Dongfang Bubai had met Monk Huming on the fourth day after Yang Lianting had been abducted by Ren Yingying’s underling. At that time, Dongfang Bubai had nearly gone crazy as he hastily made his way to the Wulin General Assembly.
Thin body covered in a large red robe that had been blown by the fierce gales sweeping past, wan face that paled until it looked transparent. Dongfang Bubai had lost a lot of weight again and he had felt extremely fatigued, yet his neutral expression had twisted into raw and ruthless hostility.
Encounter a god, kill a god.
Encounter a buddha, kill a buddha.
Dongfang Bubai had resembled a block of ten thousand year old glacial ice, he had injured others and injured himself. On his way forward no one had dared to talk to Dongfang Bubai, no one dared to make things difficult for him. He had never rested, had neither stayed in an inn nor stopped for a quick rest and only stopped to replace his tired-out horse.
Monk Huiming had appeared at that time, dressed in a coarse kasaya. From the back he had resembled a Buddha, his bald head enveloped by an aura of mercy that shone upon all beings. In the blink of an eye, from the front he had no longer resembled a true Buddha purified of defiling illusions.
“Amitabha, Benefactor Dongfang, we meet again. It must be fate bringing us together today, it must be fate, ah.” Smiling, this Monk Huiming had placed his hands together in polite greeting. “The thousand silver tales’ worth of incense you and Benefactor Yang have offered Buddha, this Poor Monk has already donated them to the Temple in Benefactors’ place.”
Listening to him ramble on endlessly, after a while Dongfang Bubai raised his head and stared at him. Expression indiscernible and voice indifferent. “Monk, Lian di isn’t here don’t waste your efforts. He’d offer you a thousand tales’ worth of joss sticks, but this doesn’t mean I’d too.”
Dongfang Bubai stopped speaking, pulled on his horse to turn around and hurry onward. He had just turned around when Monk Huiming called out to him from behind.
“Benefactor Dongfang halt, Benefactor Dongfang halt!” The elderly monk had coughed and stretched out a hand to stroke his long white beard in contemplation, “Brother Yang isn’t here, did something happen?” Pretending to look profound, he had looked at Dongfang Bubai and stated in a low voice, “He was definitely hit by calamity, hit by calamity!”
Before he had finished speaking, Dongfang Bubai’s hand had already tightly gripped Monk Huiming’s neck in the next instant. His expression was as cold as ice.
“Monk, why are you casually cursing him?”
Dongfang Bubai had lightly exhaled, the dim light in his pair of black pupils as indifferent as clouds floating by.
“As long as I’m alive, he’ll be safe and sound.”
The monk’s neck had been in his firm hold. In desperation he gasped for air and exerted his strength to struggle out of his grip, but he hadn’t been able to utter a word. Once Dongfang Bubai’s hand had loosened, the monk coughed and the blue color on his face slowly receded. He intended to ask Dongfang Bubai for an explanation, but when he met his frigid eyes the words remained stuck in his throat. He then cleared his throbbing throat and shrank his neck, staying silent.
From the folds of his clothes, Dongfang Bubai had taken out a thin silver banknote and handed it to the monk. His line of sight had fallen upon a certain point in the distance, the look in his eyes absent-minded as if he thought of Yang Lianting. Lowering his eyes slightly, he had softly said, “Here are ten thousand tales. I don’t believe you, but Lian di believes you.”
“He once gave you a thousand tales’ worth of incense for me, now I’ll give you ten thousand tales for him. I hope you will light an eternal flame before Buddha, pray that he will be safe and sound day after day, year after year.”
He then turned and left.
Caught off guard by the ten thousand tales that had landed in his hands, Monk Huiming had intended to respond but when he had seen Dongfang Bubai leave, he softly sighed and a rare trace of serious compassion shone in his eyes. “Please wait a moment, this Poor Monk’s words aren’t ludicrous lies. Benefactor Yang’s fate is special, he possesses a severed soul. The both of you are connected by cause and effect. Benefactor Dongfang, you are a Star of Calamity and accumulated evil karma. If the both of you forcibly remain together, it will be harmful to your lives.”
