The day that Shen Qiao had decided to save Yan Wushi, he did not do this because he
wanted the man to repent for what he had done, much less try to win his favors. But
who would have known that Yan Wushi's disposition would become fragmented the
way that it did, and that he would be met with 'Xie Ling' and 'Ah-yan'? Such a thing
was completely beyond his expectations.
Otherwise, he did not wish to quarrel with
the man at all. He could only eagerly look forward to the future where he would never
even see his face again.
"Xie Ling is Xie Ling. Yan Wushi is Yan Wushi. No matter what happens, I would not
dare to forget Yan-zongzhu," Shen Qiao said, indifferently.
Yan Wushi's gaze fell upon the wound on Shen Qiao's lip. He laughed, taken aback by
the sight
"What, did Xie Ling lose so much of my memories that he even forgot how to kiss
someone, and instead bit you out of fear?"
Only after Shen Qiao had come to did he realize himself that a small pain spread
through his lips. However, he was never very good at answering back with sarcasm, and
could only remain silent and refuse to answer.
Yan Wushi did not seem to mind. He laughed once more and said, "Since we've
already found that sheet of silk, the day that the flaw of my demonic core will be
healed is imminent. This matter is, indeed, thanks to you. Had you not taken me into
Ruoqiang, I would never have been able to take the sheet of silk from Chen Gong.
Ah-qiao, to think that you'd return my cruelty with such kindness. You're making me
feel somewhat remorseful for handing you off to Sang Jingxing that day!"
Though he said that he was remorseful, the truth was that his tone did not carry the
slightest remorse at all. This was the true Yan Wushi. With the way that he handled
matters, even if he had to bear the weight of all the people in the world, he would not
feel even the slightest guilt. Even if time could be reversed, it was quite likely that, in
order to push Shen Qiao's boundaries, he would still pick the very same decision.
Simply, it was just as Yan Wushi said. He did not need friends. He only needed an
opponent, and his opponent was someone who would be matched in strength with
him, someone who was worthy enough to stand beside him. Everything else was
simply Shen Qiao's miscalculations, having suffered from an unrequited affection¹ and
nothing more.
How could Shen Qiao possibly not understand this up until now? For this reason, he
didn't respond. Instead, he asked about the matter at hand.
"Once we have departed from Wang City and began to head towards the Central
Plains, the chances that your whereabouts will be leaked becomes greater still. With
your present cultivation, you would most likely want to avoid running into
Xueting-chanshi and the others for now, I'm sure. You are, at present, a target for all,
and completely surrounded by enemies. If you are discovered, then it would be
endlessly troublesome. However, the journey from here to Chang'an is not a short one.
Do you have any plans on how we should go about it?"
Yan Wushi, upon seeing how indifferent his expression was, clearly did not want to
keep chattering about on his own. Yet the sight of that wound on Shen Qiao's lips
destroyed whatever self-restraint he had. He looked like the carved statue of an
immortal that had suddenly been stained with the smoke and fire of the mortal world.
His heart suddenly took interest in this, and he could not help but deride him further:
"You have never had any connection with Northern Zhou. It couldn't possibly be
because you'd met Yuwen Yong that one time that you are suddenly so willing to stand
by him and help me, could it? Let me take a guess, then. Could it be that you had
some feelings for me early on? And then you became so heartbroken by the fact that I
had given you off to Sang Jingxing—but old loves are hard to forget. When Xie Ling
appeared, it must have reignited some former affection of yours, which compelled you
to dress me in women's clothing. Perhaps you wanted to take advantage of me when I
was unconscious, since it would be too late for me to do anything to you, and have me
offer myself to you?²"
Even though Shen Qiao was an honorable and decent man he was still embittered by
the narcissistic nature of his words. "If Yan-zongzhu is unwilling to speak properly, I
could simply hit you unconscious and take you back to Chang'an just the same."
Yan Wushi burst out laughing.
"Okay, okay. There's no need to be angry. We won't be returning directly back to
Chang'an. We will first go to Weizhou."
He always had that sort of temperament that changed repeatedly. Before, when his
mood was good, he would talk and laugh in a soft, gentle voice³. That he would use
his gentleness to lure and deceive⁴ was also not uncommon.
"Why?" Shen Qiao frowned.
