Chapter 89

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In which everyone makes their way to Wanping Weir, and Ye You has a little fun along the way.

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Wanping Weir was an incredibly large body of water, and there was an abundance of fishing villages in the surroundings, more than ten.

There was a fort on the weir. Its size wasn’t particularly big, but it was quite strong and shouldn’t be underestimated.

The most important thing was that it was home to a sect from the demonic faction.

Thus, after “Sect Master Ye” had spoken, someone immediately followed with the question, “What if nothing’s there?”

Elder Baili said, “Then it’s also not a long delay.”

The person asked again, “Then what if you’re colluding with the people of Chenhong Fort[1] and have set a trap for us?”

“Compare how many people from the righteous faction are here right now to how many people the fort has. Can you count?” Without waiting for Elder Baili to speak, Xie Junming had unhurriedly walked over and, looking at that person, said, “If you don’t have the guts to go, just say it outright. It’s not like I’m going to laugh at you, isn’t that right, darling?”

Elder Baili said, “Mn.”

Xie Junming gave him a look and couldn’t help but grab his hand. “Darling, right now, you’re really like a wife who obediently listens to whomever she marries[2]. No matter what I say, you always agree. It really makes me feel so moved.”

“…” Elder Baili’s lips twitched.

He can hear it! This is Xie Junming looking down on him because he doesn’t have the Sect Master’s poisonous tongue, so he can’t follow along with the other to mock people — goddammit, does this guy think that just by wanting to, he can just automatically know how to do it!

Wenren Heng and Ye You weren’t listening to this confrontation and were instead looking at those elders.

“As long as we’re fast enough, the white piece won’t have the time to pass on the news,” Wenren Heng said, “We could completely catch them by surprise. And if there really isn’t anything there, we’d cause only a half-a-day’s delay. How about it?”

Academy Master Ge was the first to speak. “I agree with going.”

Abbot Ciyuan and Sect Leader Xuanyang looked at one another; they also thought there was a need to investigate this. The rest of the elders mostly thought the same thing. Pavilion Master Ding asked, “Wanping Weir is that big, so how are we going to search?”

Ye You said, “Sect Master Ye says he knows the location.”

The moment the words ‘Sect Master Ye’ came out, those elders who were in agreement immediately felt their hearts jump, afraid that they were about to be tricked.

And then, before they could express their thoughts, at this time, Xie Junming suddenly jumped onto the carriage due to something-or-other that the other side had said. With his back to Wenren Heng and the others, he looked arrogantly down at everyone in the righteous faction below and delivered the first blow, “Do you know why I never thought much of you righteous faction people? Because all of you think too much, and so you don’t man up when you need to.”

Fuck!

Everyone grew angry.

The second blow.

Xie Junming said, “All the high and mighty personages of the martial arts circles are here, but all of you still don’t dare to go. So doesn’t this mean that, in normal circumstances, you’d piss your pants in fear? On this trip, all of you martial heroes have really opened my eyes to the ways of the world.”

Everyone became even more angry.

The third blow.

Xie Junming said, “Forget it. There’s no use counting on all of you. I’ve said before that I came this time to help out, so as for those drugged men, we of the demonic faction will tidy them up for you. There’s no need to thank us.”

Everyone’s eyes seemed to shoot flames. “There’s no need for you to participate in the matters of our righteous faction!”

“Let’s go, Ah-You.” Xie Junming turned a deaf ear to their words and delivered the final blow, “Let them experience for themselves the strength of our demonic faction. The earlier we finish, the earlier we can leave. It’s really meaningless to keep staying with this group of cowards.”

Elder Baili said, smiling, “That’s right.”

Xie Junming jumped off the carriage. Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw Lady Tao and Qin Yuemian coming over and said, “I don’t know if Lady Tao is willing to provide some help?”

Lady Tao didn’t reply, but carrying her qin, she followed after them, evidently agreeing. There were some in the crowd of people who couldn’t take it and threw out Xie Junming’s words just now in an attempt to thwart him, “Didn’t Temple Master Xie say that he didn’t need the righteous faction?”

“It’s true that I don’t need all of you,” Xie Junming said, “But Lady Tao is neutral. What relationship does she have with all of you?”

Those people looked at Lady Tao and, upon seeing that she didn’t deny it, immediately didn’t know what to say.

