Translated by Elestrea
Edited by juurensha, namio
Chen Xing was still chained, and with much difficulty, he tore off his robe to cover Xiang Shu’s upper body. Looking at Xiang Shu’s tired and bloodstained face, he thought that he was still so handsome. He couldn’t help but want to reach out and touch Xiang Shu’s face. At that moment, his mind gave birth to an idea, seemingly urging him to do something to express his gratitude towards Xiang Shu.
“How far is it from Karakorum to here?” Chen Xing said.
“One day and one night,” Xiang Shu replied.
Chen Xing thought: Did you come to save me as soon as I was caught?
“You want something to eat ma?” Chen Xing asked once again, “Are you hungry?”
“Eat what?” Xiang Shu indifferently said, “Can you even find me something to eat? Eat you? How many liangs of meat do you think you have?”
Chen Xing had to drop the subject
Xiang Shu’s breathing stabilized, and he no longer talked, clearly asleep. Chen Xing sat down on his side, slightly leaned against him. His surroundings were quiet; the only sound he could hear was the rustling of the wind passing through the mountains and forests. At that moment, it was as if all dangers had distanced themselves away from them, and in the whole world, there was only this peaceful snow and lofty mountains.
I’m sorry, Chen Xing said in his heart.
If I hadn’t one-sidedly made you my Protector, I wouldn’t have caused you so much trouble ba. Chen Xing sighed in his heart, but regarding this matter, he was very confused. Now and then, Chen Xing went as far as treating Xiang Shu as his last hope, because when he had been kidnapped, Xiang Shu had fought hard and risked his life for him.
Chen Xing was only leaning slightly on him, but Xiang Shu, eyes still closed, raised an arm and draped it around Chen Xing’s shoulders, pulling him a little closer to himself. This action seemed to fill Chen Xing with endless courage, his momentary frustration vanishing like smoke in thin air.
Chen Xing slowly leaned down. Resting his head on Xiang Shu’s body, he looked at the desolate graves in front of him.
“What?” Xiang Shu said suddenly.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
“What?” Chen Xing asked blankly.
“Lfjga Ojwq,” Wljcu Vte rjlv mbcmlrfis.
Jtfc Wlcu rjlv, “Lfjga Ojwq? Dea P’w cba erlcu la?”
Wljcu Vte bqfcfv tlr fsfr jcv vbeyaoeiis rjlv: “P offi la. Pa’r ilxf sbe’gf uibklcu jii bnfg.”
“Zf?” Jtfc Wlcu gjlrfv tlr tfjv, yea Wljcu Vte qgfrrfv la vbkc rb atja tlr tfjv ralii ijlv bc tlr ybvs. Ofjclcu bc tlw, Jtfc Wlcu ofia yfaafg, yea tf mbeivc’a afii kts.
“Did you see Che Luofeng?” Xiang Shu changed the subject and asked.
“En,” Chen Xing gave a rough outline of the events. Xiang Shu frowned and said, “Zhou Zhen became a living corpse shortly after his death and so did Youduo. Where have they been hiding all these years?”
This was also the point that Chen Xing was puzzled over the most. If the world’s spiritual qi was still there, they might have been able to ask the yaos who could be found everywhere in the mountains or other areas.
“What are you going to do with Che Luofeng?” Chen Xing asked.
“I’m going to take him back,” Xiang Shu said in a low voice, “or finish him here. It’s my fault.”
Chen Xing had originally wanted to say that you shouldn’t hand over the responsibility of guarding Chi Le Chuan to Che Luofeng, but what was the use of saying that now? Besides, thinking about the circumstances at that time, even if Xiang Shu hadn’t handed over the responsibility to his Anda, if Che Luofeng were to take over Chi Le Chuan and kill people anyway, there still would have been no one who could subdue him. Xiang Shu’s decision to leave Chi Le Chuan was a mistake, and this mistake was caused by Chen Xing himself.
