R:DSAT Chapter 210: Yun Qi, Are You Willing to Help Me?

The Zhou soldiers withdrew in a hurry, not even taking their tents with them. When night fell, Northern Yan soldiers discovered that the Zhou barracks hadn’t lit their lanterns and felt something was amiss. Sima Qingsha sent people to investigate, and they discovered that the barracks were empty. Only then did they confirm that the Zhou soldiers had already marched back to Black Frost City. 

After Eastern Shang’s army heard news of the Zhou army’s departure, they also decamped and headed for Chun Du Pass. 

Sima Qingsha feared that Yang Yuansu still had the intention of attacking Hefang City. He hurriedly ordered the deputy commander of the army to bring most of the army with him back to Hefang City. 

“Your Highness still wants to stay in Tian Shui’s fountainhead?” a tactician by Sima Qingsha’s side asked. 

“I still want to take a look at Black Frost City,” Sima Qingsha replied. 

“Your Highness, why bother?” 

“I’m the one who lost Black Frost City, so I should be the one to seize it back.” 

The tactician went silent. In his opinion, this time Northern Yan’s strength had taken a great hit. The Black Frost Cavalry had been exterminated, which was equivalent to breaking one’s own arm. To think of retaking Black Frost City from the Zhou government–the tactician glanced at Sima Qingsha, who had just turned twenty–even if this young prince spent his whole life trying, he was afraid that the day of Black Frost City’s return would still be so far away it seemed forever. 

“Zhuxie and Mo Huan Sang’s whereabouts are still unknown,” Sima Qingsha continued. “I still want to try again, and see if the Zhou soldiers have news of these two.”

“Would the Zhou soldiers disclose that?” The tactician believed that if they looked for the Zhou army again, they would be inviting humiliation on themselves. He reminded, “Your Highness, Luo Wei is already dead. His older brother Luo Qi must regard us as the enemies who murdered his little brother.” 

“If those two aren’t dead, I can’t be at ease.” Upon hearing the five words “Luo Wei is already dead,” Sima Qingsha could not suppress the swelling of sourness in his heart. “For my Northern Yan’s rivers and mountains, I must try.” Sima Qingsha let loose a long sigh. It was all for these rivers and mountains. What else could he say? 

Luo Wei didn’t know that Sima Qingsha was still thinking of him. He rode a carriage all the way back to Black Frost City. His tense nerves relaxed after he returned to his older brother’s barracks. At this time, Luo Wei finally felt his exhaustion. Once he fell on his bed, he could not get up. 

Wei Lan also only sat in the carriage and accompanied Luo Wei for the entire trip. The road the soldiers marched on was uneven and they’d often encounter bumps. Wei Lan saw that the carriage shook badly, and would hold Luo Wei in his arms so that Luo Wei could lie more comfortably. 

Long Xuan was with Luo Qi the entire time. He would speak about military affairs, or sometimes even make casual conversation. He just no longer talked about Luo Wei. 

The army returned to Black Frost City in one, starry night. When they entered the city, no one made a racket. The sleeping citizens of the city did not even know that the Zhou army had returned. 

The first thing Luo Qi did after entering the city was to order his people to tear up the notices to reassure the public that had been pasted on the streets and alleyways. 

Long Xuan looked at the notices Luo Qi had ordered to be written and shook his head. “This paper is really filled with lies.” 

Luo Qi could not tell whether Long Xuan was ridiculing him or not. He replied, “I was just trying to maintain temporary peace and security in this city.” 

“Doing so is right,” Long Xuan replied. “I’ve brought back some human heads of the Mo clan’s, we can just hang them from the city gate. From then on, this Black Frost City will be a city belonging to my Greater Zhou. There are citizens of this city who won’t acknowledge allegiance. Brother Shi Yi can give them three days to leave the city and return to Yan.” 

“Let them go?” 

“These people won’t obey in their hearts. If we left them they’d only be wicked citizens,” Long Xuan reasoned. “We can’t kill off all of them. So we can only let them go.” 

“Then if everyone in this city leaves, won’t this be an empty city?” Long Xuan worriedly asked. 

Long Xuan laughed. These two sons of the Luo family who commanded soldiers really could only lead soldiers into war. They could not enter the imperial court. 

“Big brother is worried about this?” Luo Wei queried as he entered. He’d slept the whole way, and his complexion had improved. 

“This city’s citizens have been citizens of Northern Yan for many generations,” Luo Qi reminded. “How could they be happy to surrender and pay allegiance to my Greater Zhou?” 

“It’s difficult to leave one’s homeland.” Luo Wei carelessly paid his respects to Long Xuan, then continued speaking to Luo Qi, “Big brother, how many unswervingly common people do you think there are in this world? They only want to live not worrying about food or clothes, enjoying peace and security. To them, who their master is isn’t important at all.” 

Luo Qi looked at Long Xuan and spoke: “If that’s the case, why did we have to massacre the entire Mo clan?”

“What do you think?” Long Xuan asked Luo Wei. 

“The Black Frost Cavalry was previously established by the Mo clan. If we don’t get rid of the Mo clan, the people here will never forget that army,” Luo Wei reasoned. “If we don’t get rid of the Mo clan, next year when another Black Frost Cavalry appears, what should we do then?” 

“The common people in the city also need to know the consequences if they don’t surrender their allegiance,” Long Xuan added. “The people here are customarily tough as nails. If we don’t scare their courage away, when we hold this Black Frost City in our hands it’ll burn us.” 

Luo Qi worked hard to understand Long Xuan and Luo Wei’s explanations. Hearing these two people speak of ruling this world, Luo Qi felt that the battlefield was still simpler. 

“Big brother doesn’t need to think too much.” Luo Wei saw Luo Qi’s appearance and knew that Luo Qi usually wouldn’t think about such matters. He smiled, “It’s good if this city empties. In the future, our Greater Zhou’s sinners can all be banished here. In a few years, would big brother still be afraid that there’d be no one to live in Black Frost City?” 

At this moment, Long Xuan spoke up: “I saw Tian Shui’s long dike today. When we change the course of the river, the barren lands outside Black Frost City will become fertile land. At that time, the Greater Zhou people in hinterlands without their own land will fight to come here to find a way to make a living.” 

“That’s easy for Your Highness to say,” Luo Wei replied. “It will take several years to change the river’s course. And where will the people who will change the river’s course come from? Has Your Highness already thought it through?” 

“I’ve thought about it somewhat, want to hear?” Long Xuan looked at Luo Wei as he talked. 

Luo Wei nodded unconsciously. He had also thought about how to change the barren land outside Black Frost City into vast green. It was just that the more he thought about it, the more he felt that this matter would consume too much manpower and material resources. It was impossible for Emperor Xing Wu to accomplish this in his generation. Luo Wei was curious–did Long Xuan have a way to accomplish this endeavor?

“We have criminal slaves we can use,” Long Xuan stated. 

Luo Wei replied, “Criminal slaves alone are not enough.”

“We can also use hired hands.” 

“Hired hands?” Luo Wei thought then continued, “This place is too difficult. Your Highness can spend the money, but the common people might not come.” 

“What about their identities?” 

“What identities?” Luo Qi asked. 

Long Xuan explained, “There are so many people in this world who are slaves. If they can come to Tian Shui’s fountainhead, I will exempt them from being slaves. Don’t you both think these wages are plenty enough?”

Luo Qi shook his head repeatedly. “That’s impossible. Slaves are slaves. I’m afraid it’s not so easy for Your Highness to strike the record of their slavery. Besides, how could their masters let the servants under their names go?”  

“The masters naturally will receive properties as compensation,” Long Xuan answered. “I also did not expect for Tian Shui’s path to be diverted by only relying on these servants.” 

“For more to come we’d have to recruit forced labor,” Luo Wei interjected. “Your Highness, you’re not afraid that if you muster such large forces, the lands would fall into chaos?” 

“This is a matter for the people of these lands. Who can escape it?” Long Xuan replied. “For the sake of future generations, shouldn’t the people alive today contribute? What’s the meaning of ‘the lands falling into chaos’? Should the people have no way to make a living, that would be cause for worrying about the lands falling into chaos.” 

“Your Highness wants to ask for an imperial decree to do this?” At this moment, the gaze Luo Wei used to look at Long Xuan finally held a smidgeon of warmth. For this country, this person would indeed stake his whole life. 

“That’s right,” Long Xuan also had a smiling expression. He asked Luo Wei, “Yun Qi, would you be willing to help me?” 

---

“Doing so is right,” Long Xuan replied.

I was so tempted to write “Long Xuan validated.” Lmao, Long Xuan validating Luo Qi’s feels after their gossip sesh. Tumblr bros

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R:DSAT Chapter 209: Nowhere to Enter

When the first mounted scout told Luo Qi that Luo Wei had entered the southwest swamp and might have already died, Luo Qi reacted by throwing the scout to the ground with one kick. But when the second, the third, the fourth, and every other scout that went out for news said the same words, and everyone around him began to grieve at Luo Wei’s demise, Luo Qi had no way to persist in his delusions. He began to accept the reality of Luo Wei’s death. Luo Qi was the marshal of the upper, middle, and lower armies. He could not let others see his pain and sadness. Before others, he had to be the Yun Guan commander who his subordinates depended on. When no one else was around, only then could Luo Qi let the pain that engulfed his soul to sweep through his whole body. 

Precisely because of this pain, when an officer ran into the commander’s tent and said that the Third Young Master had returned, Luo Qi only sat there motionless. 

Ning Fei asked the officer three more times before saying to Luo Qi with pleasant surprise, “Commander, Yun Qi’s returned, he didn’t die!” 

Luo Qi saw Ning Fei run to a stop in front of him and saw Ning Fei’s mouth moving endlessly, but he only heard the two words “didn’t die.” Luo Qi stood up, knocking over his commander’s chair. Luo Qi didn’t turn his head at the sound of the chair falling. He rushed out of the tent, beginning to plead with the heavens in his heart. This had to be real, he could not have his hopes dashed.

Luo Wei saw Luo Qi charging towards him and lifted his lips in a smile, calling, “Big brother.” 

“You little scoundrel!” Luo Qi looked at Luo Wei with a face full of resentment. 

The smile on Luo Wei’s face froze. “What happened? Big brother you…” Luo Wei didn’t get to finish. In the next second, his brother fiercely wrapped him in a hug. 

“It’s good as long as you’ve come back alive!” Luo Qi embraced Luo Wei and said. “God blessed and protected you, you’re finally all right!” 

“I’m all right.” Luo Wei’s face was stuck to the armor on Luo Qi’s chest. There was some ice on it, but he could hear his older brother’s violent heartbeat. “Sorry, I worried you,” Luo Wei hugged Luo Qi back. Black Frost City returned, the Black Frost Cavalry was finished, and Mo Huan Sang took Sima Zhuxie with him in retreat. Now, Luo Wei could be at ease about Luo Qi’s future. As long as the crown prince could ascend to the throne, no one could harm his older brother again. Luo Qi, Luo Shi Yi could, from now on, be with that Ye Xiu woman. They would bear and raise children together until they became old, and their descendants packed their house. No one could separate them. Tears slipped from Luo Wei’s eyes. The wishes he begged for seemed to finally realize one by one before his eyes, making him unable to contain his joy. 

“I thought you’d grown up,” Luo Qi wiped the tears from Luo Wei’s face, softly saying, “why are you crying now?”  

“That swamp.” Luo Wei felt ashamed that he’d cried in public. He buried his head in Luo Qi’s arms, “I don’t want to enter that kind of damned place in my life again!” 

Fourteen rolled his eyes to the sky from behind them. This seemed to be something he’d said before. 

“Are you all okay?” Luo Qi held Luo Wei and asked Wei Lan and the others. 

Before returning to the camp, Luo Wei and his group had already bathed in an unknown river. Luo Wei couldn’t take cold baths. That group of people had gone through some trouble to find an army pot that someone had left behind in the wilderness. They’d doggedly boiled until they had a pot of hot water, and only let Luo Wei take a bath then. Otherwise, with their inhuman appearances–Wei Lan and the rest glanced at each other, and all felt it best to forget how they had looked. 

