When Wang Ying said this, everyone was stunned. Oh my god! This was too much information for them to process.
Why did a huge celebrity just appear in their store? There are many more well-known decoration companies in Nancheng than them. More importantly, do big stars even decorate their houses personally?! Is there something that they are missing here?!
Before everyone had time to gossip, Shi Lei and Bai Qingquan walked out of the room. Bai Qingquan was still wearing his mask and waved at everyone with a smile.
Xiao Fang and the others quickly responded. As soon as the two of them went out, the shop exploded immediately. Some people even took out their phones and hurried to take pictures of Bai Qingquan. It was a pity that they could only photograph the back. Still, that was enough for them.
Who was Bai Qingquan? The film emperor, a top celebrity, had unexpectedly just appeared in their store.
The most excited person was Wang Ying. She really wanted to post it in her circle of friends, but she did not dare make it too obvious for fear of exposing a big celebrity’s privacy. She was worried Bai Qingquan wouldn’t work with her if she exposed too much.
To be able to design a home for Bai Qingquan was an absolute dream.
“Until we figure out why he came to our store, everyone must keep it a secret.” Wang Ying said, “If we can get this contract, won’t our store be famous?”
Everyone was very excited, except for Xiao Fang, who felt a little lost in her heart. Their boss was a star chaser who liked Bai Qingquan. Now that he was successful, he could even decorate the house of his idol. She had never seen a man who seemed so uptight be gentle to anyone before.
“Later, if you have any ideas on the design, you can discuss it with Wang Ying again. If you have any requirements, please feel free to mention them,” Shi Lei said. “She is the designer with the best reputation in our store.”
“After Chinese New Year’s, my new drama will start shooting. I may not have much energy to manage this. I have already told you all the directions I like. I will leave it to you in the follow-up. Since I have decided to go with you, I will fully trust you. Just help me keep an eye on things,” Bai Qingquan said, “I don’t know if this is too much trouble for you.”
Shi Lei said, “It’s not troublesome. I’m not busy either.”
In terms of design, he didn’t know much, but in terms of construction quality, he could strictly control it. “Don’t worry, I’ll do my best.”
Bai Qingquan smiled when he heard this, picked up the teacup, and said, “Then let’s pretend this is alcohol, and I would like to propose a toast to you.”
Shi Lei picked up the teacup in front of him and clinked it against Bai Qingquan’s. He was excited. Too excited that he could meet Bai Qingquan so up close again and he could even share a drink with him.
Decoration is a very troublesome matter. There are too many things that need to be discussed with the homeowner, from graphic design to layout planning to material selection to foundation construction. However, Shi Lei was more motivated to do this than decorate his own home. He must do his best to give Bai Qingquan the most perfect house.
—
After Chinese New Year’s, Bai Qingquan joined the film crew to start filming his next project. Shi Lei knew that he was working hard, so he tried his best not to disturb him, only occasionally updating on their remodeling progress during their agreed timeline.
In early spring, the decoration design was finalized, and construction began at the end of February. From the demolition and reconstruction of the main body to the renovation of the water and electricity, to the carpentry and bricklaying. Bai Qingquan’s home renovation was mostly completed after he finished filming his project.
During this period, Shi Lei fully assumed the responsibility of project manager and would run to the house every day to oversee the renovations.
“You should take a break for a bit,” Wei Ge said. “Your next movie won’t start until August at the earliest.”
His next project was a costume drama produced by his own company. This was the first time he had filmed a costume drama since <The East Palace is Coming>. He would be the lead actor, and Sunshine Media had tailored this movie just for him.
Many things have happened in the past few months. For example, Shen Jintai did not renew his contract with Monsoon Entertainment after it expired and instead set up his own studio. This made Bai Qingquan want to terminate his own contract as well.
When he participated in the draft, he signed a long-term contract with Sunshine Media. At that time, he was eager to make his debut, so the contract he signed was extremely unfavorable for him, and a large part of the money that he made went towards the company. Now that he had established a foothold, he naturally wanted to become independent.
This was the path that almost all popular stars would follow, and it was a common case in the entertainment industry. Whoever is stronger will have the final say. When a newcomer was weak, the company was strong, so they would be willing to sign an unequal contract for the sake of gaining strength. After they became popular, it was often the case that they couldn’t be reconciled with such a position. The difference lay only in whether the breakup would be peaceful or end up in a lawsuit.
Since this was the norm in the industry, the leadership of Sunshine Media had been preparing for a long time. In order to keep him, Zhang Yuan from the brokerage department had talked to him twice already and made more concessions on issues such as the division of profits. This next costume drama that he would be filming was to show the sincerity of the company. The director, Guo Rui, was now the quality guarantee that Sunshine Media had offered.
Still, no matter how many concessions were made, it wasn’t as good as being on your own. Nowadays, all first- and second-tier actors in the circle had started their own studios. Even Zheng Siqi had recently started a lawsuit with Monsoon Entertainment.
Zheng Siqi’s termination was very unpleasant. Monsoon Entertainment could no longer bring any benefits to help him, while he brought in fresh newcomers for Monsoon by acquiescing to them and filmed two popular TV dramas. Since he was good friends with Shen Jintai and Bai Qingquan, he intended to develop his career towards the big screen and wanted to be an actor, which ran counterintuitive to the hype philosophy of Monsoon Entertainment.
Zheng Siqi was still a student when he signed with Monsoon, so he had signed a long-term contract. As an artist under Monsoon, his contract was far more stringent than Shen Jintai’s and held a huge penalty for breach of contract. Thus, the two sides became deadlocked as they fought each other in lawsuits disputing this contract.
For Monsoon Entertainment, they regarded Zheng Siqi as a money-making tool and gave him only scripts and endorsements that were highly paid, obviously trying to drain every last drop of blood from him.
This had led Yan Qiuchi this time to make a move. The Yan family has the best legal team in Nancheng, and it was said that this lawsuit had a great chance of winning.
Around the time that Yan Qiuchi and Shen Jintai were photographed by Headline Entertainment, it was Ji Fengxing who was looking for someone to explode the story. It wasn’t just Headline that offended Yan Qiuchi, but Ji Fengxing had a hand in it as well.
While Yan Qiuchi was able to bear it, he hadn’t said a word about it. After ruining Headline Entertainment, he had finally started to deal with Monsoon.
“He said he wanted to terminate the contract with Monsoon Entertainment with me,” Shen Jintai said. “But he thought about it later and felt he couldn’t pay the penalty and also give more ammunition for them against me, so he told me after my contract expired. This makes me dislike Ji Fengxing even more now.”
For this reason, both Yan Qiuchi and Shen Jintai supported Zheng Siqi’s termination.
If the boss wasn’t in the right mind, how could the whole company get better? Rumors were swirling that Monsoon Entertainment had been in turmoil recently, and its famous artists were all canceling their contracts.
Behind the scenes of this was Sunshine Media. Sunshine Media had been gaining momentum. As an artist agency and a film and television production company, they were prospering, which was a good place for artists. As the first brother of Sunshine Media, the company had always treated Bai Qingquan well and cultivated him to where he was now, so he held great affection towards them. In addition, he and Shen Jintai were good friends, so he was worried that if he canceled his contract, it would cause Yan Qiuchi dissatisfaction.
“Don’t worry about that,” Shen Jintai said. “You don’t know him that well yet. He has always maintained separation of public and private. He said he won’t have any personal opinions on you if you want to terminate the contract, but he also won’t make a special case for you either because of our good relationship.”
When it comes to Yan Qiuchi, business will always remain business.
“Think about terminating your contract again,” Wei Ge said after sending him back to the hotel. “I asked Xiao Feng and the others, and they all said that they are willing to follow you. I’ll also help you feel out the company’s tone. I think a peaceful termination is not a problem and will not affect your next project.”
Bai Qingquan was very moved, but he also felt that the responsibility on his shoulders was even heavier. He had to make sure that when these people followed him on their own, they would make more money than they do now.
If he wanted to pay them a higher wage, he must first be able to stand on his own without a company to rely on. The entertainment industry was vain, and competition was too fierce, so it made him afraid. He was different from Shen Jintai, who had the Yan family’s backing, so he wasn’t afraid of anything.
“Let me think about it again,” he said.
Wei Ge smiled, and when he walked to the door, he turned his head again and said, “Actually, I hope you’ll terminate the contract. I have confidence in us.”
Bai Qingquan smiled and nodded.
He slept in the hotel for a day and a night, and the next day, he made an appointment with Shi Lei to see his new house. He and Shi Lei hadn’t seen each other for more than a month now.
At this time, he had missed him very much. For more than a month, the two of them had only been contacting each other through WeChat, but rarely did they ever have something to say. It was usually all about his remodeling. Shi Lei would occasionally leave him voice messages, and he would spend some nights listening to his voice repeatedly. Shi Lei had that attractive, low, magnetic voice that was very charming.
Occasionally, when he ended his sentences, it would carry a ruffian-like tone that reminded Bai Qingquan of his foolish appearance when he was a teenager.
He found that he still liked this man extensively, and the youthful boy that had been buried in his heart has now slowly resurfaced.
He would get happy thinking about Shi Lei and get nervous at just the thought of meeting him.
He got up early in the morning to try on different outfits, and every time he tried on a set of clothes, he took a picture to show Shen Jintai.
Shen Jintai was on set, getting makeup applied, and would respond back with voice messages.
“Brother, you have to make it clear to me who you want to meet. You need to wear different clothes depending on who the person is.”
“Shi Lei,” Bai Qingquan replied.
Shen Jintai immediately sent an emoji with his heart covered.
Then he replied, “Then I think your t-shirt with red cherries printed on it is good. Wear a plain pair of pants. It’ll look restrained but a bit coquettish, which is just right.”
Bai Qingquan didn’t have his shirt on. He bent over and picked up the t-shirt with lots of small cherry prints on it and put it on. He then got dressed, sprayed some cologne, put on his sunglasses, and went out the door happily.
It had been a long time since he had seen Shi Lei again, and the look in his eyes was even hotter. Bai Qingquan took off his sunglasses but deliberately stretched out his hand, pretending to be polite. “It’s been a long time since I saw you.”
Shi Lei shook his hand but never moved his eyes away from him. Under the sun, Bai Qingquan glowed magnificently, and his beauty was bubbling.
Bai Qingquan wasn’t sure if it was because he was exposed to the summer sun too often, but Shi Lei looked tanner now. When the two of them held hands, the contrast in their skin was even more obvious. The tan complexion complimented his fair skin very well. Shi Lei’s hands were also larger than his, with slightly blue veins on the back, and his fingers were thicker and longer.
‘Such stark contrast in body shape and skin tone,’ Bai Qingquan thought silently.
Wow!
The author has something to say:
It’s not just fingers.
Kinky Thoughts:
Bai Qingquan is about to have his mind blown when he sees what’s underneath.
*(涝的涝死,旱的旱死.) Metaphor referring to too much or too little of something can be equally deadly.
Since Bai Qingquan met Shi Lei, his thoughts had been a bit flooded. Now that he saw the greasiness between Shen Jintai and Yan Qiuchi, what poked his heart the most was the line: “Husband”.
Wuwuwu, that word was simply the most exciting word in the heart of a young girl like him. He also wanted a husband.
Suddenly, Shi Lie’s appearance came to his mind. His heart started fretting.
Zheng Siqi called the driver and said, “Let’s go back too. You can take my car. I’ll take you back first.”
“No, I’ll find someone to pick me up.”
Zheng Siqi couldn’t feel assured leaving Bai Qingquan alone, as he had also drank a lot tonight and was most likely drunk.
Bai Qingquan looked at his phone, thinking about who to call. Today was his birthday, a very special day. He didn’t know if Shi Lei had returned to Nancheng yet. Taking advantage of his drunken state, he called Shi Lei.
As the phone rang, he laid back down on the sofa. When the call connected, he asked, “Have you slept yet?”
“No.”
“Have you returned to Nancheng?”
“No.” Shi Lei asked, “Have you been drinking?”
Bai Qingquan smiled and said, “Today’s my birthday, so I drank more than usual. I wanted to ask you to meet, but since you’re not in Nancheng, let’s make an appointment for another day.”
Zheng Siqi looked at him when he heard this.
“Today is your birthday?” Shi Lei asked.
Bai Qingquan: “Nn. I’ll hang up first. When you return, let’s set a time to meet.” He hung up the phone after speaking.
Zheng Siqi asked, “Who is it?”
“The senior I was talking about,” Bai Qingquan said.
Zheng Siqi didn’t ask any more questions; he just said, “Let’s go, I’ll take you back first.”
Bai Qingquan got up.
Bai Qingquan had a house in Nancheng that he bought last year. The house was pretty empty and hadn’t been renovated since he preferred staying in hotels. After staying in them for so many years, he had grown accustomed to them.
After returning to the hotel, Bai Qingquan didn’t feel sleepy. He was too excited, and his body was hot. He stayed in a large suite and used one bedroom as storage, which was filled with gifts from fans and some of his old belongings. He rummaged through the closet and searched for more than an hour before he found a down jacket.
In those years, Bosideng was already a famous brand.
When he left his hometown, it was also winter. He wore this down jacket. Because of his unique feelings, he had never thrown it away. He hung it up with his denim jacket—the first one he bought with the money that he made. These two jackets had a special meaning to him, so he usually put them together.
He tried on the down jacket and felt it was a bit small.
He continued to grow until he was about 20. After becoming a star, his weight was strictly managed. Although he was still thin, his shoulders were wider. This jacket used to be big on him, but now it had become a small, padded jacket.
He stood in front of the full-length mirror and looked at himself in the mirror, thinking that many years ago, he put on this down jacket for the first time and photographed his reflection in the mirror of the school office building.
What this jacket warmed was not his body but his heart. The memories resurface. He really liked Shi Lei.
—
Shi Lei didn’t know that today was Bai Qingquan’s birthday. He never found out when they were in school together. Later, after Bai Qingquan became popular, he saw his official birthday online and thought that was his real birthday.
He drove to Nancheng, wanting to get there before midnight and meet with Bai Qingquan. However, Nancheng was a bit far from Xichuan County. He had just arrived at the outer ring of Nancheng, and it was already past midnight.
Most likely, Bai Qingquan had fallen asleep by now. He would always remember this day, December 11th, the month and date of Bai Qingquan’s birthday, for the rest of his life.
The house he bought in Nancheng last year was renovated. It was a villa, but the place was a bit remote and provided a quiet and nice environment. It was close to the Yangtze River and Qiuming Mountain.
It was already late at night when he arrived home. After entering the house, he laid down on the sofa, looking at his phone before falling asleep. When he woke up the next morning, he picked up his phone and took a glance at it. He saw a message from Bai Qingquan and immediately sat up.
Bai Qingquan sent a message and said: [I bought a new house recently, but it’s pretty empty. I heard that decorations are most suitable for spring and autumn. I plan to start decorating after New Year’s, when the weather is warm. Would this old classmate like to help out?]
Shi Lei wiped his face, almost thinking that he was dreaming. He immediately called Bai Qingquan as he stood up from the sofa. No one answered.
He hurried to reply to Bai Qingquan’s message, but before he could finish typing, Bai Qingquan had called him back.
Bai Qingquan had probably just woken up. His voice was hoarse, but there was a hint of a smile as he said, “Good morning.”
“Morning.” Shi Lei said, “I just saw your message.”
“I sent it in the middle of the night.” Bai Qingquan asked, “How about it? Will your company want to do it?”
“Will.” Shi Lei was too anxious, so he slowed down and added, “We would like to.”
Bai Qingquan: “Nn. I plan on renovating in the new year. You can tell me when the construction will start.”
“Before the official renovation, there’s still a lot of preparatory work. In this way, it depends on when you have time. Let’s meet and chat. You can also come to our company to take a look. Our company has four branches in Nancheng, and we provide special cars to pick you up and drop you off.”
Bai Qingquan said, “Nn. Then I’ll look at my schedule.”
After hanging up the phone, Shi Lei immediately became excited. His opportunity has arrived.
He thought that his social circle and Bai Qingquan’s did not overlap at all. Just from trying to meet with Bai Qingquan alone, he probably would only be able to meet with him a few times a year. Bai Qingquan was a big star and busy with work. Needless to say, it would be inconvenient for him to go out. Now he had a better excuse to meet Bai Qingquan, and considering it was Bai Qingquan’s home, it would most likely be renovated more luxuriously than the average person’s home, and the home must be quite large as well. It was estimated that it would take at least half a year from early construction to completion.
This must be an opportunity granted to him by God. Even if he wasn’t worthy, he’d have to try. If he didn’t make his move, he would regret it for the rest of his life.
The headquarters of Livable Decoration was in Nancheng new district, close to one of the largest shopping malls in the area. Since it was close to New Year’s, there were fewer people remodeling, so his business was a bit leisurely at this time. Xiao Fang sat at the front desk and found that their boss had seemed rejuvenated since he returned to his hometown. He also said that this year’s performance was good and that they would give out awards after their New Year’s annual meeting.
“Did you know that the boss and Bai Qingquan are from the same hometown?”
“The boss went back to see him this time because I saw the news that Bai Qingquan had returned to his hometown in Xichuan County to participate in the celebration of his alma mater. Videos have appeared online!”
“He likes Bai Qingquan. Do you still have any questions? His WeChat avatar is Bai Qingquan!”
“I always thought the boss liked Shen Jintai.”
“What kind of eyes do you have? It’s clearly the avatar of Zhou Zing. He’s the one that wears white clothes, while Li Xu is red.”
“It seems that the boss is really chasing stars. I really can’t believe that a rough old man like him would chase stars. It seems that the boss isn’t really straight if he’s chasing Bai Qingquan.”
“That’s true. Only some of the straight men around me like Shen Jintai, but there’s no straight guy that likes Bai Qingquan. To straight men, they generally don’t like his dainty face.”
“The boss is also from Xichuan County. Maybe he and Bai Qingquan have known each other before.”
“What should I do? Last time my best friend came to the company to see me, she asked if I could connect her to the boss.”
“I can’t see that the boss having such a good relationship with women. This is the first one to chase him. I thought girls generally don’t like his type.”
“Handsome, rich, and young. This is the kind of sweet pie that everyone wants to buy in the marriage market, okay?”
Xiao Fang’s face turned slightly red as she listened to the gossip.
In fact, she always had a crush on Shi Lei. The sisters around her were only interested in the kind of fresh meat from Japan or South Korea, but she liked the tall, upright, and manly look of her boss. While he wasn’t particularly good-looking, he was intriguing, rough but not rustic. At the age of around 26, he was just right.
Does he like men? As she was thinking about it, Shi Lei came out of the office.
Their boss was dressed professionally, with a crew cut, a full suit, and a white shirt on. He had a cigarette in his mouth as he walked out, tying his tie up as if he were in a hurry.
“Then you wait. I will be there soon.”
Xiao Fang watched him go out and silently looked at his back again. She really loved this kind of semi-homely and semi-rough temperament that exude manliness from the inside out.
She was staring blankly at him when she suddenly saw their boss making a phone call as he walked across the road. Then she saw a young man wearing a hat and mask coming out of a luxury car.
It was close to a shopping mall, so the scene was lively with many people coming and going. Their boss said a few words to the man and led him back towards their office. When he was about to cross the road, a car drove past them. Shi Lei stretched out his arm and gently hugged the man’s waist, looking very protective.
Their boss was a big, coarse man. While not arrogant, he was very inattentive. Let alone male employees; even with female employees, he had never shown much consideration and care like the person she was witnessing now.
She thought it must be an important customer, so she hurriedly stood straight up with a smile as Shi Lei and the other person came in. She bowed and said, “Welcome.”
“Please come in,” Shi Lei said, turning his head. “Let’s talk in my office.”
His voice didn’t seem to be as usual. It was too gentle and soft.
The young man smiled at Xiao Fang. Although he only showed a pair of eyes, she could tell that he was a handsome guy. His eyes were beautiful and had an inexplicable sense of familiarity.
The man went into the office and stayed for more than half an hour. In the middle, Shi Lei came out to get coffee. Xiao Fang offered to help but he declined and said, “I’ll do it.”
Everyone’s gaze fell onto the office as they secretly gossip. Their boss had never been so gentle! They felt that this customer wasn’t simple. For their boss to be this attentive, it must be a really big customer!
