Chapter 116

Parsed with an automated reader. The content accuracy is not guranteed.

In which this chapter is set during winter, but the translator is burning up in the dog days of summer.

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It was almost the Winter Solstice[1], and the days grew colder and colder.

Wenren Heng discovered that this Junior Brother of his was also getting more and more lazy, especially during the day.

With the elders around, his Junior Brother would at least crawl out of bed to eat breakfast at the dining hall together. The moment the elders left, however, his Junior Brother began to dawdle in bed, no longer even eating breakfast on time.

Wenren Heng really suspected that those few days when his Junior Brother always wore that mask and openly flaunted his instincts to show off in front of those elders were all on purpose — because by the time they left, all their expressions were complicated and nonplussed, very likely vexed by the fierce change that was “Sir Xiao as Sect Master Ye”.

Actually, with the two Wei and Ding executed, Jianghu would definitely go through a period of instability, and the followup matters were truly numerous. Sooner or later, those elders would’ve left, and Wenren Heng guessed that they had wasted so much time at the Yang family residence most likely because they wanted to advise his Junior Brother to “return to the proper path”. They probably believed that his Junior Brother had purposely invoked the righteous faction’s hatred simply because the other still had unfulfilled vengeance on the mind. As such, his Junior Brother had used actions to tell them that this appearance was actually the true Ye You. The elders then had nothing left to say and so naturally scattered.

Thus, a certain person joyfully saw them off and, within the next day, began lazing around in bed, refusing to get up.

Wenren Heng had always indulged him and so accompanied him to lie there for a while, pulling the person into an embrace and occasionally giving a little tease, very quickly becoming unable to stop once having started. It wasn’t until a certain person started wanting to eat breakfast and lunch together that Wenren Heng began feeling that they couldn’t continue like this and so dug the person out.

Ye You let out a faint sigh. “Senior Brother, after exhausting all my thoughts and ingenuity over these years, I’m now far too tired.”

Wenren Heng lowered his eyes to look at the other.

Ye You said, “And because of my childhood, I grew afraid of cold, so now the moment winter comes, my mood turns bad.”

Wenren Heng didn’t much believe him.

His Junior Brother’s temperament was ostentatious, and the other wasn’t the type of person to be affected overly by seasonal changes or to become melancholy because of minor issues. Even while carrying twenty years of blood debt, the person had definitely made sure that he himself lived well — not leaving anything out, from the enjoyment he deserved to the fun he wanted.

If he was dawdling in bed, then it was simply because he wanted to dawdle in bed.

Ye You calmly watched the other’s examination before curling up back into the blankets, turning around so as not to look at him.

Wenren Heng was at wit’s end and, after tucking him more tightly into the blankets, then went out to carry in the food. Fishing him out again upon returning, Wenren Heng helped him wash up before handing over the porridge, tenderly urging, “After you finish eating, don’t immediately go back to sleep.”

Ye You maintained an attitude as if he was still only semi-conscious. With chin in hand, he stared at his Senior Brother’s handsome face that was just within reach, feeling as if the other was more and more pleasing to the eye the longer he looked. Thus, when he spoke, he didn’t put much thought into it, “Yes, I’ll listen to my wife.”

Wenren Heng shot him a glance, smiling in a way that was not quite a smile. “Husband, want me to feed you?”

Ye You instantly turned fully awake and took the bowl, saying, “No need.”

Wenren Heng grabbed his wrist and leaned over to kiss him on the forehead before letting him go and walking over to the table nearby to sit.

A moist warmth was left behind on his forehead. Ye You knew that his Senior Brother had become used to adopting such slight intimacies with him, but for whatever reason, he still felt like he had been teased, as if that sliver of warmth was able to sink beneath his skin, turning into a feather to brush against his innermost feelings.

He narrowed his eyes before getting out of bed and walking over.

Wenren Heng got some clothes to drape over him. “Not staying on the bed?”

How can a bed be more attractive than you?

Ye You moved his lips, wanting to say these teasing words, but at this time, a soft sigh filled with sorrow suddenly resounded from within the courtyard, “Ah, it’s snowing.”

He paused slightly.

After a number of breaths, knocks sounded at their door.

Ye You said, “Come in.”

Upon hearing this, Sir Yang pushed open the door, nodding his head in greeting at them, “Sect Master Wenren, Sect Master Ye.”

He still maintained that temperate and courteous appearance of his former days, with a proper smile hanging from his lips. It was only that he had become slightly thinner, and a few soft shadows were visible below his eyes, clearly showing that he hadn’t slept well recently. Wenren Heng saw that his face seemed to carry some hesitation and so took the initiative to leave, while also considerately closing the door for them.