"It's just as you said. My wugong has yet to recover," Yan Wushi said, "and my
presence would attract too much attention. The Liuhe-bang, Buddhists, Hehuan Sect,
Fajing Sect, and even people of Tujue all want me dead. And with your present
abilities, you wouldn't be completely able to protect me either."
Shen Qiao could only think, and who is to blame for that? You have enemies all over
the world. This isn't something that a number of people, no matter how small, are
capable of doing. If it weren't for the fact that I am considering the present situation
and deciding not to argue with you, then I'd have long ago joined them in chasing and
killing you myself.
Yan Wushi did not hear his thoughts, but Shen Qiao's expression had already betrayed
them. Yan Wushi thought that it was deeply amusing. He gazed at him for a long time,
before asking: "Has there been any news from Chang'an?"
"I heard that Northern Zhou's army drove directly into Northern Qi without any
resistance. Northern Qi did not have the strength to resist. If nothing unexpected has
happened, then they most likely have already taken Ye City. "
Yan Wushi responded with a soft en: "When I was by Yuwen Yong's side, I had already
arranged a number of people to watch over him. Nothing should happen to him in a
However, after taking several steps forward, he seemed to resist from doing so and
instead hurried them inside.
"Please do come in first, we'll talk once you do!"
Ah-qing followed Wu-bo from behind, scrutinizing the two men curiously.
He was not a member of Huanyue Sect; he was but a little orphan that Wu-bo had had
taken in. Ever since then, he remained at the residence and accompanied Wu-bo,
helping him tidy up the rooms. Wu-bo had never talked much about the subject, but
Ah-qing had the indistinct awareness that this house had a master. Wu-bo only helped
look after it. But where the master of the house was, no one really knew; nor did
anyone know when they would return. Perhaps after several years, they would; or
perhaps, for the rest of this life, they would not.
Ah-qing had thought that the master that Wu-bo said had "gone out traveling far
away" had already passed away in some accident. He never thought that there would
come a day that the man would suddenly appear in front of them, even disguised as a
woman.
"Ah-qing," Wu-bo said, "go to the kitchen and prepare some zhou⁵, and then some
small dishes. Langjun has clearly returned from a long journey. He will need something
to eat so as to warm him."
"Ai, I'll do it right now!"
Ah-qing listened very well to Wu-bo. He acknowledged Wu-bo's words and then
hurried off.
Yan Wushi watched Ah-qing as he ran off, before removing his mi li: "His foundations
aren't bad. He's just a little stupid. Huanyue Sect's people must be able to think quickly,
and handle social matters with ease. He isn't qualified the way that he is."
"Xiaoren simply took him in to accompany him so as to lighten up these boring days. I
would never consider such a thing!" Wu-bo said, anxiously.
This residence was one of Huanyue Sect's strategic locations. It was purchased under
Bian Yanmei's name. Because the aliases of Huanyue Sect's disciples were all surnamed
Xie, every single residence was unified as a singular Xie residence. Wu-bo was
responsible for keeping watch of this one. After having known him for several years, he
did indeed come to love Ah-qing as his own, and hoped that there would be an
opportunity for him to formally become a part of the Huanyue Sect.
However, he absolutely did not dare bring this idea up to Yan Wushi. He had
considered requesting it from Bian Yanmei or Yu Shengyan had they ever stopped by
the place, but who would have expected that neither of them would not only never
of the Zhuyang Ce's great power. However, with regards to his foundation as a result of
the reconstruction of his strength, it was made up of the strongest essences of the
Confucianist, Buddhist, and Daoist schools combined into one. This foundation could
be easily compared to the foundations of a house being significantly more secure than
that of many others.
However, this did not mean that the building of the house itself
would be any faster. Shen Qiao had already reached the jianxin stage of the jiandao,
only a step away from jianshen. But his neili was hardly seven-tenths of what it was
before. There wasn't any way for him to exhibit jianxin's power in its entirety.
On top of this, having to face off with a master like Xueting was truly, completely
unlucky.
But Shen Qiao could not let him see these specific details. Otherwise, it would show
that there was no one at present capable of stopping him.
