translator: Oyen editor: Ciel
The intensive training lasted for a week. Qin Mo arranged for the different combinations to face off against one another, finding their shortcomings and correcting them.
The online voting channel was finally opened on the Peerless Jianghu league’s official website. The top 14 players would be invited to attend the carnival event.
During this period of time, the fans of the major teams began campaigning crazily. Qin Mo and Xiao Han were both sent to the top of the popularity list. They were closely followed by Lin Shuangcheng, who was formerly an esports anchor, and thus had many fans. Captains Chen Jiang, Nie Yuzhu, Chu Jianxin, Qiu Zongping and Li Junru all had strong backing from their club’s fan bases, and their number of supporting votes quickly broke through 10,000. Su Cheng also received the support from most players of Luoying Valley in the game, and with his identity as Ye Chenxi’s apprentice, also garnered many tickets from his teacher’s fans, quickly joining the ranks of the top ten.
The competition for the 11th to 20th spots was particularly fierce. Whisper’s captain Luo Yuan, Whisper’s black umbrella player Lu Boyu, Sky’s summoner Yuan Xi, Sky’s milk goddess Zhou Xuewei, Dynasty’s vice-captain Sang Jun, Dynasty’s dark horse Lin Yao, Frost Moon’s He Yue and Rong Haibin, Mojue’s Zhu Qingyue and Liu Hong all had very close numbers of votes. Even the newcomers Jing Yang and Shen He had many supporters.
Seeing that he actually had 5,000 votes, Shen He danced in excitement: “I also have loyal fans, it’s incredible!”
Every registered ID could only vote for up to two players. With so many great gods to choose from, it really wasn’t easy for a newcomer to get 5,000 votes. Although this number couldn’t be compared with the great gods’ 100,000 over votes, Shen He was still very satisfied.
The voting lasted for a week, and was closed on June 6th. After the voting period ended, the league finally released the list of players who would be participating in the carnival.
Mojue’s Qin Mo, Xiao Han, and Zhu Qingyue; Dynasty’s Chu Jianxin and Sang Jun; Sky’s Qiu Zongping and Zhou Xuewei, Interlude’s Su Cheng and Xie Changming; and the six captains of Li Junru, Lin Shuangcheng, Chen Jiang, Nie Yuzhu, and Luo Yuan.
From this list, it could be seen that the popularity of the players among netizens online was not quite equal to their personal strength. Although Interlude’s overall strength was not as good as that of Without Fire or Frost Moon, the guqin and flute ensemble played by Su and Xie was deeply rooted in the hearts of many, earning them a lot of passerby tickets. However, because every ID could only vote for two players, most of Mojue’s fans gave their votes to the Twin Stars, causing Liu Hong to fall short of being selected by only a few hundred votes.
Liu Hong was very calm about this result. She wasn’t fond of lively occasions; while Han Mo, and Qingyue went to the carnival, she could stay in Changsha to go shopping with her sister—— she hadn’t had the chance to go shopping in a long while, and could use the opportunity to buy some new clothes. It wasn’t good for her to wear the team uniform all the time.
The players selected for the carnival soon received an invitation letter from the alliance by express delivery. All fourteen were added to a chat group, and a sister nicknamed ‘Xiao Chen’ was responsible for arranging their round-trip plane tickets and accomodation.
Booking tickets wasn’t a hassle; they just needed to provide an ID to buy the tickets online. However, when it came to the accommodation, Xiao Chen encountered a lot of difficulties—— most of the players attending this carnival came from different teams, but there were only double rooms, and it was very troublesome deciding who would room with whom!
Xiao Chen could only send a message to the chat group. “Ladies and gentlemen, the seven rooms booked by the officials are all double rooms. For now, god Han and god Mo are in room 1101, captain Chu and vice-captain Sang are in 1102, god Su and god Xie are 1103, while sister Xuewei and sister Junru are in 1104. The rest of the great gods, because all of you are not from the same team, could I trouble you to inform me of who you want to stay with? I’ll arrange it for you~”
Chen Jiang: “Old Nie, shall we room together?”
Nie Yuzhu replied with a short ‘en’.
Lin Shuangcheng took the initiative to issue an invite. “Could I have the honour of rooming with captain Qiu ^_^”
Qiu Zongping: “… you’re too polite, the honour is mine.”
Since everyone had split into pairs, the only people remaining were Zhu Qingyue and Luo Yuan. Xiao Chen asked, “Then, great god Qingyue and captain Luo, is it okay for the both of you to room together?”
The group was met with silence.
After a long moment, Xiao Chen asked once more, her fingers trembling as she typed out: “@Zhu Qingyue @Luo Yuan, are you both here?”
Seeing that there was still no response, Qin Mo could only speak up. “Qingyue, please go to Q for a moment. Xiao Chen is looking for you to settle the accommodations.”
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.
Only then did Zhu Qingyue realise, logging into Q to check the group. “No problem,” he replied immediately. “Just arrange it that way.”
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“You thought too much,” Zhu Qingyue smiled. “I wasn’t online just now.”
Luo Yuan, who was also left out of the loop, finally came online. “What happened????”