The room turned quiet at once.

Ye You indicated for him to sit and began unhurriedly drinking porridge.

Sir Yang then walked next to him and sat down before pouring a cup of tea for himself.

Ye You noticed that his hand was shaking slightly, but he ultimately managed to control it enough in order to lift up the cup and drink a mouthful of tea. Ye You couldn’t help but feel his lips lift slightly in praise — from beginning to end, the only good thing that Wei Haide did was to educate this person well.

If everything hadn’t happened, Ye You wasn’t certain what this person would’ve become if he had been the teacher, but he did know that, no matter how it could’ve been, the other wouldn’t have turned out better than now. After all, this person had lived the life of a young master, and had also taken care of the Yang family alone; regardless of position or ability, all of this couldn’t have been achieved by a boy attendant.

He continued to eat, not asking whether the other had any business for now.

Sir Yang also didn’t speak.

He was silent for a while, having a mind to drink another mouthful of tea to steady his thoughts, but upon noticing that his fingers were still shivering, could only give up and look at Ye You.

Those eyes had grown red, misted over with a layer of faint wetness. Ye You gave him a look and asked, “You remembered?”

Sir Yang said in a low voice, “I don’t know if it counts… Over the past few days, I’ve had many dreams.”

Ye You made a sound in acknowledgement.

That year when Wei Jin was injured, it took more than a month for Miaomiao and that little fool working together to remove the drug completely, and this was only possible because Wei Jin’s martial skill was high and the other had broken through a portion of the drug’s effects beforehand. Meanwhile, this person’s foundation wasn’t good, and he didn’t know martial arts from the start. Even if Miaomiao and them had found a baseline for the drug, the difficulty was still extremely high. Besides, even if the drug had been completely removed, this person would still receive only a child’s memories, murky and indistinct, and every little detail from these past twenty years wouldn’t simply disappear.

What’s more, this person was younger than him by a year.

How much could a four-year-old child remember?

He said, “You’ve definitely been tired these past few days, so there’s no need to think too much. First take a break.”

Sir Yang shook his head, still looking at the other. He said in a hoarse voice, “I faintly remember chasing after you and calling you young master.”

Ye You once again made a sound in acknowledgment. Remembering that old matter, he said, smiling, “You were quite round at the time.”

Sir Yang’s eyes turned even redder.

Recently, quite a few things had appeared in his mind, all vague and fuzzy.

At that time, the residence appeared very big, and there were also many people, so every day was especially lively. There were endless snacks which he wasn’t able to finish, and a large man who would put him on the shoulder and spin him in a circle while laughing. The scene was like the first flower at spring’s beginning, happy and beautiful.

But, later, everything became a sea of blood, appearing even more clear and frightening than his previous memories.

That man had squatted down in front of him and said, within that noisy din, “Ah-Bao, our entire family’s lives are dedicated to the Yang family. Remember, if you’re captured, say that you’re the Yang family’s little young master…”

He didn’t know what happened afterwards. He only knew that, when he woke up, tears were streaming down his face.

He looked at this person in front of him and felt as if this person was slowly overlapping with that beautiful, little young master in his memories. He opened his mouth, “…Young master.”

Ye You patted his shoulder.

Sir Yang suddenly somewhat couldn’t control himself.

Even the previous days of indecisiveness and helplessness bubbled forth from his mind, and he immediately used a hand to cover his face. His voice slowly and uncontrollably began to be choked with sobs. “Young master, I…”

“There’s no need to say any more,” Ye You said, “That you’re still alive makes me very happy.”

Sir Yang’s shoulder faintly trembled, while his other hand was clenched into a tight fist, and only after a long time did he barely manage to control himself.

He actually also didn’t know what else he could say.

These twenty years, he had carried the young master’s name, living a life of luxury, even acknowledging the villain as his father, and although it hadn’t been his choice, he still felt that it was hard to take.

He put down his hand and asked in a low voice, “What has the young master decided?”

Ye You said, “Call me Second Brother.”

Sir Yang instantly felt as if he had misheard. “—-What?”

Ye You said, “There are only three people left in the Yang family. Since we’re family, why do we still need to consider things like who’s the young master and who isn’t?”

Sir Yang understood his meaning and said, “But…”

Ye You interrupted him, “There’s no ‘but’. Unless you dislike this lord.”