“All okay,” Imperial Physician Wei replied to Luo Qi. “It’s just that the Third Young Master has been tired, we must take care of him well later.” 

“If you could have found that road that people could walk on, the Young Master wouldn’t need to be tired,” Ten muttered angrily from behind Imperial Physician Wei. 

Imperial Physician Wei turned around and glared at these unscrupulous fellows. After hearing Mo Huan Sang say that there was a path through the swamp, this group of people didn’t show a single good expression to him. It was as if he deliberately wanted to bring them along to suffer–if so, would there still be a natural order to the world? Imperial Physician Wei truly wished to pinch these people’s ears and give them a proper talking-to. Didn’t he walk on the same road as them? If he knew there was a road that people could walk on, would he not take it?! If he, surnamed Wei, didn’t treat them as human beings, would he not consider himself a human being as well?

Wei Lan was a well-behaved man. He looked at Imperial Physician Wei with the same smile as always. 

Ten and the other four did not have Wei Lan’s good temper. Seeing Imperial Physician Wei glaring at them, they glared back. In this mutual glaring match, no one gave in. 

Luo Qi didn’t notice the group of people beside him glaring daggers at each other. He carefully gave Luo Wei a once-over again, saying, “Seems thinner again.” He picked Luo Wei up on the spot and spun him in a circle. 

“Big brother!” At this, Luo Wei gave up. He was being taken for a child again. 

Long Xuan hurried over and saw Luo Qi playing with Luo Wei. He saw Luo Wei’s flushed face as he gave Luo Qi a look of reproach to say something, but Luo Qi lifted Luo Wei up until his two legs left the ground again, spinning a circle on the spot. Long Xuan stopped from far away. When he heard that Luo Wei had returned to the barracks, he only stared blankly. Soon after, he walked quickly to the commander’s tent. The ecstasy in his heart–Long Xuan had never felt that before in his life. 

“Your Highness?” The bodyguards behind Long Xuan did not know why their master had walked to this place and stopped. If he had come to see the Third Young Master Luo, why not go to him? 

Long Xuan watched Luo Wei joke with the people beside him: Luo Qi, Ning Fei, Yun Guan’s generals, and Wei Lan. When Long Xuan saw Wei Lan, the smile on his face disappeared. Wei Lan appeared somewhat weakened, the movements of his arms delayed. It seemed he was injured. Someone who had taken the Qi Lin secret drug would not be in Wei Lan’s current state. 

Long Xuan’s bodyguards saw his face become gloomy and didn’t dare to speak, silently standing behind Long Xuan. 

Long Xuan found it hard to bear, watching Luo Wei, Luo Qi, and the rest make a racket as they amused themselves. It was as if Luo Wei’s heart had four city gates that all could pass through, but he’d only locked Long Xuan out of the city. There was no gate he could enter. At this moment, Long Xuan felt loneliness and a deep sense of disappointment. 

Luo Wei inadvertently turned his head and saw Long Xuan standing far away. His expression immediately became frosty. 

Wei Lan didn’t take the drug. Luo Wei’s dark expression told Long Xuan that Luo Wei knew that he’d given Wei Lan the Qi Lin secret drug. Facing Luo Wei’s chilly mien, Long Xuan’s gaze was also ice-cold. He did not think he’d done anything wrong, and he, Long Xuan, did not have the habit of showing weakness to please someone else. 

Wei Lan also saw Long Xuan and immediately looked at Luo Wei. 

“Forget about him,” Luo Wei saw Wei Lan looking back at him, and his expression warmed again. He whispered to Wei Lan, “I know it’s not the time yet.” 

Long Xuan slowly walked over to the front of Luo Wei. He spoke some glad words of congratulations. 

Luo Wei also politely replied with some appropriate phrases. 

Other than the few who knew the inside story, including Imperial Physician Wei, no one else could see that these two were only acting out an “elder brother’s affection and younger brother’s respect” play for people to see. 

After Long Xuan and Luo Wei finished their acting, Luo Qi said to Long Xuan, “Xiao Wei’s returned to camp. This general wants to return the troops to Black Frost City as soon as possible.” 

“Brother Shi Yi decides everything in the army, I have no objections,” Long Xuan replied. 

Luo Wei piped up: “Big brother, then isn’t it better for us to immediately return the troops?” 

Luo Qi turned to head back to his tent and convey his orders to return to Black Frost City. 

“I don’t know if Sima Qingsha knows you’re still alive.” Long Xuan walked to Luo Wei’s side. “And what kind of mood he would have.” 

“I’m a citizen of Greater Zhou,” Luo Wei coldly countered. “What does his mood have to do with me?”

---

Losing some translating steam. Will update more irregularly (every 2 weeks like the last few chapters). If anyone wants to pick this up, please feel free. Sorry guys

R:DSAT Chapter 208: You Love Him?

The rescue was effortless for Ten and the others. They charged out looking unlike people but unlike ghosts, already scaring the Mo clan members. When they moved their hands, bugs fell off, fueling nausea. The odor on their bodies was also identical to the smell of corpses that had rotted for many days. The Mo clan members’ martial arts were not necessarily worse than the Dragon Guards’, but before the two even exchanged blows the Mo clan members’ courage died. 

Luo Wei threw off the outer layer of his clothes. After he had taken off his headwrap, he reached the front of Sima Zhuxie. Seeing Sima Zhuxie’s blank eyes, he realized he did not need to fear scaring Sima Zhuxie. This was a blind man. 

Wei Lan, who had been following at Luo Wei’s back, suddenly pulled Luo Wei behind him and took a protective stance. 

At that moment, Mo Huan Sang rushed to Sima Zhuxie and protected Sima Zhuxie in the same way, looking at Luo Wei and Wei Lan. He asked, “Who are you?” 

“This humble one is surnamed Luo,” Luo Wei replied as he sized Mo Huan Sang up. 

Upon hearing that Luo Wei was surnamed Luo, Mo Huan Sang said, “Luo Wei? You are Luo Yun Qi?” 

Luo Wei nodded, replying, “This humble one is Luo Wei. General Mo, we finally meet.” 

Mo Huan Sang pushed Sima Zhuxie behind him further. “You can just kill me and let Zhuxie go. He is just a cripple now, and isn’t a threat at all to you.” 

Mo Huan Sang’s appearance was average. Luo Wei did not imagine that Mo Huan Sang, who was known as the “God of War,” would be this kind of an ordinary and mediocre-looking person. What “wisdom and godly martial arts,” what “unrivaled,” these kinds of phrases had nothing to do with the person in front of him. 

Mo Huan Sang noticed Luo Wei’s delay in answering, and spoke: “Take it as me begging you.”

“You love him?” Luo Wei had thought that something wasn’t right between these two people from what had just transpired–now he was certain. 

Mo Huan Sang didn’t speak. He only nodded. 

It turned out that the chaos that unfolded in Northern Yan was not for power, but for love. Luo Wei momentarily felt it was absurd. 

“Committing sins,” Imperial Physician Wei spoke this one phrase and stepped to the side. 

Ten and the others quickly and easily disposed of the last few Mo clan members and walked over. Ten pointed at Mo Huan Sang and Sima Zhuxie, who were sitting on the ground, and asked Luo Wei, “Young master, what do we do with these two?” 

(T/N: literal: “three, set five remove two.” Idiom meaning quickly and easily. Abacus rule) 

Sima Zhuxie felt his way to Mo Huan Sang’s side. He put his arms around Mo Huan Sang, shelving his chin on Mo Huan Sang’s shoulders. 

“I’ll let you go,” Luo Wei decided. 

“Young master?” Wei Lan and Ten cried out in surprise at the same time. 

“You have to think properly about this,” Imperial Physician Wei also walked back and reasoned to Luo Wei, “you can’t let them go only out of pity, how would you justify this to His Majesty?” 

“All of you don’t need to speak. I’ve already decided,” Luo Wei stated. He then looked towards Imperial Physician Wei, continuing, “Do you still have medicine? Treat them.” 

“You want to treat them?” Imperial Physician Wei’s astonishment worsened. Was Luo Wei born with a brain unlike the rest of theirs, so that they all couldn’t understand his actions? 

“Hurry,” Luo Wei urged. “We have to get back earlier.” 

“What’s this for?” Imperial Physician Wei asked. 

Luo Wei explained, “Besides Crown Prince Zhuxie already being a cripple, General Mo now  isn’t a threat to my Greater Zhou as well. Why should I kill them? General Mo, after you’ve escaped alive, you won’t find trouble for I, Luo Wei, again right?” 

“If you let me go, you are a benefactor,” Mo Huan Sang answered. 

“Benefactor?” Luo Wei began to smile. “I’m someone who’s harmed Crown Prince Zhuxie. Can I still be General Mo’s benefactor?” 

“Two countries fought each other, each acted for his own master,” Mo Huan Sang’s words, if thrown upon the floor, would make sound. “Young master cannot be considered our enemy, only Sima Qingsha. He and Zhuxie originally came from the same root. Truly hateful.” 

(T/N: meaning his words had weight/substance, he spoke powerfully)

“Take a look for them,” Luo Wei ordered the motionless Imperial Physician Wei. “Do you still need me to say please?” 

Imperial Physician Wei squatted down. 

“Look after him first,” Mo Huan Sang pointed at Sima Zhuxie and said to Imperial Physician Wei. 

“Here’s a bit of dry food.” Luo Wei untied the bag of dry food from Ten’s body and gave it to Mo Huan Sang. “We just came out of the swamp, so the dry food doesn’t smell too good. But it’s still edible.” 

“Why are you letting me go?” Mo Huan Sang took the dry food bag from Luo Wei’s hands. He saw that Luo Wei was really letting him and Sima Zhuxie go, and got the energy to think a bit more. “Didn’t your Greater Zhou wholeheartedly want my life?” 

“Just take it as momentary kindness. Maybe not long after I will regret it,” Luo Wei replied.

Mo Huan Sang stopped talking, afraid of triggering the regret Luo Wei spoke of. Imperial Physician Wei wrapped the wounds of the two injured men simply, then gave Mo Huan Sang two bottles of wound medicine. 

“Where are you going to take Zhuxie?” Luo Wei asked. “Are you leaving Northern Yan?” 

“Between heaven and earth, there must be a place for the two of us,” Mo Huan Sang answered. 

“I advise you to first leave Northern Yan and avoid the following events for a time. Sima Qingsha wouldn’t let the two of you go,” Luo Wei posited. 

“Many thanks for the reminder.” Mo Huan Sang helped Sima Zhuxie to stand. He had suffered serious injuries, but still carried Sima Zhuxie on his back and headed towards the swamp. 

“You’re just going in like that?” Imperial Physician Wei did not want to see those he had just treated seek death. 

“There’s a walkable path here,” Mo Huan Sang glanced at the sorry state of Luo Wei and the others, “it seems that you guys didn’t know.” 

“I hope we will meet again,” Luo Wei cupped a fist in the other hand in salute at Mo Huan Sang. 

“Sang?” Sima Zhuxie reached a hand out in front of Mo Huan Sang, his touch glancing on the other’s face. 

“Let’s go home.” Mo Huan Sang staggered as he carried Sima Zhuxie into the depths of the swamp. 

“Young Master, how will you justify this to His Majesty?” Ten watched Mo Huan Sang walk away before asking Luo Wei. The Dragon Guards all looked distressed. If they returned to the capital and Emperor Xing Wu asked, they didn’t dare to withhold reporting that Luo Wei had let Sima Zhuxie and Mo Huan Sang go. 

“Without the Black Frost Cavalry, one Mo Huan Sang is not considered a great enemy of my Greater Zhou,” Luo Wei explained. “You all heard what was said just now, too. Mo Huan Sang is not even surnamed Mo. If I didn’t guess wrong, his mother was probably drowned in a wicker basket by the Mo clan for not observing feminine morals.” 