Zhu Qingyue: “Senior brother, during this carnival, let’s stay together.”
Luo Yuan: “Eh…”
Zhu Qingyue: “What’s the matter? Are you unwilling to stay together with me? [aggrieved expression]”
Luo Yuan: “No, no, no, no, I didn’t mean that! Just, well, master seems to be in Beijing during this time. How about I invite you to a meal after you arrive…?”
After sending this message, Luo Yuan couldn’t help but feel a little uneasy…
In fact, he owed Zhu Qingyue an apology. While he did apologise after the partner competition, it had been hurriedly blurted out backstage, and seemed quite insincere. Fortunately, both of them had been selected for the carnival. Luo Yuan had wanted to take the opportunity to invite Zhu Qingyue for a meal, and untie his heart knot. After all, Zhu Qingyue had also apprenticed under the same master, and there really wasn’t a need to make their relationship so stiff. Furthermore, master had been in Beijing recently, and with Chu Yan as a mediator, perhaps they could restore their previous relationship.
Just now, he had been looking up restaurants near the hotel, and hadn’t been paying attention to the group chat. As a result, after checking the messages, he found out that Xiao Chen had arranged for them to stay in the same room.
“If you’re okay, I’ll invite master along?” Luo Yuan asked awkwardly.
“Okay,” Zhu Qingyue replied. “Thank you, senior brother.”
Seeing this, Xie Changming couldn’t help interjecting. “Look at other people’s senior brother! @Su Cheng, won’t you invite me out for a meal? [aggrieved expression]”
Su Cheng: “… Have some face.”
Xie Changming sent a row of LOL emoticons. “Anyway, this carnival won’t have a segment that enforces suffering, right?”
Lin Shuangcheng: “According to the esports league’s usual practice, the carnival will definitely have a segment where someone will suffer. As for how they will go about doing it… well, it depends on whether the event planner will show us mercy.”
Xie Changming: “All of sudden, I feel afraid. Everyone, I beg for mercy [afraid]”
Chen Jiang: “Don’t drag me along on that segment, I’m just an innocent person [kind smile]”
“If we have to be divided into groups, I recommend that @Xiao Han and @Qin Mo should be one team, and the rest of us form one team. Everyone can hit BOSS together, what do you say?” Chu Jianxin voiced.
Xie Changming: “Agree! That’s a great idea!”
Lin Shuangcheng: “Agree+1”
Qiu Zongping: “Agree+2”
Everyone immediately raised their hands in approval, the approval train reaching +10 in an instant. Even Zhu Qingyue joined in on the fun.
Xiao Han sent a password locked red packet, with the password being: ‘Everyone kill Sang Jun together’.
Everyone in the group immediately ran to grab the red packet, tacitly agreeing with this new proposal, and completely ignoring the previous one.
Chu Jianxin: “… Where’s your moral integrity?”
Everyone expressed: could moral integrity be eaten? Red packets were the most beneficial!
Clearly, XIao Han had already figured out how these people’s minds worked, using a single red packet to solve the problem of Chu Jianxin’s nasty trick.
Xiao Chen, who was watching the group shenanigans quietly: it really wasn’t possible to witness the great gods up close; one by one, their public images were being torn apart!
***
On the evening of June 9th, the 14 players who would be participating in Peerless Jianghu’s first carnival arrived at the designated hotel, checking in under Xiao Chen’s reception.
After Zhu Qingyue swiped his card, he found Luo Yuan already in the room unpacking his things.
Hearing the door open behind him, Luo Yuan immediately turned around, coincidentally meeting a clear gaze. His junior brother’s eyes seemed to have a shallow smile in time, and his voice was gentle as he offered his greetings. “You’re already here, senior brother.”
Zhu Qingyue very naturally carried his suitcase, walking around Luo Yuan to reach the other bed, where he put down his luggage. Startled, Luo Yuan flushed in embarrassment, before scratching his head. “Coughs, um… I just arrived. Rest for a little bit, we can have dinner at 6:30pm. I’ve already reserved seats for us.”
“Okay,” Zhu Qingyue agreed. “What about master?”
“I’ve already informed him,” Luo Yuan replied. “He will be there.”
Zhu Qingyue hummed in agreement, before falling silent. Retrieving his toiletries from his luggage, he went to the bathroom to wash his face.
At 6:30pm, they set out together to a specialty restaurant nearby, where Luo Yuan had booked a private room. When they entered the room, both realised that Chu Yan was already there, looking through the menu in silence. He was wearing a black short-sleeved shirt with two buttons unbuttoned at the neckline, revealing a sliver of his sun-kissed skin. His hair was neatly combed, and he looked very handsome.
Luo Yuan greeted him respectfully. “Master.”
“Master, why did you arrive so early?” Zhu Qingyue questioned.
Raising his head, Chu Yan glanced at Luo Yuan, before shifting his gaze onto Zhu Qingyue. “I came here after clocking off work,” he smiled. “Otherwise, I would have to face the evening rush hour.”
“Junior brother, sit down and order first.” Luo Yuan said enthusiastically.