“This Poor Monk fears he guessed right, something happened to Benefactor Yang, no? The last time this Poor Monk met him, he noticed the space between his eyebrows[14] looked bluish black, which is a sign of severe injury or poisoning.”
“Benefactor Dongfang, please listen to this Poor Monk’s few words of advice. The karmic natal chart[15] can never be controlled by ordinary people. Not to mention, two men falling in love with each other differs from traditional kinship. Even this Poor Monk is at his wits’ end. For your own good, it’s best if you part from Benefactor Yang–”
In an instant, Dongfang Bubai had hurriedly pulled the reigns of his horse, so its hooves slowed their steps. He turned his head to look at the monk who had appeared in front of him again and again, his hands hidden under the wide sleeves shook lightly and his blood flowing from head to toe seemed to freeze.
If anyone dared to maliciously curse in front of him, he would have fatally pierced them with a silver needle, crushed them until they died without a whole body.
Three sharp silver needles had appeared between his slender fingers, ready to strike, yet Dongfang Bubai’s chest rose and fell slightly in hesitation.
Time passed.
He had slowly shaken his head, his voice sounding frigid and harsh, “Monk, this Seat doesn’t believe a single word.” Thin lips curved up into a light smile and eyes narrowed, Dongfang Bubai halted and his line of sight fell on Monk Huiming.
“Lian di was taken away by that thief and I will save him.”
Not revealing his true thoughts, Dongfang Bubai’s voice had sounded clear and light. He had then pulled on the horse’s reigns and turned back to slowly ride onward, step by step. “Monk, you judged my and Lian di’s future, said you’re powerless to change our ending, so there’s no need to repeat your false words. He and I wholeheartedly love each other and treat each other well.”
“I, the Invincible East, never believed in fate. Even in death, I’ll keep him by my side. In this life, I never demanded anything extravagant…” Dongfang Bubai had softly chuckled, his line of sight fallen on the endlessly long dirt path stretching towards the horizon. “I only request my Lian di to accompany me till old age yet God is unwilling to grant my wish?”
He had shaken his head.
“I don’t believe-”
Voice sounding very light, like being blown away by the cold breeze and dispersed into the air. Hooves clopping on the rugged path, step by step he rode forward. The words he had left behind, may have been for Monk Huiming or for himself.
However Yang Lianting had truly been poisoned and injured.
Dongfang Bubai had killed countless people at the Wulin General Assembly, he had exhausted his strength to break out of the encirclement. He had tightly held onto Yang Lianting as he rode his horse until it collapsed to rapidly rush back to the cliff before it was too late.
In his embrace, he had seen Yang Lianting losing more and more blood, felt his body stiffen little by little, and perceived his vital energy[16] dissipating little by little until it was nearly depleted.
Dongfang Bubai had been afraid.
Never before, never before had he been this afraid.
He dreaded Yang Lianting’s death.
Disregarding his life Dongfang Bubai had desperately poured his internal energy into Yang Lianting’s cold body, disregarding his life he had strongly embraced him wanting to bring him back from the brink of death.
I don’t believe in fate.
That monk had been nothing more than an old swindler, who cheated people out of their money. He deliberately scared people with his lies and asked for incense money upfront, then he would promise to avert their supernatural calamity. Monk Huiming had been nothing more than a charlatan of the Jianghu, who repeated his repertoire.
Dongfang Bubai’s whole body had trembled violently on his way back to Blackwood Cliff. Only after Ping Yizhi had assured that he could successfully detoxify the vicious poison spreading in Yang Lianting’s body and heal the stab wound in his abdomen did the dread deep in his heart slowly recede.
Moment after moment, he had watched Yang Lianting slowly recover his health, he had felt happy yet apprehensive, joyful yet tortured. Day after day, he had thought of Monk Huiming’s lies. Night after night, he had dreamt of the nightmarish scenes during the General Assembly.
Dongfang Bubai looked at Yang Lianting.