Shen Qiao lowered the point of his blade. He stood in the same place and said,
unhurried: "In the end, the Buddhist Sects and Huanyue Sect do not harbor any
personal grudges against one another. Dshi, you have also already killed Yan-zongzhu
once. Why must you pursue him again like this, so mercilessly? Even if Yan Wushi were
no longer here, and even if Huanyue Sect no longer existed, so long as Yuwen Yong is
emperor another day, there will be some other party that supports him. With Dshi's
farsighted wisdom, I am sure you wouldn't miss this understanding, would you?"
At that moment, despite finding himself two against one, Yan Wushi somehow found
the time to add: "Ah-qiao, those words of yours have really made progress under my
care, haven't they? This bald ass here was so taken aback by your words that he's
speechless! I'm sure he's so ashamed he's going to fly into a rage and torment you
more intensely now!"
If this had been before, ten Lian Shengs and ten Lian Mie's wouldn't have been fit to be
Yan Wushi's opponents, let alone one of each. However, with the way things were now,
this sort of circumstance was impossible. Xueting had certainly anticipated this, which
was why he had brought these two disciples along.
Even if Lian Sheng and Lian Mie were unable to seize Yan Wushi within a short time,
they would at least be able to stall him.
Xueting was able to see Shen Qiao's intentions. He shook his head and said:
"Shen-daozhang, you must know that this concerns the survival of Buddhism. It will not
do any good to say anymore. The reason why this poor monk has come here was
simply for Yan-zongzhu alone. If Shen-daozhang is willing to withdraw and not concern
himself with this, this poor monk would not be able to thank you enough."
What an interesting man. Though he almost completely had the upper hand, he still
treated Shen Qiao with such courtesy. He was not indignant, nor was he angry; he was
as indifferent as a light breeze, truly possessing the presence of a great sect scholar.
Had their paths not run counter to one another, unlike this present moment—the two
of them with swords drawn and bows bent at one another, ready to go to war at any
second—Shen Qiao would have wanted to sit and have a long talk with him.
Yan Wushi, on the other hand, seemed to find Shen Qiao's new perception of
Xueting-chanshi completely unbearable. Nevertheless, he found an opportunity to
break through Shen Qiao's realizations: "Ah-qiao. That question you asked was really
just too stupid. Old bald ass knows very well that he just has to kill Yuwen Yong and all
his troubles would come to an end, yet here he is chasing me down relentlessly.
Naturally it's because the Buddhist Sects want to maintain their just and honorable
image. They don't want to dirty their hands with the sin of killing a king! Even if they
wanted to kill Yuwen Yong, then they'd rather have someone else go out and do it so
that they can stay nice and clean, without a speck of dirt upon themselves. Old bald
ass, just say it—am I right or am I wrong, ah?"
Xueting did not feel like wasting his words with Yan Wushi. He simply bowed his head
and chanted a brief Amitabha, before continuing: "Shen-daozhang. Since you are not
only unwilling to remove yourself and become an onlooker, but also insist completely
on protecting Yan Wushi until the end, then this poor monk has no choice but to wrong
you."
Once he said this, he barely took a step before suddenly appearing right at Shen
Qiao's side, accompanied by the sweet, unending ring of a small jade bell. The golden
staff lightly tapped against Shen Qiao's chest.
***
1 zi zuo duo qing. This does not necessarily mean that Shen Qiao was romantically in love with
Yan Wushi, but it could be interpreted that way. When you are, you are engaging more in a
shared emotion than another person--you may have assumed that the other person has forgiven you
when they haven't, or that they're your friend when they don't think that you are theirs. As
more literal translation is that of 'affection', i kept it as such, because modifying it in any way to suit the
context of Shen Qiao and Yan Wushi's relationship would have been me applying my own reader's bias
to their relationship.
2yi shen xiang xu. Pleco definition is: pledge to marry someone, devote their life to/give their
heart to, or, of a woman, to "have sex with a man of her own will." I am taking this as an innuendo.
3yanxiao yan yan: the last two characters, 'yan', is the same 'yan' in his name. it's a common
surname, but in this idiom, means 'quiet' and 'gentle'.
4 you hong. not much a note but 'hong' on its own can also mean to amuse and comfort a small
child. together with 'you', baidu says that it means to allure and deceive.
5 Zhou is congee, but i fucking hate the word congee (what the fuck is that?) so i'm calling it zhou. sorry!