After another while, Shi Lei opened the door. “Wang Ying.”
Wang Ying was the female designer of their company. She immediately responded when she heard his call. “Yes.”
“Come in for a bit,” Shi Lei said.
Wang Ying went in for a long time, and when she came out, her face was completely red, and she couldn’t help stomping her feet. “Ahhhhhhhh!”
“What’s the matter, Sister Wang?”
“What kind of big client is in there?”
“I’m going to design a house for a big star. Ahhhhhhhhhh!”
“What?!” everyone exclaimed in unison.
Wang Ying glanced back secretly, suppressing her voice, but she couldn’t suppress her excitement. “It’s Bai Qingquan who’s in there with the boss!”
The author has something to say:
Build a love nest together, and once the nest is built, you can love in it as much as you like.
Kinky Thoughts:
Shi Lei subtly adding to the design all of Bai Qingquan’s alt’s requirements that are suitable for doing “things”.
He couldn’t run anymore as he had hit a dead end. At the end of the corridor was a side hall with a screen tea table and a shrine dedicated to Lord Guan Yu hanging on the wall. Everything was arranged in an ancient style.
It was said that in Guangdong, Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan, many people, especially businessmen, liked to worship Guan Yu to ward off evil. Even casinos regarded him as the god of wealth. Considering this place was owned by the Lin family of Lingnan, it wasn’t surprising that a shrine worshiping him was here.
Catching sight of the statue caused Dong Zhi’s heart to inadvertently be moved.
He could still treat a dead horse as if it was still living*!
*(死马当作活马医) Idiom referring to you know things are hopeless, but you still hold onto a glimmer of hope. Usually refers to as making a final attempt.
He found the unlit incense from the lattice nearby, lit it with a lighter, and bowed respectfully to the statue.
“I, Dong Zhi, disciple of the Hezao Sect, sincerely implore the virtuous, loyal, and righteous gods, the gods of martial arts, the benevolent, valiant, and mighty emperor Guan Sheng to come down and help this disciple!”
Zhong Yuyi had taught them the benefits of familiarizing themselves with known historical figures of the world. If they were not familiar with the information, it would be impossible to memorize the complete seal for the Second Master Guan*.
*Another name for Guan Yu. Due to his brave and loyal image, he’s often honored by people as Second master of Guan.
Zhong Yu once said that when statues were worshipped by people, it would have more or less a spirit. For example, police stations in Hong Kong enshrined the Second Master, as such a place in and of itself had a murderous aura, which would naturally attract evil spirits, but they couldn’t enter due to the Second Master’s blessing. As for whether the spirit of this statue in this kind of entertainment club existed, Dong Zhi wasn’t certain, but in such a critical moment like this, he could only give it a shot.
The incense curled and the statue on the shrine looked as if it was twisting its beard with a knife while looking at him with long and narrow phoenix eyes, seemingly unresponsive.
The sound of footsteps behind him was getting closer, and he had nowhere to hide, causing his heart to sink. Dong Zhi held his breath and concentrated, letting go of his thoughts and abandoning all the noise from the outside world.
Suddenly, his eyes darkened! His body seemed to have been hit hard by something, but it seemed as if it was just an illusion. He remained where he was standing, but his hands and feet were disobedient.
He could clearly “see” himself slowly inserting three incense sticks in his hand into the incense burner, then he turned around quickly to face the chasers. The feeling was weird. He was still him, but he had lost all autonomy over his body and was replaced by another force.
Seeing that he was cornered, several of the Japanese men laughed at him as the person surnamed Li slowly walked forward.
“Please come with us.”
“What if I say no?” Dong Zhi “heard” himself say.
Mr. Li: “Then pardon us for being rude.”
Dong Zhi said slowly, “I will not kill the nameless. Report your names.”
Several of the Japanese men looked at each other as if they had heard some big joke. The person surnamed Li said, “It doesn’t matter, so I’ll tell you. My name is Otowa Saburo.”
Dong Zhi wanted to ask if he was connected to Otowa Hatsuhiko, but while his mouth opened and closed, the sound he wished to utter did not follow as he wanted.
“Japanese people dare to be so presumptuous?”
Otowa Saburo chuckled. “Mr. Dong, there is a word in your country called zhuang bi*. It seems that it describes people like you. You don’t have to pretend to be brave for fear of death. Don’t worry, you won’t be able to die until Mr. Otowa sees you.”
*Pretending to be B [Zhuang bi/B] (装逼 or 装B) Has two meanings. 1. Refers to self-satisfaction or even deceitful behavior of showing off and contriving to gain vanity, but actually lacks abilities. Stupid people often think they are smarter than others (AKA Dunning-Kruger effect). 2. Refers to pretending to hide one’s talent and is actually very capable underneath. Smart people tend to think they are dumber than others. || I’ll be leaving it pinyin because of the next footnote. Note: it’s called B or 13 instead of [bi] (逼) sometimes to avoid vulgar language, as [bi] (逼) translates to cunt.
Having said that, he waved his hand and ordered, “Catch him!”
Several people swarmed up to him, and Otowa Saburo quickly realized how ridiculously wrong he was. The other party wasn’t putting on a front as he wasn’t really bluffing*.
*Clarity: As explained above, [zhuang bi] has two meanings. So, while Otowa Saburo was referring to the number 1 meaning, ironically, it turns out to be number 2.
Just as several people tried to grab Dong Zhi, his wrists turned, and a white light suddenly appeared in his hands. Dong Zhi waved it at them with it, and several famous warriors in the judo world were beaten to pieces in an instant. Otowa Saburo didn’t even see how they had fallen.
He couldn’t believe the sight before his eyes. If the opponent had been this powerful earlier, he wouldn’t have fallen into their hands.
Despite his shock, his reflexes were still quick. When the white light blasted over to him, he leaned back just in time to avoid it, rolling to the ground. He grabbed Dong Zhi’s ankle, wanting to pull him down, but Dong Zhi took advantage of the situation and spined his legs, kicking him in the waist. He flew back and landed firmly on the ground.
Otowa Saburo was extremely agitated. After he cursed and swore, he rushed up again with bloodshot eyes, while his hand reached for the gun hanging by his waist. He unlocked the safety and pointed it at the expressionless Dong Zhi, then suddenly pulled the trigger.
Bang!
—
The demeanor of Long Shen and the others was different from that of ordinary guests. As soon as they came in, they were noticed by the lobby manager, who hurriedly reported it to Lin Xuan. Seeing that they were up to no good, he stopped them from entering. As the atmosphere got more tense, Lin Xuan arrived.
“Isn’t this Boss Long and Boss Song? I’ve heard so much about you for a long time. It’s a pleasure to finally meet you. How can this little temple be blessed with two great gods at once?” He smiled and bowed with his hands. “This club has not opened yet, but when it does, I’ll be sure to invite the two of you-“
Long Shen interrupted him, “Where’s Dong Zhi?”
Lin Xuan’s smile remained the same. “I’m not understanding. What winter and summer solstice*?”
*Clarity: Remember, Dong Zhi’s name means winter solstice, so he’s pretending that Long Shen is referring to the winter solstice.
Long Shen looked at him coldly, his eyes full of murderous intent.
The lobby manager on the side couldn’t help but shudder and took two steps back, but Lin Xuan was still motionless and continued to greet him with a smile.
If such an incident hadn’t happened, Long Shen would’ve looked at him quite highly.
Song Zhicun eased the situation and said, “Mr. Xiao Lin1, I also have some friendship with Mr. Lin1. Furthermore, Lin Jun is a working member of the Special Administration Bureau. With this in mind, we’re not enemies so if you know-“
1Clarity: He’s calling him this because the second Mr. Lin is referring to the patriarch of the Lin family so think of it as like Mr. Lin Jr..
Before he finished speaking, a gunshot was heard from inside! Everyone’s faces changed colors.
Lin Xuan cursed his own mother and strode towards the source of the gunfire while others hurriedly followed.
When many guests heard the gunshot, they all ran out one after another and bumped into Lin Xuan, who was walking towards it. Some people directly grabbed him and asked, “Xiao Lin, what the hell is going on?!”
Lin Xuan angrily said, “That’s what I fucking want to know! This here is a legitimate place of business, and I have no hidden weapons or firearms!”
With that said, he knew in his heart that the gunfire must have something to do with the Japanese. He shouldn’t have brought them here if he knew that they would dare shoot on his own territory. It was better to have found an abandoned factory and just thrown them all there. That would’ve saved him a lot of trouble.
When they arrived at the scene of the crime, everyone was stunned. Otowa Saburo fell to the ground while holding a gun in his hand, but there was a black hole in the middle of his forehead with blood seeping out. He was dead.
The surrounding Japanese were either injured or dead, as they all lay motionless on the ground. Everyone looked in horror at Dong Zhi, who was standing there.
“How did this-” Lin Xuan was about to step forward, when he was shoved to the side.
Long Shen saw at a glance that something was wrong with Dong Zhi. Not only was his expression too cold, but the way he was looking at them wasn’t like they were acquaintances, let alone a living person. Under such a gaze, it seemed to deem all things were dead.
This look was not human. Seeing as Dong Zhi was motionless, a Japanese quietly stretched out his hand, reaching for the gun around his waist. Before he had the opportunity to touch the gun, pain filled his wrist as he suddenly screamed.
“Dong Zhi!” Song Zhicun couldn’t help but shout. He watched in horror as the white light flashed in Dong Zhi’s hand towards the Japanese man’s wrist.
Long Shen said in a deep voice, “I don’t know which righteous god is here, but please forgive our rudeness. These are all Japanese thieves, and we are here to arrest them. We ask O’Righteous God1 to please raise your hand2.
1Clarity: Long Shen is referring to him as [Zhengshen] which means a true formal god. The translated term “Righteous” doesn’t refer to morally upright/virtuous but to the god being a rightful god of worship (think God in Christianity or Zeus in Greek mythology ect.). Because he’s addressing him as “Righteous God” some sentences in English (like this one, for example) will be awkward unless I add in an O/Oh at the beginning. 2(高抬贵手) A polite expression that means please raise your hand and have mercy to let people pass by. It’s to express politely when seeking forgiveness and accommodation from the other party.
Chi Banxia felt uncomfortable when she heard Deputy Director Long’s words, but what surprised her even more was the change in Dong Zhi.
Hearing Long Shen’s words, Dong Zhi’s indifferent eyes finally reacted a little.
He said slowly, “Since you’re from the official government, it should be handed over to you then.”
Long Shen’s gaze swept past the shrine next to him and he cupped his hand and said, “Thank you, O’Righteous God. Please return to the Great Emperor Guan Sheng.”
Dong Zhi nodded slowly.
Chi Banxia’s mouth dropped wide open. She found that Dong Zhi’s voice was very strange, as if there was another person talking through him, and the tone was overlapping like an echo. It was exactly the same as that day when Zhong Yuyi invited a god.
Dong Zhi returned Long Shen’s salute with his own.
“I am Guan Er*, and I dare not call myself a great emperor in front of a destined person.”
*Clarity: Another name referring to Guan Yu.
Long Shen said, “We’ll finish this matter and deal with the aftermath, so we won’t bother you, O’Righteous God anymore.”
Dong Zhi nodded, then his body suddenly shook slightly and fell limp. Long Shen reached out his hand and hugged his waist as he steadied him.
“Lin Xuan, now we can talk.”
A Japanese had died in an entertainment club run by the Lin family. Lin Xuan didn’t kill him, but he would inevitably be associated with it. Even if Long Shen and the Bureau didn’t hold him accountable, the Japanese definitely would.
When he sat in the conference room with Long Shen and the others, his expression wasn’t as calm as he had put on at the beginning and was even a little ugly.
“I know what you are going to ask, but I am only responsible for helping them inquire about the whereabouts of the bronze mirror and sending a car to take them over. As for other matters, I did not participate in any of them. I don’t have the things or people you are looking for.”
Song Zhicun’s voice was ugly. “There are people dead, and the mirror is now lost, yet you dare claim to hold no responsibility? Lin Lao is an upright man, yet why is his son so irresponsible?”
Lin Xuan said indifferently, “My dad is my dad, and I am me. As things are getting messy, this club will be closed for a period of time, and I have nothing to do with it!”
Song Zhicun narrowed his smile. “You must know the purpose of those Japanese people and the whereabouts of the mirrors. As long as you are willing to cooperate, you can redeem some merits, and we will no longer hold the Lin family accountable. Lin Xuan, now that the two of us are talking to you, there is still room for things to change. If you wait until the top comes forward, you won’t be sitting here. I heard that your business has been booming in the past few years. Presumably you don’t even know how deep this goes. Stealing and selling cultural relics, kidnapping, even if you’re just an accomplice, it’s still enough to implicate you! What’s more, there are still a few Japanese who are alive. Even if you don’t speak, we can ask them.”
Lin Xuan was silent for a moment. “The mirror was really taken away by Otowa Saburo’s accomplices, but I guess they didn’t rush to leave the country, so they should still be in China.”
Long Shen: “What’s so special about that bronze mirror?”
Lin Xuan: “I only know that the Japanese value that mirror very much, but they can’t interpret the text above, so they went to Guizhou to hire a sorcerer.”
Long Shen frowned. “Text to the dead?”
Lin Xuan nodded. “The mirror should have some secrets. I can help you track down the whereabouts of the Japanese and the mirror, but I want one thing.”
Song Zhicun: “What?”
Lin Xuan: “Dragon scales or bone. Doesn’t matter which part as long as it’s part of a dragon. I heard that last time in Changbai Mountain, you subdued a bone dragon.”
Song Zhicun answered without having to even think about it, “Impossible! That bone dragon has been handed over to the state!”
Lin Xuan spread his hands. “Since Boss Song has no choice, then I also have no choice.”
“What do you want it for?” Long Shen asked.
Lin Xuan was silent for a while before saying, “Medicine.”
A few years ago, Lin Xuan’s father, Lin Ji, was doing business in Southeast Asia. On the first day, he was fine, but then suddenly on the next day, he couldn’t move his limbs. He was sent to the hospital for examination, but the cause couldn’t be found. What’s even more terrifying was that Lin Ji’s body began showing unexplained ulcers. Only then did the Lin family realize something was wrong and immediately sent Lin Ji back to his country and searched for a famous doctor.
The Lin family of Lingnan is not a leader in the spiritual world, but they have operated in Lingnan for a long time. Many of their family members have connections to high places and officials, so everyone will more or less give them face. As head of the family, when he fell into this situation, it sent the Lin family into chaos.
An old traditional Chinese medicine doctor felt that Lin Ji’s symptoms did not look like an illness, so he suggested that they find someone else to take a look. There were many practitioners in the Lin family who said that Lin Ji seemed to have been hit with a curse, so the Lin family asked the Chi family from Shanghai for help.
Chi Banxia’s father came forward to help Lin Ji and confirmed that he was indeed cursed, but the trouble was that he did not know what kind of curse. He stated that there were many schools of witchcraft in Southeast Asia, and each school had its own method of cursing and blessing. What Lin Ji was afflicted with was not some low-level curse but the most difficult and vicious, called the ghost-faced peach blossom curse. The person who’s cursed with this would consciously watch as his entire body festers, and in the end, all that remains would be his skeleton. The only way to resolve it would be for the one who cursed him to lift it.
However, Chi Chongxing gave Lin Xuan a recipe, saying that it was passed down from the ancestors of the Chi family and could solve all kinds of problems. There was one ingredient that was difficult to get, dragon powder. In other words, they needed any part of a dragon’s body that could be ground into powder and put into the medicine. The prescription paid attention to the emperor, minister, and envoy* and specifically mentioned paying special attention to the “emperor” in the prescription. Without this, Lin Ji’s curse could not be resolved.
*(君臣佐使) In terms of Chinese medicine, it refers to the arrangement of the relationship between all the ingredients in the medicine. Each ingredient has a part to play and is assigned “importance” by their rank (emperor, minister, envoys). || In this context, dragon powder is the “emperor” of the prescription and is the crucial ingredient they need.
Lin Xuan said, “At first, I thought Chi Chongxing was playing tricks on me when he asked me if I could find a part of a dragon’s body. The news that I was looking for this medicine spread to the ears of the Japanese, who sent someone to me and said that they could give me a dragon scale on the condition that I help find the whereabouts of the bronze mirror.”
He took out the prescription he carried with him.
“This prescription was written for me by Chi Chongxing.”
Long Shen looked at Chi Banxia.
Chi Banxia understood, took it for a look, nodded, and said, “This is indeed my father’s handwriting.”
Lin Xuan raised his eyebrows, showing a look of surprise. “It turns out you’re Chi Chongxing’s daughter.”
Chi Banxia said, “Ghost-faced peach blossoms curse is very rare. I have also heard from my family about you.”
Lin Xuan motioned with his hands. “Since Miss Chi has proven that I did not lie, then you should believe it.”
Song Zhicun frowned and asked, “Where did the Japanese get the dragon scales? Who did they steal from?”
Lin Xuan laughed. “You have wronged them. Japan used to have dragons, but it was during the Jomon period. One of their three artifacts, the Yasakani-no-Magatama*, was thought to be jade by the people who didn’t know the truth. In fact, it is said to be dragon bone. Moreover, other parts of the dragon are now enshrined in their shrines and imperial palaces.”
*One of the Three Sacred Treasures of the Imperial Family. It’s a large magatama that’s been handed down for generations. According to Japanese mythology, the jewel was made by Tamanooya and is an object commonly used to demonstrate status for regional rulers in Japan.
Song Zhicun: “As you said, dragon scales should not be accessible to ordinary people, let alone you.”
“It’s true, but Otowa Saburo,” Lin Xuan said as he nudged his head towards Dong Zhi, who was still sleeping on the sofa, “was killed by him. He was a man under Otowa Hatsuhiko, who is the president of the Otowa Conglomerate. I heard that he’s connected to the royal family, so how can he not pit me with dragon scales?”
Song Zhicun snorted, “You speak lightly. Do you know how precious dragons are?”
Lin Xuan raised his hands. “I know! Now that Otowa Saburo is dead, the Japanese may put the blame on me. Even so, chances are the dragon scales may even fail, and I have already suffered heavy losses. A dragon bone is only a drop in the bucket for you, but to me it can save lives. I still remember the pattern on the bronze mirror, so I can draw it for you.”
Song Zhicun and Long Shen looked at each other, as if considering his suggestion.
“I remember the pattern on it…” A voice suddenly sounded untimely. Dong Zhi moved a little while holding his forehead. His face looked like a tangled ball.
His head was in great pain, as if he was being dragged by his hair and was slamming repeatedly against a wall. His ears were buzzing, and he had double vision of the scene in front of him. The center of his brow suddenly became cold, and he opened his eyes with great difficulty to look around. He saw Long Shen stretching out his finger and tapping it in the center between his eyebrows.
“How is it?”
“It’s better…” Dong Zhi said weakly. He reluctantly propped up his body, wanting to sit upright.
Long Shen helped him up while holding his arm with one hand.
If this was an ordinary time, Dong Zhi would rejoice being in such an intimate position, but he currently didn’t have the strength to notice this. After taking in some breath, he turned to the topic at hand. “I can draw the pattern on the back of the mirror. The difference shouldn’t be too big.”
Lin Xuan raised his eyebrows and said sarcastically, “Wouldn’t it be difficult for you to remember?”
Dong Zhi felt a little dizzy and nauseous. This was the aftereffects of inviting a god, especially to someone like him, who never have much experience doing it. Surprisingly, he had invited Second Master Guan, so naturally the sequela would be even more serious.
He leaned against Long Shen, caught a few breaths, before slowly saying. “I come from a background of artists. I am more sensitive to patterns. If I want to remember something, I can basically remember up to 70-80% of it. Give me a pen and some paper. I can draw the patterns and inscriptions on the mirror. Uncle Qian has also seen the mirror, so maybe he can add more details to it.”
Lin Xuan’s face darkened. Dong Zhi’s words have made him completely lose his bargaining chip.
Song Zhicun frowned. “Like I said, it doesn’t matter whether you say it or not, and now you’ve missed your opportunity to cooperate. You can’t escape the charge of kidnapping!”
