“Xiao Mei’s name sounds better than mine! Although I can’t pronounce it at all, but just by seeing so many letters in it, one can feel that it’s super high-class!” In the darkness, only Rong Gui’s metallic voice was floating around, “On the other hand, my name sounds so arbitrary. To put it nicely, it sounds like some servant or errand boy; to put it bluntly, it simply sounds like those inside the palace*. Oh, by the way, do you know what ‘those inside the palace’ means?”
*宫里的 (those inside the palace) means eunuchs.
“I don’t know. And, please call me Ash.”
“You were always ignoring me when I called you Ash! I have just talked for half a day, but you didn’t utter a word. Yet when I called you Xiao Mei, you responded immediately. It shows that you really prefer the name ‘Xiao Mei’!”
“……”
“But no wonder, Xiao Mei sounds many times cuter than Ash! I didn’t know you are the type of person who likes cute nicknames!”
“……”
Despite having the same kind of voice as his own, the other was able to use this flat metallic voice to create a cadence with modulated intonations and various rhythms. Because a robotic body would never get thirsty, that guy had never stopped even for a moment!
If he had known that he would meet such a chatterbox after not opening the Gate, he might as well have opened the Gate and gone out immediately right then!
The once-His-Majesty-Asheville-Methentahl but now-little-robot Xiao Mei thought to himself.
Yet at last, he didn’t use any means to make Rong Gui stop talking. First, every inch of his current body was temporarily patched up together without any noise-cancelling device. Second, if he told the other to stop talking, instead of achieving the purpose of silencing the latter, it would only drive the other to chat more happily – although they had known each other only for a short time, he had already realized this point.
Strangely enough, even if it’s a little annoying at first, after a while, he could actually listen to Rong Gui’s voice as background music. Undeniably, in this world of dead silence, it’s always good to have some sound.
They walked for three full days and two full nights. During this period, Asheville used to think a couple of times: The other probably couldn’t take it anymore, not physically, but mentally. He didn’t tell the other what it was like outside, what would be out there, and he hardly said a word to the other during the whole process. It may sound like nothing, but when placed in the current situation almost comparable to a prison, it became a very standard simulated environment for psychological torture.
In a pitch dark environment, where no one spoke except for oneself, where one was completely ignorant of the outside world, uncertain about the life and death in the future, and unable to estimate how long he had to endure… many people would collapse because of it.
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.
During the time he used to live, there was once a prison warden renowned for using a form of incarceration which simulated this type of environment to the extreme.
All thugs would be sent to him, and what was awaiting them was the boundless darkness. Sixty percent of the prisoners would confess obediently after a week in imprisonment, the remaining thirty-one percent would succumb to madness, and the rest… would be secretly executed.
“The prison does not need a prisoner with such an amount of forbearance. These potential future troubles must be dealt with immediately.” This was how the warden himself explained it.
It was the original statement from his report. Asheville Methentahl had reviewed this report in person.
Just like him, who reached the pinnacle of power every time, that warden also became the chief governor of that forbidden domain every time. To some extent, they could be considered old acquaintances who had never met each other.
In the darkness, he recalled something he had experienced in the past.
As he was thinking about his own matters, Rong Gui behind him had nothing left to say. He heard Rong Gui speak to him after seemingly careful consideration.
“How about I sing you a song?”
“No need. We are about to leave here.” The heavenly singing voice he had once heard still seemed to echo in his mind. In a short while, he didn’t want any other noise to ruin its effect.
Asheville turned down the proposal of Rong Gui the robot in time.
“About to leave? You should have said this earlier! Do you know how hard it has been for me to try to come up with something to say even if I ran out of words?” Rong Gui got a little happy at first, but then complained a little.
“It is indeed hard for you to think up conversation topics with such a poor brain capacity.” Asheville said flatly.
“You…God knows for whom I’m doing this! If it weren’t because I was worried that you, Xiao Mei, was afraid of the dark, I wouldn’t exhaust myself talking all the way. I am usually a quiet, beautiful man!” Rong Gui’s grumbles came again.
Asheville paused for a moment. This pause was so brief that Rong Gui didn’t even notice it.
Eventually he said nothing, but merely stated blandly when they stepped out of the exit, “We’ve come out.”
“Whoaaa! We are finally out! Let me see what it looks like outsi-” Rong Gui then raised his voice in excitement, his footsteps quickened.
Yet, when he at last came out and “saw” the scene before him, the unfinished “-de” faded into silence.
“It’s so dark.” Rong Gui finally whispered.
He learned from the timekeeping device built into his robotic body that it’s now ten o’clock in the morning. Theoretically speaking, everything should have been in broad daylight. But at this moment, what appeared before Rong Gui’s eyes was a sweeping view of boundless darkness.
The place where they just came out was a cave embedded in a mountain, and ahead of them were…a series of indescribable mountains and hills.
Without any life form, any living animal, nor any plant. It’s a dead land.
“What is this place?” Rong Gui asked in a small voice.
He didn’t expect to get an answer. The other one didn’t like to talk, which he had long been aware of.
It’s just that he was used to the hustle and bustle, and if no one talked, he wouldn’t feel right at all.
But to his surprise, the other actually answered his question this time.
“Here is Methentahl, my hometown.”
“Oh wow! It’s your surname, Xiao Mei! Your surname is actually the name of your hometown!”
“Hmm.” Asheville didn’t deny it.
“Then where is your home? Let’s quickly go to your home and see!” Rong Gui was immediately full of energy. This little robot got all excited, urging Asheville to move forward.
Asheville made no comments to Rong Gui’s urge, and maintained his original speed while marching ahead.
At first, there weren’t any thoughts of the so-called “homesickness” dwelled in his heart, nor did he have any expectations. This place had long been deserted.
After all, he had been away for too, too long.
So long that this place had become a faraway myth in his head.
But he didn’t know why – perhaps because that guy named Rong Gui kept chattering beside him about hometown or something, and even quoted a few lines from some poems about returning home in that guy’s own ancient language.
For a moment, a circle of tiny ripples was stirred up in his heart.
It’s a kind of timidity called longing.
It’s a palpitation somewhat beautiful.
Author has something to say:
Comments from everyone moved me.
Chui Zhi Ju Zhong said: it’s a country love story between Xiao Mei and A Gui.
Hmm, indeed the names Xiao Mei and A Gui pair up together better!
And they give off the vibe of those love stories in the 80s…
So, the name of this chapter should originally be: A Gui Accompanied Xiao Mei to Return to Niang Jia~ Yo! (Translator’s Note: 娘家 (Niang Jia) means the home of a married woman’s parents, or the maiden home of a married woman.)
No chickens, no ducks, and no chubby babies behind them.
The two bachelors returned only carrying their bodies.
Completely broke, hmph!
It’s the first day they met and RG has already given him a cute nickname.
Rong Gui feels like that special sound or music in Ashe’s silent world.
Look how patient Ashe is with RG. It’s so adorable.
The last three sentences sound so beautiful… magical.
Lmfao broke husbands
Thank you very muuuuuch!!! Stay safe :>
I love the dynamic of these two lol
That author’s note mg XD
This lovely authors way of writing really is very beautiful and touching.