan had cried earlier, her eyes were still a little sensitive. I determinedly kept my eyes wide open without blinking, and quickly, the frail gaze was filled with tears.

He silently looked at me for a long while.

In my heart I understood that acting pitiful in front of someone from the Wan Lu Sect was actually not an effective trick. Mo Qing can be regarded as having been brought up by me; I can predict that this pitiful act today, if effective, it would definitely be because…

“Stand.”

He spared my life. I silently confirmed in my heart – as expected, this Mo Qing was interested in Zhi Yan’s face! He can’t bear to kill her!

Mo Qing glared at me. “How was she in your dreams?”

“Who? Demoness Lu Zhao Yao?” I examined his expression, and deliberately said, “She ah, her face was completely white, she had no legs at all, truly vicious looking…” As I spoke, I saw Mo Qing narrow his eyes suspiciously. I knew he was scrutinising me carefully, so I immediately drew out my true feelings, and said, “She was actually no different from a living person; it was just that she hates you, she said you stole her position and caused her death, she wants to come back for you so she can take revenge.”

All the people in the Sword Tomb that year should have been killed by the tremendous aura from the Wan Jun Sword. Even if the common people had come up with some theories about  what exactly happened back then, there was no way anyone could so confidently state that I was actually killed by Mo Qing.

Therefore, I said something that could only have been known by the two of us, so as to eliminate his suspicions.

As expected, when Mo Qing heard this, he became silent. Only after a long time did he turn his head slightly to gaze at my nameless gravestone.

Zhi Yan’s soul was standing right there; she stared back at Mo Qing blankly, until he eventually lowered his head.

He murmured, “Then why…has she not come.”

Huh, provoking me.

I was a little tempted to roll up my sleeves.

But I quickly controlled my own emotions. This was not the time to fight with Mo Qing head on. I suppressed my anger, reminding myself that I had to endure this humiliation for my important mission, that I was merely taking a roundabout way to achieve my ultimate goal. I cannot be impulsive.

After his quiet murmur, Mo Qing silently turned and left.

He didn’t say anything about his plans for me, and so I just stood where I was, staring at his back. Zhi Yan floated beside me, and perplexedly said, “This Li demon…his expression just now was so sorrowful.” She said, “It was completely unlike a demon…like a lonely little child who had been abandoned…”

Mo Qing was nearby so I couldn’t speak openly to Zhi Yan, I could only roll my eyes at her.

These prestigious and righteous sects are really good at imagining a whole bunch of sentimental nonsense.

Mo Qing, sorrowful? He currently holds so much power and authority – if there is any sorrow at all, then it is probably that kind of ‘how lonely it is, being so superior that no one can ever understand me‘ sigh of sorrow!

---

Ostentatious Zhao Yao – Chapter 7