“You’ll let him go because of this?” Wei Lan asked. 

“So he won’t take revenge on behalf of the Mo clan,” Luo Wei continued. “Why should we be scared of him? If Mo Huan Sang lives, Sima Qingsha can’t live a stable life. Why shouldn’t I let him go?” 

“You’re scheming against Crown Prince Qingsha again?” Imperial Physician Wei inquired. Sima Qingsha had always treated Luo Wei extremely generously, for fear of showing irreverence. This Luo Wei had taken Black Frost City but still plotted against Sima Qingsha?

“He is Northern Yan’s crown prince. Should I still help him defend his country?” Luo Wei answered with a question. 

“This person is now bringing a blind lunatic with him. What storms can he create?” Ten reasoned. 

“If I don’t give him the opportunity, how will we know he isn’t capable? I’ll explain to His Majesty, you don’t need to worry,” Luo Wei said, then spoke to himself, “unexpectedly, he actually loves him.” 

Ten and the others hadn’t reacted yet before they heard Luo Wei, who had already walked away, say to Wei Lan, “Lan, are there any bugs left on my body? I still feel there are things crawling on my body.” 

“Don’t move, let me see,” Wei Lan patted a few bugs off Luo Wei’s back. 

The few people behind them watched these two walking together as if there was no one else around them, and all wanted to ask Luo Wei, “Mo Huan Sang loves Sima Zhuxie, then what about you and Wei Lan? Are you in love with each other too?” 

R:DSAT Chapter 207: Encountering Huan Sang

Luo Wei and the others struggled bitterly through the swamp for three days and three nights. 

Drinking water was not a problem. The rain did not stop, and they were wet from head to toe. They could open their mouths, and water would drip into their throats from the clothes on their heads. Eating brought grief. There were bugs everywhere. They couldn’t take off the clothes wrapping their heads, and couldn’t pry open a seam in the clothes to stuff dry food in. Before the dry food could enter their mouths, a dense layer of little bugs would cover it. There were mosquitoes, beetles, and other grotesquely shaped bugs that Luo Wei and the others had never even seen before, let alone name. This kind of dry food did not pose a problem for Luo Wei and Wei Lan, who had survived hard times. Imperial Physician Wei and the Dragon Guards could not eat this kind of dry food for the life of them. Finally, with no way out, Imperial Physician Wei took out the supplements he had brought for Luo Wei and used them as replacement for food. Whenever one was hungry, he would shove a small piece into his mouth. That way, this group of people did not starve to death. 

As for sleep, they could only take turns. Those who were awake carried the ones who slept, not daring to stay still in this place. Imperial Physician Wei again developed a new understanding of Luo Wei. He originally thought Luo Wei was a weak, sickly young master, but now he believed what Luo Wei had once said to him: “Everyone endures difficulties.” This Third Young Master Luo was definitely a person capable of enduring. He looked like the wind could blow him away, but could still soundlessly carry Wei Lan while walking for most of the day. 

“I’ll never enter a swamp again in my life!” Fourteen vowed. 

“Enough, you bring trouble all by yourself!” Ten scolded this brother of his.  

“It’s almost over,” Imperial Physician Wei said. “Bear with it some more.” 

Luo Wei stood on tiptoe again to look. The farthest he could see to was a patch of loess. Furthermore, the reeds and wild grass growing from the grounds they currently walked on were sparser, shorter, and thinner than before. 

“We count as lucky.” Imperial Physician Wei’s tone cheered up quite a bit. He slept the least in this group, because other than him, no one else knew how to find his way in this swamp. 

“This counts as lucky?” Ten suspected that Imperial Physician Wei had lost his wits. 

“We still haven’t encountered a fierce beast!” Imperial Physician Wei exclaimed. “With this kind of luck, after we go back, we all have to go to the temple and light incense for Buddha.” 

“Fierce beasts? What kind of fierce beast?” Luo Wei asked. 

“Man-eating ones,”Imperial Physician Wei answered. “Have you heard of crocodiles? There are also pythons. We didn’t encounter these man-eating creatures.” 

“We also haven’t been poisoned by the miasma.” Luo Wei dragged Wei Lan, who had already closed his eyes and slept, while encouraging the Dragon Guards behind him, “it seems that God doesn’t want to claim our lives this time. Bear with it everyone.” 

Eleven wanted to empty his bladder again, but could only urinate on himself. He could not possibly take off his pants here to relieve himself. Eleven endured the body-temperature fluid flowing from the top of his legs as he looked at their group of people. Having walked for three days, no one spoke of these matters. He thought that everyone was the same as him. Luckily they hadn’t had anything decent to eat these past three days. Otherwise–Ten shuddered–otherwise, would they even excrete fec*s on themselves? 

They saw the end of the swamp, but that didn’t mean they could walk to it immediately. Luo Wei’s group walked another two full days before they reached the edge of the swamp, each feeling half-human and half-ghost. 

Ten finally stepped on a patch of dry land. Just as he wanted to cheer at Luo Wei and the rest of them, he saw Wei Lan shaking his hand and saying, “There seems to be someone up ahead.” 

“There’s someone as unlucky as us?” Fourteen couldn’t believe it. 

“Don’t talk.” Ten focused on listening for movements in their surroundings, and confirmed to Luo Wei, “There’s someone up ahead.” 

They walked about fifty meters and then heard a man shout, “Mo Huan Sang!” This sound frightened their group to stillness. Luo Wei subconsciously pulled Wei Lan to run back. It would be better to meet with the fierce beasts in the swamp than to encounter Mo Huan Sang!

“Mo Huan Sang, you can come to this point?” A man’s rung out. 

Luo Wei didn’t run anymore. Hearing this, Mo Huan Sang seemed to be in trouble. 

“Do you want to go see?” Wei Lan whispered to Luo Wei. 

Luo Wei pointed forward, and their group walked forward. Having walked to this place, they no longer needed Imperial Physician Wei to lead the way. 

Hiding in the reeds, they looked at the clearing not far in front of them. 

Mo Huan Sang held Sima Zhuxie in his arms and tenaciously protected him. He could withstand the punches and kicks of these Mo clan members–he was just afraid that they would injure Sima Zhuxie, who already could not endure any more hits. 

“The Mo clan did not treat you badly!” A Mo clan member about forty years old pointed at Mo Huan Sang. “We gave you your surname and raised you to adulthood. After you won success and recognition, how did you treat us?! The Black Frost Cavalry is finished, and only the nine of us survived in the clan. If we knew that today would come, back then when your immoral mother returned to the clan we should have sunk both you and your mother together to the bottom of a pond!” 

(T/N: private punishment used especially for unfaithful wives.) 

These words the Mo clan members spoke seemed to have struck Mo Huan Sang’s sore spot. He was able to stand up again and fight these Mo clan experts. 

The Mo clan member who had just cursed Mo Huan Sang saw that Mo Huan Sang appeared to rise from the dead again, and hastily placed the single-edged sword in his hand against Sima Zhuxie’s neck. He yelled, “If you move again, I’ll kill him!” 

The sword cut into Sima Zhuxie’s neck; in pain, he shouted, “Sang, Sang.”

Mo Huan Sang roared, “You cannot hurt him!” 

“Hurt him?” This Mo clan member asked. “I want to kill him!” 

The two members of the Mo clan took advantage of Mo Huan Sang stilling to pierce their swords below Mo Huan Sang’s ribs. 

Mo Huan Sang collapsed to the ground, and the long sword in his hands finally slipped out. 

“Sang!” Sima Zhuxie heard the sound Mo Huan Sang made, and wanted to run over to him. However, he was kicked aside by the Mo clan member who had held him. 

“Just kill me.” Mo Huan Sang, wounded and fallen, seemed to have accepted his fate. He continued, “Let him go.’ 

“Can you guys still fight?” Luo Wei asked Ten and the rest as they crouched in the reeds. 

“Dealing with those few isn’t a problem,” Ten answered. “It’d be even easier to kill Mo Huan Sang.” 

In the clearing, the oldest Mo clan member shouted to Mo Huan Sang, “Not one out of the two of you can hope to live!” 

Even at this point, Mo Huan Sang wanted to protect Sima Zhuxie’s life. He replied, “Sima Qingsha wants a living Zhuxie. You can bring him to see Sima Qingsha, and the recovery of the Mo clan would be just around the corner.” 

“Do you take me for a three-year-old child?” The Mo clan member laughed grimly, “If Crown Prince Sima still trusted our Mo clan, how could he allow the entire Black Frost Cavalry to be wiped out?!” 

Sima Zhuxie crawled over under the feet of this Mo clan member, wholeheartedly trying to get to Mo huan Sang. 

“I can’t accept it!” This clan member kicked Sima Zhuxie away, hatefully continuing, “For this madman! Paying with the lives of the entire Mo clan!” 

Sima Zhuxie burst into tears. He was clearly a tall man, but at this moment he looked like a small child who had survived grievances, powerlessly wailing.

“Zhuxie,” Mo Huan Sang was distressed but helpless, calling out for Sima Zhuxie. 

Luo Wei saw that the Mo clan members were about to kill, and said to Ten and the others, “Go and save them!” 

R:DSAT Chapter 206: Without Vengeance, Peace in This Life Will be Difficult to Obtain

After it started to rain, the temperature of the swamp actually rose. The miasma became more pervasive. Those walking within it could only see a vast white expanse of vapor. 

After Twelve woke up, he didn’t dare to open his eyes. He only discovered after entering the swamp that he was afraid of bugs. 

(T/N: Author might have mistaken Twelve for Fourteen?)

Occasionally, Imperial Physician Wei would want to stop to find a path. Luo Wei and the rest had no choice but to stand in wait. From time to time, small poisonous mosquitoes would butt against their eyes. They could only use their hands to block their eyes. 

“How much longer?” Luo Wei asked. They had been wading through knee-deep water the entire way. Wei Lan almost couldn’t stand anymore. Luo Wei supported him and could feel his trembling. 

Imperial Physician Wei pointed south and replied, “Do you see that young master? We must pass through this patch of swamp.” 

Luo Wei stood on his tiptoes to look, but did not see where the swamp that Imperial Physician Wei pointed out ended. Luo Wei again looked at the road they had come from. Miasma embraced it, and the reeds and grass were taller than men. The road whence they came was no longer visible. As far as the eye could see, only swamplands lay behind them. 

“Let’s go.” Wei Lan shook Luo Wei’s hand once, and whispered, “I’m fine, I can still walk.” 

At the front, Imperial Physician Wei again found their way. Their group continued onwards with their heads covered. They’d already walked halfway, and turning back was impossible, so they could only set their hearts on moving forward. 

On the battlefield outside the swamp, the Black Frost Cavalry could not avoid welcoming its final days. The news of Luo Wei escaping the Northern Yan camp and obtusely entering the southwest swamp in a panic spread by word of mouth throughout the plains of Tian Shui. Afterwards, those who should have been ecstatic with their victory were trapped again in a murky haze. 

The Zhou soldiers quickly withdrew to their barracks, adopting a stance that showed they wanted to fight another battle with the Northern Yan army. 

Sima Qingsha sat in the warm tent that Luo Wei had lived in for a few days–it was the tent that he had given to Luo Wei when asked. The bodies in the tent had already been cleared away, their wounds all fatal. It was clear that Luo Wei did not think to have mercy. Sima Qingsha leaned at a crooked angle against the chair. His heart was a mess. He tried to put it in order. He was angry, but felt that this was what should have happened. If Luo Wei was only greedy for his life and for riches, he wouldn’t be the Luo Wei who allied with Sima Qingsha and made plans in Ye Jia city. This Luo Wei who dared to give himself up, who dealt with others courteously but without sincerity, who conspired on Greater Zhou’s behalf for Black Frost City–this was the real Luo Wei. 

“Your Highness the Crown Prince,” a courtier outside of the tent shouted. 