Within the adventurers were many who were forthright, relying on only their hot-blooded nature and a sword in hand to travel the reaches of the world. Having been repeatedly provoked by Xie Junming, these people had long already become unable to endure it and, at this time, without any regard for the elders’ eventual decision, roared out a, “Stop looking down on us of the righteous faction.” And, with this clamorous shout, they rushed forward, having decided to wage battle.

“Aren’t they just drugged men! This elder will teach them how to behave!”

“That’s right, at least we can’t let the demonic faction do it, or else where would all our respect go!”

“Absolutely! We need to remind them that we of the righteous faction are more incredible than the demonic faction!”

In the blink of an eye, the crowd of people had already caught up halfway with their running. The rest originally wanted to ask the elders about their intentions, but at this time, the group saw Wenren Heng grab Sir Xiao and nimbly leap down, before then leaving to follow behind Xie Junming and the others.

Everyone stared blankly.

During this journey, Sir Xiao’s fame had almost eclipsed that of some of the elders, and to some of the adventurers, he was even placed slightly higher than the elders in his position on this chessboard. Thus, at this time, a portion of the people also followed in leaving, including Ding Xilai and that group of Junior Sect Masters.

Those elders no longer hesitated and took those who remained to leave as well.

As Wenren Heng listened to the colorful curses of the adventurers who had come from all parts of the world, while the people behind them had yet to catch up, he took the opportunity to use a voice that only he and his Junior Brother could hear in order to ask, “There’s something I’ve always been curious about. You and Xie Junming have always liked to taunt people, for what purpose?”

Ye You smiled and said, “A sense of satisfaction.”

Wenren Heng didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

Ye You said, “You don’t like me like this?”

Wenren Heng said, “That’s not it.”

Ye You’s tone carried some playfulness. “Then you actually really like me like this?”

Wenren Heng felt as if this disaster seemed to be enticing him with those eyes and nodded, saying, “I do quite like it, but what I like even more…”

As he spoke, he leaned slightly closer to his Junior Brother and said a few, low words in the other’s ear, using his usual elegant and proper tone. Ye You’s ears immediately turned half-numb, and the person faintly ducked out of the way. Wenren Heng straightened his back, still carrying that gentle appearance, completely not looking like the type of person who was capable of saying those roguish words just now.

Ye You loved this appearance of his Senior Brother’s the most, but for the sake of preventing disaster from befalling him later and having a clear view of things, he didn’t continue teasing the other.

The two’s exchange was done very quickly, and when it was finished, Ding Xilai had also coincidentally caught up. The person diligently ran to Sir Xiao’s side and said, “Are we going to make a move?”

Ye You said, “Yes. In a while, you should stay further away.”

Ding Xilai said, “I’ll just follow you. I definitely won’t randomly run off.”

Ye You said, “The white piece wholeheartedly wants to kill me and so would perhaps take the opportunity when things are chaotic to try. You aren’t afraid that you’ll become involved because of me?”

Ding Xilai puffed out his chest. “Not afraid. With Shaotian here, he’ll definitely protect us.”

Ye You glanced at Ren Shaotian, but upon seeing a certain silhouette, his gaze then passed by the other to look at the person behind. At almost the same time that he looked past, Ren Shaotian also heard the sound of footsteps and, upon turning back for a glance, said, “Captain?”

Ding Xilai also turned around upon hearing this and, almost on instinct, fixed up his attitude, tensing up his face to ask insipidly, “Why did Brother Wei come?”

The person who had come was none other than Wei Jin, the Captain[3] of “Moon’s Shadow”. He followed by Pavilion Master Ding’s side year-round and, like Pavilion Master Ding, was someone who wasn’t prone to levity.

Wei Jin said, “The Pavilion Master wished for this subordinate to protect you.”

Ding Xilai said, “What about over at my dad’s side?”

Wei Jin said, “There’s still the people of ‘Moon’s Shadow’ around.”

Ding Xilai naturally believed in the strength of “Moon’s Shadow” and, after remembering Sir Xiao’s words just now, thought that it’d be even more reliable to have Wei Jin here. Thus, he nodded, accepting the other’s presence for the very first time, and said, “Then that’s good.”

From here to Wanping Weir, they needed to pass through a forest.

The forest was on a hill, and once one walks over it, one could see the expansive waterfront. At this time, they were going uphill, so with no need to conceal themselves, everyone was walking quite fast. It wasn’t until they started going downhill that they began to be more cautious. There were some who remembered that they didn’t know the exact location and so somewhat unwillingly stopped to wait for those two rascals in need of a beating, who had long been overtaken by them, to catch up.

At this time, Xie Junming had already reconvened with Ye You and them and was now walking over, neither too fast nor too slow.