Lin Xuan made a quick decision and immediately changed his position. He smiled slightly and said, “I have told you all that I know. I heard that this bronze mirror was unearthed in the Northwest. When it was discovered, there were also batches of gold, silver, and jade there, so the mirror wasn’t taken seriously at first. After changing multiple hands, it was discovered by the Japanese. They came to me with the pattern that was on the back of the mirror and asked me to help them find its whereabouts. In exchange, I asked someone to inquire about it, and only then did I know that it was in the hands of a man named Zheng Shun. The other party had taken the mirror to find Lao Qian to get it appraised.”
“The Japanese found Zheng Shun and wanted to buy it for five million. Zheng Shun immediately went to Lao Qian to ask for the mirror back. As a result, the mirror had already fallen into his hands. He probably wanted to bring it back to the Special Administration Bureau, but he was discovered by the Japanese, so they kidnapped him and brought him directly to me. You should all know the rest.”
Having said that, Lin Xuan spread his hands and made a helpless expression.
Long Shen: “And now the mirror’s in the hands of the Japanese?”
Lin Xuan nodded. “There are two groups of them. One group took the mirror and left. The other group is the one that was put down by your people just now.”
Otowa Saburo was directly shot in the head and couldn’t be saved. Everyone knew that he wasn’t stupid enough to take a gun and shoot himself in the temple, but the other Japanese were in a state of disarray and couldn’t explain what happened. Dong Zhi had invited a god into his body, so the entire scene was still hazy to him. Even he himself could not explain it clearly.
A murderer must pay with his life*. The issue was that these people were foreigners, and as such, it could easily cause an international dispute. However, these people were caught in relation to the smuggling and reselling of cultural relics. Besides, what Dong Zhi did was self-defense. Even if they were investigated, it was the Japanese who were guilty, so they wouldn’t be able to make any waves in the end.
*(杀人偿命) Saying that part of (杀人偿命，欠债还钱) A murderer must pay with his life as a debtor pays with money. || In this context, it should be more like an “attempted” murderer.
The most important thing now is the whereabouts of the mirror. If the Japanese wanted the mirror, there must be more to it than just the patterns.
Song Zhicun asked, “What’s so special about that bronze mirror? Why do the Japanese want it so badly?”
Lin Xuan smiled bitterly. “I really don’t know this. In order for me to help find its whereabouts, the Japanese were willing to give up even a dragon scale. It must be of great significance.”
While they were talking, pen and paper were brought in. Dong Zhi wanted to reach out to grab them, but Long Shen had already handed them to him.
“Don’t push yourself,” he said.
“I’m fine.” Dong Zhi smiled at him.
He thought intently for a moment, and then began to draw. Dong Zhi moved quickly, and with a few strokes, he sketched out the general outline. For fear of disturbing his thoughts, Song Zhicun didn’t ask any more questions, and the room was silent.
Half an hour passed quickly before Dong Zhi finally stopped writing.
“It should probably be like this, but there may be some deviations.”
Lin Xuan had also seen the patterns on the bronze mirror. When he glanced at Dong Zhi’s drawing, he found it was basically everything that was on the original mirror. Even the shadows of the ridges on the mountains were reflected accurately. At the edge of the paintings, there were four symbols that looked like Chinese and English, corresponding in pairs.
“What is this?” Long Shen pointed to a small black shadow on the painting.
Dong Zhi: “There should be patina here. On the other hand, I don’t remember the text very well, and the strokes may be missing.”
Long Shen nodded. “It’s okay.”
The characters on it were enough for him to recognize what the characters were.
Lin Xuan said sourly, “The Special Administration Bureau is really hiding dragons and tigers! I will never forget this when I catch anyone from there again!
Kinky Thoughts:
We’re finally done with arc 3. Such a long arc, and the others just keep getting longer…
Dong Zhi repaying back his grudge: Lin Xu: I can draw the patterns as long as you negotiate with me. Dong Zhi: Fuck you, I can do it better and for free! (Bonus, I got to snuggle with my hubby too~)
Also, a big shout out to Crazy Mama for your generous ko-fi donations and support, as well as everyone else. Thank you for your support!
—
Yasakani-no-Magatama One of the Three Sacred Treasures of the Imperial Family. It’s a large magatama that’s been handed down for generations. According to Japanese mythology, the jewel was made by Tamanooya and is an object commonly used to demonstrate status for regional rulers in Japan.
The young man looked like a rogue, with an air of idleness around him. However, in front of Uncle Qian, he had some scruples and didn’t dare to cause trouble.
Uncle Qian lowered his voice. “Why? Have you found a buyer?”
A’Shun said proudly, “The person gave this number!”
He stretched out his hand and gestured with his palm.
Uncle Qian: “Half a million?”
A’Shun: “Are you looking down on me or that mirror? Add another zero!”
Uncle Qian: “Oh, you’re very good. If it’s true, then this is a big deal!”
A’Shun smiled and said, “No need for praise. Since I bothered you this time, I’ll still pay for your hard work.”
Uncle Qian said, “Unfortunately, you’re one step too late and that thing is no longer in my hands.”
A’Shun’s expression changed slightly. “Uncle Qian, my dad has been friends with you for decades. You can’t cheat me!”
Uncle Qian gave him a blank look. “Who’s cheating you? Didn’t you hand it over to me? I couldn’t appraise it, so I sent it to my old friend to help assess it. I just sent it yesterday, and it won’t be back until at least tomorrow.”
A’Shun paused before saying, “Then call them now and help me get it back!”
Uncle Qian said, “Don’t worry. My old friend has seen countless treasures in his life. Do you want him to despise your mirror? It’s just you said three days, so I believed it was three days. Now you’re here asking for it back in advance. What am I supposed to say? I’ll look untrustworthy in front of my old friend. He may just cut off contact with me in the future!”
“But I found a buyer, and I want to sell it now!” A’Shun said anxiously.
Uncle Qian’s tone became displeased. “One or two days later will not make a difference. It’s not like the mirror will turn into glass! Truthfully, according to my speculation, the inscription on the mirror is probably Chinese. If my friend confirms it, let alone that number you’re offered, it can go beyond twice as much! Don’t want to know how much it’s truly worth so you can raise the price higher?”
When A’Shun heard this, a look of hesitation appeared on his face.
Uncle Qian waved his hand. “Okay, listen to me on this. Come back tomorrow morning. I’ll return it intact to you!”
The shop curtain was opened, and a heat wave rushed in from the outside, blowing away the coolness in the room from the air conditioning. Two people walked in.
“Mr. Zheng, how is it?” The other party was wearing a suit and didn’t seem like he was there to shop around for antiques. Rather, he looked like an urban white-collar worker.
A’Shun turned his head and smiled. “Mr. Li, unfortunately, that thing is not in this shop right now.”
The other party frowned. “Why?”
A’Shun said, “It has been sent for appraisal, but I’ll have it back soon. How about we meet here tomorrow in the early morning to make our deal?”
The other party said categorically, “No, we want to buy it now, either that or no deal!”
A’Shun hurriedly said, “Don’t worry. There’s much to be examined. Since I received that thing from someone else, it’s hard to distinguish whether it’s genuine or a fake. Experts have to make an appraisal first. This is also my responsibility to the customer. Otherwise, when you get it later and claim that it’s fake and want me to give you a refund, that’ll put me in a difficult situation. Don’t you think this is reasonable?”
Mr. Li’s expression was indifferent as he said, “I have an early flight tomorrow. Since I have the intention to buy it, I will definitely not regret it. If you can’t get it out now, then I’m sorry, we can only give up on this deal.”
“Wait a minute! Wait a minute!”
Seeing the other party turned around to leave, A’Shun rushed towards him to grab him, but it seemed as if Mr. Li had eyes behind his back. Before A’Shun could touch him, he had already withdrawn his hand to avoid him.
“Uncle Qian, ask your friend to bring it back!” A’Shun urged.
Uncle Qian pretended, “Okay, don’t worry, I’ll go in and make the call. You wait here!”
He gave Dong Zhi a wink. “Nephew, look after the store for me.”
Dong Zhi followed up smoothly. “En, go ahead!”
While Uncle Qian hadn’t told him in advance about this, Dong Zhi still pretended to him and acted dumbfounded. As Uncle Qian turned around and went to the back room, A’Shun was trying to appease Mr. Li and the other person with him. However, their faces remained cold and unmoved, and they didn’t bother looking around the shop at the other antiques.
Dong Zhi smiled and said, “Sirs, we have other antiques in our shop. The goods are genuine. Why don’t you browse around and see if there’s anything you like? The price is quite favorable.”
Mr. Li said arrogantly, “We’re not interested in the things you have here.”
Dong Zhi put on his shopkeeper hat and enthusiastically promoted. “Look at this sword. It’s a sword of Sun Quan during the Three Kingdoms period. It’s very famous, so it’s definitely not a fake replica!”
Hearing Sun Quan’s name, Mr. Li stepped forward and took a look at it before showing an expression of disdain.
“Sun Zhongmou1 had two swords, named Qiangu Sword2 and the Wangu Dagger3. At best this sword is just an ordinary sword so I have no want for it.”
Dong Zhi ignored his remark and said with a smile, “Of course, if it were the Qiangu Sword, it would’ve been sent to a museum for exhibition. How could such an item be in our shop?”
Mr. Li sneered, “It may not be all in museums, right? Aren’t many cultural relics destroyed by Chinese people?”
Dong Zhi pretended to be surprised. “Aren’t you Chinese?”
Mr. Li snorted coldly, neither admitting nor denying it.
Dong Zhi smiled and said, “When it comes to the protection of cultural relics, we are definitely not as good as Japan. Swords from this era are abundant in China. When there are too many cultural relics, it’s inevitable that their protection will be inadequate. Unlike Japan where a sword older than 2,000 years can be regarded as an artifact!”
Mr. Li glanced at him coldly. “Young man, beware of the misinformation coming out of your mouth!”
His attitude more or less confirmed Dong Zhi’s guess that these two people were indeed Japanese and that this Mr. Li most likely wasn’t surnamed Li either. Uncle Qian’s previous judgement was correct. These two Japanese people wanted to buy the bronze mirror, and Dong Zhi boldly speculated that these two people were not the true end-buyers.
While speaking, Uncle Qian came out of the back room and apologized.
“I’m really sorry. The other party is out of town and won’t be back until tomorrow night at the earliest. Perhaps you could come over tomorrow night? The mirror will be here then. How about it?” He blinked innocently as his mouth spat nonsense.
A’Shun said anxiously, “Is your friend reliable?”
Uncle Qian gave him a blank look. “I told you, my old friend is not short of money. If he loses the mirror, I’ll pay you five million, alright?!”
A’Shun looked at Mr. Li. “Well…?”
Mr. Li frowned. “Wait a minute, I’ll make a call.”
A’Shun hurriedly said, “Great!”
Uncle Qian said to Dong Zhi, “Don’t you have to go back to school? Hurry now and go!”
Dong Zhi said, “Then I’m leaving first, uncle. Remember to go to our house for lunch tomorrow at noon!”
Uncle Qian waved his hand. “Got it!”
The street where the antique shop is located was on a pedestrian road. Vehicles weren’t allowed to enter, so Dong Zhi walked towards the road in order to catch a taxi. As he walked, he took out his phone and sent Long Shen a message, saying that he had obtained a bronze mirror for Uncle Qian and there were inscriptions on it, so Uncle Qian had asked him to take it back to him so he could have a look.
When he sent the message out, he switched his phone back to the main interface and heard rapid footsteps coming behind him. Thinking the other party was in a hurry, Dong Zhi turned aside and looked up.
At this moment, there was a tingling on the back of his neck, and the scene in front of him immediately blurred. His shoulder was picked up while he heard an affectionate greeting come into his ears. “Cousin, it’s been so long since I saw you!”
The tone of the voice had a sense of familiarity that it was almost as if it was truly greeting his cousin!
Dong Zhi realized that his opponent’s intention must be related to the bronze mirror, but before he could shout for help, his thoughts fell into complete darkness.
Passersby glanced at him quickly, but at most they only saw what seemed to be someone who had just met an acquaintance and was quickly pulled into a car. Very few people would notice that something was off with this kind of scene.
—
Dong Zhi tried moving his wrist. It hurt a bit. His consciousness slowly returned. He wanted to open his eyes but felt something covering them. He found that he was blindfolded, and his hands were tied.
There was a faint noise coming from outside, seemingly as if it was passing through some kind of barrier. He surmised that he must be in a separate room.
Did the two Japanese people tie him up? The bronze mirror should’ve been taken away by them too. But if they only needed the bronze mirror, why kidnap him and tie him up?
Questions filled his thoughts one by one. Before he had a chance to think about it for too long, he heard the sound of a door opening. Dong Zhi hurriedly remained motionless, pretending to still be unconscious.
“I took the mirror. What are we going to do with this kid?” Someone said.
“Mr. Otowa wants to keep an eye on him.” The voice that sounded this time was Mr. Li. He no longer disguised his voice and his words were blunt.
Dong Zhi was now certain that this guy was Japanese.
But the name Mr. Otowa… Why does it sound so familiar?
“What does Mr. Otowa want with him?”
“That’s not something Mr. Lin can ask.”
The door opened again, and someone else came in. Dong Zhi heard the sound of a bottle of wine pouring into a glass and guessed that someone had brought wine in. As the door opened, there seemed to be the sounds of men and women laughing in the distance.
He guessed that he should be held in some kind of… entertainment club?
“Go out.” This came from the man who had just entered.
“Yes.”
The sound of footsteps was heard, followed by the sound of a door closing.
The man sneered, “Don’t forget, it was I who brought you news of the bronze mirror!”
Mr. Li said, “Mr. Otowa will naturally keep in mind Mr. Lin’s friendship, but we have also paid you handsomely. This should be enough to satisfy you, no?”
The person surnamed Lin said, “The reward is for the bronze mirror, one size to one size*. This kid belongs to the Special Administration Bureau. I can’t just let you take him away. Otherwise, the Special Administration Bureau will come to my door and settle accounts! Are you asking me to be your scapegoat?!”
*(一码归一码) Saying referring to two things that should not be confused with each other/need to be looked at separately.
Has his identity been discovered?
Dong Zhi was shocked but then immediately thought that after he was unconscious, his body most likely would’ve been searched all over, which meant they most likely found his temporary access card to the Special Administration Building, and if this was the case, then the other party most likely knew that he was a practitioner as well.
Mr. Li said, “Last time, someone from the Secret Service seriously injured Mr. Fujikawa and his disciple, which we have a lot of grievances for. Mr. Otowa said that he wanted to make an example to warn the Special Administration Bureau. However, for Mr. Lin’s sake, we can let him go, as long as you help us unlock the secret on the bronze mirror.”
Dong Zhi finally remembered who the Japanese man that he saw in his clairvoyance that time was! It was the middle-aged man name Mr. Otowa, Otowa Hatsuhiko, the president of the Otowa Conglomerate!
When they were in Changbai Mountain, among the people who were with Master Fujikawa, there was also a man named Aso Kenzo, the president of the Aso Consortium. In order to catch a bigger fish, they deliberately let Fujikawa and his apprentice go, so they could spy on them secretly when they returned to Japan. Sure enough, they found Aso’s benefactor was Otowa Hatsuhiko, and they had been in contact with each other multiple times before and after the Changbai Mountain incident.
With what he knew now, he could conclude how the Japanese knew about the bone dragon on Changbai Mountain, and about the bronze mirror, were all related to Otowa Hatsuhiko. He didn’t know any other identities that Otowa Hatsuhiko would have besides being a business mogul, but Long Shen and the others must have known this information…
Thinking about this, Dong Zhi couldn’t help but inwardly smile bitterly. He didn’t know if he could even go back to them.
The conversation between the two continued.
The person, surnamed Lin, yelled, “What wishful thinking! Why should I help you find the secret to this bronze mirror in exchange for this kid?! Our cooperation is over. What does it have to do with me if you want to kill, cut, or do whatever you want with him?”
Dong Zhi couldn’t help feeling anxious. The person surnamed Li didn’t know him, but Master Fujikawa certainly does. He absolutely wouldn’t forget the trouble that he had caused them on Changbai Mountain, and the girl named Kitaichi Eiko assuredly wanted to kill him. His fate will not end well if he falls into their hands.
“But…” Lin’s voice lengthened.
Dong Zhi’s hope was rekindled.
Mr. Lin: “You can’t kill people on Chinese territory. If you want to kill him, you have to take him back to Japan before you can off him.”
Dong Zhi: …
Mr. Li agreed without much thought. “Naturally, of course. Mr. Lin has given us face, so we have to repay in kind.”
The person surnamed Lin suddenly chuckled. “Brother, did you work hard pretending to be unconscious?”
Dong Zhi’s heart missed half a beat. The next second, the black cloth over his eyes was torn away! His eyes, which had become accustomed to the darkness, squinted involuntarily under the sudden light.
Dong Zhi blinked several times to control the tears that wanted to flow out of his eyes. He looked around and saw that he seemed to be in a private room. There was a chandelier above him, and the decorations in the room looked gorgeous.
He sat on one end of a sofa while the other two people sat at the other end. One was Mr. Li, and the other was a strange young man dressed in a tuxedo, looking at him with a smile. He looked as if he was well prepared and was seemingly waiting for him to yell for help.
Dong Zhi looked innocently at them. “Hi*?”
*Clarity: He says this in English.
The young man chuckled.
Mr. Li lowered his face. “Mr. Lin, didn’t he get a sufficient dose of the drug?”
The young man shrugged. “You are all going to take him away. Does it really matter what he hears?”
Seeing his opportunity, Dong Zhi interjected, “Mr. Lin, I will not bore you with empty words about family and country. Since you know I’m from the Special Administration Bureau and the bronze mirror has nothing to do with you, there’s no need to hold me captive, right? The leaders will soon know about my disappearance. When the time comes for them to investigate, you won’t be able to get rid of their suspicion. It’s better to let me go, and I’ll do my best to help you get what you want.”
Mr. Lin sighed and shook his head. “You can’t help me. They have what I want in their hands. Anyways, I didn’t kill you, nor did I take the mirror. I just provided the information. Injustice has a head and a master. If you become a ghost, remember to settle accounts with them, not me.”
Dong Zhi: …
The more he looked at the person surnamed Lin, the more he felt he looked similar to someone.
Dong Zhi suddenly asked, “Do you know Lin Jun?”
The other party was a little surprised. “You know Lin Jun?”
Dong Zhi said, “Last time I went to Yangcheng to do business, I met him. Our friendship is pretty good.”
Of course, this was simply an exaggeration. Lin Jun works for the Guangzhou office and was very enthusiastic about their “friendship”, especially since he considered Dong Zhi a “rising star” who was likely to join the General Administration Bureau, so the two kept in contact after the Yangcheng incident.
The other party smiled and said, “What a coincidence. I am Lin Jun’s cousin. You can call me Lin Xuan.”
Dong Zhi frowned and said, “Lin Jun is also from the Special Administration Bureau, but you’re cooperating with the Japanese. Is the Lin family of Lingnan so two-faced?”
Lin Xuan smiled and said to Mr. Li, “He and my cousin are friends. We should forget about it. Besides, you’ve got your mirror.”
Mr. Li said bluntly, “No! He knows too much. If the Special Administration Bureau knows that the mirror is in our hands, it will cause a lot of trouble. I have to take him away now. You don’t have to worry about it. Mr. Otowa will send someone to deliver the things you want as well as your compensation.”
Lin Xuan raised his hand helplessly to Dong Zhi. “Well, you heard him. He doesn’t want to, and I’ve tried my best. Remember his face, so when you plan to seek revenge, don’t haunt the wrong person.”
The corners of Dong Zhi’s mouth twitched. “Are you not afraid of affecting Lin Jun’s career?”
Lin Xuan smiled and said, “Since you have met my cousin, you should know what kind of person he is. He’s bombastic, yet he’s just ordinary. Even without me, he’ll be kicked out sooner or later…”
The man surnamed Li became impatient listening to their prattle, so he stretched out his hand towards Dong Zhi, intending to grab him.
Dong Zhi had already secretly broken the rope behind his back and was pretending as if he was still bound. Seeing Mr. Li’s movement at this moment, he naturally couldn’t pretend any longer, so he quickly took out a Sunlight Talisman from his pocket and threw it at his opponent!