Sima Qingsha kept silent.

The officials and generals outside could only wait for their crown prince to come out himself. 

Sima Qingsha looked at the bloodstains on the ground and the clothes Luo Wei had haphazardly thrown on the bed. The Sima imperial family had already planned for the worst. In order for the Sima clan to continue to sit firmly on the throne of Northern Yan, they had to get rid of Mo Huan Sang and the Black Frost Cavalry. They were already prepared to lose Black Frost City and Chun Du Pass. But now that he was truly on the eve of losing Black Frost City, Sima Qingsha still felt a heartache that was hard to bear. Whoever came to enact this play for Greater Zhou would be fine, but why did it have to be Luo Wei? Sima Qingsha got up from the wooden chair and took the clothes Luo Wei had left on the bed. The bitter smell of medicine still lingered on the garments. Sima Qingsha shut his eyes and could still dimly see Luo Wei standing before him. He threw the clothes on the ground and walked out of the tent. 

“Your Highness?” The ministers of the monarch’s inner circle saw Sima Qingsha exit and hurriedly paid respects. 

“Has Mo Huan Sang’s body been found?” Sima Qingsha asked. 

Sun Li came forward. “Not yet. Subordinates are still looking.” 

“Then Yang Yuansu?” Sima Qingsha asked another question.

“Eastern Shang’s soldiers and horses have still not returned,” Sun Li replied. “Should we send people to urge them back?” 

“No need.” Sima Qingsha walked towards the army commander’s tent. “Now everyone has his own intentions. Do you still think we can fight shoulder-to-shoulder?” 

After Sun Li heard the news of Luo Wei’s escape and felt astonishment and indignation, he began to worry for his own family’s lives. After all, he had led Luo Wei here. When he discovered that Sima Qingsha did not intend to blame or punish him, Sun Li relaxed slightly. “Then that tent?” he asked Sima Qingsha. 

“Take it apart,” Sima Qingsha answered. “Put the clothes inside away. I want to take them.” 

The clothes inside the tent? Those could only be Luo Wei’s. Sun Li couldn’t wrap his head around that. What was going on? Events had played out in the worst way possible, what use was it to keep Luo Wei’s clothes?  

Sima Qingsha entered the commander’s tent. The generals inside were still waiting for him to tell them what to do next. “Luo Wei might already be dead,” Sima Qingsha said to his generals. “So we might not be able to retrieve Black Frost City.” 

The generals were all aggrieved. Who was to blame? In the end, each one of their gazes cut into Sun Li. 

Sima Qingsha temporarily put Luo Wei at the back of his mind. He now did not have much time to think about this person. Upon reflecting more deeply, it seemed some developments were predestined. When the two of them met in Ye Jia City, these developments had already been fixed. One wanted to protect his country and throne; the other wanted to seize Black Frost City. Therefore, one used the other while the other schemed against him. There was no one to blame for today’s results. Luo Wei had never once spared an extra thought on his behalf, so why should Sima Qingsha linger in melancholy over the changing of seasons? It wasn’t worth it. 

“We still haven’t found Mo Huan Shang’s body,” a general in the tent pointed out. “Did this person really die?” 

“The Black Frost Cavalry is already gone,” a tactician reminded them. “Mo Huan Sang will die no matter what. Luo Wei entered the deadlands in the southwest, it seems he is bound to die as well. Your Highness, what your servant worries about is, will Luo Qi immediately go to war with us when he receives news of Luo Wei’s death?” 

“Let him come!” A general shouted. “This group of untrustworthy villains, I haven’t satisfied my craving to battle them yet! It’s good to keep fighting, let’s seize Black Frost City back!” 

“Could these matters be that simple?” Sima Qingsha glanced at this impulsively outspoken general and suddenly wondered: Would Luo Qi, who used his little brother’s life to exchange for occupying Black Frost City, have any regrets? 

On the battlefield, soldiers were clearing bodies away. They dug a great pit, threw their dead companions in it, and then filled it with soil. Few soldiers could hope to be like leaves, drifting back to their roots. They could only beseech to be at peace in the dirt, and be fortunate for this request to be granted. 

Yang Yuansu and Long Xuan dismissed their attendants. They stood facing each other alone. 

“So it was you who stopped Luo Wei.” Long Xuan’s lips curved into a slight smile. “Then I should give Grand Prince my thanks for getting rid of a major enemy for me.” 

Not expecting such a reaction from Long Xuan, Yang Yuansu replied, “You speak frankly. Since you don’t want him to live, then why did you personally bring people to find him?” 

“Compared to ordinary times, it’ll always be easier to kill someone in the midst of a chaotic battle formation,” Long Xuan answered. “But for Grand Prince, now that Luo Wei is dead, you should return your army to Chun Du Pass as soon as possible.” 

“Why do you say that?”

“With Luo Wei dead, Black Frost City is firmly in our grasp. This won’t change. For the time being, Greater Zhou holding Black Frost City isn’t greatly harmful to Northern Yan. After all, Tian Shui’s fountainhead lies between. Chun Du Pass is different. Northern Yan’s hinterlands lie past Chun Du Pass. Sima Qingsha won’t watch carelessly as Chun Du Pass falls into Grand Prince’s hands. 

Yang Yuansu’s face carried regret. He replied, “I’ve seen Crown Prince Long Yu. He is far inferior to you. It’s a pity ah, Long Xuan, that you are the son of an imperial concubine.” 

“The same is true for the Grand Prince.” The smile hanging from Long Xuan’s lips was completely mocking. “Grand Prince strives for unification of the lands under heaven, and control of the government. But he still must act as minister to a child. Grand Prince must be a loyal minister and good general and leave a good name in the annals of history, with no way in this life to take the crown.” 

Yang Yuansu’s anger rose to the heavens, but did not show on his face. He only smiled coldly, asking Long Xuan, “You think you can?” 

“My Emperor Father’s body is healthy and sound,” Long Xuan replied. “Grand Prince doesn’t need to worry about my imperial Long clan’s matters. Besides, I’ve never thought of having a good reputation in the annals of history.” 

“Okay.” Yang Yuansu got on his warhorse and said, “I’ll wait for the day you take the crown. Long Xuan, I’m sure we’ll meet again someday.” 

Long Xuan stood in the wilderness. Rain pelted his body, but he had no reaction at all. He would not let this Eastern Shang’s Yang Yuansu go. If he did not avenge today’s hatred, it would be difficult for him to find peace in this life. 

R:DSAT Chapter 205: Man-Eating Swamp

The southwest of Tian Shui’s fountainhead had been a dead place since ancient times. No one dared to enter, thousands of animals vanished within, and birds did not breach it.

Hundreds of mounted Northern Yan soldiers held torches and walked among wild underbrush growing at half of a man’s height. From time to time, one could see remote specks of blue light jumping on the underbrush in the distance. The sight terrified, but none of the soldiers could reveal their foolish fear before their comrades. So each person, from the generals to the soldiers, could only bite the bullet and walk forward.

When the soldier leading the way arrived at a place where the underbrush grew to the full height of a man, he did not walk further. He turned his head and said to the general, “We can’t go further.” 

The general sat astride his horse and looked around. Not to mention people, there wasn’t even the shadow of a ghost. The surrounding underbrush was dense, but he couldn’t even hear the sound of insects. 

One soldier took a few steps forward, stretching out the torch he was holding to illuminate the underbrush. He craned his neck to look inside. 

“Look carefully,” the general ordered. “See if there’s anyone hiding inside.” 

The soldier didn’t dare to look too much. After a few sweeping glances, he turned to the general and said, “There’s nothing inside.” 

“Go back,” the general commanded. In any case, he felt dark, eerie energy in this place. 

The soldier wanted to turn around, but in a moment of inattention his foot slipped. The people beside him only heard him shout once before his entire person slipped into the underbrush. 

“Pull him out,” the general hurriedly said.

Several soldiers went forward, reaching out to their companion. But once their hands entered, they all screamed miserably and withdrew. 

“What’s the matter?” The general dismounted, and walked over to personally take a look. 

Underneath the torchlight, these few peoples’ hands became red and swollen at a speed visible to the naked eye. Because of this strange and unbearable itching, they scratched. Upon scratching, they shrieked again and again in succession. People watched as the flesh on these few soldiers’ hands came off in pieces, scratched off with their own hands. 

“Tie their hands!” The general ordered loudly. 

Some soldiers who had learned from past mistakes used long spears to randomly poke around in the underbrush. They actually hooked up their fallen companion. He was already motionless. His clothes were wet, and he looked like a corpse. 

Before the general reached the fallen man, he saw the subordinates surrounding the man retreat. Several of them vomited on the spot. The general walked forward to look. He was a great general who had killed countless people, but he couldn’t suppress his nausea. This soldier was already dead as a doornail. In this short period of time, blushing red, crawling leeches covered his body, their stomachs bulging. Even his eyes had leeches. The general acted before he thought, lifting a foot to kick this body back into the underbrush. 

The soldier leading the way walked to the general’s side and said, “General, let’s hurry back.” 

The general took a torch from a soldier and personally inspected. The torch light shone on the underbrush. After carefully looking, the general discovered that the bottom of the underbrush was water. The turbid liquid that received the illumination of the torch light was filled with tangling insects, snakes, leeches, toads, and other creatures the general could not name.

“Are those mosquitoes?” A soldier beside him shouted. 

The general straightened up. Following the soldier’s line of sight, he also lifted his head to look above him. He saw wisps of diluted black smoke moving left and right, down and up, drifting. 

“General let’s go back,” the soldier leading the way begged. 

A cloud of that smoke came close to the general. At this, the general saw clearly that there really were small black mosquitoes gathering into what looked like clouds of smoke. One dignified general was so frightened by these small mosquitoes that he retreated several steps. 

“These mosquitoes all carry poison,” the soldier behind the general continued to jabber on. 

“There’s also huge spiders here!” A soldier who’d discovered some new frightening thing yelled.

“Everyone shut up!” The general was enraged at his own timidity. However, he still mounted his horse quickly and said to his subordinates, “Let’s go back. It’s impossible for Luo Wei to come out of here alive.” 

In a swamp not far from the Northern Yan soldiers, Luo Wei and his group were struggling to walk. 

“Take a solid step, then take another step!” imperial Physician Wei, who headed the group, looked back from time to time and exhorted Luo Wei and the others. 

Their horses had only taken a few steps in the swamp before collapsing, without exception. Bugs of all kinds and sizes crawled on the horses’ bodies, covering them. Before Luo Wei and his group stood up from the knee-deep water, these fine warhorses became skeletons. 

Fourteen could not bear it and vomited. 

“Don’t vomit!” Imperial Physician Wei dragged Fourteen over and, as he patted his back, he said, “You have medicine in your mouth. If you vomit it out, you’ll die!” 

Luo Wei and Wei Lan supported each other to stand. “I’m fine,” Luo Wei told Wei Lan. He’d seen all manner of disgusting things. The absurd scene before Luo Wei could not stimulate him.

Wei Lan first wanted to focus on slapping off the disgusting bugs that had crawled on Luo Wei, but not long after, he gave up. No matter how many bugs he patted off, in the blink of an eye, new bugs would replace them. He couldn’t pat them off or drive them away, so he let them be. 

“We can’t stop here,” Imperial Physician Wei let Fourteen calm down, then continued, “move forward.” 

Luo Wei supported Wei Lan and asked, “Can you walk with your legs?” 

Imperial Physician Wei spoke to Luo Wei again: “Young master, I think Wei Lan can walk better than you. Don’t worry about him.” 

“Aren’t his knees still swollen?” Ten asked from the back. 

“He’s still stronger than our Third Young Master!” Imperial Physician Wei walked to the very front and led the way. 

“Is he looking down on me?” Luo Wei whispered to Wei Lan. 

“If the young master can’t walk anymore, Wei Lan can carry him on his back.” Wei Lan now would not speak ill of Imperial Physician Wei, so he only said this much to Luo Wei.