“Before I left, he promised me,” Xiang Shu murmured, “that he wouldn’t take revenge on the Akeles and that he would protect Chi Le Chuan for me. That night, surrounded by the clan chiefs, the two of us came to an agreement.”
Chen Xing suddenly recalled the night when King Akele had waited outside his tent and offered to take him north. King Akele must’ve also felt that the argument between Xiang Shu and Che Luofeng was endless. He didn’t want to drag the whole Chi Le Chuan into danger because of himself, and also didn’t want the Great Chanyu to abandon the whole Chi Le Chuan for the sake of the Akeles, so he left without permission in the middle of the argument and came to assist Chen Xing on his own.
“Che Luofeng isn’t that kind of person. Some words were said just because he let his emotions take over him in the heat of the moment. Once he calms down, he’ll eventually get the big picture. It’s Zhou Zhen and Shi Hai…” Xiang Shu murmured, “It was the medicine Shi Hai gave him that changed his temperament.”
“Forget it,” Chen Xing said, feeling a little uncomfortable.
Xiang Shu said, “Can you save him again?”
Chen Xing replied, “It’s hard to say. If the spiritual qi of heaven and earth were still there, I could’ve attempted to dispel the influence of the Devil God’s blood.”
Xiang Shu: “It’s impossible for him to be forgiven. I just want him to regain his dignity and then die.”
“For what crime?” A hoarse voice said, “Shulü Kong, the one who should ask for forgiveness is you.”
Chen Xing suddenly looked up. Xiang Shu however, seemed to have known that Che Luofeng was coming. He casually patted Chen Xing, indicating for him to get up, before standing up himself, using his sword for support. “Drop it, explain yourself.”
Che Luofeng had been pummeled beyond recognition. When he fell off the cliff, his head was knocked until it became dented, the armor and clothes on his whole body had shredded into rags, and one of his hands was broken and hung free at his side.
Che Luofeng’s eyes were opened wide, looking at Xiang Shu. “My Anda, you should remember the consequence of going back on your words.”
“Don’t move a zhang away from this tree.” Xiang Shu picked up his sword and slowly walked away from Chen Xing. His upper body was bare, showing the scar left behind from that time in Chang’an not too long ago where he had blocked an arrow for Chen Xing. His lower body was still covered with iron armor. He held the sword horizontally, blocking Che Luofeng’s way.
There was a small noise coming in from all directions —— a powerful resentment was spreading quietly in this ancient burial ground.
Sima Yue appeared from inside the forest. Holding an antler staff, he stood on high ground, overlooking the three men in the graveyard.
Chen Xing raised his head to look at Sima Yue, noticing that the antler staff was commanding the resentment around it. After a while, it grew by leaps and bounds, and all of the resentment beyond the Great Wall rushed into the graveyard, pouring into the ravine like running water!
“Sima Yue!” Chen Xing said in a deep voice, “Let your master come out and speak!”
“Exorcist,” Sima Yue, standing above them, said in an aloof and cold voice. “You will see him soon enough. I’ll give you a chance: Give up all resistance and come with me. That way, you’ll naturally have an opportunity to ask him everything.”
At that moment, Chen Xing had an idea: If I pretended to lose and be caught, what would happen? It was obvious that these two resurrected living corpses who were called “Drought Fiend Kings” had received an order from their superior to capture him alive.
But Chen Xing immediately gave up on that idea. Shi Hai wanted to see him, so they would keep him alive, but the same couldn’t be said for Xiang Shu. It was too risky to try, and it really wasn’t worth it.
“I have no interest in negotiating with him.” Chen Xing lifted his chain and confronted the enemy on the high ground. Showing no emotions, not even the slightest hint of fear, he said, “Go back and tell him: My mission is to annihilate him and send him back to samsara, to the place where the dead ought to go.”
Sima Yue burst out into a hoarse, frantic laugh. “You alone? I’d like to see, with the Silence of All Magic, what a weak and defenseless exorcist can do!”