Everything happened within a flash, before a question popped into his mind. ‘Since Lin Xuan had searched him, why did he still have a Sunlight Talisman on him?’
He didn’t have time to think about the answer. The talisman turned into fire and flew towards Mr. Li’s face, causing him to take a half step back.
Dong Zhi took this opportunity to rush to the door!
He didn’t bring the Changshou Sword out today. Since he was having a meal, and only temporarily wanted to visit Uncle Qian, he thought having a sword on him was too eye-catching. He didn’t expect that something like this would happen to him, but if the Changshou Sword was here, it would’ve been found and taken away when he was searched.
At that moment, many thoughts flashed in his mind, and it finally boiled down to one: ‘Can he hold on until reinforcements come?’
He didn’t notice that Lin Xuan remained seated on the sofa the entire time, lowering his head to drink tea, as if he didn’t witness the scene that just happened right in front of him. He neither stopped Dong Zhi nor helped the person surnamed Li chase him.
—
When Long Shen received the text message from Dong Zhi, he didn’t pay much attention to it. Old Qian from the antique shop often asked him for his help in identifying antiques, so it wasn’t unusual for him. However, an hour later, Old Qian called and asked if he had received the mirror, and Long Shen found that something was wrong.
He tried calling Dong Zhi, but it didn’t connect, and he didn’t respond back to his text messages either. It’s absolutely impossible for Dong Zhi to have run away with the mirror. The only answer that remained was that he had been taken away and was in an involuntary situation.
Long Shen didn’t delay for a moment and immediately mobilized the surveillance team. It was easy to find the surveillance footage based on the time when Dong Zhi had sent him that text message.
The quality of the video wasn’t high. It showed a vague image of a person stepping forward to hold Dong Zhi on the shoulder, then taking him into the car. From the video, it looks as if he just met a friend and followed him, but a professional can easily tell that something was off.
“He was knocked out and taken away!” Song Zhicun, who watched the video with him, exclaimed.
Long Shen said to the employees of the IT department of the bureau, “The license plate number can be clearly seen. Run it through our system.”
The employees did not dare neglect their work and hurriedly ran the plates to dig up information.
Song Zhicun comforted him, “Don’t worry too much. According to Old Qian, they most likely just want the bronze mirror and wouldn’t hurt him.”
Long Shen didn’t lose his demeanor, but Song Zhicun knew that Dong Zhi was a promising candidate for groups one and two, and now he was suddenly kidnapped. Such a thing was quite upsetting. What’s more, Dong Zhi could be considered at least half a member of the Special Administration Bureau, but he had made it clear that he wanted to join the Special Administration Bureau cleanly and had not once taken advantage of this fact. It was clear that he wanted to join fairly and had wholeheartedly intended to pursue this to the very end.
Once the state machinery was in operation, the efficiency was not surprising. The license plate number came back, and the location of the car was quickly obtained. The plate was registered in the name of a company that engages in the cultural industry, or bluntly put, an entertainment club. The legal owner is surnamed Yue, which is a rare surname, but as far as Long Shen knows, it’s the surname of the wife of Lin Ji, the head of the Lin family of Lingnan.
They also traced the destination of the car to the entertainment club.
If they really wanted to, the Lin family could definitely kidnap someone seamlessly without leaving so many flaws. However, since this incident happened so suddenly, it was too late to analyze it. Long Shen immediately got up and walked out.
Song Zhicun hurriedly grabbed him. “Boss Long, are you just going to waltz in their front door?”
“Perhaps Dong Zhi and the bronze mirror are there.” Long Shen said.
Song Zhicun hesitated and said, “The Lin family of Lingnan has many contacts. Could it be someone is pretending to be them? Shouldn’t we report to the boss first?”
Long Shen said lightly, “For this matter, the sooner we act, the better.”
Song Zhixuan wanted to say something, but Long Shen had already walked out.
“Wait, I’ll come with you!” Song Zhicun shouted, feeling that Long Shen was being impatient. However, he also knew very well how ignorant Director Jiang was and would love to report to the upper level. However, by the time the instructions came down, the cucumber would already be cold.
In this regard, Long Shen and Wu Bingtian had always done better than him, who usually stuck closer to the rules. He bitterly smiled inwardly and hurriedly walked out.
“Boss Song!” Chi Banxia came running from the other end of the corridor, panting. “I have a question I want to ask you. Is it convenient for you?”
Song Zhicun waved his hand. “We can talk in the car. Let’s go!”
Chi Banxia followed in confusion.
At this time, Dong Zhi was embroiled in a battle. He didn’t expect that when he rushed out of the room, it was just the start.
There were more than a dozen people guarding outside the door. Up to six of them seemed to be from the same group as the person surnamed Li. Said person shouted a few words in Japanese loudly, and suddenly they all pounced on him. Lin Xuan’s people stood at the side and did not intervene, as they didn’t plan to help Dong Zhi nor the Japanese.
The club was extremely large. What’s even more troublesome was that the passages were built like a maze. Through seven or eight twists and turns, he still caught no signage. If guests were to come here and were not guided by the staff, it’s estimated that they would never find a way out.
He panicked as he didn’t know which way to go, so he could only randomly choose a random spot and rushed in as the other party was in hot pursuit.
The Sunlight Talisman and Thunder Talismans are powerful at dealing with demons and ghosts, but completely useless at handling ordinary humans. If he had known he would be kidnapped and trapped here, he should have learned a few more tricks from Ba Sang!
But then again, even if he could match four palms with both fists*, against this current number, he most likely could only admit defeat.
*Reminder: The original idiom is two fists can’t match four palms and refers to being outnumbered. He changed the wording a bit to say he can fight against more than one, but even in that situation, he certainly can’t defeat six people, so he’s still outnumbered.
The most hateful person, though, wasn’t the Japanese, but Lin Xuan. He didn’t know what kind of benefit the Japanese had given him, but he actually turned his elbows out* to help outsiders attack his own people.
*(胳膊肘往外拐) Has a derogatory meaning referring to selfishness/a person who can’t tell right from wrong, while the positive meaning is selflessness. It also refers to helping outsiders (the Japanese) instead of their own (Chinese). Obviously, he’s referring to the former.
While running, Dong Zhi couldn’t help imagining the soles of his feet stepping on Lin Xun’s head so he could greet the cats, dogs, rabbits, and turtles.
Kinky Thoughts:
Dong Zhi sure can bear a grudge. Don’t worry, your hubby is coming to rescue you!
Xichuan Prefecture No. 2 Junior High was full of people today. More than 3,000 people gathered as they sat on the benches of the new playground. The playground was surrounded by banners and colorful balloons. On the podium, the dean was holding a microphone as he directed orders.
Xiao Yu, a third year, secretly pulled her best friend’s arm. “Bai Qingquan is coming. Come with me to the gate. Fan Hong and the others in the next class have already run over.”
“Won’t he sit on the podium when the meeting is held?”
“That’s too far away. Don’t you want to see him up closer? It’s Bai Qingquan!”
She successfully persuaded her best friend, and the two quietly left the playground arm in arm.
It was chaotic today because everyone knew Bai Qingquan was coming. Many people had come to the school today so they could see him. It was the first time that a big star rose from a small county, and it was their own Xichuan County!
The two of them ran to the gate and saw dozens of girls already gathered there, waiting for Bai Qingquan. The conference was about to begin, so Bai Qingquan should arrive shortly.
They waited at the gate for a few minutes when suddenly a scream from the office building was heard. Xiao Yu turned to look and saw a group of people swarming over.
It turned out that Bai Qingquan had arrived a long time ago and gone to the principal’s office.
“Bai Qingquan, Bai Qingquan, Bai Qingquan!”
People surrounded him as they shouted his name. Xiao Yu loosened her grip on her friend’s hand and kept squeezing into the crowd. Bai Qingquan was wearing a long down jacket and a baseball cap. The brim of the hat was very low, and he was dressed extremely low-key, but he still looked dazzling to her.
His face was fair and small, matching the size of his head. His shoulders were wide, and his body was long. When he smiled, it was like a spring breeze that caused flowers to bloom wherever he went.
How could there be such a good-looking person like this in this world? Compared with the boys in their class who can’t even dress, this was like an immortal, descending to earth. For the first time in her life, she saw a real star, and only one thought came to her mind: stunning!
“Senior Bai Qingquan!” she shouted excitedly.
Hearing this, Bai Qingquan glanced at her with a smile and said, “Hello, junior*.”
*(学妹) Refers to girls that are younger than their own grade in school. (Though he’s no longer in school, he’s still an alumnus).
Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.
Bai Qingquan actually responded to her!
Xiao Yu almost fainted from excitement and looked back at her best friend with a flushed face. “Did you hear?! Did you hear?!”
Her best friend, though, ignored her and only excitedly followed the crowd towards Bai Qingquan.
Several security guards surrounded Bai Qingquan as they walked towards the new playground. The school leaders and other honorary alumni followed with smiles, looking at the group of crazed students in front of them.
These days, being a big official in scientific research wasn’t as good as being a celebrity.
There was a small stand on the north side of the school’s playground, and the podium was located on it. Bai Qingquan stopped at the entrance and turned back to wait for the dean and the rest. Many students on the playground recognized him as someone shouted “Bai Qingquan”, causing him to smile as he waved his hands towards them.
The whole playground became restless suddenly, especially the girls, who screamed excitedly.
After the dean and the others got on the podium, Bai Qingquan followed and took a seat. At his own request, he sat in the center-left position behind two seniors. They were both graduates from here. One was a senior government official, while the other was a well-known professor who graduated from Fudan University*.
*Extremely prestigious university in China.
These two were good students who were diligent in their studies, while he was just a slacker who couldn’t learn properly.
The reason he agreed to participate in this celebration was because it was the 50th anniversary of his alma mater. Furthermore, the school leaders had been sincere in inviting him because of the scholarships and grants he had sent up for the school, which would begin being distributed this year. While there weren’t many scholarships—six in a year—there were more grants, which were the focus of his funding this time. From the first year of junior high to the third year, he selected 60 poor students every year, in addition to the six who won scholarships, and provided a considerable amount of financial aid.
Bai Qingquan said on stage, “Before I came here today, I saw someone comment on me online saying that I was a slacker and didn’t go to high school. Now that I’m a big star with both fame and fortune, isn’t it ironic for me to encourage students to study hard?”
There was a burst of laughter in the audience, and Bai Qingquan also smiled. “I don’t know if any of you younger brothers and sisters here will have the same idea, but I want to tell you that even though I am in the showbiz industry, I have been attacked for my family background and my lack of education. I have always felt that if I learn more and possess more knowledge, I might be even more successful and do better. Therefore, I hope that every junior brother and sister can cherish and enjoy their campus lives. Your junior high era is a really hard and beautiful time that will be unforgettable for all of your life.”
His speech was read from a manuscript that was written in part by his team and in part by him. After he finished reading, he talked about the scholarships and grants, the main focus of his trip.
“I come from a family with poor conditions. When I was in school, I witnessed many students around me drop out of school early to work because of poverty. While living conditions have improved and our county has shed the stigma of being a poor county, there are still many poor families who cannot afford to send their children to school. After I heard about it, I wanted to do my part. Anyone who goes to No. 2 Junior High, regardless of whether they are a freshman or senior, regardless of their grades, as long as their family conditions are difficult, they can apply for financial aid. I’ve talked with Principal Liu, and he also promised me that this payment is absolutely transparent and fair. I hope that every child in Xichuan County, both boys and girls, will spend their youth on campus.”
Shi Lei stood in the far corner of the playground, looking at the podium. The winter sun shone warmly on Bai Qingquan. He was so far away that he couldn’t see his face clearly, but sitting among a group of middle-aged men, his skin was particularly glowing.
He and Bai Qingquan were both people who had dropped out of school. He felt that Bai Qingquan was beautiful and kind hearted. His heart was as pure and graceful as his appearance.
Since meeting, Bai Qingquan has become a fairy in his mind. Real people are always more attractive than they look on screen.
Just by looking at him, his heart was beating violently, and it would react when he thought that he could get him one day. He felt that Bai Qingquan’s existence was unspeakable and clearly regarded him as a god, but he wanted to drag him back into the world.
After the celebration conference was held, it was half past eleven. Today, all the food in the cafeteria was free, and the food was extremely rich. After Bai Qingquan, the school leader, and others finished lunch, he went back to the Bai’s house again and then took a car back to Nancheng with his team.
Before going back, he didn’t go to see Shi Lei. He only sent him a message and asked him to meet in Nancheng.
He hadn’t even arrived in Nancheng yet when Shen Jintai called him several times in a row. Today was December 11th, which was his birthday. This was a date that even the moonlight powders didn’t know about, and it was also the first time in the past few years that Bai Qingquan would celebrate it on this day.
Shen Jintai didn’t make an appointment with outsiders; only Zheng Siqi. When he was about to go out, he asked Yan Qiuchi, “Are you really not going?”
“I think Bai Qingquan is a little afraid of me, and he’s uncomfortable when I go. I’ll let the three of you get together. Call me before you leave, and I’ll pick you up.”
Yan Qiuchi had made an appointment with Shen Ruhai and his wife for dinner today.
Bai Qingquan’s real birthday has always been kept secret from the outside world, so it couldn’t be celebrated on a grand scale, but Shen Jintai also did his best to organize it in a different way. According to Bai Qingquan’s request, besides these two, only Zheng Siqi would be invited.
However, celebrating a birthday was obviously no longer the focus. The focus was on the senior Bai Qingquan, whom he met again.
“Senior? Which senior?” Zheng Siqi asked.
“When Qingquan used to go to school, a senior chased him,” Shen Jintai said. “After many years, he actually met him again when he returned to his alma mater this time.”
“What does this mean? Are you going to fall in love?” Zheng Siqi asked.
Bai Qingquan said, “No, no, I just didn’t expect to meet him when I went back this time.”
Although the three of them are good friends, he still treated Zheng Siqi and Shen Jintai a bit differently. Zheng Siqi was relatively simple and upright, and he’s straight. The shadow of his alt incident was still there, so he paid great attention to his image in front of Zheng Siqi. However, Shen Jintai was different. He regards him as a sister, so he would tell him anything.
He plans to wait until it’s just the two of them before having a good chat with Shen Jintai.
The three of them haven’t worked recently, so they drank uncontrollably. In the end, they got too drunk to even eat cake. They lay there drunkenly on the sofa, resting and leaning against each other. It felt like they were having some shady party, so much so that when Yan Qiuchi came to pick them up, he saw the colorful lights flashing and balloons floating all over the ceiling that his face blackened.
The cups and plates on the table were a mess, as if it were a forest of wine and meat.
Both Bai Qingquan and Zheng Siqi were a little afraid of Yan Qiuchi, as he always appeared relatively upright and noble in front of them. Zheng Siqi took the lead, sat up, and patted Shen Jintai to rouse him. As a result, he accidentally touched Shen Jintai’s ass, causing Yan Qiuchi’s face to turn even darker before he said, “Why did you drink so much?”
“We didn’t drink much. It’s just… the three of us have an average alcohol tolerance,” Zheng Siqi said.
Shen Jintai and Bai Qingquan also sat up. As soon as Shen Jintai saw Yan Qiuchi, he smiled and stretched out his arms to hug him. When Yan Qiuchi went over to help him, he put his arms around Yan Qiuchi’s waist and looked up at him with a flushed face. “My husband is here.”
Yan Qiuchi’s ears were flushed with this call. While Zheng Siqi didn’t feel anything, Bai Qingquan was shocked because, in his mind, he felt Shen Jintai displayed a very gonglike aura just now.
He always thought that he was more of a heroic sister!
Yan Qiuchi pretended to be calm and said, “Let’s go. I’m here to pick you up.”
As he said, he helped Shen Jintai up. Of the three of them, Shen Jintai was obviously the most drunk and couldn’t stand upright.
“How are you two getting back?” Yan Qiuchi asked, “Do you want me to send a car for you?”
“No, no, we all have drivers,” Zheng Siqi said.
“Then I will take him first.” Yan Qiuchi glanced at the screen in front of him. The screen was still playing songs automatically. He didn’t know who ordered “Qinghu Mei“. Not to mention the seductress singing it, the lyrics were quite inappropriate for children as she sang provocatively, “Shake, shake.”
He frowned and carried Shen Jintai away on his shoulders.
Bai Qingquan looked back in amazement.
Yan Qiuchi walked into the corridor outside, only to realize that this would not work, so he put Shen Jintai down again. Shen Jintai was standing against the wall, his body almost limp. Yan Qiuchi pressed him with one hand, quickly took off his coat, wrapped Shen Jintai up like a bag, then carried him again.
As Shen Jintai was lying on Yan Qiuchi’s shoulders, his face shrank into his coat as he vaguely saw a little light, and suddenly, he twisted and said, “Ah, what are you doing? I told you to let me rest today…”
“Be good,” Yan Qiuchi slapped him on the ass, and he immediately quieted down.
After putting Shen Jintai in the car, Yan Qiuchi pulled off his coat and threw it in the back seat. He fastened Shen Jintai’s seat belt and said, “It’s more difficult to get you to call me husband than to ascend to heaven. Today, you just opened your mouth in front of outsiders.”
If he knew it would be this easy, he would’ve gotten Shen Jintai to drink before going to bed.
Shen Jintai smiled stupidly at him; his eyes were in a daze.
“Didn’t I tell you that you are not allowed to drink alcohol while I’m not there, let alone get drunk?” Yan Qiuchi asked.
Shen Jintai tilted his head and said, “But you are here.”
Yan Qiuchi: “Where am I? Did you drink too much, and your husband call was said mistakenly?”
“You are in my heart,” Shen Jintai drunkenly said words of love.
Yan Qiuchi: “…”
Well, although he was drunk, saying such clever words succeeded in pleasing him. However, usually in bed, he would ask Shen Jintai to call him husband, but Shen Jintai would shake like a sieve and refuse to utter the word. So far, he had only called him that twice, and that was only when he was pushed to the edge, so it wasn’t really enjoyable.
No matter how much he coaxed him to scream it every time, Shen Jintai’s mouth was still hard to move.
Yan Qiuchi was full of excitement when he heard it.
“Who am I? Do you still know me?”
“Yan Qiuchi.”
“Who is Yan Qiuchi?”
Shen Jintai said, “Yan Qiuchi… That is… That is Yan Qiuchi.”
“Who is Yan Qiuchi?”
“My husband.”
Yan Qiuchi’s eyebrows tightened, and he whispered, “So good.”
He felt that he should take Shen Jintai home quickly, and he would be able to listen to him say it a few more times tonight.
Yan Qiuchi felt refreshed when he thought of this and hurriedly drove home, afraid that Shen Jintai would fall asleep and wouldn’t call him that anymore. Shen Jintai was lost in a daze, and his consciousness gradually recovered. He probably noticed Yan Qiuchi’s intentions, so he lowered his head and said inarticulately, “Gege, you already gave it to me… Let… Let me take a vacation.”
Shi Lei not only knew that he liked men but also knew that he really wanted to eat…
Ahhhhhhhhhhh.
“You can send me here,” Bai Qingquan said. “You drank so much so you should go back and rest. I’m also familiar with the road here, so I can head back by myself.”
Shi Lei didn’t know what he was thinking in his heart. He just wanted to stay with him for a while longer, so he said, “It’s fine.”
“No, really. It’s not like I’m a girl and it’s unsafe here,” Bai Qingquan said. “It’s so cold so I don’t want to bother you.
“I want to send you,” Shi Lei said.
Bai Qingquan was taken aback for a moment. Shi Lei rubbed his nose with the hand that was holding a cigarette and looked straight at him. Bai Qingquan was speechless.
He felt that Shi Lei’s words had been very ambiguous. He turned around and continued to walk forward. Shi Lei followed him closely and slowly. The two were silent for a long time when Bai Qingquan suddenly turned his head and asked, “How many cigarettes have you smoked?”
“This is the last one,” Shi Lei said.
This was the last conversation between the two of them as they walked along the way until Shi Lei escorted him to the entrance of the hotel. Before heading in, Bai Qingquan said, “Call a taxi.”
“Got it. You can go in.” Shi Lei asked, “When I return to Nancheng, can I contact you?”
