Shi Wuduan flipped over unconsciously, feeling something dripping on the back of his hand. When he woke, he opened his eyes to find himself lying on an unfamiliar bed. He realized that he wasn’t in his own room.
Then, without looking to the side, he somewhat awkwardly retracted the arm that he’d been carelessly resting across the other person, but Bai Li caught his hand.
Judging from the light that was shining through the windows, it was already nearly noon. Bai Li wasn’t drunk, so naturally, he was already awake. Yet instead of getting up, he merely laid on his side, pillowing his head on his arm as he peacefully watched Shi Wuduan for who knew how long, barely even blinking.
Shi Wuduan lightly shoved him, wanting his arm back, but Bai Li didn’t let go.
“Stop fooling around,” he said.
Yet Bai Li’s grip suddenly tightened as he pressed closer. His other hand looped around Shi Wuduan’s waist and he buried his face into the crook of his neck. After a moment, he asked sulkily, “How did you know that ‘Never Part’ existed?”
Shi Wuduan paused, then said, “The Yao King’s wife is a kind of Hehuan tree. ‘Never Part’ is one of the Hehuan clan’s closely kept secrets. Even though the yao race has long kept to the Amu Grasslands, it was only a matter of time before Yan Zhen dragged them into this mess. Of course I had to know my enemy.”
Bai Li’s arms tightened around him as he asked, “You knew about what happened last night?”
Shi Wuduan chuckled, “There were dozens of eyes watching the Yao King’s every move the moment he left his seat. I knew he wanted to find a way to curb me somehow… but the yao have been isolated for a long time; they’re simple, unlike humans. There were only so many things he could think of to use against me.”
“Then why did you drink it?”
Shi Wuduan sighed. Bai Li’s arms were digging into him uncomfortably, but all he did was silently stroke the hair that flowed down Bai Li’s back.
As if Bai Li himself couldn’t figure out an answer to his question, he mumbled under his breath, “If you knew, then why did you drink it? Did… did you do it willingly?”
Shi Wuduan heard an oddness in his tone and turned his face towards him. He gently lifted his chin, only to see that Bai Li’s face was streaked with tears.
Shi Wuduan suddenly froze, at a loss. He had no clue what to do. A while later, he said, “Why… are you crying? Of course ‘Never Part’ has another purpose, I was merely using Zhao Rong…”
His words abruptly stopped because Bai Li suddenly flipped him over, gently parted the disheveled collar of his robes, then bent down and reverently kissed the mark of ‘Never Part’ on his chest.
The teardrops that landed on his chest contrasted magnificently with the mark of ‘Never Part.’
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.
Entanglements… probably only ever had three kinds of outcomes. Either their love was enough to move skies and shake mountains, heaven took pity on them, and their entanglement turned into attachment, or they became disillusioned with romance, let go of their relationship, and never met again; or they’d both suffer for it and become irreversibly entrapped, ending up as nothing more than an unsightly pair of doomed lovers.
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When the emperor dismissed the court, his knees were already weak. The eunuchs helped him back to his resting quarters, where he dismissed all the servants and listlessly sat down. He suddenly clutched at the foot of his imperial bed and started bawling.
After his terror dried up with his tears and snot, all that was left was confusion.
He thought, may as well die. Find a white cloth and may as well die like a man.
Then he called, “Servants! Servants!”
The eunuchs he’d chased away earlier all scrambled over themselves getting through the door. The emperor issued a jaw-dropping order, “Go… go find me a strip of white silk.”
The eunuch’s knees weakened and he threw himself to the floor, weeping, “Your Majesty, you mustn’t!”
The emperor woodenly replied, “I haven’t died yet and you lot are already defying imperial orders. You’re not afraid of losing your head?”
The lowly eunuch kneeled and kowtowed relentlessly, “For the sake of the country, you must take care of yourself, Your Majesty!”
The emperor, who only wanted to die, roared, “Scram! One more word and I’ll have your family executed!”