“Let’s go!” Before Luo Wei could reply, at the front, Imperial Physician Wei already used a long branch to explore the road ahead, as he said, “don’t look at each other’s bodies so you don’t get sick.”

When they’d just reached the edge of the swamp, if it weren’t for Luo Wei sinking into the swamp first, Ten and the others would rather fight to the death with the pursuing Northern Yan soldiers than enter. With miasma-repelling medicine in their mouths, these few people’s collars, cuffs, and trousers were all bound tightly with cloth bands. They wore as many clothes as they could, and covered their heads so that only their eyes were exposed. 

“What on earth is that ghastly thing?” After walking a while, Ten pointed at the flashing blue specks of light not far from them and asked. “Are they ghosts?” 

“No,” Imperial Physician Wei answered, calm in the face of the unexpected. “There might be dead people over there. Those are phosphorescence that comes from the bones of the dead. I’ve been a doctor for so many years, but have never seen a ghost in this world.” 

Fourteen asked Luo Wei, who walked behind him, “Young master, are there no ghosts in this world?” 

“Don’t scare yourself.” With every step he took, Luo Wei felt something slippery and soft under his feet. The more he walked, the heavier his steps were. However, he still comforted Fourteen, who was the youngest out of the five Dragon Cavalry Guards, “Why should the living be afraid of ghosts? You are a man and your body has heavy Yang energy. Ghosts dare not approach you.” 

(T/N: Yang, as opposed to yin, is associated with men, sunlight, and positive energy. So sexist right?)

“Young master isn’t wrong,” Imperial Physician Wei chuckled from his position in front. “Fourteen ah, everyone will be a ghost when he dies. Why be afraid of ghosts?”

“But there’s something pulling my feet!” Fourteen yelled. 

Luo Wei, who was walking behind Fourteen, saw Fourteen’s body tilt to the side. He and Wei Lan reached out at the same time to stabilize Fourteen, but instead got dragged down with him. 

“Fourteen, don’t move!” Imperial Physician Wei saw Fourteen sink, and swiftly shouted. 

Flustered, Fourteen didn’t listen to Imperial Physician Wei and struggled to get up with all his might. His kung fu failed him at this moment. 

Luo Wei had already been pulled by Fourteen into the muddy swamp water. He lay prone and shouted at Fourteen, “Don’t move!” 

“Young master!” From the side, Wei Lan saw that Luo Wei would be pulled by Fourteen into the eddy as well. He became more anxious, but didn’t dare to let go of Fourteen’s hand. He reached out his free hand to Luo Wei, hoping to pull him, but he couldn’t reach him. 

Eleven and Thirteen ran over, pulling Luo Wei and Wei Lan respectively. 

Ten saw Fourteen still struggling wildly. He threw a stone at Fourteen’s head, forcing Fourteen to pass out. 

“Pull slowly,” Imperial Physician Wei commanded from the side. His heart also thumped hard, but he had to keep his calm in spite of that. 

After Luo Wei and the others pulled Fourteen out of the muddy vortex, Luo Wei lay in the swamp for a long time, unable to get up. 

Imperial Physician Wei’s cold sweat covered his body, but he still urged the others, “We have to go. We can’t stay here for long!” 

R:DSAT Chapter 204: God is Watching You!

After the not-so-distant cursing, pleading, and blood-curdling shrieks gradually weakened, Long Xuan stepped off the dirt mound. He did not mount his horse, but walked to the side of the land depression where the air seemed to congeal with the strong smell of blood. 

Ning Fei saw Long Xuan come over, and stepped forward, “Your Highness, they’ve all already been dealt with. It’s just there,” Ning Fei pointed to their left, saying to Long Xuan, “they still haven’t been examined.”

Long Xuan looked to his left, where they had detained approximately five hundred or more kneeling people. “Examine?” He asked Ning Fei, “Examine what? Who are these people?”

“They are all servants,” Ning Fei answered. “They hid several children of the Mo clan. This general was just about to think of a way to have them children over.”

Long Xuan walked to this group of servants as he glanced at the decapitated corpses piled up in the land depression. He ordered Ning Fei, “Have someone inspect them, and then set them on fire.” 

Ning Fei again left to transmit orders. 

An old, kneeling servant saw Long Xuan approaching, and hurriedly kowtowed to him, “Master, we are all only subordinates, and have no relationship with the Mo clan.” 

“How could you have no relationship?” Long Xuan looked at the little children in the middle of several female servants, guarded by them. The children were all clad in servant garb, and their faces were so dirtied that their original appearances could not be discerned. Long Xuan looked at the old servant again, “You have been supported by the Mo clan for a living.” 

The old servant pleaded from the ground, “Master, us humble ones only did manual labor to survive. Begging master for mercy, please let us humble ones go.” 

“Then hand over your little masters,” Long Xuan replied. “I’ll give you a way to live.” 

“There are no little masters, they’ve all died.” The old servant knocked his head on the ground as if he were beating garlic. 

Long Xuan looked back at Ning Fei, who had walked behind him again. 

“This subordinate has checked the genealogy. The number of children is incorrect,” Ning Fei whispered to Long Xuan. 

“Then we don’t need to leave them be,” Long Xuan said as he began to walk away, “kill them all.” 

The sounds of pleading and mournful weeping started before Long Xuan’s voice had even faded. 

“Master!” At this time, one of the servant women protecting the little children shouted at Long Xuan. 

Long Xuan stilled, looking at this servant woman. He saw that this woman carried two infants, one on her back and one in front of her. 

The servant woman retrieved the infant on her back and presented it to Long Xuan, saying, “This is the Mo clan’s child. Take it!” 

“You ungrateful scoundrel!” The old servant who had just kowtowed to Long Xuan begging for his life saw the servant woman’s actions and cursed at her, “The master of the Mo clan did not treat you unkindly, you don’t deserve a good death, whor*!” 

The servant woman held the baby up, crouching on the ground and incessantly crying, muttering, “I want to live, I don’t want to die ah.” 

The old servant loudly cursed without stopping, even thinking to stand up and charge Long Xuan. 

The guard next to Long Xuan glanced at Long Xuan’s expression. He lifted a foot and kicked the old servant to the ground again. He then viciously stomped twice on the old servant’s neck, breaking it. 

This scene scared the rest of the servants. They all fell silent. 

Long Xuan took the infant from the servant woman’s hands with one hand. The baby felt uncomfortable and began to cry. “Only this one?” Long Xuan asked the servant woman. 

The servant woman knelt on the ground and only cried. She cried until she could not speak. 

Long Xuan held the baby’s hand and tossed it. The wailing baby was thrown into the raging inferno that burned the other corpses, and the sound of its sobbing cries then cracked before ceasing abruptly. 

The servant woman’s fingers dug into the earth, her nails breaking in the ground. They say that the ten fingers are linked to the heart, but this servant woman could not feel the pain in her fingers at this moment. 

“Kneeling like this, aren’t you afraid of hurting the little one on your chest?” Long Xuan asked. 

The servant woman heard Long Xuan’s words, and straightened her body which had practically lain upon the dirt. Just as she wanted to raise her head to look at Long Xuan and beg for mercy again, the servant woman felt the front of her chest empty. She stared. Long Xuan had taken the baby in her arms as well. “Ma-master?” The servant woman’s expression descended into horror. She looked at Long Xuan, “That is this lowly maid’s own child, sir give him, give him back to this lowly maid all right!” She reached out to Long Xuan, pleading for the babe’s return. Her two hands trembled so that Ning Fei, who stood beside Long Xuan, doubted whether she would be able to hold the infant even if it was returned to her. 

Long Xuan glanced at the infant in his hands and said, “You’re a dark-skinned woman, yet unexpectedly you gave birth to such a fair-skinned child. Is this your biological son?” 

The servant woman’s words flowed out in a rapid stream, “Yes, yes, master he is this lowly maid’s son.” 

“You aren’t some lowly maid,” Long Xuan’s voice suddenly softened. He continued, “Your loyalty is laudable. It’s just a pity that you’re not a citizen of my Greater Zhou.”

The servant woman looked at Long Xuan in confusion. 

Long Xuan threw the baby in his hands in front of the servant woman. 

“Your Highness?” Ning Fei involuntarily called out to Long Xuan. 

Under the illumination of the great flames charging towards the heavens, the surrounding people witnessed Long Xuan throwing the baby on a sharp stone. The little head almost split in two. Scarlet blood and shining white brains flowed all over the earth. 

The servant woman went to hold the dead baby, sharp screams emitting from her mouth, no longer sounding like a human. 

“Your Highness, why did you do that?” Ning Fei asked Long Xuan, his eyebrows twisting. He never imagined that this world could have someone as ruthless as Long Xuan. 

“This should be the Mo clan’s little child,” Long Xuan was still willing to explain to Ning Fei. “The master’s child cannot be chilled, so she held it in her arms. Her own biological son had to bear the wind and cold.” 

“She surrendered her own biological son?” Ning Fei looked at the servant woman in amazement. She held the dead infant, muttering to herself as if to coax the baby’s corpse to sleep. She did not even seem to be aware that the infant’s brains had coated the corners of her mouth. 

“A martyr of the Mo clan,” Long Xuan stated. “I can assume that this servant isn’t a hypocritical person greedy for life. It’s a pity she can’t be used for our Greater Zhou.” Long Xuan turned and walked past Ning Fei, continuing, “They don’t need to be kept.” 

“I recognize you! You are the second prince of the Zhou dynasty, Long Xuan!” A servant began to loudly curse from within the crowd, “You won’t even let a baby go! God is watching you! You will suffer retribution! Long Xuan you cannot have a good death! Even as a ghost I will pester you, let’s see if you can have a good end!” 

Ning Fei made a kill gesture to the sergeant under his command. Long Xuan mounted his horse and brought his guards with him back to camp. There was no happiness or anger on his face–it was, as usual, ice-cold. 

Ning Fei oversaw another massacre, not even aware of when the rain began to fall from the sky. The muddy ground beneath his feet was already saturated with blood. The pervasive metallic scent in the air stoppered breathing; the anguished wails of human beings nearing death flooded the brain; the raging fire burning corpses left no way to escape. Ning Fei, standing in the middle of this blood prison, suddenly began to miss the girl in the capital who had asked him for a match under the moonlight. He recalled Fu Wei’s frown and smile. Ning Fei wanted to return to Fu Wei’s side. If what he saw before him was only a nightmare, perhaps Fu Wei could wake him up. 

Long Xuan galloped back to camp quickly. Before he dismounted, he asked the sentry at the gate, “Has Third Young Master Luo returned?” 

“This officer has not seen Third Young Master Luo,” the gate sentry replied. 

Long Xuan turned his horse’s head, again heading for the battlefield in front of him. In his heart, he wondered: Was Luo Wei stuck in the battle formation of two armies, unable to get out? 

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Long Xuan, you bad… you real bad… 

Thank you Tuala for the ko-fi!

ASV Chapter 91: Snatch the Wife Back Home

Sometimes, being hard headed was not good. For example, after Qin Kaiyi put on a bold face once, afterwards he itched to sew his own mouth shut. 

When he first made that request to Shen Feixiao, he intended to make trouble for him. However, he completely did not expect that Shen Feixiao could eat both meat and vegetables, agreeing in an extraordinarily unperturbed manner. This rendered Qin Kaiyi speechless. 

So they settled the matter of cohabitation in this strange way. Qin Kaiyi desperately wished to find an excuse to drive Shen Feixiao out, but… 

“What would you like to eat today?” A certain apron-wearing man asked, his expression calm and collected.

“… Whatever’s fine.” Qin Kaiyi impatiently looked at the television, still protesting, “Don’t make it, I’m not… hungry.”

“Oh.” Shen Feixiao did not bother to take notice of Qin Kaiyi. He had lived with Qin Kaiyi for more than a month. How could he not see through this fellow’s thoughts?