Bai Qingquan smiled and said, “Of course.”
Shi Lei nodded, then gently waved his hand, turned around, and walked back.
“Shi Lei,” Bai Qingquan stopped him.
Shi Lei turned his head, and Bai Qingquan gave him a smile. “It’s nice to see you again.”
After Bai Qingquan finished speaking, he walked towards the hotel without looking back. Shi Lei was taken aback for a while, then smiled, his eyes were especially bright. This one sentence was enough for him to be happy for several days.
When Bai Qingquan entered the hotel gate, he saw his assistant Xiao Feng lying down and looking out the glass window.
“Why are you here?”
“Uncle Bai called us and said that you went to dinner with your friends. I didn’t know if you were drinking, so I was planning to go have a look,” Xiao Feng said, then glanced out and asked, “Who’s that?”
“A friend,” Bai Qingquan said.
Xiao Feng said, “Did you walk back?”
Bai Qingquan let out a “Nn” and looked out. When Shi Lei walked across the road, he stopped and stood on the sidewalk, looking towards the hotel.
After returning to the room, Bai Qingquan took a shower before heading to bed. Feeling a little too excited, he was unable to sleep. He felt tempted. He looked forward to falling in love with a man every day, but when it came to reality at that point, it seemed that he could only talk and nod and feel uneasy, sensing that his feelings were moving too fast.
He wasn’t prepared at all, and meeting Shi Lei again wasn’t in his plan. He thought it was impossible for the two of them to meet again in this life.
Closing his eyes, he visualized Shi Lei’s face. What he remembers the most clearly was Shi Lei’s nose. He thought Shi Lei was more handsome than the average passerby. He has a good temperament and is very manly. His nose was the most prominent part of his facial feature. He’s also tall, strong, and muscular to boot.
He heard that with a big and straight nose, it meant that things weren’t so simple*. Wuwuwu, thinking about such a thought, made his heart hot.
*Clarity: It means he also has a big dick, though this is completely unscientific as there’s no correlation between nose size and dick size (same goes for hand/feet size).
Suddenly, the phone buzzed. He quickly looked at it, and sure enough, it was a text sent by Shi Lei. The messages said: [Good night.]
The light from the phone screen lit up his eyes. Bai Qingquan thought for a while before replying: [En.]
After replying, he plucked up the courage to search for news about his alt. After it was exposed, he deleted everything as soon as possible. However, netizens had screenshotted many of his posts and spread them widely. It wasn’t difficult to find them. As the most embarrassing memory in his life, he usually tried not to think about it. Now that he had found it and started reading about it, he reluctantly threw his phone aside after only reading two articles.
With so much content from his alt, netizens had to pick and choose what to capture and spread. Some picked out his most rambling and outspoken content; some picked out his complaints about celebrities in the circle, while others meticulously started categorizing them.
For example, a blogger he just found posted such on Weibo with the text: [What day is most suitable for Bai Qingquan to papapa?]
It was followed by a screenshot of his Weibo:
[It’s snowing and it’s so cold. This weather is suitable for papapa. My husband should hold me tightly, wuwuwuwu.]
[It’s raining, so it’s not cold or hot. This kind of weather is suitable for papapa.]
With the spring season here, it’s the time for annual mating. This kind of season is suitable for papapa.]
[It’s really hot today. In fact, in this weather, you can have steamy papapa. You can exercise and detoxify from the perspiration!]
There was also a Weibo post with the text: [Where is the most suitable place for Bai Qingquan to papapa?]
The screenshot attached:
[Today, my colleagues and I went to Tyumen Mountain to take pictures. The air was fresh, and the scenery was good, with dense forest everywhere. It’s really a good place for field combat.]
[Because of work reasons, I stay in hotels all year round. The hotel where I’m currently staying has an oversized floor-to-ceiling window. If I have a man in the future, I must papapa in front of such a window.]
[Sometimes I think that the dirtier the place, the more suitable it is for papapa. For example, in a small hotel with poor sound insulation and particularly creaky beds is most suitable for dirty things to happen.]
[Today’s hot searches are amazing. It’s shameful that some people like to papapa in the fitting room where clothes are sold, but I understand their point!]
Not to mention his [Three days and three nights] and [Lift him up].
Since he had a strong desire to talk, he would post dozens of microblogs a day. Not only that, when he saw hot searches, he would also post comments, and occasionally would post celebrity gossip, his social life, and even trivial matters in his life. The alt had nearly over a thousand small posts. In fact, the proportion of the particularly crude and inappropriate remarks was very low, adding up only to a few dozen, but the netizens had condensed them all into a list, which made them stand out a lot more than they should.
Did Shi Lei see these too?
Bai Qingquan covered his head with a pillow.
—
Shi Lei was lying on the bed, hesitating whether to send another message to Bai Qingquan. He actually wanted to find a topic to continue chatting, such as sending a message and asking: [Are you asleep?]
However, it was very late now, and most likely Bai Qingquan was already asleep.
He liked Bai Qingquan, but the same couldn’t be said about the latter’s feelings. He was now more determined than before. After years of hard work, he could withstand any blow, except if he was called a “pervert” again like when he was a teenager.
Finally, there was also the possibility that Bai Qingquan would ignore him when he contacted him.
He tapped the screen with his finger and opened a photo album. Hidden in the deepest part, there were screenshots of Bai Qingquan’s alt. He was a pervert. In the days when he missed Bai Qingquan the most, he used to fantasize about the contents of Bai Qingquan’s alt.
He would fantasize that he and Bai Qingquan were in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, in the wild grass, when it was raining and when it was snowing, and he would be the man who satisfied all of Bai Qingquan’s desires.
While many moonlight powders abandoned Bai Qingquan because of this, since they felt that Bai Qingquan’s exposed side was too different from his clean and pure image, he, while shocked at first, only felt excited after.
Perhaps it was due to his filter. He wasn’t affected by the concentrated screenshots pushed by marketing accounts. He only saw the true side of Bai Qingquan that occasionally would peep out from nearly a thousand posts. As an ordinary young man, Bai Qingquan should possess emotions and desires. It turned out that he could hate someone, cry, laugh, and also secretly curse them and at the end of the day, wanted to release his carnal desire in the dead of night.
As an idol, this kind of image would be out of place, but as the object of his admiration, he felt that Bai Qingquan had suddenly become alive and real. He was no longer the dazzling beauty on screen who was some kind of ethereal being that was removed from the real world.
There was also a screenshot where his alt said that when he falls in love, he only looks at whether the person loves him or not, regardless of the other party’s profession or wealth. He only wanted to pursue a pure love.
Shi Lei felt that he could satisfy Bai Qingquan. There is no one in the world who loves Bai Qingquan more paranoidly and obsessively than him. The love of a teenager, after years of bitterness, had now only become hotter and scarier. Because he loves Bai Qingquan, he has already become corrupted by it.
As for the physical aspect, he was confident in all aspects and could satisfy all the wishes of Bai Qingquan’s alt.
—
Bai Qingquan dreamed that night. Since it was on his mind all day, it influenced him to dream about it at night. He dreamed that he had gone back many years, when he was still in junior high. Shi Lei had followed him to and from school. When he glanced back, Shi Lei would raise his chin and look at him with a ruffian smile.
He quickly turned his head, holding the strap of his backpack in his hand. Shi Lei quickly walked a few steps to follow him and asked, “Aren’t you cold when you wear so little?”
Bai Qingquan said, “It’s not cold.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Shi Lei suddenly stretched out his hand and grabbed his hand. He shrank quickly and took his hand back. Shi Lei said, “But your hands are so cold. Are you really not cold? Is your aunt abusing you? She didn’t even buy you a jacket.”
As he said it, he took off his backpack and stuffed it into his hand.
Bai Qingquan didn’t know what he was going to do, so he took the bag for him. Shi Lei unzipped his jacket with a loud “snap” and took it off. He then took the schoolbag back with one hand and threw the jacket to Bai Qingquan with the other. “Here. I’ll give it to you.”
The jacket still carried the heat from Shi Lei’s body, as well as the faint smell of sweat.
Suddenly someone rode over with a bicycle and rang the bell. Shi Lei looked back and hooked his hand. When the person rode up to him, he stepped on the bike, and it sped off.
“Hey, your jacket!” Bai Qingquan shouted.
Shi Lei sat in the back seat of his buddy’s bicycle, and they drove off in the blink of an eye.
He didn’t wear the jacket. Early the next morning, he took it with him and waited early around the spot where Shi Lei would always wait for him. At 5:30 AM, the sky was still dark. Shi Lei ran over, panting, with his bag on his back. When he saw him, he was taken aback before saying, “Yo. Are you waiting for this brother?”
“Your jacket,” Bai Qingquan said.
“Just use it,” Shi Lei said. “I have strong body heat.”
Bai Qingquan stuffed the jacket into his arms, turned around, and walked towards school. Shi Lei followed behind as he put on his jacket.
Later…
Later, Shi Lei would kiss him, and he would scold him for this, and the two never met again.
Later, Shi Lei would leave home and go to work in the city.
In the winter of the year, after Shi Lei left for his job, at noon one day, the school’s communications room notified Bai Qingquan that he had gotten a package. It was a parcel with no sender on it. He took it home, and when he opened it, he found that it was a Bosideng jacket.
When Bai Qingquan woke up from his sleep, his eyes were moist. He didn’t know what was wrong. He turned his head and buried it in his pillow and cried for a while.
The author has something to say:
A chapter that is half desire and half pure.
Kinky Thoughts:
Oh my. This pairing is poking my heart in all the right places. The innocent, pure love of their youth is so bittersweet.
Chapter 197: Do You Know the Other Side of the Fairy?
Bai Qingquan was surprised. After so many years, he was still the person that Shi Lei had loved in his youth. Looking through a time filter, this poked his heart even more. Someone who had liked him so consistently for all this time, as long as Bai Qingquan didn’t hate him, couldn’t help but feel moved.
On one hand, Xiang Zi felt distressed for his friend due to his infatuation, and on the other hand, he felt that Shi Lei and Bai Qingquan were unlikely to get together.
Bai Qingquan was a star; a big, well-known star. His identity as a celebrity in and of itself would already establish a sense of distance. They could only be seen from afar and not be blasphemed.
“How long are you planning to stay here this time?” he asked Bai Qingquan.
“I’m going back tomorrow,” Bai Qingquan said.
“You haven’t been back for many years, right?”
“I’m too busy with work,” Bai Qingquan said. “I don’t have much time to rest year-round. If it wasn’t for the 50th anniversary of my alma mater this time, I probably wouldn’t be back.”
“You are a big star in our school and in Xichuan County,” Xiang Zi said. “We have all watched <The East Palace is Coming> and I have also watched your new movies in the cinema.”
“Is there a cinema in our county?” Bai Qingquan asked.
“It was built three years ago, and now there are three of them. They are on the other side of the Trade City… Oh, yes. You may not know about Trade City. A few years ago, a commercial center was built opposite Xinhua Supermarket.”
Bai Qingquan hadn’t been back for too long. He would only occasionally visit his uncle and aunt, but usually leave in a hurry. He hadn’t even realized all the changes in his county.
“The development of the county in the past two years has been quite rapid,” Shi Lei said next to him.
“How about you? When will you go back?” Xiang Zi asked him.
Shi Lei said, “Just here for these two days.”
“New Year’s coming, so your company should be very busy, right?” Xiang Zi said, “I called you a few days ago and you were so busy, but I didn’t expect you to come back suddenly.”
After he finished speaking, he glanced at Bai Qingquan faintly. Bai Qingquan was drinking soup with his eyes lowered, holding the bowl with his slender and thin fingers.
The change was truly great. Xiang Zi had seen him during their school years. At that time, Bai Qingquan was the uncrowned beauty of their school, but at that time, he didn’t know how to dress and was a bit too cowardly. Now, he looked so vigorous that it didn’t seem like he would be someone to come out of a poor place like this. It was as if he had been born elite and rich.
There was a clean smell coming from inside out.
All three understood the meaning behind what Xiang Zi said. Shi Lei only smiled and didn’t speak, while Bai Qingquan was the same, but his heart was beating rapidly. Shi Lei had come back for him.
He was touched. He originally had love in the brain and easily fell in love. Shi Lei’s emotional persistence had warmed his heart. Thinking that he had been in love with him all these years and had come back specifically for him made his heart a bit sad.
Xiang Zi didn’t stay long. “It’s getting late, so I’ll head back first. You two can keep talking.”
Shi Lei got up, and he hurriedly stretched out his hand and motioned. “I’ll call you later.”
As he said it, he looked at Bai Qingquan before saying, “I’ll send you off.”
Bai Qingquan also got up and watched him leave before sitting down again. He had finished his bowl of soup. Shi Lei asked, “Would you like another bowl?”
“I’m good,” Bai Qingquan said. “I should go back too.”
Shi Lei got up to pay the bill, and Bai Qingquan waited for him at the door. After settling the bill, Shi Lei put on his jacket, buttoned up the hat on his head, and said, “It’s so cold here.”
After being in the fields for a long time, when he returned to his hometown, he felt that the winter here was drier and colder.
“Did you drink too much?” Bai Qingquan asked.
He felt Shi Lei’s walking was slightly staggered.
Shi Lei smiled and said, “A little bit. I drank too much with Xiang Zi today.”
The two drank nearly two bottles of baiju. The amount of alcohol was quite amazing.
“Where are you going back now?” Shi Lei asked.
“The hotel.”
“It’s a bit far away.”
“That’s fine. I can get some exercise in.”
“Then I will send you,” Shi Lei said.
Bai Qingquan smiled and asked, “Are you okay?”
“I’m okay. I only had a few drinks,” Shi Lei took out his cigarette and lighter as he said this. This time he looked at Bai Qingquan and asked, “Is it okay?”
“I’m good. You can smoke yours.” He didn’t hate the smell of smoke, and he inexplicably thought that men who smoked were very manly.
Shi Lei’s cigarette-lighting action was still very skillful. The fire from the lighter illuminated his eyes. With just the right roughness and ruffian look, he took a breath, consciously moved to the lower vent, and walked along the street with Bai Qingquan to Renmin Road.
“There are street lights here now,” Bai Qingquan said.
“It was installed the year before last.”
Then the two of them were silent for a while.
The air was a bit ambiguous, and he didn’t know what to say. Bai Qingquan put his hands in his pockets and walked silently. A few teenage boys walked over on the opposite side, laughing. Their voices were particularly crisp in the middle of the night. When they came face-to-face, Bai Qingquan was afraid of being recognized, so he slightly tilted his head towards Shi Lei and waited for the group of boys to pass. After they passed him, he gave them a glance and smiled.
They should all be students from No. 2 Junior High.
He was only 24 yet he had begun to envy these teenage students when he saw them. Youth was really beautiful. For these kids now, their youth was much better than his back then.
After another while, Bai Qingquan asked, “What exactly do you do?”
“I first started working under a master who did decoration work. Later I started a small company with a friend called Livable Decorations,” Shi Lei said.
Bai Qingquan nodded and said, “It’s good to be your own boss. I sometimes… occasionally think, and still think, about how you are now and how’s your life.”
Just like most boys in their hometown, they would go to work after junior high, and when they hit their early twenties, they would come back for a matchmaking, get married, then return to work. Children and the elderly were the main people in their hometown, but it was impossible for people to work for a lifetime. When this generation of migrant workers reached their elderly age, they couldn’t keep up with the times and would be gradually eliminated. At that time, their children would also be married, so with no work, they returned to their hometown to take care of the grandchildren.
Such a life was the fate of the elderly here, and there were too many people resigned to this fate. It was impossible to say whether they deserved sympathy or not or whether they were miserable or not, but he always remembered a sentence in his junior high politics textbook that stated that the highest goal of society is the free and comprehensive development of human beings.
There were many people in this world who had a freer and more developed life, and he hoped that Shi Lei would have that kind of life, just like him*.
*Clarity: He’s saying that most people in his hometown only have one road. They go to work after junior high, get married, have kids, and once they get old, return to their hometown to take care of their kids while their own kids go to work. Rinse and repeat for each generation. He hopes that this isn’t the life for Shi Lei and that it will be similar to his, where he took a different path and had more freedom from this “fate”. Whether or not these people’s lives are pitiful or miserable, well, only they can tell you, but as the saying goes, ignorance is bliss.
“Do you think of me occasionally?” Shi Lei asked.
Bai Qingquan: “Nn. To many people, you are the kind of person who will never be remembered, right?”
Shi Lei smiled and said, “It’s not much better now than when I was a kid.” He may have become more stable and mature, but his bones haven’t changed much. Inside, he was still him.
Bai Qingquan turned to look at him and saw Shi Lei staring at him intently. He smiled at Shi Lei.
Shi Lei was dressed very casually this time, unlike during the day, when he looked like a successful person. He was wearing loose black pants and a black down jacket. Everything was ordinary but was propped up by his good figure, with wide shoulders and long legs. He was wearing a hat that was a bit deep and almost covered his eyes. His eyes were black and hazy, but they were exceptionally bright, as if they were reflecting the light from the streetlamps. The bridge of his nose was prominent, tall, slender, and straight, and the corners of his face were more distinct. It showed off a tough look. His chin was neatly shaven, unlike when they had first met in the morning, where he could see cyan stubble growing.
‘What a heavenly dish. Perfect to his aesthetics,’ Bai Qingquan secretly thought. Though the man was a bit rough, he was perfectly handsome.
Bai Qingquan had followed several internet celebrities. Among them was a beauty blogger who had successive boyfriends who were all ugly. Even the fans didn’t understand the aesthetics as she was really beautiful, yet she couldn’t find a handsome boyfriend. If those were the kind of men she dated, what could a bunch of fans have hoped for? Then suddenly she announced on Weibo: [I like the feeling of being ruined!]
The destruction of a beautiful thing was not only the result of a sexual psychology that a few people pursue but also of the innate possessive nature of a man. If you wanted to make a big onslaught treat you like a spoiled rag doll, breaking you over and over again, wasn’t this kind of psychology similar?
It was just that he belonged to the world of beauty, and he must remain handsome, but he also had similar thoughts in common with these people. That was, he also thought that men who looked rougher and more ruffian were sexier.
And to this point, he and Shen Jintai were different. Shen Jintai liked the type like Yan Qiuchi. Men who were abstinent from lust and extravagance. He felt that that quality was a turn-on for him.
However, Shen Jintai had told him that before people fell in love, they all had standards for their future lovers, but in fact, the one that many people finally found were very different from their original standards.
“I was looking for a little beauty like you, but in the end, I found Yan Qiuchi,” Shen Jintai said slyly.
Love still depended on the specific relationship.
As Bai Qingquan walked, he tried to think about the possibility of being with Shi Lei. The rough and ruffian wolf dog gong was worthy of a white and tender fairy like him…
Well, he wasn’t really a fairy.
Thinking of this, Bai Qingquan suddenly had an idea in his mind, which shocked him.
Alt. His alt account!
His alt account was exposed, and everyone knew about it. Would Shi Lei, a person who’s obsessed with him, not know about it?
Fuck me, fuck me, fuck me, fuck me!
His face turned red suddenly, and he suddenly felt that he was pretending to be a fairy in front of Shi Lei all this time when, in fact, the person might have already known that he was a man who was thirsty for love…
It seemed like his famous brand clothing was stripped off in an instant.
Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!
He immediately turned his head and glanced at Shi Lei, intending to leave immediately.
The author has something to say:
Don’t worry, you will always be a treasure that cannot be blasphemed, but you’ll be blasphemed in Sishi’s heart!
PS: ALTHOUGH OUR SISHI IS CHARACTERIZED AS A MAN, IT DOESN’T MEAN HE ISN’T HANDSOME! Bai Qingquan is so handsome that in the eyes of extremely beautiful people, it’s not as comparable, but it’s still enough*!
*Clarity: Shi Lei is “handsome” in the sense that he’s better looking than the average person (and in good shape), but compared to a celebrity, he’s not comparable. His aesthetic is more like the gangster bad boy type than the handsome, beauty type. Think of it like that.