Chu Yan handed the menu to Luo Yuan. “I ordered some dishes, see if there’s anything else you want to add.”
After taking a look, Luo Yuan passed the menu to Zhu Qingyue. “Junior brother, you should order.”
Zhu Qingyue glanced at the menu, realising that Chu Yan had ordered the dishes that he liked. Feeling a warmth suffusing his heart, Zhu Qingyue smiled. “There’s no need, all these should be enough.”
While waiting for the dishes to be served, Luo Yuan took the initiative to open a bottle of red wine. After filling everyone’s glasses, he stood up to speak. “This is the first time the three of us have gathered together in a long while. I would like to first toast to master; thank you for having taught me.”
“…” Chu Yan laughed. “You suddenly became so serious, I’m really not used to it.”
Despite saying this, Chu Yan drank the wine offered by his older apprentice, before smiling at Zhu Qingyue. “Is the little apprentice not going to offer a toast to this master?”
Meeting his playful gaze, Zhu Qingyue’s ears burned red. Still, he stood up calmly, offering up his glass. “A toast to master, um… thank you for your cultivation.”
Chu Yan drank the glass of wine with a smile, before filling it up once more. “Since I was called here today, I have to say a few more words as a master. Back then, Luo Yuan had to leave the time, and Qingyue was forced to dissolve the team. However, those are things of the past. Now, the both of you have made different choices, and shoulder different responsibilities. I hope you both can understand each other, and not feel as though you have let me down. Not passing on this master’s tactics doesn’t count for much; I don’t care about any of that. Just let it all go, and start over again.”
Chu Yan took the initiative to raise his wine glass. “Come, let’s drink this glass together, and wipe clean all past grievances. You are still martial brothers, and I am still your master.”
Obviously, his master had already seen through his intentions in inviting him to dinner. His face flushed with embarrassment, Luo Yuan added, “Junior brother, I’m… I’m very sorry for being so unfriendly to you before. In fact, I have no right to blame you. Today, since our master is here, I would like to formally apologise to you. It’s senior brother who was too paranoid, I’m really sorry…”
“It doesn’t matter.” Zhu Qingyue smiled. “I can understand your feelings.”
The three people raised their glasses at the same time, gulping down the red wine.
His junior brother had generously expressed that he didn’t mind. With this, the guilt in Luo Yuan’s heart finally faded, and he entertained his master and junior brother with even more warmth.
This meal was very expensive, but since Luo Yuan had the intention to repair his relationship with his junior brother, he naturally selected the most upscale restaurant to show his sincerity. After dinner, he also took the initiative to foot the bill.
After Luo Yuan left the room, Chu Yan immediately held Zhu Qingyue in his arms, whispering, “This is the first time I’ve seen you drunk.”
Zhu Qingyue hurriedly pushed him away. “I’m not drunk, I just blush easily after drinking wine. You- you let go of me first.”
Leaning in with a smile, Chu Yan licked Zhu Qingyue’s ear. “Don’t want to.”
The appearance of his little apprentice’s reddened cheeks was just too tempting. Besides, they hadn’t seen each other for nearly a month. Chu Yan just barely managed to endure just now because Luo Yuan was present, but now that the big apprentice was downstairs paying the bill, Chu Yan’s restraint had finally been worn down, pulling Zhu Qingyue over for a kiss.
“Wu… wu… en… you- you let go…” Although Zhu Qingyue tried pushing him away, his hands were weak due to the lack of oxygen from being kissed for so long.
“I missed you so much, Qingyue.” Taking hold of Zhu Qingyue’s hands, Chu Yan took the opportunity to pry open his jaws with his tongue, deepening the kiss.
“En…” Helpless, Zhu Qingyue could only give up resisting.
“I forgot my wallet, ha ha…” The moment he opened the door, Luo Yuan’s dry laughter got stuck in his throat. Looking at the scene of his junior brother being held in his master’s arms and getting kissed, his eyes almost popped out of their sockets!
OMG, what had he just seen?
Could anyone tell him what was going on????
AHHHHH NOOO a cliffhanger….. 😖😖😖
I waited for this moment! He finally found out hehe~
Little Luo Yuan, they are lovers. 😝 Wonder how Zhu Qingyue will react to Luo Yuan finding out about their relationship~ Will he be afraid or calm? 👀
I’m also looking forward to the Peerless Jianghu’s first carnival! And the interactions between the gods~
Thank you for the chapter 💜💜💜
Lol, his expression is so priceless 🤣 his junior brother and his master lololol
Yesss, carnival is really the time for all the couple’s interaction ❤
You’re welcome~
Get caught 👀???
Thank you for chapter
get caught in action 👀
You’re welcome~
Luo Yuan: QAQ !!!
LOL 🤣
Luo Yuan, will be eating dog foods.. 🤭🤭🤭
lol luo yuan so sorry for your loss of innocence, but that’s how things are.
HAHAHA Luo Yuan… one knot in his heart has finally untied for yet another burden to come up… hahaha! I love it.
from the moment luo yuan left the room and they immediately started flirting, i already had a hunch that they’ll get caught!!! and sure, they did!! oh no!!!!