“Shen Feixiao.” In any case, Qin Kaiyi felt that they could not continue this way. Although he did not know what on earth Shen Feixiao wanted to do, he had a vague hunch that if he still did not act now, it would really be too late.

“What is it?” Shen Feixiao was in the middle of cooking when he heard Qin Kaiyi’scall. He paused. 

“I…” Qin Kaiyi hesitated for a moment. He gritted his teeth and hardened his heart, and gave voice to the words he’d stifled in his heart, “I don’t like you.” 

“En.” Shen Feixiao didn’t have any particular reaction. He stilled the movements of his hands and used a towel to wipe them. “I knew a long time ago.” 

“I like women.” Knowing that it was better to suffer in the short-term rather than the long-term, Qin Kaiyi decided to smash an already broken pot. “And… I’m very afraid of you.” 

“…” Shen Feixiao turned to look at Qin Kaiyi, waiting for him to continue. 

“I know I’ve wronged you.” Qin Kaiyi’s tone was difficult to grasp. He was clear on how cruel his words were to Shen Feixiao. “But I really have no way to accept you. I’m really scared of you… seeing you, I’ll think of what happened to me, so, Shen Feixiao… we… it’s impossible.” 

“I don’t just have the memory of that world’s Shen Feixiao.” In the face of Qin Kaiyi’s rejection, Shen Feixiao seemed quite calm. It seemed as if he had long expected for this day to come. “So I won’t be as immoderate and stubborn as I was in that world.” 

“So…?”Qin Kaiyi frowned, not knowing what Shen Feixiao wanted to convey. 

“But that doesn’t mean I can let you go.” Shen Feixiao laughed at himself. “In the months after my car accident, as I recovered, I was thinking of this problem… I was thinking of whether I could treat those experiences as a dream, and then continue to live my life.” 

“…” Qin Kaiyi felt a bit sad for some reason. 

“But I couldn’t.” Shen Feixiao’s expression was indifferent, giving not a single hint on what he was thinking. “Rather than calling it a dream, it’s more like my own past life. I remember everything, every person, with no way to forget, and then pretended as if nothing happened. that Shen Feixiao has never had anyone teach him how to love. As the author you should know that his existence and love have no relationship whatsoever.” 

“That’s right. If I hadn’t written it like that back then that would be good.” Qin Kaiyi mustered a smile. 

“There’s no ‘if.’” Shen Feixiao firmly shattered Qin Kaiyi’s fantasy. “Qin Kaiyi, twenty-six years old, graduated from the University of Languages in City A. Your father is Qin Zhuo, acting as a civil policeman in City C’s Public Security Bureau. Now he’s already retired. Your mother is an office worker in Nianhua Department Store, employed…”

Hearing Shen Feixiao clearly recite all the details about his family, Qin Kaiyi opened and closed his mouth without knowing what to say. 

“Qin Kaiyi, in this world, I am not as powerless as I was in the other world.” At this time, Shen Feixiao finally revealed that familiar aura that incited fear in Qin Kaiyi. He untied his apron in passing, walking towards the living room, “You also aren’t like you were in that world, able to casually throw everything away. You have parents, relatives, those you love and those who love you, and you-”

That man who had let loose the entirety of his aura was like Asura crawling out of the depths of hell, “If I really want to obtain you by fair or foul means, that would be as easy as can be.” 

“So what do you want to say? You’ve said you wouldn’t force me!” Qin Kaiyi knew that what Shen Feixiao said was true. In this world, he did not even have the qualifications to escape. 

“What I’ve said I will definitely do.” Shen Feixiao looked at Qin Kaiyi, spreading out his hands and showing a helpless expression, “Have I forced you to do anything now? Or is it that I should first demonstrate on your body what it means to force you?” 

A rogue wasn’t frightening. What was frightening was a rogue with the logic of a bandit. 

“You’re acting shamelessly!” Qin Kaiyi raged, “You think I’ll compromise if you use my family to threaten me?” 

“Would you not compromise?” Shen Feixiao purposefully made a surprised expression. 

“…” All right, he would definitely compromise. Qin Kaiyi spinelessly shut his mouth again. After he stopped talking, Shen Feixiao walked over and gave him some “understanding” pats on the head. Shen Feixiao then turned around and entered the kitchen again to cook. 

“Actually it’s not bad like this.” A certain person very much like Ah Q comforted himself, “You see, I don’t need to cook or order takeout, just, just like this… it’s also very good?” Of course, at this time, Qin Kaiyi would definitely not admit that there was a little person in his mind pointing at his nose while roaring, Very good your sister, your chrysanthemum will be exploded by someone, but you’re still this damned way. You’ll sell yourself for two meals? Can’t you be a bit more admirable? 

(T/N: Ah Q, or 啊Q, refers to the protagonist of “The True Story of Ah Q.” Ah Q fears those above him in rank or power, and often talks to himself and deceives himself after defeat/humiliation). 

“How could two meals be enough.” Qin Kaiyi wiped a tear. “It has to at least be three.” 

“…” The roaring little person decided to be quiet. 

It turned out that for Shen Feixiao, controlling Qin Kaiyi was a piece of cake. 

He originally hadn’t wanted to use force to bring Qin Kaiyi into the palms of his hands, but he could not tolerate Qin Kaiyi escaping the scope of his control. Sometimes desire for control could be frightening. 

Fortunately, this world’s Shen Feixiao was not as gloomy and paranoid as the one in the other world. He could firmly grasp Qin Kaiyi in his hands using more perfected means. 

At the dining table, Qin Kaiyi didn’t even dare to raise his head. He only focused on eating the dishes in front of him–well, in fact, for an omnivorous, unfinicky animal like Qin Kaiyi, Shen Feixiao’s cooking was already amazing. 

However, Shen Feixiao was actually very dissatisfied with Qin Kaiyi’s attitude. But he didn’t say anything, and the two of them ate their lunch in silence.

“I want to make a trip home.” This was the method Qin Kaiyi came up with after thinking for a long time. He thought that Shen Feixiao would lose interest with time. He might change his attitude after a while. 

(T/N: literal meaning is “three minutes of heat.” Figuratively speaking, it means that someone is full of warm feelings at the start, but as time goes on, these feelings fade.) 

“Trip home? What about work?” How could Shen Feixiao not understand Qin Kaiyi’s little tricks? He ate without any reaction, his tone very calm. 

“Um… I… want to resign.” In fact, when he found out that his company was founded by Shen Feixiao’s family, Qin Kaiyi already thought about resigning. Although he was hesitant right now, in the end he still voiced that thought. 

“You’ll have your parents support you?” In the face of Qin Kaiyi’s retreat, Shen Feixiao mercilessly closed in, step by step, “Or you want to write another novel?” 

“How is that possible,” Qin Kaiyi mumbled. He knew that Shen Feixiao was making fun of him. An event like that happened. Any normal person would not think about writing novels again. What would he do if he transmigrated again? 

“Okay then,” Shen Feixiao gave him a bright and cheerful smile, “do as you will.” 

“… Really?” Not expecting such a simple response from Shen Feixiao, Qin Kaiyi became a bit meek. He suspiciously looked at Shen Feixiao. No matter how he thought about it, he felt there was a hidden plot. “You… really agree?” 

“Why would I not?” Shen Feixiao finished eating, and wiped his mouth gracefully with a tissue, “I’m full.” 

“Oh…” Qin Kaiyi became even meeker. Observing Shen Feixiao’s aloof demeanor, Qin Kaiyi inexplicably felt fear. 

“Don’t worry.” Shen Feixiao looked at Qin Kaiyi’s hesitant appearance with good humor, and put down his napkin. “I won’t do anything to you.” Of course, this is limited only to you. 

Qin Kaiyi wanted to regret, but he’d already spoken. He was too embarrassed to continue, and could only lower his head and stuff his mouth with food. For this reason, he missed seeing the hint of chill in Shen Feixiao’s gaze.  

Actually, the biggest difference between this world’s Shen Feixiao and the other one’s was the masking of his true nature. This world’s Shen Feixiao, since he was a child, had been taught how to display a cultured and refined image to win over others. That other world’s Shen Feixiao had always found it beneath him to to attend to such matters. 

It could be said that the other world’s Shen Feixiao was the real Shen Feixiao. 

Unfortunately, Qing Kaiyi never understood this. Seeing Shen Feixiao’s calm appearance, Qin Kaiyi truly thought that Shen Feixiao didn’t plan to do anything to him. So he secretly rejoiced, hurriedly packing his luggage and wrapping up responsibilities–he didn’t even eat the lunch Shen Feixiao had cooked before rushing out for home. 

When Shen Feixiao saw Qin Kaiyi at the door about to exit, he was sitting beside the living room table scooping soup with a spoon. It was as if he didn’t have any particular thoughts about Qin Kaiyi, who was about to leave. 

“Goodbye.” Qin Kaiyi gave a farewell in a lowered voice. He felt inexplicably awkward. “I’ll… leave first?” 

“En.” Shen Feixiao did not show any extraneous expression for Qin Kaiyi. 

“… Then goodbye.” Holding his suitcase, Qin Kaiyi ran out as if he was being chased by a dog. 

“Shen Feixiao ah Shen Feixiao.” Shen Feixiao let slip a smile, only after Qin Kaiyi had shut the door. This smile became larger and larger, carrying with it somewhat of a warped edge–it was exactly the same as the smile of the Shen Feixiao who had once experienced heart demons. With a crash, he swept everything on the table to the floor. “You’re really regressing the more energetic you get. Pampering and love, the little thing will recognize only once it’s run.” Concessions and forbearance and whatnot, to him, seemed to be… superfluous? 

All right, this world would always have some people who would respond to harsh methods rather than soft ones. 

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This is the last chapter I am posting on this site. I see that this novel goes up to Chapter 91 (91 chapters + 3 extras), so these translations can be considered Completed.

You can find the extra chapters up to 93 (Honey and Arsenic) on my Patreon. Personally I think they are quite similar to this chapter. I didn’t enjoy reading them. This is probably a me problem, and I would never attribute that to the author.

QKY is creepy in his original world. I’m sorry, obviously SFX is the paragon of creepiness, but QKY is quite something too.

Anyway, I would not go for QKY without the knife-cut nose bridge and white jade buttocks or whatever else he had in the other world. If SFX acted like a real person, he’d probably just find a model 20 years younger than him like all the other successful men in real life. There ain’t no tycoon in the real world stalking a nerdlet and making all his food while going crazy over not getting a crumb of nerd D. 

You can probably tell that translator doesn’t like modern LOL 

ASV Chapter 90: Outside the Little Black Room, Zhuang Zhou and the Butterfly (3)

(T/N: Please read the tags on Novel Updates before proceeding)

A thin and long chain traversed across Yan Gu’s collarbone. 

Because of how he was positioned, Yan Gu had to lean against the side of the table. His entire body was abnormally pale, and his chains were covered in bloodstains and spots. It was not difficult to see how many torments he’d suffered because of this chain. 

Qin Kaiyi, held in Shen Feixiao’s arms, almost went insane when he saw this scene. He wanted to yell something at Shen Feixiao, but realized he had no power to change this situation… in the end that system actually abandoned him. 

Ziyang Shi glanced at Qin Kaiyi’s pale expression and carelessly laughed. He then walked forward and pinched Yan Gu’s chin, forcing him to wake up. 

“Ziyang Shi…” Yan Gu’s lips were dry and cracked. The moment he opened his eyes and saw Ziyang Shi, his eyes filled with hatred. “You actually still dare to come?” 

“Why would I not dare to come?” Ziyang Shi’s beautiful face held a vicious smile. He reached out a hand and roughly pulled at the chain on Yan Gu, looking at the already scabbed over wounds flowing with blood again, “Right now… what can you do?” 

Yan Gu gritted his teeth and said nothing. However, when he saw Shen Feixiao standing behind him with Qin Kaiyi in his arms, he suddenly froze. 