Bai Qingquan had a meal with the relevant leaders at noon and then went to his uncle’s house in the afternoon. He grew up with his uncle’s family since he was a child. His uncle, Bai Mingjie, was an honest man who worked outside of town. He had only recently returned in the past few years. His aunt, Chu Ying, didn’t like him very much. While their relationship wasn’t good, he had never been abused. The couple had a son and a daughter who followed after their mother and had an estranged relationship with him.
However, since he made his debut, Chu Ying and the others had become more enthusiastic about him. He was considerate because, after all, this was part of human nature. While they were enthusiastic, he rarely ever returned or made calls to them, but he always gave them a surplus of money. He considered this in part to repay them for his upbringing.
Bai Mingjie and his wife were waiting for him at home. Their children were working out of town, but there were a lot of people gathered around the Bai family.
Wei Ge glanced out through the car window. “The people in your hometown are quite enthusiastic.”
From a glance, it looked as if there were about 70 or 80 people gathered around.
As soon as the car door opened, the fellow villagers all looked over. Bai Qingquan thought for a while but decided not to wear a mask. He smiled and greeted everyone. The old watched with excitement while the young kept taking pictures with him. Bai Mingjie had been waiting for him at the entrance for a long time. When Bai Qingquan smiled at him and shouted “uncle”, he hugged him with a smile and said, “Come in, come in.”
The yard of the Bai family was also full of people. When the neighbors heard that he had come back, they all came to see the excitement. He recognized some of the aunties and uncles, while others he didn’t recognize, but everyone knew who he was as they were familiar with the fact that he was now a big star. The familiar country hospitality was very kind, as they all stayed until the evening when dinner was about to be served before they dispersed.
Bai Mingjie invited a few dignified people to accompany him. These people were all regulars at the drinking table and had a special way of persuading others to drink. The most common thing they said was, “You’re looking down on uncle, aren’t you?”
When he heard this, Bai Qingquan could only raise his cup and drink all the alcohol in it. He had an average tolerance for alcohol, so after a short while, Wei Ge blocked his cup for him and finally drank it on his behalf.
Chu Ying helped him to the room to rest. “Just sleep in your brother’s room. Your room has been unoccupied for a long time, so there are no sundries.”
His cousin’s room had recently been renovated, looking completely different from before. There were new frames on the window and colored strips hanging from the chandelier.
His cousin had gotten married last year, and he helped buy him a wedding room. He now lives in the big city but would come back every new year for the holidays.
Bai Qingquan laid down for a while. He felt cold, so he drank some wine and fell asleep. When he woke up, it was already completely dark outside. The room was pitch black, and he could hear a faint sound of voices coming from the living room.
He touched his phone and glanced at it. Before he could see the time, he saw a few messages, which caused him to sit up all at once. The texts were sent by Shi Lei more than an hour ago.
He got up from the bed, took his coat, and put it on. As soon as he left the bedroom, he saw Bai Mingjie and Chu Ying sitting in the living room watching TV, with the neighbor’s aunt sitting next to them. The three of them were chatting. When they saw him coming out, they all stood up.
“Awake?” Chu Ying hurriedly poured him a glass of water.
Bai Qingquan said, “Thank you”, took a few sips, and then asked, “Did my agent and the others gone back?”
“That Qian Wei can really drink,” Bai Minjie said. “We asked them to stay, but they didn’t want to and went back to the hotel to rest.”
“I have to go too,” Bai Qingquan said.
“It’s so late, what are you going to do? You have a place here at home, so why go to a hotel to sleep?”
“I have something to do when I go back,” Bai Qingquan said. “We’re all family, so no need to be polite to me.”
As a big star, even Bai Mingjie, who was relatively close to him, still treated him politely. He didn’t dare push the issue and let him go. Chu Ying asked him if he wanted to take the electric cart. “It’s fully enclosed and warm.”
In the past few years, his hometown had also developed rapidly. The roads had been built with asphalt, and streetlights had been installed on every street, but the houses hadn’t changed much. They were still mainly two- to three-story small buildings. The winding street from Baijia to Ranmin Road was still the road he used to go to school. He looked through the car window and passed by the place where Shi Lei had confessed to him that year.
Memories came pouring back.
Bai Mingjie said with a smile, “When the spring festival starts next year, all the houses here will be demolished, and high-rise buildings will be built.”
“That’s great,” Bai Qingquan said.
It was a good thing for the local people, as they would have new homes to live in. He had heard them talking happily about it during dinner.
Bai Qingquan had a whim and asked Bai Mingjie, “Uncle, do you know Shi Lei?”
Bai Mingjie said, “Shi Lei?”
“My former classmate. Their family seems to live behind Shi Xiao.”
Bai Mingjie said, “I don’t know.”
“His father seems to have been in jail,” Bai Qingquan said.
When he said this, Bai Mingjie immediately said, “I know about his family.”
“I had a good relationship with Shi Lei. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen him. Can you take me there? I’ll go and say hello.”
Bai Mingjie said very readily, “Okay.”
The car turned a corner and headed to Shi Lei’s house. Bai Qingquan smiled, took out his phone from his pocket, and called Shi Lei. After calling for a long time, no one answered. Just as he was about to hang up, he suddenly got through. Shi Lei’s voice came over, very eagerly. “Hello?!”
“Are you at home? I’m coming to find you,” Bai Qingquan said.
Shi Lei was a mess over there. He said, “I’m out drinking with my buddy.”
Bai Qingquan let out an “Oh”, and Shi Lei immediately said, “But it’s not far from my house. Are you coming? We’re at the restaurant opposite Xuelang Internet Café… We’re done. Where are you? I can come to you.”
Bai Qingquan said, “Then you wait for me there. I’ll meet you there.”
After he hung up the call, Bai Mingjie said, “I know where that place is.”
Before they got there, they saw Shi Lei from a distance, standing in the cold wind in front of the restaurant. Shi Lei probably didn’t expect him to come on an electric cart, so he didn’t even pay attention when the cart stopped in front of him.
Bai Qingquan knocked on the glass window twice and got out of the car with a smile. Shi Lei smiled in surprise and then glanced at Bai Mingjie in the car.
“Uncle, you can go back first,” Bai Qingquan said.
Bai Mingjie nodded. “Come back home again before you leave tomorrow. Remember.”
“Got it.”
After the electric cart drove away, Bai Qingquan looked back at Shi Lei and asked, “Where’s your friend?”
“Here.” A young man opened the heavy curtain and smiled at him. “A big star. I thought Xiao Lei was just bragging.”
Bai Qingquan looked at the man, and Shi Lei introduced him, “My buddy, Xiang Zi.”
“Brother Xiang.” Bai Qingquan nodded with a smile.
“Damn, I don’t deserve it,” Xiang Zi said, “Come in. What are you doing outside in the cold wind?”
The three of them entered the restaurant together. Probably due to how late it was and the cold, there weren’t any other guests around. The owner was sitting inside, watching TV. When she saw them come in, her eyes lit up. She seemed uncertain and couldn’t help doing a double take.
There were a few dishes on the table. Almost all of them had been eaten, and there were two bottles of alcohol, with one almost empty.
“What do you want to eat?” Shi Lei gave him the menu.
“I’m not hungry. Do they have porridge? I’ll have some porridge.”
As soon as his voice fell, the boss leaned over and asked, “Are you… Bai Qingquan?”
Bai Qingquan smiled and shook his head. “Many people say that I look like him.”
“It’s really similar!” The boss said.
“Madam, do you have porridge?” Shi Lei asked.
“No, just noodle soup.”
“Then I’ll have a bowl of noodle soup,” Bai Qingquan said.
The boss went to get him his order, and Shi Lei said, “I texted you a few times, but you didn’t reply.”
“I drank too much at my uncle’s house and slept for a while,” Bai Qingquan said.
Xiang Zi had already filled up his glass, but when he heard this, he took the glass back and kept staring at Bai Qingquan. He and Shi Lei were good brothers, so he knew about his sexual orientation and also about his secret love for Bai Qingquan.
Today, Shi Lei had asked him out for a drink, and he felt that Shi Lei had something on his mind. Shi Lei didn’t talk about it, but he had guessed that he came back this time most likely for Bai Qingquan. Everyone in the county knew that Bai Qingquan was planning to come to No. 2 Junior High to participate in their celebration.
However, he didn’t expect Shi Lei to hook up with Bai Qingquan. As soon as Shi Lei answered the phone, he told him excitedly that Bai Qingquan was coming. He thought the kid had drunk too much and was experiencing hysteria.
Tonight, Shi Lei’s heart was like a rollercoaster. He had texted Bai Qingquan with great anxiety but didn’t see him reply. He thought Bai Qingquan was just being polite to him during the day and didn’t really want to have dinner with him.
He was a big star after all, so he probably just wanted to say a few nice words to him—a gangster with whom he wasn’t familiar back in the old days.
Tossing and turning, he felt too uncomfortable being alone, so he had to ask his buddy out for a drink. Since it was related to Bai Qingquan, he didn’t dare divulge too much, even to his good brother, for fear it would have a negative impact on Bai Qingquan.
If he couldn’t talk about it, he filled the gap with alcohol and talked about other things. On the verge of drinking too much, suddenly Bai Qingquan came and was sitting right next to him.
His skin was tanned, so despite drinking too much, there was no change in color. He only had a hot look in his eyes, as if he were heated by the alcohol, as he stared at Bai Qingquan from time to time.
Xiang Zi looked at him and felt surprised by the melancholy for his buddy.
As a big star, even when he was just sitting there, his body exuded a dazzling elegance. His skin was fair, and he was handsome with a refined temperament. Shi Lei was really a straight-laced guy who couldn’t help but stare at his beauty. When Xiang Zi looked at his buddy, he considered Shi Lei to be a top man among men. He’s considered a small boss and was rich, but compared to Bai Qingquan, the gap was like the Pacific Ocean.
It was destined that this love could only be bitter.
“Are you really not Bai Qingquan?” The boss asked when she brought over the soup.
Bai Qingquan smiled, and Xiang Zi said, “Sister, let us have a good chat, yeah?”
The boss scolded him, “Who’s your sister? This sister is two generations older than you!”
Shi Lei seemed to have nothing to say suddenly as Xiang Zi chatted with Bai Qingquan. They talked a lot, despite Xiang Zi meeting such a big star for the first time. Bai Qingquan would occasionally eat his soup while talking and would give glances at Shi Lei, who sat beside him. He felt that Shi Lei’s eyes were red and bare.
It was the kind of look that, although he couldn’t see the redness on his face, he could obviously feel that he had drunk a lot, and the kind of unscrupulous look that was brought out by the strength of the alcohol.
Shi Lei really liked him; he could clearly feel it. Moreover, this love was mixed with a stronger desire than when he was a teenager.
Bai Qingquan took a sip of his hot soup. When it entered his stomach, it ignited his internal organs, and he felt his heartbeat accelerate, as if it had never beat this fast before.
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I feel that this side story may be thicker and longer than I thought.
Dong Zhi was too excited that he couldn’t fall back asleep. After Zhong Yuyi left, in high spirits, he flipped around on the bed for over half an hour, as if he was like a smoldering pancake.
Oh my god. He actually invited a righteous god in his first attempt. Is there such a genius in the world! But geniuses need to be humble, modest, and have humility.
He narrowed his eyes for three minutes before he suddenly thought of something.
Since it was clairvoyance, then everything he saw just now should have happened in real time, right?
Long Shen’s meeting. Being underwater. The Japanese man.
The more he thought about it, the more Dong Zhi felt something was wrong. He got up and immediately texted Long Shen. [Boss Long, are you free now? I have something to tell you.]
After waiting for a while, the phone rang. Long Shen had taken the initiative to call him.
He hurriedly picked it up. “Boss Long, why are you calling?”
Long Shen: “Didn’t you say you have something to tell me?”
It seems that he had left a reliable impression on the other party, as he reached out shortly after he sent his message, signaling that Long Shen believes in him.
Dong Zhi felt proud momentarily before he hurriedly got down to business. “Were you in a meeting just now? About half an hour ago. It was in a conference room. Boss Wu was sitting on the left and Boss Song was on the right.”
There was a pause before he replied, “Yes.”
Dong Zhi then recounted the three scenes he had just seen through his clairvoyance.
Long Shen paid careful attention to the second scene. “What else did you see in the water besides the corpses?”
Dong Zhi tried to recall. “It seems to be just an ordinary lake… But I seem to recall seeing some buildings faintly in the distance, but I couldn’t see it clearly. I was quickly pulled away, so I didn’t stay long. However, those water corpses were particularly strange. Their demeanor and posture are still as if they were alive. I thought they were stone statues at first.”
Long Shen: “What about clothing? What dynasty are they from?”
Dong Zhi: “I can’t tell, but judging from their hairstyle, it shouldn’t be modern.”
Long Shen said deeply, “In the third scene, did you see the appearance of the cloaked man in the end?”
Dong Zhi: “No. I saw you looking up at me during the first scene. Did you really see me?”
Long Shen: “I could only feel a sense of peeping, but I couldn’t see anything.”
Dong Zhi hurriedly said, “Then I suspect that the cloaked figure may have sensed my peeping too. The last thing I saw before the scene was over was it reaching out with its hand that was a white bone!”
The other end of the phone fell silent.
Dong Zhi: “Boss Long?”
“I see,” Long Shen said. “For these days, don’t invite Gods anymore and under normal circumstances, don’t use this spell so casually in the future.”
“But…”
“Do you understand?”
Long Shen’s tone became stern. Although Dong Zhi didn’t understand why, he agreed.
Long Shen said, “If you encounter anything strange again, feel free to call me.”
After a pause, he said again, “Have a good rest.”
Dong Zhi obediently said, “Okay, goodbye.”
After hanging up the call, Long Shen looked at the files on his desk blankly. His thoughts have already flown away. He didn’t know what he was thinking, but he only felt his eyebrows frowning tighter. With a slight movement, he dialed He Yu’s number.
When the phone line picked up, a careless voice spoke out. “Hello, the number you have dialed is not in service for the time being. Please try your call again at a later time.”
Long Shen: “He Yu.”
Sensing trouble was brewing, He Yu hastily became like a dog who obediently was ordered to sit. “Yes, what are your orders?”
Long Shen: “How is it going over there now?”
He Yu: “Ugh, don’t even talk about it. The place where the accident happened is near Mount Laohei. We’ve searched all over, but we can’t dig the entire area three feet deep. The water’s been flooding the area every day, but don’t bother mentioning demons and ghosts. There’s not even any signs of water sprites! Say Boss, we have been feeding mosquitoes here for almost a month. It isn’t an issue to continue on like this but when can we go back?”
*Kelpie (水鬼) Shaft-shifting spirit usually portrayed as a black horse-like creature that can adopt human form. Usually, it lives in bodies of water like rivers and lakes. See Kinky Thoughts for lore.
Long Shen asked, “Except for Mount Laohei, what about other places?”
He Yu said, “Fuxian Lake is really too big. Even if you search just along the coast, there may not be results for half a year. The water in that area constantly rises and falls. I don’t know how many dark water caves there are or where to go. Kan Chaosheng is now going into the water every day but can’t seem to find anything. At this rate, we may have to ask Zong Lao to come out!”
Long Shen ignored his joke. “Don’t just look along the coastal line and Mount Laohei. Make sure you search the middle of the lake as well.”
He Yu smelled something unusual. “Boss, are you privy to something?”
Long Shen said, “I’ll tell Song Zhicun and group three about it. You make Chaosheng work harder.”
He Yu: “Well, I’ll relay that to him.”
After ending the call with He Yu, Long Shen thought for a while, and then dialed Zhong Yuyi’s number.
—
The next day, when everyone gathered, they received a notice from Zhong Yuyi. His class would come to an early end. It wasn’t only Dong Zhi, but everyone else was inexplicable. However, Zhong Yuyi said that this notice came from the higher ups, so they all had to return to the city in advance.
While they had “finished” their course, Li Ying and the others had just started under Ding Lan’s leadership. This meant they had to wait for the others to come back before they could move to the next course together.
With nothing to do during this time, they all had free reign. While everyone came to apply for the Special Administration Bureau and had passed the written exam and interview, some, like Gu Meiren, certainly didn’t come with the mentality of idleness and fooling around. For some inexplicable reason, now with this extra period of “vacation”, they felt depressed as they had nothing to learn.
“Did Old Zhong disclose what the course of the next stage was?”
After they came back from a meal, someone asked Dong Zhi.
Dong Zhi smiled bitterly. “No, he’s also acting strange.”
Zhong Yuyi didn’t have many reservations. After a few days of getting acquainted with everyone, they had stopped calling him Teacher Zhong and instead switched to Old Zhong.
Gu Meiren comforted. “There should be arrangements from above, so we can just take it easy.”
Chi Banxia propped up her chin and sighed. “If I knew about this, it would’ve been better to go with Li Ying and the others. I heard that they stumbled upon a tough situation in the mausoleum yesterday. It seems that it was a lich*.”
*Fly Stiff (飞僵) A classification of zombies that becomes a demon after turning into a scorpion, allowing it to fly, thus known as a flying stiff (stiff being that the body is hard like a corpse after rigor mortis). See lore for details || I’ll be using lich as the translation.
The so-called lich is a classification of zombies and tomb robbers collectively referred to as “zongzi1“. It would take at least a hundred years for a zombie to skeletonize and become a lich. Liches were covered with white hair and float, as if they could fly, which was why they were called liches. On top of liches, there was also other classifications2 such as jade liches and white liches. The catacombs that produce these zombies must be extremely fierce to produce these things, but it could also be a situation like in Long Shen’s story, where an original place had good fengshui but was actually artificially changed to be auspicious to deceive latecomers.
1Name after the dish, it’s a code word among tomb robbers referring to a relatively well-preserved corpse in a tomb that has turned into a zombie. 2Clarity: According to Chinese folklore, there are 18 kinds of “zombies”. I won’t list them all since some of the translations don’t really make sense translated. The lich is one of these types.
For ordinary people, encountering this kind of situation is a bad luck. Countless tomb robbers have died while trying to rob a tomb through the ages, either through traps or being infected by corpse poison. However, for practitioners like them, one encounter only equals one more experience. Besides, there’s also a powerful leader mentoring the team, so generally they won’t encounter any great danger.
So when they all heard that Li Ying and the others had encountered a lich, everyone’s first reaction was not fear but envy.
Chi Banxia: “I heard Li Ying say that we will send representatives to participate in the World Exchange Conference next year. There’s also a certain quota for newcomers. Since we have one less training course than them, I wonder if it will affect our recommendation?”
Gu Meiren: “I don’t think so. After all, it was not our initiative to withdraw from the course. It was a decision made from above.”
Zhou Yue said, “I’m not worried about the recommendation qualification. The competition for this kind of important international-level event must be very fierce. Not only newcomers but also many seniors would want to go. If we can pass the training, the bureau should handle everything accordingly.”
Ou-Yang Yin smiled and said, “Our family has helped people with fengshui for generations. Occasionally, we would encounter one or two tricky things. If I run into such a situation, and you want more experience, I’ll let you know. Of course, you’ll also be paid as well.”
To everyone, though, remuneration was second, and above all else, it was better to have something to do than be idle every day.
Even with the class cancelled, Dong Zhi still had many things to do. His comic serialization was reaching a critical plot point and had an increasing number of people chasing it. They were hungry for more, as they left comments urging him to update. Besides that, he also climbs the stairs to the rooftop every day for practice. He never slacked off and felt very fulfilled in his life. However, he didn’t express any of his opinions rashly as he just sat there resting his chin on his hand and listening to everyone else obediently, while still recalling the event of when he had invited God in and thinking about Long Shen during his meeting.
At that time, everyone else looked bored while Long Shen listened very carefully and took notes from time to time. Recalling that look, perhaps he would try once again to draw Long Shen’s eyes and solve his distress of being unable to finish his portrait before.
The latter two scenes, though, were very strange. Listening to Long Shen’s tone, he seemed to know where the second scene was. There was also that Japanese man who looked extremely familiar, but he couldn’t quite place it. Where had he seen this person before?
When a pot of beef in sour soup was served, it finally relieved everyone’s depression and also diverted Dong Zhi’s attention. Everyone had a great meal and enjoyed their time socializing. After the meal, they parted ways and made an appointment to contact each other later, then they dispersed.