Standing before him, he unstably swayed back and forth from drunkenness. Voice sounding low and melancholy, black pair of eyes turning deep red, he stepped forward to hug Yang Lianting. Jubilant yet nervous, he wrapped his thin arms around his waist and pressed his face against the nook of his neck.
“Lian di, that monk lied to me that day, didn’t he?”
I don’t believe Monk Huiming’s lies, yet I fear harming Yang Lianting by causation. I believe in Monk Huiming’s truths, yet I am unwilling to let go of Yang Lianting’s hand.
Over the past month, he had been tormented day by day, night by night. Until today, he had finally said all the thoughts that had accumulated in his heart aloud. He had drunk too much rice wine before, downing cup after cup. Dongfang Bubai firmly held onto Yang Lianting’s hand and refused to release him, he did not look like the murderous Cult Master, who had killed countless people with a wave of his hand, at all. He let out a burp reeking of liquor and drunkenly shook his head again.
“Lian di, I’m unwilling to part from you.”
Yang Lianting took a deep breath, exhausting all the patience and gentleness of a lifetime, he tightly embraced the one he held in his arms. Reassuring him over and over again, “Good.”
“I won’t part from you. Even in death, I won’t part from you.”
He did not know how much time passed, until Dongfang Bubai fell sound asleep. Yang Lianting picked him up and entered their chambers while carrying him in his arms. He cautiously laid him on the bed and covered him with a blanket, then sat on the bed’s edge and silently watched him sleep.
Sitting at Dongfang’s side, he saw his creased brows lighten. In truth, over the last few days, he had noticed Dongfang Bubai’s emotional changes, noticed the evasive and indistinct concern in his eyes, noticed him wanting to speak but then hesitating in fear. All of this was because of that monk.
Monk Huiming.
In the beginning, he had said that Dongfang Bubai committed evil and killed in excess, so he would not end well in the future. He said that Yang Lianting possessed a severed soul and a strange fate. He said that the two of them were bound to each other, were impeding each other. If they remained together, they’d definitely not have a good ending. That Monk Huiming–
Yang Lianting let out a long sigh, stood up and walked out.
“Where’s the Dark Guard?”
“Subordinate is present.”
Before Yang Lianting’s words faded, a man covered in black martial robes swiftly leapt down from a secret place, knelt down before him and cupped his fist in respect. The dark guard’s face was obscured, only his low voice could be heard.
“Chief Steward Yang, do you have any orders?”
“Go find a Buddhist monk for me, find him and bring him up Blackwood Cliff.”
After a few brief instructions, Yang Lianting turned back and returned to the inner chamber. He filled a cup with brewed water, tasted its temperature, then softly held the cup against Dongfang Bubai’s lips and slowly poured the water into his mouth. Despite rice wine’s cold nature, drinking too much of it made one suffer from excessive internal heat.
The sleeping Dongfang Bubai seemed to let go of his fear and lower his guard completely, yet the crease of between his brows had not evened out. His eyes stayed closed as he drank the water Yang Lianting fed him. His face was tinted in light and darkness, his features looking extremely frail and gaunt under the dim light of the flickering candles.
He lowered his head and gently kissed Dongfang’s forehead.
This fool.
Believing in that monk’s words and worrying for such a long time. He must’ve felt apprehensive and alarmed every day. Did Yang Lianting believe him? To be honest, he believed his words too. Everything that monk had foretold came true, yet the present matters weren’t the only foresights that were fulfilled. Thinking carefully, The happenings between Dongfang and me in our past life, aren’t they all consistent with that monk’s words?
Dongfang Bubai had committed evil and killed in excess thus he was not allowed a good ending. The both of them were bound to each other, Dongfang Bubai’s karma affected him and exacted retribution. In the end, he and Dongfang had been killed by Ren Woxing and Ren Yingying. Together, the both of them had died without a whole body, and hadn't been allowed a good ending.