“Why are you here?” Yan Gu saw Qin Kaiyi in a state not much better than him, and did not know what to say for a moment. When facing Ziyang Shi imprisoning and humiliating him, he could cast that aside. But if these circumstances were forced on Qin Kaiyi… Yan Gu could not bear it. 

“Oh, why this attitude when an old friend comes to see you?” Ziyang Shi apparently knew Yan Gu very well. He sneered, “I say, Yan Gu, you shouldn’t be thinking that after being squeezed in the palm of Shen Feixiao’s hands, Qin Shi would really live a good life.” 

“You two!!” Yan Gu truly wanted to kill Ziyang Shi. Since Xue Xian left him, he had not stopped thinking that he wanted to kill this man. So he gave up everything to activate the godly poisonous insect, causing the Ziyang clan to gradually thin out, to the extent that there was only Ziyang Pei and Ziyang Shi left. Due to an unexpected turn of events, Ziyang Shi was not tortured to death by the godly poisonous insect and instead lived. He even caught Yan Gu… Yan Gu was completely helpless; he had no working plans, and after a thousand years his spiritual power had almost completely dissipated. 

“You must want to kill me so badly,” Ziyang Pei drawled with indifference, “I didn’t die. Are you very disappointed?” 

“Of course I’m disappointed.” Even though Yan Gu was in a miserable state, he did not seem to want to compromise at all. He glanced at Ziyang Shi and then cast his gaze on the speechless Qin Kaiyi as he spoke to Shen Feixiao, “Shen Feixiao, Qin Shi has never owed you anything. On what grounds do you disgrace him like this?” 

“What do you want to say?” Shen Feixiao saw that Yan Gu was powerless to defend himself, but unexpectedly had the presence of mind to think of Qin Kaiyi. His interest peaked, he continued, “Tell me and let’s see?” 

“In the secret realm I entered his sea of knowledge, so I naturally clearly saw everything that happened between you two,” Yang Gu stated dully. “Even though he has harmed you, he has never harbored any malice towards you. He has never hesitated when choosing your life over his own… Shen Feixiao, is treating Qin Kaiyi like this worthy of your conscience?” 

“If it’s worthy then good, if not then that’s all,” Shen Feixiao was completely unconcerned with Yan Gu’s words. “Right now, what’s the point of saying this?” 

“…” Yan Gu knew he could not change Shen Feixiao’s thinking, and the atmosphere immediately fell into taciturn silence.

“Shen Feixiao.” At this time, Qin Kaiyi suddenly hoarsely spoke out, “You… help Yan Gu okay?” 

“Oh? Why would I help him?” Shen Feixiao’s smile was profound. “Or perhaps I should say, what’s in it for me if I help him?” 

“Help him all right,” Qin Kaiyi already did not know what he could do, and only wanted to give all he had to allow Yan Gu to escape Ziyang Shi’s torment. “If you help him, I’ll agree to anything… Shen Feixiao, I’m begging you.” 

This was the first time Qin Kaiyi had made such a promise. He and Shen Feixiao both knew what these words represented. 

“I want you to obediently stay at my side, and never think of leaving again. You would agree?” Shen Feixiao ignored Ziyang Shi, whose expression was becoming gradually more ugly. He looked at Qin Kaiyi with abundant interest. 

“… I agree.” If he didn’t agree what could he do? Qin Kaiyi thought bitterly that Shen Feixiao would not let him go. Instead of allowing Yan Gu to suffer the same torment, he had better take responsibility for everything… 

“Shen Feixiao, are you really intending to dismantle the bridge after crossing the river?” (T/N: idiom meaning to abandon one’s benefactor after achieving a goal). Ziyang Shi’s tone was ice-cold. 

“Dismantle what bridge? What river is there to cross?” Ziyang Shi was nothing in Shen Feixiao’s eyes. Shen Feixiao looked at the flustered Ziyang Shi with a gaze full of ridicule, and rudely continued, “Ziyang Shi, without Ziyang Pei you are nothing.” 

Not expecting Shen Feixiao to tear off his face like this (T/N: reminder that face = respectability, etc.), Ziyang Shi’s expression became overcast. 

“Relax.” Petting Qin Kaiyi’s head, Shen Feixiao looked at Yan Gu’s forlorn face and said, “I don’t have such intentions right now.” 

“… Shen Feixiao.” Qin Kaiyi’s entire body lost strength. He turned his head and looked at Yan Gu’s miserable state, and a mournful smile appeared on his face. “Do you think that I really have no methods left?” 

“What… you!” Shen Feixiao’s expression changed and he immediately pinched Qin Kaiyi’s chin, but he was already too late. Qin Kaiyi’s mouth overflowed with fresh blood. 

“You!” His gaze at once descending into abnormal ferocity, Shen Feixiao did not let Qin Kaiyi close his mouth, “You want to die?” 

“…” Qin Kaiyi tiredly closed his eyes, using his silence to answer Shen Feixiao. 

“You think you can use death to threaten me???” Shen Feixiao was clearly anxious, his hands covered in blood. He looked at Qin Kaiyi’s weak appearance for a moment and didn’t know what to say, but his entire body began to trembled. 

“I can’t.” Qin Kaiyi did not bite too deeply, so he could still speak, but barely. “But Shen Feixiao, you can prevent me from living, but cannot stop me from dying.” 

“…” Shen Feixiao knew Qin Kaiyi was right. If a person truly wished to die, no one could save him. 

But could he allow Qin Kaiyi to threaten him like this? 

As if he knew Shen Feixiao’s thoughts, Qin Kaiyi helplessly laughed. He had never used his own life to threaten Shen Feixiao, because he knew that a person’s life was his most precious asset. If he lost material possessions he could get them back, and if he got injured he could heal. However, if he died, he would really have nothing. 

Qin Kaiyi was someone who really feared death, and he also did not want to use his own life to challenge Shen Feixiao’s bottom line. But now that the situation had gotten to this point, Qin Kaiyi despairingly discovered that the only bargaining chip he had left was this. 

Qin Kaiyi could not bear to let Ziyang Shi continue to treat Yan Gu this way. The people he cared for in this world were truly too few, and as it happened Yan Gu was among them. 

“You can rest assured,” Qin Kaiyi’s mouth released great amounts of blood, but his expression remained unmoved, “I will keep my promises to you. If I go back on my word again, you can kill Yan Gu.” 

“Qin Shi!!” When Yan Gu heard these words he knew that Qin Kaiyi had made up his mind. Qin Kaiyi clearly intended to exchange himself for Yan Gu… 

“You speak the truth?” Hearing Qin Kaiyi’s capitulating promise, Shen Feixiao could not pinpoint what he was feeling. He reached out and wiped at the continually flowing blood pouring from Qin Kaiyi’s mouth, and a subtle grief flashed through his eyes. “You are willing to stay by my side?” 

“Yes.” Qin Kaiyi gave up. 

He truly gave up his own self. In this world, in the end he could not break away from his forced submission to Shen Feixiao. Then it would be better to do something for Yan Gu. 

“Okay.” Shen Feixiao straightened up, and looked at Qin Kaiyi’s bloodied face. He lightly pressed a kiss to the side of Qin Kaiyi’s lips. “I believe you, shixiong.” 

“… Shen Feixiao.” Ziyang Shi’s expression darkened completely. 

After arranging Qin Kaiyi to his satisfaction, Shen Feixiao only then turned his head and looked at the gloomy Ziyang Shi. “I don’t know about the history between you, Xue Xian, and Yan Gu. I also don’t want to know. But Ziyang Shi, if you and I really fight, I think you understand what the result would be.”

“You want me to let Yan Gu go?” Ziyang Shi ignored Shen Feixiao’s mollification, “Only if I die.” 

“All right then.” Shen Feixiao slightly nodded, and made a gesture of invitation towards Ziyang Shi. 

Ziyang Shi’s face distorted. He knew he could not defeat Shen Feixiao. He also could not use Qin Kaiyi to threaten Shen Feixiao, because if something happened to Qin Kaiyi, he feared Yan Gu would also… 

To put it bluntly, Ziyang Shi had lived for ten thousand years but was still a child. His entire mind could be occupied by the puerile thought that only he could bully the one he liked. 

“Yan Gu.” Ziyang Shi knew he could not escape a fight with Shen Feixiao. Before exiting the room with Shen Feixiao, he smiled and walked forward to touch Yan Gu’s face with a hand. His smile was incomparably seductive. “Why have you never shown consideration for me? When Xue Xian was here I did not vie against him. But why is it that now that he’s dead, you still have never thought about me?” 

“Because I think you’re very disgusting,” Yan Gu mercilessly replied. 

“Ah, that’s true.” Ziyang Shi did not care one bit about Yan Gu’s verbal attack. He contemplated before saying, “I am definitely very disgusting.” 

“…” Yan Gu gritted his teeth. 

Ziyang Shi then followed Shen Feixiao out, leaving Qin Kaiyi and Yan Gu alone in the room. 

“You shouldn’t have done this.” Yan Gu exuded exhaustion from every pore. He shifted, then sighed, “In fact, I’m a fire spirit. I was created from fire. This looks frightening, but I actually don’t feel much.” 

“But I can’t leave you here alone.” Qin Kaiyi’s expression was quite calm, as if he had already accepted his fate.  

“There’s nothing bad about staying here,” Yan Gu smiled bitterly, “Ziyang Shi is only a child. He doesn’t know what it means to like. Other than chaining me, he hasn’t done anything else to me.” 

Both Qin Kaiyi and Yan Gu clearly knew what “anything else” meant. 

“Is that so.” Qin Kaiyi now discovered that Yan Gu did not hate Ziyang Shi as much as he thought, and for a while he did not know what to say. 

“Shen Feixiao will not let him go.” Yan Gu let out a long sigh. “In the end, I will still be the only one left.” 

“…” Qin Kaiyi truly wanted to say that Yan Gu still had him, but when these words reached his lips he could not speak them no matter what. He and Yan Gu both understood what Qin Kaiyi’s promise to Shen Feixiao represented.

“The affairs of life are fickle,” Yan Gu continued. “In the beginning… who would have thought the present could be like this?”

“Yeah.” Qin Kaiyi awkwardly smiled. He always felt that he should be sorry to Yan Gu–without Tang Shayun, Ziyang Shi would not have continued to live. 

There seemed to be a formation erected within the room; the fight outside was completely undetectable. Qin Kaiyi and Yan Gu peacefully recounted the past, as if they were having their final farewell. 

Yan Gu knew he did not have the ability to save Qin Kaiyi. 

Qin Kaiyi knew he did not have the ability to escape Shen Feixiao. 

Then that was the end of that. Apparently, all they could do was laugh about the past and pretend that nothing had happened. 

But reality had forever been cruel. Qin Kaiyi and Yan Gu’s time together finally came to an end. 

Shen Feixiao stepped in from the doorway, carrying a bloodied thing in his hands. 

Qin Kaiyi did not look at what that thing was, for fear that he would vomit. 

Yan Gu’s reaction was calmer than Qin Kaiyi’s. After Shen Feixiao broke his chains, Yan Gu quietly walked to the corner without once taking his gaze away from that thing. 

“Let’s go.” Shen Feixiao scooped Qin Kaiyi up in one go, saying to Yan Gu, “You’re on your own.” 

Yan Gu did not respond. However, right at the moment when Shen Feixiao left with Qin Kaiyi in his arms, they heard a sudden hoarse, great, weeping sound. Qin Kaiyi was taken back. He opened and closed his mouth, but said nothing. 

“Shixiong.” Shen Feixiao’s body spread the thick metallic scent of blood. He knew Qin Kaiyi’s thoughts, but did not plan to allow the person in his embrace to look back. “Don’t forget what you have promised me.”

“I know.” Qin Kaiyi shut his eyes, willing his heart–which felt as if it had been pricked by a needle–to be tranquil. “Let’s go.” 

Shen Feixiao formed the Cloud hand seal and departed, carrying Qin Kaiyi. 

That was the last time Qin Kaiyi and Yan Gu met. 