Dong Zhi declined the offer of others to give him a ride, saying that he wanted to walk after dinner, so he walked along the streets alone. As he walked, he discovered that the street he was currently on was the road filled with antique stores that Long Shen had brought him once to get the Qingzhu Sword.
Thinking of this, Dong Zhi couldn’t help but dispel the idea of taking a taxi back, and instead walked towards the antique shop Long Shen had taken him to. Since it was still broad daylight, the store was naturally open, and the person working there was still the same uncle he saw last time.
The uncle seemed familiar with him. When he saw him come in, he wanted to greet him, but hesitantly said, “You’re that gentle looking young man?”
Dong Zhi smiled and said, “I came with Boss Long that night when he took back his Qingzhu Sword. Do you remember?”
“So it turned out to be you. I do remember!” The uncle patted his forehead. “Since it was at night and the lighting wasn’t good, I couldn’t see you clearly. No wonder why I felt your face looked so familiar. Sit down, sit down!”
He greeted Dong Zhi and motioned for him to sit down on a chair nearby.
Dong Zhi smiled and said, “What is your name?”
“Just call me Uncle Qian. So, how’s the Qingzhu Sword?”
Dong Zhi asked curiously, “How do you know it was given to me?”
Uncle Qian smiled and said, “I have known Boss Long for so many years, but I have never seen him bring someone with him when he takes back swords, so it means that sword must be for you.”
Hearing this made Dong Zhi’s heart happy. He took advantage of the situation and asked, “How many years have you known him?”
Uncle Qian: “It must be at least 20 years.”
Dong Zhi was surprised. “So many years? Then Boss Long must’ve been very young at that time, right?”
Uncle Qian smiled and said, “No, he hasn’t changed much and looks pretty much as he did 20 years ago.”
Dong Zhi pondered it thoughtfully.
“By the way,” Uncle Qian thought of something and said, “I have a bronze mirror here that someone just brought over. I want your help to assess its value so I can price it. You’re Boss Long’s apprentice, so you must be knowledgeable. Won’t you take a look?”
Dong Zhi said, “Why do you think I am Boss Long’s apprentice?”
Uncle Qian: “You look like you would be his apprentice. Is it possible that you’re his son?”
When he heard those words, Dong Zhi almost spat out the water that he had just sipped on.
“It’s better to be an apprentice!”
Uncle Qian laughed. “Is that so?”
Dong Zhi scratched his nose. While he wanted to called Long Shen master, he was afraid the other party wouldn’t respond.
Uncle Qian took out the box containing the bronze mirror. “According to my speculation, the age of this mirror is probably before the Zhou Dynasty, but I’m not entirely sure. It could be even earlier.”
If it was earlier than the Zhou Dynasty, it would either be the Xia and Shang Dynasties, or the period of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors*.
*The Three Sovereigns span from 4,000-8,000+ years ago, while the Five Emperors period was about 4,000 years ago.
Dong Zhi was surprised. He took a closer look at the bronze mirror in the uncle’s hand. There was a pattern carved on the back of the mirror, but it wasn’t the usual ordinary figures of flowers, birds, or bats, but rather a… phoenix? Behind the phoenix, there seemed to be undulating mountains and a sun rising eastward.
“To be honest, I don’t know anything about antique appraisal. I’m afraid it will have to be done by Boss Long.”
In general, if the antique was old, the bronze on it would oxidize, discoloring and blurring the text and patterns made of bronze to varying degrees. However, this mirror looked as if it was 70-80% new, which made him suspect it could be a fake.
Dong Zhi couldn’t help raising his concern. “Uncle Qian, the pattern on the mirror looks so new…”
Uncle Qian lowered his voice. “I know what you are worried about. The pattern is new, and it may have just been taken out of an anaerobic environment.”
Dong Zhi understood. “So it hasn’t been unearthed until recently?”
Uncle Qian nodded. “The person who brought it here is a junior of an acquaintance of mine. He’s usually a broker who’s responsible for exchanging these items. He doesn’t actually go to the tombs himself. Occasionally, he would get new things in his hand. There’s a character on it that I can’t understand. Show it to Boss Long for me. If the original isn’t clean, I don’t want it.”
Text to the dead*?
*(殄文) Also known as the water book, or ghost book, or anti-book, it is written text for the dead. Legends have it that it was created by a man named Lu Duogong. It’s ancient writings that mainly record cultural information such as astronomy, geography, religion, folklore, ethnics, and philosophy.
Dong Zhi took a closer look at the back of the mirror again and saw that there were indeed a few strange symbols and text. He hadn’t paid much attention to it previously. When Uncle Qian said this, he remembered that once when he was on the train, he saw a fairytale book that lay in the corner of the soft sleeper. When he opened it, it turned out to be a notebook that was full of writing he couldn’t understand. He Yu later said that those were Long Shen’s notes.
Above those notes, he realized they were vague text that looked similar to this.
“What is the text for the dead?”
“This kind of text originated from the ancient ancestors, at least before the Xia Dynasty or much earlier. Some people say that it’s the writing of the gods. During that time, only a great witch in charge of sacrifices could understand it. Later, with the oracle bone script*, the writing gradually died out. Legends have it that there are still a few sorcerers in Guizhou who can do this kind of writing. They are revered as ‘ghost masters’ and their writings become a communication between yin and yang, which is specifically written for the dead. The texts are gathered into documents, forming a collection of works generally called the Book of the Dead, or the Book of Rebirth.”
*Was an ancestor of modern Chinese characters engraved on oracle bones—animal bones or turtle plastrons used in pyromantic divination—in the late 2nd millennium BC and is the earliest known form of Chinese writing.
Dong Zhi: “Boss Long can read such thing?”
Uncle Qian smiled and said, “Which is why I have to ask him about this matter.”
Dong Zhi hesitated. “Uncle Qian, if this is stolen goods…?”
Wouldn’t this cause trouble for Long Shen?
Uncle Qian: “Don’t worry, Boss Long knows how to deal with it. I don’t want to accept anything unclean. I’m not looking for trouble. You need to tell him that after three days, if the owner wants it returned intact*, he must come and take it. Afterwards, what they want to do with it is their business, but I can’t have it affect my small business.”
*Return to Zhao (完璧归赵) Idiom refers to returning something intact to the original owner.
Dong Zhi laughed. “Uncle Qian, do you call this a small business? Last time I went back, Boss Long told me that if you take the mountain made of jade in your shop to an auction house, you can at least get one or two thousand for it!”
He deliberately omitted the 10,000’s to avoid making it sound too eye-catching.
Uncle Qian couldn’t help feeling a bit proud. “What are you saying? It’s just a piece of rough stone that I have a home. When I cut into it, what did I find? Bright imperial jade, and the best quality! After that, I didn’t let anyone cut it anymore, as I wanted to pass it on to my children and grandchildren!”
Dong Zhi gave him a thumbs up. “You are a gentleman who loves money, and you make it in a proper way!”
Uncle Qian was extremely flattered by him, and his attitude became more affectionate.
“Anyway, I heard from the junior who brought over this mirror that there are quite a few foreigners who are attracted to it if it has a high appraisal. I thought that since this is a treasure from our ancestors, no matter what, it shouldn’t fall into the hands of foreigners. Don’t you agree?”
Dong Zhi repeatedly nodded. “Yes, you are right!”
Uncle Qian: “The truth of the matter is, there are many genuine and fake antiques in this industry. Many of them are from unknown origins, so everyone’s walking in a gray area. If I’m found out that I reported it to the Relevant Department, then my reputation would be ruined in this industry. Therefore, this is a big risk I’m taking this time. No matter what, you must bring back the mirror in three days.”
Dong Zhi put the mirror in his backpack and smiled. “Don’t worry, I promise the first thing I do when I return is to give it to Boss Long, but do you really believe in me? You don’t need to take my ID card or anything? Such a valuable thing, yet you’re willing to let me take it away?”
Uncle Qian: “If Boss Long is willing to bring you here, that’s enough proof for me.”
Dong Zhi felt a little guilty. “But I haven’t been about to call him Master yet.”
Uncle Qian squinted. “Are you not diligent or pious enough?”
Dong Zhi looked wronged. “I can barely wait to invite him to eat three meals a day. Isn’t that diligent enough? I’m afraid he’ll be annoyed if he sees me too much!”
Uncle Qian laughed. “That’s just who he is. I believe, as my grandson put it, boring. Boring1, right?”
Dong Zhi: “You mean mensao1?”
1Clarity: The word the Uncle is trying to think of is [mensao] (闷骚) but he instead incorrectly remembers it as [menshen] (闷什) which means boring/stuffy. [Mensao] is a catchphrase that is popular among young people (thus he mentioned why his grandson used this word to describe Long Shen) and it refers to a person who is quiet on the outside but passionate on the inside. Such people do not easily express their emotions but, on specific occasions, often behave unexpectedly. Such actions, to a certain extent, reflect the true personality of that person. || I’m leaving it in pinyin form since I can’t think of an English equivalent that describes what it truly means.
Uncle Qian: “Yes, he’s just mensao! You have to keep at it!”
Dong Zhi deliberately acted cute*. “Then you give me advice?”
*Selling [meng]/acting cute (卖萌) Refers to purposefully showing one’s cuteness to impress others.
Uncle Qian: “To gain his favor doesn’t mean you need to gift him something. Boss Long is a serious person, so you need to be serious in front of him. You have to learn more and ask more. Don’t be afraid that you’ll make a fool of yourself. It’s better to ask than be scared and pretend you understand but really don’t.”
Dong Zhi nodded and asked, “Does he have any hobbies?”
Uncle Qian thought for a while. “Not that I can tell. He occasionally put ancient swords on consignment with me and would also ask me to help keep an eye out for them. I asked if he liked to collect ancient swords, but he said no. Having said that, he usually lives in an ascetic way. He doesn’t smoke or drink, so I really don’t know what he does for enjoyment… Oh, but I did see him feed the stray cat that’s around here a few times.”
Dong Zhi: “In the years you’ve known him, have you seen Boss Long with maybe a girlfriend or wife?”
Uncle Qian laughed. “I haven’t seen one before. You’re the first person he has brought by, but I know that you practitioners are different from ordinary people. It’s said that there are many bachelors in your Special Administration Bureau. Perhaps it’s because you guys are usually too busy. If you can introduce him to a girlfriend, let alone be an apprentice, it should be no problem for you to be his godson!”
Dong Zhi muttered, ‘Can I introduce myself to him?’
Uncle Qian didn’t hear clearly. “What was that?”
“It’s nothing,” Dong Zhi said with a smile. “I can guarantee the task you entrusted me with will be completed.”
Uncle Qian nodded in satisfaction. “By the way, I have a sword here that I recently acquired. It’s said that it was Sun Quan’s* sword during the Three Kingdoms period. I’ve looked at it, but it doesn’t seem to be his usual sword, and its quality is only average, maybe slightly inferior to the Qingzhu Sword. Can you help me go back and ask Boss Long if he wants it-“
*His courtesy name is Zhongmou. Founder of the state of Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms period. Unlike his rivals Cao and Liu Bei, Sun Quan was much younger than they were and governed his state mostly separate of politics and ideology. He is sometimes portrayed as neutral, considering he adopted a flexible foreign policy between his two rivals with the goal of pursuing the greatest interests for the country.
At this moment, a young man came in from outside. “Uncle Qian!”
Uncle Qian raised his head. “A’Shun*, why are you here so soon? It’s not time yet, is it?”
*Clarity: He adds (阿) in front of Shun’s name. This is a term of endearment.
A’Shun’s t-shirt had a few stains on it, and his hair looked like it hadn’t been cut for a long time, which he simply tied back. He walked in with a happy-go-lucky smile.
“Yo, you have guests?”
“What’s the matter?”
A’Shun glanced at Dong Zhi as he replied to Uncle Qian with nothing much, before sitting down on the sofa crossed-legged.
Dong Zhi was about to leave, when suddenly Uncle Qian held him back. “This is my eldest nephew!”
A’Shun gave a goofy smile. “So it turns out he’s your eldest nephew. Not bad, not bad. Sure enough, he looks quite talented, unlike you!”
“Fuck you!” Uncle Qian scolded with a smile. “If you have something to say, spit it out!”
A’Shun looked back and said, “Is the mirror still with you? I am here to take it back.”
Seeing Uncle Qian winking at him, Dong Zhi immediately understood that this should be the one who had sent him the bronze mirror.
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A small theater that has nothing to do with the text:
Dong Zhi heard that Long Shen had fed a stray cat, so it dawned on him that the male god had pity for the poor and weak, and he’s a caring person. Thus, he deliberately dirtied his clothes and messed up his hair, then squatted outside Long Shen’s bedroom waiting to touch porcelain*.
*(碰瓷) Racketeering. It originated where gangsters would deliberately bump into people while holding fragile porcelain in their hands causing them to drop and break it, then in turn would blackmail the pedestrian to pay for it. || In this context Dong Zhi is pretending to be pitiful to gain Long Shen’s affection.
When Long Shen got back from work and saw him squatting at the door to his room pitifully. Dong Zhi said, “Boss Long, I was robbed and now I have no food to eat. Can I hang out with you for the time being?”
Long Shen: “It just so happens that last time you made a great contribution, and your bonus hasn’t been paid yet. It’s about 20,000. Follow me to fill out the form to get it.”
A shape-shifting spirit in Scottish folklore that is usually described as a black horse-like creature that’s able to adopt human form. Some accounts state the kelpie retains its hooves when appearing as a human, leading to its association with Satan. It is often seen in bodies of water like rivers and lakes.
The legends vary, though the most famous association with it is the Loch Ness Monster.
You can read more about it on Wikipedia.
—
Flying Stiff (飞僵) / Lich
A zombie that becomes a demon after years of gathering resentment. After turning into a scorpion it gains the ability to fly/float thus giving it it’s flying aspect. Stiff refers to the corpse of its original zombie form that’s stiff since rigor mortis has set in. Wherever it goes, it is said to be the king of zombies.
It can cause drought, and therefore, when there’s a drought, people will search for zombies and burn them to ashes. According to legends, it can also suck human blood within a hundred paces.
I have decided to translate this to lich because flying stiff sounds awkward and one of the results from baidu gave me the Dota 2 hero lich.
—
Text to the dead (殄文)
Also known as the water book, or ghost book, or anti-book, it is written text for the dead. Legends have it that it was created by a man named Lu Duogong. It’s ancient writings that mainly record cultural information such as astronomy, geography, religion, folklore, ethnics, and philosophy.
Zhong Yuyi shook his head and said solemnly, “There are invisible geographical differences between countries. Generally, it is very difficult, but when you go to the United States, you can invite the Yin god of that country.”
In layman’s terms, it’s difficult for the Yin God to cross the restrictions of countries and nations. The farther the distance, the weaker the sensing ability.
Dong Zhi said thoughtfully, “Does this also have something to do with nationality and blood?”
Zhong Yuyi showed a look of admiration. “Yes, it does matter, as bones, blood, and soul are all indeed related.”
Dong Zhi said strangely, “I was in Boss Long’s office that day and saw you invite Huanhou. It stands to reason that he’s so famous and canonized, so shouldn’t it be an invitation? Yet why did it seem like a possession instead?”
Zhong Yuyi: “Yin Gods, to be precise, are not complete with three souls and seven souls1. They may also be a ray of divine consciousness or a thought. Depending on the merits, virtues, and incense offered in the world, they all vary. For example, the Great Guansheng Emperor2 is canonized by emperors throughout the ages, and he’s constantly enshrined. This is naturally a true God, and it’s not easy to invite such a person.”
1Reminder: Refers to the three souls and seven souls that govern the spiritual part of the body. See lore glossary for more details. 2Title given to Guan Yu, a famous general of the three kingdoms.
Everyone nodded, as they had a new understanding of what the invitation to Gods really meant. Now, with new expectations, everyone was extremely excited when they recited the materials. The benefits of taking a class in a yard were revealed at this time. The area was empty, not at all crowded, and there were many trees around to insulate noises. There was quite a distance between the neighboring farms, so they didn’t have to worry about alerting the neighbors.
Zhong Yuyi dismissed them, and they all dispersed. He only said a few words on the first day of class. They shed some tears of sympathy thinking about Ding Lan, who was still running around with his students on the road at this moment.
Seeing Dong Zhi, Gu Meiren lowered her head and tried to pry some information. “Who do you want to invite?”
Dong Zhi said, “Isn’t this close to the Ming Tombs? Maybe the Yin Gods of the Emperors of the Ming Dynasty will be better. We can stagger and invite one for each person. There are only nine of us and thirteen emperors, so it should be enough.”
When Liu Si heard what he said, he laughed. “Do you think it’s like dividing an apple between everyone? The imperial mausoleum is guarded by the Six Ding and Six Jia Gods*, which are even more difficult to invite than an ordinary Yin God. As teacher Zhong said just now, some Yin Gods have disappeared or reincarnated, so it may not be possible to invite them.”
*They are the gods in charge of the heavenly stems and earthly branches. The six gods of Ding: Ding Mao, Ding Si, Ding Wei, Ding You, Ding Hai, and Ding Chou. The six gods of Jia: Jiazi, Jiaxu, Jiashen, Jiawu, Jiachen, and Jiayin. They are equivalent to Liu Ding, the goddess of Yin and Liujia, the God of Yang.
Chi Banxia was worried. “Then who should I invite?”
Everyone scratched their heads as they researched while talking and laughing with each other, and so they passed the day like this.
Early the next morning, they got up to wash and eat, and sat in the yard waiting for class to start. Zhong Yuyi was still slow and looked indifferent, but what he said yesterday was enough to make everyone take it seriously.
“There are two ways to invite a god. One way is to invite the spirit, and the other is possession. To invite the spirit is to invite the Yin God, but it’s not considered a possession. Many Yin Gods must possess the person because they lack spiritual energy. This possession is generally used for asking questions. If you can invite a righteous god with sufficient spiritual energy, they can even assist you in battle.”
The key to inviting a god was first based your bazi, the second was sincerity, and the third was luck.
Thus, only those with a heavily Yin bazi had the physique to invite gods. In other words, just like a vase, how much water and how many flowers it could hold would depend on its height and size.
Sincerity of your heart determined whether you would be able to communicate with the Yin God. If you were insecure, you could not only annoy the Yin God but also encounter backlash. As the saying goes, it’s easier to pray to gods than to please them.
As for luck, it was all circumstantial. For example, if the Yin God was too far away from where you were trying to invite him, or he couldn’t hear the prayers of the invitee, then it was very likely that the invitation would fail. According to Zhong Yuyi, this situation was very common. His mother is from an oracle family, and he had watched her invite gods since he was a child. Under normal circumstances, it could be a lonely soul or a wild ghost that appears. The chance of being able to invite the right god was very low, and he himself was no exception.
To prove his statement, Zhong Yuyi brought out an incense table and laid an incense burner on top, dressed in a long robe and magua*, preparing to demonstrate how an invitation to god works for everyone.
*Style of jacket worn by males during the Qing Dynasty. It’s waist length with five-disc button on the front and slightly short with wide sleeves.
“I will only make three attempts today at inviting the right gods. After three tries, regardless of success or failure, you’ll be on your own. I have already taught you the prayers and hand gestures needed. Wait for me to demonstrate so you’ll know how to follow.”
Everyone nodded and did not dare speak, for fear of disturbing him.
“First, the Great Guansheng Emperor.”
The mighty Guansheng Emperor, that was, Guan Yu, was a “martial sage” who had been canonized through the ages and was well-known. Not only was he regarded as the god of wealth in some places, but he was even enshrined in police stations in Hong Kong to ward off evil spirits.
Zhong Yuyi inserted a lighted incense into the incense burner, then sealed his hands and closed his eyes to recite a prayer in silence. Time passed minute by minute. Dong Zhi didn’t know whether he was hallucinating or because of his excessive concentration, but he felt as if the surrounding air seemed to solidify a little, blowing a little wind that was slightly chilly despite the summer heat.
Dong Zhi noticed that Gu Meiren couldn’t help shrinking her neck. It seems that he was not alone.
Suddenly, the three incense sticks were cut off in the middle, as if they had been pinched off by an invisible hand. Someone couldn’t hold their breath any longer and let out a light exhale.
Zhong Yuyi opened his eyes. “It failed.”
Everyone was disappointed.
“Will you continue?” Chi Banxia said.