Yang Lianting tenderly held onto Dongfang Bubai’s hand. So what? The color of his pitch-black pupils was light and the heart in his chest was entirely peaceful and serene. Yang Lianting was convinced that he and Dongfang Bubai would be safe and sound in this lifetime, would accompany each other until old age. God wouldn’t grant him rebirth just to have him repeat the fate of his past life, right? Karma, cause and effect. In their past life, he and Dongfang had been killed by Ren Woxing and Ren Yingying. In this life, he killed Ren Woxing and would kill Ren Yingying, the two people who had harmed them, with his own hands. Breaking their past life’s cycle of cause and effect.
Yang Lianting let out a long breath, after a while he stretched out his hand and pulled up the blanket covering Dongfang Bubai. Nine deaths and one life,[17] he had survived and narrowly escaped the Wulin General Assembly. Regarding the karmic cycle, he’d exhaust his entire power to accumulate merit and be merciful for the sake of this person in front of him, he’d exhaust his power to protect Dongfang Bubai well.
Even if I die in the end–
Yang Lianting softly smiled.
He had died before and would not truly dread death, but how could he let down God’s concern? Even if he died, he would still love this person in front of him very well. Once this lifetime had ended, then and only then would he be willing to die.
Yang Lianting’s thoughts drifted through his mind, like snow swirling in the air. He evened his creased brows and tightly held Dongfang Bubai’s hand, his heart felt carefree and translucent.
[1] Lit. to treat the disease to to save the patient (治病救人), fig. to criticize a person in order to help him.
[2] Fig. medical expertise (医术), lit. the art of healing.
[3] Lit. to change ten thousand times without leaving the original aim unchanged (万变不离其宗), fig. no matter how much something changes, it will still retain its essence.
[4] Lit. to have lingering fears in one’s heart (心有余悸), fig. trepidation remaining after a trauma.
[5] Lit. after calamity, renewed life (劫后余生), fig. to survive a disaster.
[6] Lit. to coordinate inner and outer offensives (里应外合), fig. to collude with sb.
[7] Lit. to have a small belly and chicken’s gut (小肚鸡肠), fig. to be narrow minded.
[8] Translator’s note: At this time, Linghu Chong is still raised by Yue Buqun and his wife as their most senior disciple in Mount Hua Sect and has not had any contact with Ren Yingying from the evil Holy Cult.
[9] Possibly a reference to Yang Lianting’s family name. Yáng (杨) means poplar, aspen or willow.
[10] Reference to ch. 30: Yingying said that [...] the relationship between these two is shady. I always thought that he would look like a girly and pretty man, who would’ve thought he’d be this big and burly fellow. - Linghu Chong’s thoughts upon meeting Yang Lianting.
[11] Lit. to serve/satisfy sb with one’s beauty (以色侍主), fig. used to describe women competing to win over the heart of a man, such as the relationship between a group of concubines and a king. The complete sentence is: 以色事人者，色衰而爱弛 If you only depend on your beauty to attract someone, the ‘love’ you win will decrease when your beauty decreases (with old age).
[12] Star of Calamity (天煞孤星) refers to a person who is fated to bring misfortune to those around him.
[13] Luanchong (脔宠) is a derogatory term for the underage male lover of an adult superior, the term literally means ‘small meat doted upon.’ In contrast, nanchong (男宠) is a term describing the male lover of an emperor, empress dowager, or high official, the term literally means ‘man doted upon.’ This translation uses ‘kept man’ for nanchong and ‘toy boy’ for luanchong.
[14] Face reading, or physiognomy, is a method that predicts the fate of a person by reading their facial features.
[15] A natal chart (命盘) includes the exact date, time, and location of an individual's birth. Natal charts are part of a system of Astrology that claims to shed light on an individual’s personality or path in life. Wikipedia
[16] Vital Energy, or yuán qì, (元气) is an innate qi. This inborn qi is differentiated from acquired qi that a person may develop over their lifetime. Vital Energy is gradually used up in the course of life, it may be conserved but never replenished.
[17] Lit. nine deaths and one life (九死一生), fig. a narrow escape / a slim chance at survival.