Translation checker: Rin
Editor: a.s.
As it was located halfway up the mountain, Hanjing Temple had no electricity or signal, and so after nightfall, Li Yan experienced a bit of the ancient lifestyle. Under normal circumstances, Li Yan would never imagine himself reading by the light of an oil lamp. After reading for a short while, he felt dizzy and his eyes blurred. He truly didn’t know how the scholars of ancient times managed. He was really tired, but due to his biological clock and having just washed up with the cold well water from the courtyard, coupled with the stack of books on the table containing a plethora of unanswered questions, his thoughts had become unusually clear and excited.
The door was pushed open, and Huang Yuliang entered the room carrying a bucket of hot water. Li Yan watched as he neatly folded his clothes and then arranged his shoes and socks on the side. Then he immersed his feet in the hot water, letting out a comfortable groan that gave Li Yan goosebumps.
“What are you doing? Don’t moan in the pure Buddhist land.”
Huang Yuliang, closing his eyes, massaged his temples. “A young man is a young man. You can’t control yourself after hearing a few moans?”
Li Yan didn’t expect Huang Yuliang to be so shameless and was momentarily speechless. He quickly changed the subject. “Hey, I’ve been meaning to ask you on the way here, don’t you have any sportswear or casual clothes? Who goes up the mountain wearing a shirt and leather shoes?”
“I do have them, but clothes that are too easy to move in make me feel like I’m not wearing anything.”
“Nonsense…”
“Or should I say it’s a quirk?” Huang Yuliang opened his eyes and saw the book in Li Yan’s hand. “There’s no need to read that one. The recorded events are too vague, and there are too many symbolic metaphors. It’s not of much reference value.”
Li Yan tactfully put down the book. “I understand what you’re doing. You’re letting me read these books myself so that I’ll trust what you tell me.”
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.
Lejcu Teiljcu qegrfv tlr ilqr klatbea mbcolgwlcu bg vfcslcu.
“Aera afii wf atf yjrlmr. P’ii ags ab vlufra la jii.”
“Efujgvlcu sbeg ojatfg, atgbeut ws mbcajmar lc atf yijmx wjgxfa, P obecv bea atja tf tjr yffc rfjgmtlcu obg bg, ifa’r rjs, mbcolgwlcu j ifufcv. Rba wjcs ‘tewjcr’ xcbk jybea atlr ifufcv.” Lejcu Teiljcu abbx j rtbga qjerf. “Pa’r yfmjerf bo atlr ifufcv atja P’w wbgf mbcnlcmfv tf fnfcaejiis jmdelgfv atf Pwwbgaji’r Kjli Vabcf Vajaef atja P wfcalbcfv fjgilfg ab Zjrafg Jtjcukfc.”
Huang Yuliang carefully observed Li Yan’s expression, making sure there were no subtle signs of doubt or suspicion, before continuing, “In the books you’ve read, there should be mentions of this legend. In ancient times, there was a white fox with exceptional talent. It was born with nine tails and fiery eyes. Within a year, it gained spiritual wisdom. Within ten years, it could transform into any animal. Within sixty years, it could become a human.”
“Sounds impressive.”
“Indeed, it’s an extraordinary creation of nature.” Huang Yuliang bobbed his head in agreement. “Its life story is scattered among demons and monsters, with truths and falsehoods intertwined and unverifiable, but there are two things that have been confirmed.”
“The Immortal’s Tail Stone Statue is one.”
“Exactly. According to the legend, it eventually attained Buddhist enlightenment, and its soul transformed into a white lotus in front of the Buddha’s pond.” Huang Yuliang looked at Li Yan with a “you should have guessed it by now” expression. “Its physical nine tails then transformed into these stone statues.”
“So?”
“The legend that accompanied it was that whoever obtained the tail of this white fox would gain its unparalleled power. If they collected all nine tails, they’d be like that white fox. Some say they could become Buddhas, others say they could become immortals. In any case, none of them wanted to be human. Later, it became a common practice to call it the ‘immortal’s tail’ because of this.”
Li Yan assented with a nod. “Well, it sounds like a good thing. Why do I feel like you look disdainful about it?”
“Although I’ve indeed seen the stone statues, I have serious doubts about this legend.” Huang Yuliang hesitated. “Because all these stone statues have had negative effects on their owners. The explanation I’ve heard is that while the white fox itself is benevolent, being a demon, its power is still demonic and shouldn’t be harnessed by humans. So, I highly doubt whether these stone statues were left by the white fox or whether the fox, as rumored, had even actually achieved enlightenment.”
Li Yan’s brows tightened at the mention of negative effects. “What negative effects?”
After a few seconds of silence, Huang Yuliang lifted his foot from the now cool water. “Madness.”
Li Yan’s heart skipped a beat.
“Don’t be afraid.” Huang Yuliang smiled at Li Yan. “Since he was able to hide it so perfectly, I don’t think your father has been affected by it.”
“But…” Li Yan’s worry didn’t dissipate. “If we don’t act quickly…”
“Indeed.” Huang Yuliang, wearing grass-woven sandals, lifted the water bucket and poured it outside the house. “Do you know? The best-case scenario I can think of right now is that your father has been captured by someone else who desires the statues. He hasn’t been harmed and hasn’t been influenced by the statue.”
Li Yan gave a bitter smile. “Doesn’t sound too great either.”
“Although the lead of the statues is not a direction I can fully confirm, from my perspective, there’s currently no other possibility.”
“Can Master Changwen help find the statues?” Li Yan had wanted to ask this question for a long time. Even though he’d accepted the existence of the so-called Immortal’s Tail and knew that the monks in this temple were definitely not people to be trifled with, he still wanted to confirm.
“This temple is not an ordinary temple, as you’ve probably already guessed.” Huang Yuliang winked with one eye. “But I don’t want to tell you why.”
“Need an intelligence fee?”
“Let’s just say it’s more than that… Basically, trade secrets.”
Li Yan rolled his eyes, blew out the oil lamp, climbed onto the earthen bed, and slipped under the cold, stiff cotton quilt, which made him shiver involuntarily. “I have one more question.”
“Sure. If it’s too cold, come over and share my blanket.”
“I was not fucking about to ask about that!” Li Yan’s anger surged, and he suddenly didn’t feel cold anymore. “You just said that the white fox left two things behind, one being the tails, what’s the other? Can that also be considered a clue?”
Huang Yuliang, using the light from his phone, also burrowed into the blanket. “I don’t think the other thing is related to your parents, for now.”
“Hey, are you not going to say anything more?”
“To be honest, your level of acceptance is much stronger than I expected, but it’s still better to know as little as possible about non-human matters.”
In the dim light of the phone, Li Yan saw the rare seriousness in Huang Yuliang’s face.
“How do you know so much then?” As soon as he asked this question, Li Yan regretted it. In case the other person said something like he wasn’t human, Li Yan really hadn’t thought about what to do.
Huang Yuliang slowly turned his head towards Li Yan. “How about you come a bit closer, and I’ll tell you quietly.”
On the large communal bed that could accommodate six or seven people, the two of them were separated by two empty spaces. Li Yan took a look at Huang Yuliang’s mischievous smile, decisively wrapped himself in the quilt, grabbed the pillow, and rolled all the way to the innermost wall. “Good night to you, Mister.”
Huang Yuliang seems to be a shameless flirt.
Thanks for the chapter!