Zhong Yuyi: “Continue. For the second attempt, I’ll try to invite King Wumu.”
Everyone was also familiar with this one. Yue Wumu, also known as Yue Fei*, was posthumously named the King of Hubei after his death, so some places will call him Prince Yue, Lord Yue, and the likes.
*Chinese military general during the Southern Song Dynasty. He was put to death due to his warlike stance. He was granted the posthumous name Wumu and later granted the title King of È. Widely seen as a patriot and national folk hero in China, since his death, Yue Fei has evolved into a paragon of loyalty in Chinese culture.
Unfortunately, similar to the first time, it failed again.
Zhong Yuyi frowned and sighed. “If it’s not possible to invite the spirit, then I can only turn to possession.”
While everyone didn’t say anything, they inevitably began to secretly doubt Zhong Yuyi’s abilities. Only Dong Zhi had seen him when he was possessed by Zhang Fei. His voice and appearance had changed completely, and even Long Shen called him Huanhou.
Dong Zhi kept his eyes on Zhong Yuyi as he burned the incense, closed his eyes, prayed respectfully, and started reciting the mantra. His movements were exactly the same as the previous two times. After a while, his body suddenly shook slightly before he slowly opened his eyes and began to cry without saying a word.
Everyone was dumbfounded. Some people started to realize that Zhong Yuyi might have succeeded this time. After all, it’s a spirit of possession, so it won’t be as noble or mighty as a true God, so they couldn’t help but wonder what kind of character he invited. All it did was cry and snivel without saying a word, so was it some kind of lonely ghost?
“May I please ask who you are?” Gu Meiren asked.
Zhong Yuyi wiped away his tears and could barely answer her. “I wish I could go out as soon as possible when I remember Yingtai*, but I never expected it would be a hundred years before I’m free! How painful! How painful!”
*Built in the Ming Dynasty, it is the summer refuge and residence of emperors and concubines. It’s named Yingtai because it faces water on all sides and is lined with pavilions, like an immortal island in the sea.
His voice had changed, sounding much younger and brighter than the original Zhong Yuyi, but it had a deep melancholy.
Is this a Yin God who loves to drag texts*?!
*(拽文) Dialect that refers to showing off your eloquence, pretending to be gentle.
Everyone looked at each other, unable to laugh or cry.
Xie Qingning: “Who the hell are you? Can you tell us your name?”
Zhong Yuyi, or rather, the Yin God that possessed his body cried even more severely when he heard those words. “Look! What kind of world is this that now I’m not even recognized anymore. My life is so bitter! Bitter! Bitter!”
The howling and crying lingered in everyone’s ears until it sounded like the squawking of hundreds of birds.
Liu Si couldn’t bear it and yelled, “Don’t cry!”
The crying stopped abruptly, and Zhong Yuyi stared at him with wide eyes while putting on a pitiful look. A thought suddenly flashed by Dong Zhi, causing him to blurt out, “Are you Emperor Guangxu*?”
*Ninth emperor of the Qing Dynasty who ruled from 1875-1908 but in practice was only up to 1898 as he was superseded by Empress Dowager Cixi who launched a coup and put him under house arrest until his death.
Zhong Yuyi’s crying, which had just stopped, suddenly resurfaced.
“Wow!!!”
Everyone: …
Before, Dong Zhi had said he wanted to invite a Ming Dynasty emperor from the Ming Mausoleum, thinking he would get good results. However, rather than a Ming Dynasty Emperor, they had invited an Emperor from the Qing Dynasty.
Seeing that Zhong Yuyi was about to burst into tears again, they thought about asking something quickly. Although the sound wasn’t magic, the endless crying noise was piercing and also extremely disturbing.
What could they ask?
Everyone racked their brains, and for a while, no one could think of anything.
Dong Zhi felt that this girl was a bit mysterious. He still didn’t know what abilities she had, but during their simulation training, even Chi Banxia, who had followed Li Ying, was “killed”, but Xie Qingning managed to “survive” in the end. This meant she had good ability, but she was usually very low-key. She would hang around Ou-Yang Yin and Zhou Yue often, so she wasn’t familiar with others.
The question she asked was something that an ordinary girl would ask, causing Chi Banxia and Gu Meiren to show curiosity as well.
Who knew that Zhong Yuyi, or rather, technically the Yin God that had possessed him, when he heard this, cried even louder. He sobbed and said, through tears, “In my heart, her face is like a full moon. Her voice is like a warbler’s cry. She is the best-looking woman in the world… If it weren’t for me, she wouldn’t have fallen into that situation. I have hurt her!”
Suspecting he would cry again and was going to blind Zhong Yuyi’s eyes. Dong Zhi hurriedly said, “Don’t cry, we won’t ask about her anymore. We’ll ask about something else!”
Zhong Yuyi sniffed and finally stopped crying for a moment as he looked up at him. From his eyes, they could recognize that it’s not the real Zhong Yuyi, because in them contained such sadness and sorrow, as if he never had a good day. It was indeed depressing given the latter half of this person’s life history.
Dong Zhi scratched his head but couldn’t think of anything to ask, so he casually said, “That… Well… what do you think of the Treaty of Maguan*?”
*Also known as the Treaty of Shimonoseki, was a treaty between the Empire of Japan and Qing China that ended the First Sino-Japanese War.
Everyone: …
It’s over. This subject is a landmine!
They wanted to cover up Dong Zhi’s mouth, but it was too late. Zhong Yuyi’s eyes quickly filled with tears, and they began to flood in an instant.
“I have reigned for 34 years. Although I am not as good as the Holy Patriarch, I have recovered Xinjiang and established the province of Taiwan. The world could be said to be prosperous. If it weren’t, if it weren’t… later, I was taken advantage of by traitors… How could this have ended so bleakly…”
When it came to anything sad, he kept crying, and it was useless to try to comfort him. Liu Si couldn’t take it any longer and yelled, “Shut up! Cry again and we’ll send you away!”
The crying stopped for a second, as Zhong Yuyi suddenly raised his head. His eyes were flushed, and his expression was horrified. Everyone was fed up. They just wanted to get this emperor to leave Zhong Yuyi’s body as soon as possible. The other party quickly recovered and started to look around. He touched Zhong Yuyi’s hands and feet, feeling refreshed.
“I didn’t expect that I could return to my body and experience the taste of being a human again after spending years as a wisp of divine thought that’s been floating around for a long time.” He showed a look of nostalgia and novelty as he analyzed Dong Zhi’s clothes. “What year is this now? Are you all shamans invited by the emperor today? Why are you dressed so strangely?”
Zhou Yue sneered, “How can there be an emperor in this day and age? You’ve been a ghost for hundreds of years. Do you even know the changes in the world?”
Zhong Yuyi said angrily, “I am not a ghost! I am just a remnant of his soul!”
“Well, you are not a ghost!” Dong Zhi comforted. “Being possessed by the Yin God for a long time will have an impact on the original body. Can you please leave for the time being so that the person you possess can take a break?”
Zhong Yuyi tilted his head and thought for a while before shaking his head. “I’m not leaving. I can finally feel the earth again. I can look at the sun and smell the flowers. After so long, no one has ever invited me, so I want to experience the taste of being human again!”
Unexpectedly, a Yin God could also be a cheat. Everyone couldn’t help but get a headache.
Liu Si’s face sank. “What if we force you to leave?”
Zhong Yuyi measured him for a moment, then smiled slyly, “Then I will possess you. Your willow tree1 is a good container for my yin to possess.”
Everyone was taken aback and couldn’t help but look at Liu Si. His surname was Liu1, and his weapon was a whip made of a willow branch. Though his appearance was feminine looking, no one had thought much about it2.
1Liu (柳) in Liu Si translates to the willow tree. 2Clarity: This is a bit confusing as it’s not explained clearly, but it’ll be in a bit.
Unexpectedly, he didn’t expect to be pitted against a Yin God. Liu Si’s face became gloomy as he sneered, “If you won’t leave, then I’ll just make you leave!”
As soon as he stopped speaking, he directly whipped Zhong Yuyi.
Zhong Yuyi smiled as he quickly avoided the attack. “If I don’t leave on my own volition, no one can drive me away, and this body will only suffer more!”
Suddenly, Dong Zhi shouted, “The Empress Dowager* is coming!”
*Title given to the mother or widow of an emperor.
Zhong Yuyi was shocked and looked around, and Liu Si took the chance to slap him on the back. With a scream, Zhong Yuyi fell forward*.
*Clarity: If you read the Wiki or footnote, the reason why he’s wary when Dong Zhi announces this is because it was Empress Dowager Cixi who committed a coup against him and placed him under house arrest, where he eventually died due to arsenic poisoning.
“Who…hit…me?”
His voice was feeble, and since he cried too much, it was also hoarse, but fortunately everyone could hear Zhong Yuyi’s original voice. They all rushed over to help him up.
Dong Zhi: “Lao Zhong, are you okay?!”
Zhong Yuyi touched his eyes. “Motherfucker. Why did I cry so much! My eyes are completely swollen!”
Dong Zhi laughed. “The Yin God who was attached to you just now refused to leave, but Liu Si whipped him away.”
Zhong Yuyi waved his hand. “Don’t bother so much next time. This kind of Yin God has been floating for hundreds of years and is very weak. He can’t stay inside the body of a living person for long and will eventually be ejected whether he wants to or not.”
Gu Meiren couldn’t laugh or cry. “But this kind of Yin God you just invited is useless. If you are fighting, it’s impossible to have time to set up incense and recite spells. After all the hard work you put in to inviting the Yin God, the cucumber would be long cold!”
Zhong Yuyi: “Wrong. The role of incense is to express your sincerity in inviting the Yin God. It can be done without the use of incense sticks and burners. If you can invite a righteous God like Guan Yu or King Yue, their power is so great that they can even decide victory or defeat.”
Dong Zhi: “Is this equivalent to performing a big move in a game? It takes a long time to trigger and requires a lot of effort, but once it’s made, it’ll be nearly invincible?”
Zhong Yu nodded a little. He had just been tossed back and forth and didn’t have the strength to give another lecture, so he went back to rest. With such a fuss, everyone’s interest in inviting Gods had become stronger, and they were all eager to try.
Liu Si was the first to step up. Since his original form was a willow tree*, it was easier to attract yin, so everyone had no objection. He tried twice and succeeded both times in inviting the spirit, but not possession.
*Clarity: Liu Si’s original form is a willow tree, thus his weapon of choice and name.
The problem, though, was that he invited the same Yin God twice, and this Yin God had a bad temper. The first time he was okay. However, the second time he was invited back, he became furious. Without saying a word, he stretched out his hand and pointed to a stone table in the yard, causing it to explode. Once done, he patted his ass and left.
After returning to normal, Liu Si’s face was paler than Zhong Yuyi’s. He had to be helped to a stone stool and said, with a wry smile, “I’ll have to pay for that stone table.”
Dong Zhi said, humorously, “The leaders should expect something like this to happen. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have set up the class to be here. If we were to encounter someone with a worse temper, they could possibly even blow up this entire yard.”
Xie Qingning asked curiously, “Who was that Yin God just now? Why was he so irritable?”
Liu Si gasped, “It seems to be a woman, but I’m not sure. When I invited the gods, my mind couldn’t stay sober like usual, and I was in a state of semi-consciousness.”
Everyone listened and felt perplexed as they couldn’t imagine what kind of state this was.
The next Gu Meiren, Xie Qingning, and Zhou Yue tried and all failed, one by one. This was to be expected, as even Zhong Yuyi himself failed twice in his three attempts.
Ou-Yang Yin muttered in a low voice. “If I knew this was the case, it would be better to go to the burial site with Ding Lao and the others. It would’ve been much more exciting!”
Some people thought so as well, but it was hard to tell.
When it was Dong Zhi’s turn, he asked for incense and began to relax as he recited the prayers silently. Halfway through the prayer, he felt his body fluttering lightly, as if he no longer felt like he was standing and couldn’t stop himself from floating upwards.
Then he heard a chuckle in his ear. “Would you like to see thousands of miles?”
Dong Zhi was in a daze. Before he could comprehend what was going on, his body seemed to be pulled hard. There was chaos in front of him and he couldn’t see clearly, but his ears were buzzing, as if he could hear countless clouds and the sound of wind as he passed them by. His eyes seemed to be glazed over like a pool of ice water, making him feel cool and comfortable.
“If you want to see anyone, you can achieve it just by thinking about it.” The strange voice said again.
Dong Zhi felt incomprehensible, and the scene in front of him gradually became clear, as if the clouds were plucked away, clearing the sky to give vision to the moon. He couldn’t help but make a soft cry.
In front of him stood a huge conference hall full of people. Dong Zhi couldn’t hear a sound, but he saw someone talking. He recognized the speaker at once. It was Long Shen.
Long Shen’s speech only lasted a few words, which reflected his usual concise and succinct style. Everyone at the meeting had serious expressions, and they seemed to be discussing an important matter.
Dong Zhi glanced over and saw Zong Lao, Director Jiang, Wu Bingtian, Song Zhicun, and others. He didn’t know what kind of existence he was. The angle that he was looking at them was also very strange. It was like watching them through a camera.
Is this reality or a dream?
He wanted to “walk” over and look at the manuscript in front of Long Shen. Suddenly, Long Shen seemed to be aware and glanced up. The cold and sharp eyes startled Dong Zhi. His mind moved, and the scene in front of him changed, twisting suddenly.
Water rippled, and suddenly everything was blue.
This is… the sea?
He dove into the sea and soon found that the creatures in the water were different and there was no sand at the bottom. It seems like he was in a pool or lake.
Originally, he wanted to look at Long Shen a little bit longer, but suddenly came here. The waves from the water were dizzying as he desperately resisted from the bottom of his heart, but the angle of his view kept slowly moving forward.
Eventually, it reached statues that contained different shapes and poses. It was difficult to imagine there could be so many statues underwater, that he wasn’t sure if this was something left behind from a shipwreck or possibly even an island sinking into the ocean.
Dong Zhi was filled with doubts as he slowly approached. The clothes on the statues floated slowly in the water, and there were small fish swimming around. If it weren’t for the gloomy atmosphere, it would’ve made quite an exotic landscape. Even the eyes in those statues were so lifelike…
Wrong!
It wasn’t a statue at all but a living person!
He stepped back abruptly, and his eyes suddenly darkened again.
Had he returned to his body?
Dong Zhi opened his eyes hard and tried to look forward but found that it was pitch black and he couldn’t see anything. After a long time, a candle finally appeared in front of him. The candlestick was slender and reached towards the ground and had a simple yet elegant design.
Who would use this kind of lightning method now?
Then he saw two people. One was facing him and the other had his back towards him. The middle-aged man that was facing him was wearing a kimono and was talking to the person opposite of him. The other person was covered with a black cloak from head to toe, and he couldn’t tell whether it was a man or woman.
Dong Zhi approached involuntarily.
The middle-aged man has a typical Japanese appearance, with a mustache and deep nasolabial folds. It looked inexplicably familiar, but he couldn’t recall it at this moment. He wanted to see the person covered by the cloak first.
The two of them should be talking as the middle-aged man’s mouth kept opening and closing. He looked at them for a while but couldn’t tell what the two were talking about. Judging by the way his lips moved, he should be speaking in Japanese.
He slowly approached the cloaked figure. As the other party was dressed like this, it made him more curious and impulsive, wanting to see what the said figure looked like. When he got closer, he saw that the cloak was hooded, and the hood was so wide that it covered almost the entire head. His gaze came into the line of sight of the other party when suddenly… At that moment, a change occurred.
The cloak swelled up, as if a violent wind was blowing from the inside, and white colors swept out of the cloak and rushed towards him! As fast as lightning, he vaguely recognized the palm seemed to belong to a skeleton.
Dong Zhi’s heart tugged, as if someone was holding him down, pulling him hard! It suddenly became dark everywhere.
“Wake up! Wake up!”
There was a lot of noise in his ears, and the sounds came like a tide, as if he had returned from a world of silence. Even though the volume wasn’t loud, it was enough to bang his eardrums.
Dong Zhi slowly opened his eyes. The faces of Gu Meiren and Liu Si immediately came into view.
“How are you?”
“Are you okay?”
Dong Zhi shook his head vigorously and found that he was sitting on the ground. He wanted to stand up, but he was weak and was sweating profusely. Liu Si and the others helped him up and assisted him to a chair.
Zhong Yuyi was also called over by Xie Qingning. Everyone looked at him with concern. Zhong Yuyi checked his pulse, and his expression became solemn. “What did you invite just now?”
Dong Zhi panted and couldn’t speak. Upon seeing this, Zhong Yu immediately dismissed the class. He asked everyone to bring Dong Zhi in to rest and asked someone to cook ginger sugar water for him to drink.
“It’s okay. You just consumed too much energy and physical strength.”
After drinking a glass of ginger sugar water, from his throat to his stomach suddenly became hot. Zhong Yuyi asked the owner to give him a bowl of noodles and handed it over to Dong Zhi. He was trembling from hunger, so he ate the bowl of noodles clean, not leaving even the slightest bit of sauce left, and slowly regained his strength.
“I don’t know what happened. At that time, I did just like how you did it and offered incense and recited a prayer. Then I heard someone talking to me in my ear.”
Zhong Yuyi: “What did it say?”
“It said… The tone is very weird. It seems to say, ‘would you like to see thousands of miles?’” Dong Zhi thought hard and finally recalled about 70-80% of what he witnessed. “I couldn’t hear anything. It was as if I was watching a movie with no sound. It was very chaotic. I saw Boss Long in a meeting, then for a while I was submerged in water…”
Before he could finish speaking, Zhong Yuyi said, “Gao Ming! You actually invited him!”
Dong Zhi asked blankly, “Who is that?”
Zhong Yuyi: “Legend has it that during the Northern Song Dynasty, there were two monsters that caused the chaos in Taohua Mountain. Later, they were accepted by the imperial concubine as two generals. Their names were Gao Ming1 and Gao Jue2.”
1Fitictious character in the novel Investiture of the Gods of the Ming Dynasty. He is known for being clairvoyant. He, along with his brother Gao Jue, are peach spirits and willow ghosts on Qipan Mountain. Gao Ming is known for his eyes that can see every action. 2Fictitious character in the novel Investiture of the Gods of the Ming Dynasty. He is known for being omniscient. He, along with his brother Gao Ming, are peach spirits and willow ghosts on Qipan Mountain. Gao Jue is known to have ears that can hear everything.
Dong Zhi blurted out, “Qian Liyan1 and Shufeng’Er2?!”
1Eyes that can see things thousands of miles away/Clairvoyance (千里眼) Also what Gao Ming is referred to. 2Ears that can hear the sound that comes with the wind/Omniscience (顺风耳) Also what Gao Jue is referred to.
Zhong Yu nodded.
Dong Zhi almost grinned from ear to ear. He actually invited Qian Liyan?!
Zhong Yuyi: “They are enshrined and worshipped as righteous gods, but they are generally difficult to meet. It should be a coincidence.”
He smiled and said, “But it’s also very powerful. It shows that they like you.”
As soon as he attempted, he managed to invite a righteous god. Dong Zhi was about to fall to the ground from admiring himself too much.
“Then, am I considered qualified?”
Zhong Yuyi patted him on the shoulder. “You’ve passed the test. You should rest and get some sleep.”
The author has something to say:
Unexpectedly, Guangxu was invited? Are you surprised?
When Empress Dowager came, everyone should know the reason why. Guangxu is notoriously afraid of Cixi, so he was scared away as soon as Dong Zhi called for her~
Gao Ming is known for his clairvoyancy. It is said that he has eyes that can see every action for thousands of miles.
Gao Jue is known for his omniscience. It is said that he has ears that could hear every sound that comes with the wind.
Several legends exist about their origins. One tells that they were originally golden essence that were transformed by water essence. The second, tells that they were brothers, Gao Ming and Gao Jue, who severed as generals for King Zhou and died in battle. They eventually became the peach spirt and willow ghost that haunted Taohua Mountain until they were subdued by Mo Niang. After suppression, they vow to follow Taoism and help the world together.
There are other iterations of this their origins, but they all fall within the same lines of being brothers that possess their unique traits of clairvoyance and omniscience.
Kinky Translations 