Upon hearing the “this lord”, Sir Yang immediately wanted to wipe his sweat.

In the past, he had been close to Fengxian Manor, and so under Wei Jiangyue’s influence, he had in fact disliked Sect Master Ye and Temple Master Xie, but now that his family’s young master was actually that Demonic Sect’s Sect Master, how could he dare to dislike the other?

No, he should say that, even if the Demonic Sect’s Sect Master wasn’t the young master, he still wouldn’t have the guts to say the word “dislike” to this person’s face!

In this world, there probably weren’t many people who dared to do so, right?

Ye You saw that he had fallen speechless and said, all smiles, “Then it’s decided. Even a senior monk at Shaolin said that your life is destined for riches and honor. In the future, I’ll still leave you to take care of this Yang family then.”

Sir Yang grew anxious. “That’s not right, I need to follow you.”

Ye You raised a brow. “Coming with me back to the Demonic Sect?”

“…” Sir Yang’s mind suddenly flashed to those Demonic Sect Elders he had met over these few days along with the rumors of the Demonic Sect he had heard over the years, while also reminding him of a certain Temple Master Xie who always liked to go to the Demonic Sect to play. After a moment of silence, he suppressed the unclear premonition that he was a lamb treading into a tiger’s den and said, solemnly, “All right.”

Ye You laughed out loud. “You should probably still stay here.”

Sir Yang unconsciously wanted to shake his head, but then he heard the young master continue with, “The Yang family’s roots are here, so someone needs to remain in Huayang City.”

He instantly remembered the grave outside the city, and he swiftly swallowed back the words in his mouth.

In the end, matters were settled.

Ye You then made a simple sentence or two of inquiry and, upon hearing that he had remembered only a bit, didn’t pressure him, indicating that he could return to rest.

When Wenren Heng returned, Ye You had coincidentally also finished eating. He lifted his head and saw that his Senior Brother’s shoulders had accumulated a bit of snow and so walked over to the door to look out, discovering that the ground had already amassed a thin layer of snow, looking quite like frost.

Wenren Heng said, “Don’t catch cold.”

“It’s nothing, I…” Ye You was originally going to say that he had his internal energy to protect him, but in the space of an instant, he remembered that he had just said that he had grown afraid of cold from his childhood and so quickly changed his words, “I can warm some wine.”

Wenren Heng didn’t expose him and simply pulled the person back in.

Ye You sat on the chair for a while before again returning to the bed, gradually becoming drowsy once again. Half-awake, he heard the scarred man’s voice and guessed that the other had probably come to find his Senior Brother regarding Shuangji Sect matters, but immediately following, he then smelled a familiar fragrance, and he immediately sat up. “Fengzui?”

Wenren Heng carried the wine jug back and asked, smiling, “Still want to sleep?”

Ye You said, “How can sleep be more important than wine?”

Wenren Heng said, “Hm?”

Ye You walked over to kiss him on the lips, lowering his voice to tease, “How can sleep be more important than drinking wine with you?”

Wenren Heng was reluctantly satisfied, holding his hand and walking over to sit on the soft couch next to the window before beginning to warm the wine. Ye You opened the window a bit, and the scene of the first snow immediately met his eyes.

With the two of them drinking wine together during this first snow, even his heart felt as if it was entirely at peace.

Ye You looked at the person in front of him, shallowly drinking a mouthful of wine before narrowing his eyes in satisfaction.

Wenren Heng noticed that the other’s gaze had remained on him for quite a long time and asked, “What?”

Ye You said, smiling, “You’re so handsome, so why not let me watch you for a bit longer?”

Wenren Heng couldn’t help but laugh. Looking at this disaster in front of him, he then exhausted all the wine in his cup before pressing the other’s head forward as he moved to kiss, directly passing over the wine from his mouth.

The mellow fragrance of the wine along with that familiar taste mixed together to provoke the senses, and Wenren Heng’s pupils gradually darkened. From his ears, he listened to this person’s low groans and felt more and more unable to suppress his fire. Closing the window, he then pressed the other down.

 

Meanwhile, a carriage passed through this first snow and slowly stopped in front of the Yang family residence.

The carriage curtains lifted, and the first person who stepped out was an incomparably beautiful young lady.

She turned back to say, smiling, “Brother Shaotian, we’ve arrived.”

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[1] 三九 indicates basically the apex of winter, aka the three coldest days of the year that take place during the Winter Solstice.

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We’re experiencing a three-digit (Fahrenheit) heat wave here in California and Ye You is complaining of cold… Truly… enviable…

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