Qin Kaiyi didn’t again expend extraneous thoughts on missing the fire spirit who had accompanied him for so long. He knew that there were certain matters neither he nor the other could provide each other comfort for. Since longing was useless, it was better to properly face the present. 

After Qin Kaiyi completely abandoned the idea of separating from Shen Feixiao, strangely, he found that his life was pretty good. 

Shen Feixiao’s actions were gentle. Qin Kaiyi could obtain pl*asur* from having s*x. Men are all s*nsual creatures. As much time passed, Qin Kaiyi had nothing to say. 

He and Shen Feixiao lived in a very small town. 

Shen Feixiao seemed to have entirely let go of everything and accompanied him to live here. Qin Kaiyi was not as stupid as he appeared to be in the past, and became somewhat reticent. 

Shen Feixiao did not seem to care. Every day he lived an ordinary, simple life with Qin Kaiyi. 

What Qin Kaiyi did not know was that Shen Feixiao had long looked forward to such a life, but due to various reasons, he had never had the opportunity to living this way. 

And now, Shen Feixiao could truly say that he was satisfied. 

“What do you want to eat today?” Shen Feixiao’s manner of speaking was very casual. 

“Whatever’s fine.” Holding a copy of “Foreign Body Records,” Qin Kaiyi continued lazily, “Yesterday’s soup was a bit salty.” 

“En,” Shen Feixiao responded, turning to leave.

Qin Kaiyi put the book in his hands down. He raised his head, looking at the sunny and cloudless world outside. Suddenly, he let slip a long unseen, slight smile. In fact, often, things would not be as painful as one imagined them to be. Time is a magical thing. You would never know what pleasant surprise it’d bring. 

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As I translate more R:DSAT, I’m realizing how lazy I am with ASV. The author tends to use the Chinese equivalent of “things” and “stuff,” in addition to plentiful colons and ellipses. Author also uses the same modifiers over and over, eg. “without compare” or “extremely.” Translator now expends minimal effort to mitigate… 

ASV Chapter 89: Outside the Little Black Room, Zhuang Zhou and the Butterfly (2)

The bed was very large, and it was covered with soft white satin. Small golden bells hung suspended from ribbons at the bed’s edges, forming what looked from a distance like a golden prison cage. 

In fact, the bed was a golden cage. Every time Qin Kaiyi tried to leave the bed, those golden bells would become an unbreakable barrier, obstructing his movements. 

Qin Kaiyi, completely incapable of understanding why he met with such misfortune, curled up at the head of the bed. The shackles had again been locked on his wrists, and paired with the loose long clothes he wore, they made him look incredibly frail. 

After Shen Feixiao forced himself on him again he left. When Qin Kaiyi woke up again, he only saw an empty bed and a vast and quiet great hall (T/N: main hall of a Buddhist temple). 

That’s right, a great hall. When Qin Kaiyi began to clearly take in what he was seeing he nearly jumped with fright. The bed was placed in an ornately carved great hall. 

The hall’s floor was made of spotlessly white jade, and its roof beams, pillars, doors, and windows were all carved with elegant engravings. Some engravings were of birds and beasts, and some were of mountains and rocks and trees, but without exception all held a kind of cold intent that soaked into one’s bones. Qin Kaiyi, who was trapped within this hall, could only huddle on the bed and tremble. 

This body seemed to have already been transformed. Originally the traces left on his skin would easily disappear, but now, almost like brands, they stayed on him for days without any signs of dissipating. What was more frightening was that this body would feel not a hint of hunger without food. 

To not feel hunger could be a boon for ordinary people who wanted to save food, but to the imprisoned Qin Kaiyi… not needing to eat meant that from beginning to end, he could only stay alone. 

One day was fine, two days was all right, but when time stretched on Qin Kaiyi couldn’t stand it. He became abnormally fretful, to the point that deep in his heart he somewhat desperately hoped that he could see Shen Feixiao. 

Shen Feixiao did not know that in this world there was such a thing as Stockholm Syndrome. However, he did know that the best way to have his shixiong resist him less was to have his shixiong stay alone. 

Loneliness was a terrifying reality, frightening enough to thoroughly wreck a person. 

So a month later, the moment Qin Kaiyi saw Shen Feixiao, his first reaction was actually joy. He both crawled and near-rolled as he scrambled to the side of the bed, his voice anxious and sharp, “Shen Feixiao… Shen Feixiao… let me out, let me out!!!” 

“Shixiong.” Shen Feixiao didn’t look different from how he did a month ago, still wearing simple black clothes. He looked at Qin Kaiyi’s desperately anxious appearance and a smile slipped onto his face. “Did something happen?” 

“… Shen Feixiao…” Qin Kaiyi just wanted to cry. He wanted to reach out a hand and grab the corners of Shen Feixiao’s clothes, but those golden bells blocked him. 

“Shixiong.” Shen Feixiao looked at Qin Kaiyi’s impatient movements and actually found him quite amusing. Those golden bells seemed to not exist for Shen Feixiao–he reached out a hand and directly dragged Qin Kaiyi into his embrace. 

“Are you uncomfortable anywhere?” He absent-mindedly pet Qin Kaiyi’s already knee-length hair and kissed his forehead. 

“Shen Feixiao!!!” Qin Kaiyi grabbed Shen Feixiao’s collar in one hand, his voice almost hoarse with shouting, “Let me go!! I’m begging you, all right?? Don’t lock me here… Shen Feixiao!!” 

Then Shen Feixiao did not speak, but his silence spoke volumes. 

“… I clearly already went back, why is it like this…” Qin Kaiyi murmured weakly, “You… didn’t you also die?” 

“En, it’s that system, right?” Shen Feixiao heard these words and actually smiled, “… that thing is really interesting.” 

“What do you mean?” Qin Kaiyi froze. 

“My meaning is.” Shen Feixiao used his hand to caress Qin Kaiyi’s lips, his expression simultaneously condescending, cold, and indifferent, “it would transact with shixiong, so would it not… also transact with me?” 

“…” Qin Kaiyi’s mouth opened wide as if he’d gone stupid. 

“I originally should have died, but shixiong changed the plot… and it could not handle the twisting of the plot…” Shen Feixiao’s gaze was gentle. “So, it brought me back to life and showed me a novel called ‘The Immortal Cultivation Record.’”

“…” Qin Kaiyi lips trembled a bit. 

“It said that if I could set the world’s plot back on track, it would bring you back.” Shen Feixiao’s words were simple, but from within them some bloodthirsty intent stiffly forced its way in, and this thoroughly matured man laughed gracefully, “it would let you come back, not that baffling Qin Shi.” 

“You… you…” Qin Kaiyi didn’t dare to believe what was happening. 

“It seems shixiong really came back,” Shen Feixiao said with great joy, “At first I thought it was Qin Shi tricking me again… fortunately… it really is you, shixiong.” 

“… Why would you come back…” Qin Kaiyi smiled as if he was crying, “It’s actually you…” 

“En, it’s me.” Pinching Qin Kaiyi’s chin with one hand, Shen Feixiao seriously continued, “Since shixiong is back, then stay with me well.” 

“… Why is it like this… what on earth do I owe you Shen Feixiao…” Slumping in Shen Feixiao’s arms as if he’d mentally collapsed, Qin Kaiyi cried like a trapped animal, “Why did you do this…” 

“Ah,” Shen Feixiao’s eyebrows rose, “Who knows?” 

“I want to go back!! What right do you have to treat me like this!!!” Qin Kaiyi’s hope that this could be a dream had been completely severed. Not knowing where such strength came from, Qin Kaiyi fiercely punched Shen Feixiao in the face, and then went astride his body, his voice both enraged and anxious, “Let me go back!!!” 

Suddenly hit by Qin Kaiyi, Shen Feixiao did not become angry. He pensively looked at Qin Kaiyi, whose clothes were disheveled, and helplessly laughed, “Shixiong… wants to go back?” 

Thinking that his request would be accepted by Shen Feixiao, Qin Kaiyi madly nodded his head. 

“That, is, not, possible.” Speaking one word at a time, Shen Feixiao’s voice only just faded when he suddenly exerted strength and pressed Qin Kaiyi back on the bed. Then one of his hands squeezed Qin Kaiyi’s feet, ruthlessly applying force and shattering Qin Kaiyi’s ankles, “Don’t think of going anywhere!!” 

“Ah!!!” The anguish of having his bones suddenly shattered made Qin Kaiyi shout until he lost his voice. His entire body softened as it fell upon the bed; his back covered in cold sweat as his whole body shook uncontrollably. 

“Does it hurt?” Shen Feixiao didn’t let go of Qin Kaiyi throughout this. He looked at Qin Kaiyi’s bloodless face and smiled guilelessly, “If shixiong leaves, for me it would be like breaking every bone in my body.” 

“…” Qin Kaiyi looked at Shen Feixiao blankly, lacking the strength to speak. 

But Shen Feixiao did not let Qin Kaiyi go. He let go of Qin Kaiyi’s ankles and then held him in his arms, expressionlessly standing up from the bed. 

“Maybe shixiong will think that I’m very fierce with him… but as long as you look at your friend, you will still think that I’m quite gentle.” Lifting Qin Kaiyi in a horizontal carry, Shen Feixiao spoke a few softly voiced phrases and then began to walk towards the door.

Qin Kaiyi didn’t know where Shen Feixiao would take him, but he had a hunch that what came next would be a scene he definitely did not want to see. 

Shen Feixiao did not care about Qin Kaiyi’s reaction at all. After he left the room, he hugged Qin Kaiyi and made a cloud hand seal, flying in the air in some unknown direction. 

They flew over beautiful mountain forests and clearly flowing mountain springs. From a distance, the landscape was so gorgeous that nothing more lovely could be imagined. However, Qin Kaiyi was not in the mood to appreciate the view. His ankles had already swollen into buns, and the cabin situated next to the mountain spring… gave him a frightful feeling. 

It was as if… there was something terrifying shut inside. 

“Why are you here?” A certain voice suddenly sounded from behind Shen Feixiao. 

An expressionless man in luxurious clothing appeared before Qin Kaiyi. The man had an extremely pretty and tender face. If he were still a youth, he might seem girly. Now, there was none of that particular kind of charm to be found. 

“Oh, and you also brought him.” The man’s attitude towards Qin Kaiyi was very unfriendly. 

Qin Kaiyi thought the man’s face was a bit familiar. He vaguely felt that he’d seen this man somewhere before, but he couldn’t recall at the moment. 

“En,” Shen Feixiao didn’t have any reaction to the man’s unfriendly attitude. He looked at the man and said, “What about him?” 

“Still making trouble for me.” The man’s face opened up in a smile. “But however much trouble he makes… he can’t get out. Yours seems much more obedient.” 

“Ziyang Shi,” Shen Feixiao called out a name in warning. 

Hearing this name, Qin Kaiyi felt that his worldview suffered another reconstruction. In this short day, he’d heard countless pieces of news that shocked him, and now it seemed… there was something even more frightening waiting for him ahead. 

“Come in and see.” Although he seemed to be asking for Qin Kaiyi’s opinion, Shen Feixiao spoke in a way that seemed to brook no argument. He carried Qin Kaiyi and walked towards that small wood cabin, letting Ziyang Shi open the door. 

“Don’t scare him,” Ziyang Shi smilingly showed his “concern” for Qin Kaiyi, “Are you sure you’ll let your little baby see such bloody things?” 

“Why not?” Shen Feixiao remained unmoved. “If he doesn’t see it, he’ll never know how good he has it.” 

“Good, then,” Ziyang Shi shrugged, and then snapped his fingers. 

The door to the small wooden cabin opened. 

Qin Kaiyi’s breathing stopped when he saw what was inside in the room. Why… would he see Yan Gu? That fickle fire spirit who’d always helped him was shackled to a bed in a twisted position. Bright red blood flowed along his skin, accumulating in a small puddle on the floor. 

“Don’t worry,” Ziyang Shi said cooly, “he can’t die.” 

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