Chapter 16

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Oops. I totally spaced at the end of the last chapter. Ye You actually said he was going to a 小倌館 (not a 小館 lmao), which is a brothel specifically for male sex workers. That’ll teach me to post a chapter when I haven’t made significant headway on the next. Changes have been made, etc. etc.

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Sometimes Wenren Heng felt as if his entire lifetime’s worth of wisdom and patience would be spent entirely on his Junior Brother.

If he could achieve what he desired, then even if he’s exhausted, he’d still be happy. But every time he’s driven into a corner by his Junior Brother, he’d still feel that he might as well just ignore his Junior Brother’s nonsense, directly undress him, and tie him to the bed with chains.

It was the same this time.

When this Junior Brother of his wanted to do or know something, some incredible patience would be exercised, and if the other party wasn’t careful, information would be wormed out of them in a flash. For instance, at the inn last time, this person wanted to feel out his attitude, and after being lightly rebuffed by him in return, the other shamelessly carried that knowledge until now to use.

Using this talk to sound the other out, his Junior Brother fought in a way that was extremely loud and clear, looking only at the upsides. If he could go out, then good, and even if he couldn’t, it’s all right, since he could simply come up with a different method. As long as he can test the other’s attitude, he won’t suffer any losses.

What could Wenren Heng say?

Don’t indulge too much in your desires[1]? But his Junior Brother had already grown to this point[2], doing such things on occasion wouldn’t count as overindulging in desires.

Is there anything else he could say?

I also like men, why don’t we go together?

If he actually said that, then his Junior Brother would definitely consider the possibility of being the object of his affections and so perhaps in the following days, he could avoid all his Junior Brother’s various ways of probing for information. But one thing couldn’t be forgotten; although, right now, his Junior Brother had amnesia, perhaps someday there will come a time when his memories all return. And if some harrowing thing had occurred between them, then he definitely couldn’t admit to it. If he did, his troubles would increase.

So the only thing Wenren Heng could do was hold onto the frame and insincerely tell his Junior Brother to be careful of his safety, and not to drink too much wine.

Ye You obediently said, “Don’t worry, Senior Brother, I know.”

Wenren Heng was extremely furious[3]. He stood at the doorway, unmoving, a smile on his face as he watched the other go out.

When the scarred man gave this scene a look, he simply thought that his Sect Master’s smile was extremely tender, just like the first spring wind of a new year. But perhaps it was that the wind hadn’t yet broken free of winter yet, since within that smile was mixed a layer of bitter cold.

His heart trembled, and he silently advanced. Seeing the importance that the Sect Master attached to that young sir, he felt that the other was about to give an order.

Wenren Heng said, “Keep an eye on him. If he really goes to a male brothel, drinking some wine is still all right, but if… Think of some way to drag him out and send someone to tell me.”

The scarred man said, “Understood.”

Wenren Heng added, “And if someone comes to meet him, there’s no need to mind.”

The scarred man was immediately astonished.

He had already suspected long ago that Young Master Xiao wasn’t a simple person, and after the incident with the “aunt”, he was even more sure of his suspicions. He understood that his Sect Master perhaps knew some things, but he had always thought that the Sect Master wasn’t willing to let Young Master Xiao have too much contact with outsiders, and he never expected to be proven wrong.

He couldn’t help but ask, “Did Sect Master already decide from the beginning to let Young Master Xiao go outside?”

“Yes, there’s no use stopping him anyway,” Wenren Heng said.

First, this Junior Brother of his was too clever. Second, he had already confirmed these past few days that his Junior Brother truly had an enormous interest in the matter of the Lantern-Extinguishing Poison, so even if his Junior Brother got into contact with the people of the Demonic Sect, the other would probably still obediently return to his side. Thus, after he had sorted out his thoughts, from the start, he hadn’t intended to stop his Junior Brother. The only thing was that he never could’ve predicted that the scoundrel would use this kind of excuse to go outside.

In his heart, Wenren Heng was telling himself that if a certain someone really dared to do something at a male brothel tonight, then he’ll immediately grab that person. He gave one last glance in the direction of the front gates before finally returning to the room.

 

Ye You slowly reached the main street.

Quite a few people knew his identity. When those people from Jianghu raised their heads and saw him, they all itched to run up to him and ask about the state of affairs. But this person was Sect Master Wenren’s Junior Brother, his identity wasn’t that of an ordinary person, and so they were all somewhat hesitant. At this moment, among them, several friendly acquaintances holding wine jugs smugly stepped forward and, in front of a crowd of jealous eyes, arrived at the person’s side.

“How does Sir Xiao have the time to go out these days?”