It wasn’t only him; the elders were also all present.

Academy Master Ge asked, “Where are the drugged men?”

Elder Baili said, “At a fishing village.”

Academy Master Ge said, astonished, “Aren’t there villagers living in these fishing villages? How did they not notice anything wrong after all these years?”

“What if the entire village was filled with the white piece’s people?” Elder Baili spoke according to the Sect Master’s speculations, “Bodhi Prison was built fifteen years ago, so the white piece has been scheming for at least over ten years. Using a ten year time frame to establish a village, or letting the people of a village slowly disappear and then exchanging them with one’s own people, wouldn’t be so difficult, right?”

The nearby Ding Xilai and the Junior Sect Masters were speechless when they heard this, thinking in the depths of their hearts that this was truly too deranged.

Academy Master Ge also had the same thought, and he couldn’t help but say, “For over ten years, the drug had already been completed, and many drugged men had also been created. I really don’t understand what exactly he wants to do when he’s schemed for this long but still has yet to make a move.”

Everyone fell silent, none able to think of a reasonable explanation, internally thinking that the only thing they could do was wait for that person to be captured in order to know.

Pavilion Master Ding looked at “Sect Master Ye” and asked, “There are quite a few fishing villages at Wanping Weir. Which fishing village is it?”

Elder Baili said, “If this lord has guessed correctly, then it should be Beiyan Village[4].”

Pavilion Master Ding said sharply, “Should?”

Elder Baili said, “That surnamed Xiao said only an approximate location, and he didn’t even wait for this lord to ask in more detail before he breathed his last. What else could this lord do?”

Since you weren’t completely certain, why in the world did you get everyone to come over here!

Everyone silently stared at him.

Elder Baili stood there calmly under their gazes.

Everyone was speechless, and it was only after a short moment did someone ask, “Then do we… take a moment to plan?”

Xie Junming said, “What good is there to plan. It’ll only waste time. What Ah-You said is definitely correct. We’ll directly surround them.”

Surround? Surround what? If they really picked the wrong place, what if they ended up alerting the enemy and getting surrounded themselves in retaliation?

Everyone silently thought it over, feeling as if they shouldn’t have allowed themselves to be led astray by these two rascals; they truly were unreliable.

Academy Master Ge went to find Sir Xiao to ask, “What do you think?”

Ye You said, “Let’s surround them.”

Academy Master Ge said, “What if we’re wrong?”

“No matter if we’re right or wrong, once we arrive at Wanping Weir, we’ll have alerted the enemy regardless,” Ye You said, “Don’t forget that the white piece is right here with us. If we give him time to pass on the news, our situation would become terrible, so it’d be better just to surround them straightaway.”

The group muttered to themselves for a time, feeling that, as matters stood, this was the only option they had, but they hoped that this rascal Ye You could be slightly more reliable.

They quickened their footsteps to reunite with those adventurers waiting in front. Indicating for them to keep calm and curb their impatience, the group brought them down the hill to arrive at Wanping Weir. However, they were then met with a new problem.

The elders looked at everyone and, after giving a dry cough, asked, “Does anyone know where Beiyan Village is?”

“Why don’t you ask this lord about this?” As Elder Baili spoke, he pulled out a map and threw it over. “Here, no need to thank me.”

Although those elders wanted to give him a beating, they still endured and opened up the map to examine it for a moment before then taking the people to head quickly for Beiyan Village.

There were some quick-witted people who noticed that Sect Master Ye seemed to have prepared the map ahead of time, as if he already had this idea since long ago, but he also shouldn’t have known that they’d be able to pass by Wanping Weir, so was this a coincidence? Or… was it a trap?

There was one Sect Master who, after glancing at Sect Master Ye’s back, suddenly asked, “Sect Master Ye, your Demonic Sect’s Elder Mei doesn’t seem to have followed along?”

Elder Baili said, “Mn.”

That Sect Master asked, “Where did she go?”

Elder Baili said, “This lord also wants to know, but this lord had been sitting in Sir Xiao’s carriage previously, so this lord isn’t clear on the reason. Our Xiao-Bai might know. Xiao-Bai, come, come, come and say it.”

Was it possible that someone in the position of Sect Master would not know when a sect’s Elder left?

That Sect Master felt more and more that there was a problem, and it wasn’t only him. The people nearby had also turned all their attentions toward them, watching as Elder Bai walked over upon being called.