The moment his voice fell, Sima Yue thrusted the staff in his hand into the ground, and the overflowing resentment snapped into a frenzy! Cold winds howled in the ancient graveyard, as if their surroundings had transformed into the underworld!
When he saw this, Chen Xing muttered: “Not good.” Like the Yin Yang Mirror and the Zheng Drum, this magical artifact had been refined with resentment! The resentment in the magical artifact, coupled with that caused by the war and the massacre in Chi Le Chuan, had begun to stir the earth vein of this gloomy place. This situation was even more dangerous than Chang’an City!
At first, he didn’t think much about it as there weren’t many people living in Chi Le Chuan, and there had been no large-scale war for so many years. So, even if there were resentment hovering around, it would dissipate very quickly. However, what he didn’t expect was that what Chi Le Chuan lacked the most if compared to Chang’an City was the most important factor: People.
The fewer the number of living people, the weaker the yang qi would become, which slowed down the neutralization of the resentment borne by death. Sima Yue had brought this magical artifact containing powerful resentment out of nowhere and was now forcibly urging and releasing its power. In an instant, dark clouds surged in the sky above, blood-red lightning also faintly visible.
Numerous shadows appeared from within the mountain range, surrounding that tall and ancient tree in the graveyard.
“Shulü Kong…” Che Luofeng roared from inside the dark clouds. “I’ve given you almost everything I have, and all these years, I’ve never owed you anything…”
Che Luofeng slowly emerged from the dense resentment. Chen Xing looked around the graveyard and found that countless animals had become corrupted —— deer, wolves, wild dogs, foxes, vultures… A horde of dead animals with exposed, eerie white bones and muddy eyes stared at them as they limped towards the graveyard.
“My Anda is already dead,” Xiang Shu said, holding his broadsword. “The monster standing in front of me is nobody.”
Chen Xing forced himself to calm down. He could see that Che Luofeng’s broken and torn body was, to his surprise, being slowly mended inside the dense resentment. Looking up at the darkened sky, he then activated the Heart Lamp. This thick aura was interfering with the light of Xiang Shu’s sword, dimming it down.
The resentment was so heavy it gnawed away the power of Heart Lamp by the minute.
“Shulü Kong,” Che Luofeng said, trembling. “You selfish, ungrateful, vile man. I’ve seen through you, just die! Return everything I’ve given you!”
Chen Xing shouted: “Xiang Shu! Don’t get too far away from me! The Heart Lamp’s mana has been weakened!”
Chen Xing rushed into the battlefield, and Xiang Shu moved back. Incomparable resentment was enveloping Che Luofeng; he was even more unreconciled than Feng Qianyi. He revealed a bone whip from his left hand and pounced on Xiang Shu!
Ah, Che Luofeng, you’re one of the characters I shall never truly hate or like. I like how Feitian made him such a conflicted person. But I guess, there’s no redemption for you this time 
Anyway, the glossary is now updated until Chapter 44: https://chrysanthemumgarden.com/dinghai-glossary/
If those are truly the resentful thoughts in the bottom of his heart I have even less good feelings (or even neutral) for him. There may have been circumstances against him, but he doesn’t see XS for who he truly is. He only sees his own selfish desires, he wants a convenient XS that is only for him, and that cannot be. He is a deep and fully dimensioned villain (although that doesn’t seem the right word) but I feel nothing but a sliver of pity for him.
Thanks for the great translation ♥️♥️♥️♥️
I still hate him wholeheartedly ha HA! gahd.. Now the dead gang had caught up (interrupting our bbs moment) with lots of resentment now I wonder how they will defeat the dead gang ;v;)/ and Xiao Shan’s whereabouts..
Thank you for the chapter!!!!!!~ 🙇🙇🙇🙇🙇
Thank you for the chapter! I know he’s young and I’m usually sympathetic towards characters like him, but he took his jealousy and bitterness over Xiang Shu not reciprocating his feelings to extreme lengths, and numerous people lost their lives due to his betrayal. So no sympathy for him from me😤
Thank you for the great translation. Jiayou 🙂
Thank you for your wonderful work