Ye You laughed and said, “Staying in is boring, so I came out to take a look around.”

The group said, “Then why not go drink a cup? Fengchun House has new entertainers[4] who know the gardenia dance[5]. It’s a really great show.”

Ye You thought for a bit and then told them that he wanted to walk around alone first before meeting directly at Fengchun House at the decided time. He then walked away.

He looked at the street with people coming to and fro and was very much looking forward to being contacted by the person from a few days ago. After all, he had still been recognized even with the bandages covering his face, so that person was probably someone very familiar with him. In addition, since losing his memory, besides Wenren Heng, this was the second time he had met someone who recognized him, so he naturally couldn’t miss this opportunity.

 

Recently, those Elders of the Demonic Sect had been continuously discussing how exactly to go about slipping by Wenren Heng.

They discussed it and discussed it, and they all agreed that that person was too intractable. Elder Miao had wanted to set poisonous insects several times, but the others desperately stopped him.

At this time, they were at their wits’ end. Standing in front of the open window and letting the cool breeze calm him, Elder Baili suddenly straightened his back and immediately let out a cry. He excitedly told them that the Sect Master had come out!

The other three hastily rushed towards the window and looked down. The moment they saw that person walking over, their eyes immediately started tearing up in excitement. Turning their heads, they ran downstairs. It was only when they stood on the street that they remembered the Sect Master said not to act like they knew each other. They looked at each other in dismay, not knowing if they should move forward or not.

“Right now the Sect Master is by himself, so he’s probably come to look for us, right?”

“How could anyone know? What if he has some other business?”

“Then what should we do? Do we go over or not? Do we act familiar or not? What if we anger him by rashly acting familiar and get a beating?”

“This…”

From the beginning, Ye You had been surveying his surroundings in every direction and so he quickly noticed them, giving them all a look.

Those Elders looked to the sky and looked to the ground and counted their fingers, not daring to look at him.

Ye You placed them in the same category as that crowd of people from Jianghu who wanted to speak but didn’t dare to step forward and summarily dismissed them. He started walking ahead following the main street, inwardly considering where else he could walk around.

Those Elders couldn’t properly grasp his meaning, so they surreptitiously followed him. If the Sect Master wanted to acknowledge them, he’d naturally find a deserted place, but if he didn’t, then they’d obediently stay out and keep watch.

Not long later, Ye You once again noticed them, and this time he finally realized that there was something not quite right.

His heart moved, but he unhurriedly crossed the stone bridge and started following along the riverbank, taking a slow walk.

A row of weeping willows were growing along this riverbank, charming greenery as far as the eye could see, and so tall that one couldn’t see the trees’ heads at a glance. Although there were people who came to admire the scenery, it wasn’t nearly as lively as the main street. He picked a place with few people to stand, sweeping his eyes over to that group of people who had stopped to huddle three trees away. He stared at them.

Those Elders turned their attention to the river, pretending to be contemplating the meaning of life.

Ye You laughed. “Since you walked with me the whole way, do you have some business with me?”

Should they say that they do, or that they don’t? Once again, those Elders couldn’t properly grasp his meaning and so silently turned to look at him, not speaking a word.

Ye You decided he might as well step forward and take the chance to also size them up a little.

Those four people looked extremely ordinary and their expressions had a stiff outline to them, so he guessed that they had probably disguised themselves. He walked until he was two steps away from them before stopping. Purposefully standing on the side close to the river, he figured that if there really was some business, he still had an escape route.

He looked at them and calmly waited for them to speak.

The Elders continued to maintain their silence.

In the Demonic Sect, the Sect Master was the absolute authority, and after all these years, they were used to listening to his orders. If he didn’t speak, they also wouldn’t randomly open their mouths.

Ye You saw those four anxiously looking at him and felt that they were somewhat helpless and pitiful so again asked, “Why did you follow me?”

The Elders still did not yet dare to act as if they recognized him, so they decided to pick an excuse at random. “Seeing the young sir’s virtuous countenance, we couldn’t help but follow for a bit.”

“…” Ye You was sporting a “lantern” and so especially wanted to ask them where exactly they saw that he had a virtuous countenance.

Seeing the chilly smile in his eyes, the group hurried to explain, “It’s us who thought that the young sir was definitely a virtuous person.”

“Yes, simply hearing this voice is…”

“That’s enough,” Ye You waved his hand to interrupt them. Deciding to draw them out a bit through deception, he calmly said, “Stop going around in circles. If you have something to say, then say it.”

This means they can recognize him, right? The Elders were immediately moved to excitement and, with a cheer, surrounded him.

“Sect Master where have you been for the past while? We’ve especially missed you!”