All year round, this person carried an expression as if he was not quite awake, and just now in the forest, they had wondered many a time if this person would actually fall asleep right then and there.

In regard to the younger adventurers, Elder Bai had not the least bit of presence, but those who had experienced the events at Yushan Stage would definitely not overlook him, because this person was the most savage Elder within the Demonic Sect. That year, it was also him who had injured someone too heavily, resulting in Ye You’s moment of guilt and the Gold Sect changing its name to the Demonic Sect.

That Sect Master naturally counted as one of those who wouldn’t underestimate him and asked, “Does Elder Bai know why Elder Mei hasn’t followed along?”

Elder Bai slowly gave him a glance and said, “She left.”

That Sect Master asked, “Where to?”

Elder Bai thought for a while, then thought for another while, before saying, “I don’t know.”

Those nearby couldn’t help but interrupt, “She didn’t say anything before she left?”

Elder Bai sank into silence. Those in the surroundings collectively stared at him and waited. Right as they started pondering that perhaps this person wouldn’t speak at all, they heard him slowly say, “Xiao-Mei said she wants to go change her clothes.”

Those people’s spirits shook. “Where’s she going to change her clothes?”

Elder Bai once again fell silent for a while before saying, “I don’t know.”

“…” Those people silently swallowed back a mouthful of blood. Struggling for a moment, they finally decided that they’d never feel reassured if they weren’t able to clear this up, so they continued to ask, “Other than changing clothes, did she say anything else?”

“Oh…” This time, Elder Bai’s period of silence was even longer, and right as the people had gotten so anxious that they were about to get internal injuries, he said, “Xiao-Mei seems to have said that the braised fish at lunch was a bit burnt.”

Who the hell asked you about this!

Fumes of anger rushed straight into these people’s heads, and they stiffly forced themselves to press it all back down little-by-little.

Elder Bai felt none of this tension and, after walking for a while, looked at them.

Those people had just about almost finished suppressing their anger and, upon seeing this, felt that this person had perhaps thought of something. They thus immediately turned to look at him in anticipation, only to hear him ask, “Why did all of you ask me those things just now?”

These people, “…”

Are you just fucking reacting to this now? Ye You sending you out here to take responsibility was definitely on purpose—-!

Ye You grabbed his Senior Brother’s arm and said weakly, “Senior Brother, my legs hurt a bit.”

Wenren Heng immediately stopped. Upon seeing that his Junior Brother appeared to have a sprain and had begun to fall over in the next moment, he hastily held the other back.

Ye You buried his head into the other’s embrace, softly letting out a laugh. Ah, it’s no good, their Xiao-Bai was way too cute.

Wenren Heng then knew that his Junior Brother simply couldn’t take it anymore and couldn’t help feeling helpless.

He thought back to how, while on the carriage, this person had advised Elder Baili on what scene to make and internally thought that really, what a bellyful of rotten tricks, and even as Sir Xiao right now, this disaster can still find the time to incite hatred for himself.

He didn’t know how many times he had wondered where his Junior Brother had found that group of Elders. Looking at the person in his embrace, he asked, “Does it hurt a lot? Want me to carry you?”

“No need. It’s better.” Ye You quickly restrained himself, straightened his back, and continued walking. At this time, he perceived something and turned his head back to look, instantly meeting Wei Jiangrou’s barely-concealed, jealous gaze.

Both of Wei Jiangrou’s eyes had reddened and, upon seeing him look at her, decisively turned her head.

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[1] 沉虹寨 lit. deep rainbow fort/stronghold. Pretty cool name actually, Xie Junming could learn a thing or two from them.

[2] 嫁雞隨雞嫁狗隨狗 lit. if you marry a chicken, follow the chicken; if you marry a dog, follow the dog. Although it used to mean that wives should always obey their husbands, nowadays, this idiom is taken as more akin to the English saying of, “When in Rome, do as the Romans do.”

[3] I actually had to do a double-take here, because I previously translated Wei Jin as the “Head” (首領) of Moon’s Shadow, but here the author refers to him as 隊長 (Captain). They’re relatively synonymous, but this is just a note to my future editor self that I didn’t go and dump all consistency out the window — the author actually used a different word!

[4] 北雁村 lit. northern goose village.

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In a previous chapter, one of the commenters on JJWXC was like, “I can accept Wei Jiangrou’s personality if she was fourteen or younger,” and that’s basically my view too. I feel like she hasn’t really matured in a way that she should, probably largely because of how spoiled she has been. I don’t hate her, but I think she really needs to grow up.

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