The lowly eunuch looked around, saw that there was no one around, and decided that even if he expressed his loyalty and virtue, no one would see it anyways. So he weighed his family against the emperor’s imperial neck; it was obvious which was heavier… at any rate, the sages had already said: the people most important, the country second, and the lord last.
Thus, he only dithered for a moment before tiptoeing off to find a length of white silk for the emperor.
The emperor had gotten so used to being coerced by all those lofty officials threatening to bash their heads against the columns that he hadn’t come across anyone so easy to scare. He blanked out for a while, long enough for the eunuch to return with the white silk he’d requested and present it with both hands, ready to send this sagely emperor on the road.
The emperor dismissed him, hung the white silk from the rafters, hesitated for a long while, and started remembering his tumultuous life. Once he was done, that burst of tragic resolve was already like a popped bladder — everything that could’ve leaked out already leaked out.
He dismally retreated a few steps, feeling like living disgracefully was better than dying nobly. Even if he moved the capital, escaped beyond the borders, or even abdicated and demoted himself to prince, he could still live an easy, luxurious life. If a regular peasant toiled their whole lives and managed to muddle their way to the position of emperor, general, or minister before they croaked, wouldn’t they be able to die smiling too?
Just as the thought passed through his head, someone came to report, “Your Majesty, Sir Yan has arrived…”
The voice was very soft, as if they were afraid of scaring their mentally fragile emperor, causing another fuss that needed medicine to fix.
The emperor looked up, a speck of light flickering in his dead eyes. He thought, that’s right, there’s still the Yan family, the Mi Sect, the Xuan Sect… they’re so all-powerful, they must have a way. Even though he’d been ruthlessly suppressing them lately, he was merely exercising checks and balances. All storm and thunder was the emperor’s magnanimity, how would they dare complain?
Thus, he hurriedly said, “Invite him in!”
Shortly thereafter, Yan Zhen quickly entered, and before he got through all the courtesies, the emperor stopped him, and gave him an unprecedentedly warm reception as he said, “Please, stand! Quick, up with you, my dear subject — servants, bring him a seat.”
Yan Zhen hadn’t gotten any sleep in days. He took one look at the emperor who was practically pissing himself and sighed to himself — this was the first time he’d had the honor of being granted a seat when he met with the emperor in private.
As expected, before Sir Yan’s honorable butt landed on the chair, the emperor had already impatiently pressed, “How can this situation be dealt with? Dear subject, have you any ideas?”
Yan Zhen hadn’t even had the time to respond when the emperor continued, “Dear subject, what do you think of relocating the capital? As long as the green mountains still stand, they’ll never run out of firewood. I’ll lead the civil and military officials to retreat temporarily. If we leave beyond the border, we’ll solve the most pressing issue, then we’ll have time to plan for the future…”
Yan Zhen immediately cut him off, “Your Majesty, you mustn’t.”
The emperor lurched and stared blankly at him.
Yan Zhen softened his tone, “You mustn’t suggest moving the capital again. We can’t stay long beyond the border. Firstly, It’s too sparsely populated, the climate is inhospitable, the mountainous landscape is complex, and I’m afraid it’s not a suitable place to construct a palace for Your Majesty or your concubines. Not to mention that the conditions are harsh, and nothing much grows in those barren lands. Even food is a problem.”
Yan Zhen knew he didn’t have to keep going. Just the first issue alone would make the pampered emperor shirk. As expected, the emperor frowned and said, “That… does make sense. Pingyang City is the face of my country, how could we let petty insurgents bring it to ruin?”
Yan Zhen continued, “Rest assured Your Majesty, your subject already has a plan to force back the enemy.”
“What?”
Yan Zhen said, “My father once said that in regards to the borrowing of luck, the seven lanterns begin from Jiulu Mountain and end in Cangyun Valley. The Hall of Demons is the key to it all. That’s why, many years ago, I requested the Mi Sect to use a ritual to release the Demon Lord alone and tie the country’s fate to him. We have already lost the Demon Lord’s whereabouts, but I have discussed the matter with the Mi Sect’s disciples and we believe there is a method we can use.”