“Yes, and what happened to your face? Are you injured or just pretending to be injured?”

“Ah, right, why are you together with that rascal Wenren Heng?”

“Oh, and, what was the important matter you wanted to do when you went out this time?”

Ye You took a moment to react. Seeing that their expressions did not seem to be faked, he finally said, “All of you call me Sect Master?”

“…” These Elders also took a moment to react. They understood that the Sect Master had tricked them, but why? It couldn’t be that he had discovered they were following him and so wanted to sound them out to see if they’d be able to follow his orders and not take the bait?

They thought of the Sect Master’s character and collectively broke out in cold sweat, afraid that the Sect Master will send these good-for-nothings back home.

Ye You said, “Yes?”

These Elders deeply believed that they understood the Sect Master’s true intentions. Dragging back their wildly rushing minds, they tried to save it by saying, “Ah, young sir, please speak a few more words. We seem to have confused you with someone else.”

“Ah, that’s right. The silhouette looked kind of like our Sect Master’s, but looking again now, it doesn’t look alike.”

Ye You examined them. “Why don’t I take these bandages off and all of you can look again?”

“No need, that’d be too troublesome. The more we hear, the less alike it sounds,” the Elders said, “It looks like we’ve truly made a mistake. Sorry for the inconvenience. We won’t bother you any longer. Goodbye.”

The moment they finished speaking, they ran away. They were especially adaptable.

Ye You definitely felt there was something strange and subconsciously wanted to call them back, but those people slipped away too fast and were gone in the blink of an eye with their martial arts. He frowned slightly and considered the main reason before also leaving.

He again walked around the main street but nothing else happened. He presumed that the one who approached him last time had been among that group of people just now.

At this time, Wenren Heng had also received the news and asked, “They ran?”

The subordinate who had returned with the information carefully relayed the events once through and said, “They spoke only a few sentences before running.”

Since a few years ago, Wenren Heng had always been keeping track of the Demonic Sect. He knew that for the sake of conveniently recognizing each other, those Elders of the Demonic Sect had a set of fixed disguises they used. Hearing his subordinate’s account, he knew that those people were definitely the Elders of the Demonic Sect; there was no mistake. But why would they run?

He tapped on his tea cup, sinking into contemplation. After a while, he asked, “Where is he? Did he go to a male brothel?”

The subordinate said, “No, he didn’t. He’s still walking around.”

Right after the last sentence had been spoken, another subordinate rang at the door. Wenren Heng let him inside and, seeing his profusely sweating appearance, pushed down his unhappy mood and forced himself to ask again, “He went to a male brothel?”

The newly arrived subordinate said, “Answering the Sect Master, no, he didn’t.”

Wenren Heng’s heart eased.

The subordinate immediately followed with, “Young Master Xiao went to Fengchun House.”

Wenren Heng, “…”

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[1] 縱[*]欲 Censored. 縱欲 by itself means “indulging in debauchery”, which could possibly be the answer, though there’s a whole host of other phrases about carnal desires that end with 欲, so I just left it like this.

[2] This sentence was one of those, “really simple/elementary concepts in Chinese that’s difficult to translate to English”. What Wenren Heng actually thinks is that Ye You has been 養了這麼久, literally, “raised for this long”. The 養 (raised) in this case is a term used for animals/small children, so, yeah, Wenren Heng is referring to Ye You as a child essentially lmao. This whole bit is kind of a backhanded way of saying that Ye You is already at this age (even if he’s super childish/immature), so some manner of sexual activity wouldn’t be out-of-place, so he can’t use that as a reason to stop him.

[3] 氣不打一處來 I actually had to look this up, so I figured I should explain. Apparently (at least according to someone on baidu answers), in traditional Chinese medicine, breath is believed to come from the liver ordinarily. So the literal meaning of this sentence is that the person’s breaths aren’t coming from just his liver, since his anger has accumulated so much it’s leaking out from other places.

[4] Censored, again. 舞[*]姬. Probably refers to sex workers who also dance.

[5] 梔子舞 The 梔子 part refers to “cape jasmine”, a specific type of gardenia, but I found gardenia less unwieldy to use. I’m not sure if this is a real dance or not, but this isn’t a particularly important line anyway. (Please don’t be an important line.)

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Ugh, I really didn’t like translating the first bits of this (Wenren Heng’s internal monologue). Hopefully it still came out all right. It’s so hard to differentiate pronouns in English when there are two people of the same gender involved. ;A;//

Otherwise, this was actually a pretty fun chapter. Man, amnesiac!Ye You must be pretty pissed at Sect Master!Ye You right now lmao. Purposely making things harder for himself… What a guy.\n

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