“Since the Dagu Road has been destroyed, we may as well go with the flow. Since the sects’ spiritual energy is fading, I wish to beseech the emperor to open the Hall of Demons and invite an army of thousands of demons to guard the imperial city….”
“Good!” Before he finished, the emperor already stood, his face beaming with joy. He praised, “Dear subject, you are indeed a boon to my country! A capable subject! If you can defend Pingyang City, I will surely reward you! I’ll confer you the title of first-rank Lord Protector(护国公), inheritable by your descendants, how’s that sound? No… wait, there’s the Mi Sect as well. In the future, the Mi Sect will be the place of the imperial clan’s ancestral hall…”
Yan Zhen only felt tired. He wordlessly received an earful of the joyous emperor’s promises. He waited till he was finished, then thanked his generosity and left without leave.
How could getting demons to defend the city be an easy task? When the time came, he was afraid that it’d be “easy to invite a god, but hard to drive one out“. Thousands of years ago, it’d taken the lives of countless powerful cultivators in order to seal the Hall of Demons. Those things were savage and barbaric, feeding off of human souls. If they were released, they’d bring ruin to the world.
… Of course, the emperor wasn’t worried. After all, he had plenty of skilled sect cultivators. The demons would never ravage his imperial palace.
At that moment, Yan Zhen, who was already over half a century old, wondered bewilderedly if he was really doing the right thing. But the thought merely flickered through his mind. The sunset was red as blood, sinking below the towering rooves of the imperial palace, reflecting off those golden tiles.
It’d already… gotten to this point.
Shi Wuduan stood outside Pingyang City amongst the assembled Daoist cavalry. Led by Xia Duanfang, they all arrived outside his tent — he was nurturing his astrolabe.
Those astrolabes that had taken on a master would absorb the essence of the moon and sun, but the one belonging to Shi Wuduan, known as the “Ghoulish Astrolabe,” liked to feast on malevolent spirits or the flesh and blood of the living.
Shi Wuduan was feeding it with his own blood. When Bai Li had seen it, he’d been so furious he nearly started a shouting match with him, but was rebuffed by Shi Wuduan’s remark, “You used to raise demon shades in your own shadow.”
Xia Duanfang always thought that whenever Shi Wuduan sat in front of his astrolabe, his whole face seemed ghostly in its eerie light. He had a vague inkling of what Shi Wuduan was going to do, but he didn’t think about it and didn’t say a word.
Because he knew that everything had already reached its conclusion. All paths of retreat had already been blocked off. No one could stop the things that were about to happen.
Riches and wealth and sealed lips…. these were the things that would always protect you. Even the one in the imperial palace understood this.
Shi Wuduan had only just lifted his wrist, and Bai Li instantly reached out and clasped his hand over his wound. The astrolabe was so bright it was hard to look at; Shi Wuduan observed the thousands of stars on it and asked, “At the moment, Yan Zhen has no other options but to open the Hall of Demons once more and make the demon creatures guard the city.”
Xia Duanfang startled. Bai Li startled too. Everyone broke out into hushed whispers; Shi Wuduan remained unmoved. His wrist lay in Bai Li’s hand as he silently waited for the discussion to die down.
Then he said softly, “It’s not a problem.”
JUST WHAT IS SHI WUDUAN THINKING HE LIVES UP HIS NAME HE’S A DAMN MYSTERY SO UNPREDICTABLE AND FULL OF MISCHIEF UGH.
WAITING FOR THE HAPPY ENDING 💌
THANK U SO MUCH FOR TRANSLATING!
Damnnn fr
What are those power hungry madmen thinking, destroying their own world just to stay in power a little bit longer? 😧
The fact that this puqing emperor thinks bringing demons in is a good idea is a great tell of how self absorbed he is. Yan Xhen is literally at his last resort and doesn’t even know if it’ll work, which honestly earns my respect because at least he’s thinking😂
Also Bai Li sobbing earlier was too cute the heck