Chapter 18

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“…even our Sect Master feels a lot of admiration towards him.”

The scarred man had been with Wenren Heng for many years after all, so even when his heart was a roaring sea, he stopped for only a moment before naturally continuing his words, and even when Young Master Xiao looked over at him, he had already adjusted his expression. No fault could be found.

Ye You asked, “What has my Senior Brother said of him?”

The scarred man said, “That he’s not bad.”

He quickly thought back to the Sect Master’s assessment of Sect Master Ye, but even after much thought, he could use only a “not bad” to reply.

Their Sect Master very rarely brought up the Demonic Sect and Sect Master Ye, though their movements were always followed very closely. From what he could recall, the Sect Master and Sect Master Ye had met only a few times, and every time they met alone, so even he wasn’t clear on what they discussed.

When he carefully thought of the relationship between the Sect Master and Sect Master Ye, he thought it was very ordinary. They’ve even fought once before. But even like this, he still thought there was a very distinct possibility that Young Master Xiao was the Demonic Sect’s Sect Master because Young Master Xiao certainly wasn’t an ordinary person and, from the talented people in Jianghu, Sect Master Ye coincidentally fit the other perfectly.

Even more coincidentally, Sect Master Ye liked wearing a mask, which also matched Young Master Xiao’s situation. Or else, with this kind of face, Young Master Xiao would’ve long been famous in Jianghu. To go this long without any news circulating, it must have been covered up extremely securely.

Of course, another possibility was that Young Master Xiao disliked being ostentatious and so had been in seclusion somewhere all these years, only now coming out to travel Jianghu.

But once these doubts started surfacing, all those complicated details from the past became clear, every single thing started coming out like bamboo shoots after spring rain[1], each outdoing the other in its growth, such as the Sect Master paying especial attention to the Demonic Sect, such as the Sect Master asking about the Demonic Sect’s movements during Young Master Xiao’s “sleepwalking” incident, such as the incredible and weird “aunt”, and such as Young Master Xiao’s monstrous lightness skill just now.

The more the scarred man thought, the more he thought he had guessed correctly. The shock in his heart was swamping him in waves, almost drowning him. He looked at Young Master Xiao out of the corner of his eyes, and cold sweat slowly dripped from his forehead.

He’s actually taking a stroll and having a heart-to-heart with this mysterious, peerless Sect Master of the Demonic Sect! Their Sect Master even kept the man by his side all day, calling Junior Brother this and Junior Brother that! The two even shared a bed, even having such a frightening person living right under the noses of the righteous faction crowd!

Ah, right, did the Elders of the Demonic Sect already have their eyes on this place? What were they going to do? Would they take action?

Ye You was completely unaware that this person was about to be crushed into asphyxiating by the weight of “everything was in disarray“[2] and asked, “Only a ‘not bad’?”

“…That’s right.” Having realized this man’s identity, the scarred man didn’t dare to show any weaknesses. He explained, “The main culprit is Prince[3] Li… Oh, it’s that Young Master Li who went to Xunliu Manor last time.”

Ye You said, “I know this. Senior Brother told me they got to know one another at the capital.”

The scarred man nodded. “After the Sect Master set up Shuangji Sect, the prince always came to Jianghu to play, and after he went with the Sect Master to Yushan stage that one time, he grew to like Sect Master Ye. He often asks the Sect Master for news about the other party, so the Sect Master will occasionally pay attention to the Demonic Sect. Once, when looking at the information that had been sent back, he said one thing, that Sect Master Ye was not bad.”

In all honesty, in the past, he had truly thought that it was all for the sake of the prince that the Sect Master sent people to keep an eye on the Demonic Sect!

He couldn’t help but reach up to wipe off some cold sweat before continuing to follow Young Master Xiao.

The two walked and talked. At first, Ye You also asked a few other things. The scarred man wasn’t clear on what Young Master Xiao was trying to do and wasn’t sure if this person was in contact with the Elders of the Demonic Sect, so he didn’t dare to say too much or to say anything wrong. For the whole way, he was extremely anxious and on edge. The moment they stepped through the gates of the Wang family residence, he let out a breath of relief.

But immediately after, this breath was once again sucked back in because he had to watch this man, whom he suspected of being the Demonic Sect’s Sect Master, going to sleep in the same bed as their Sect Master.

 

At this moment, Wenren Heng was still waiting for news about his Junior Brother.

He knew rationally that although his Junior Brother had lost his memories, his disposition hadn’t changed. In the past, when the other had met many beauties, nothing was ever done with them, so most likely nothing would happen this time either. However, he couldn’t help but be afraid of that one in a thousand possibility[4]. What could be done if the other had met someone who pleased him as no one had before?

If that really happened, then with his Junior Brother’s skill, the other could definitely make all his subordinates shut up.

But, thinking of it another way, if his Junior Brother still wanted to feel him out and so took all his subordinates hostage until he couldn’t help but rush over, what should be done?

And so Wenren Heng sat, as time slowly crawled past, drinking cup after cup of tea, not moving for half a day. It was only until he heard the sound of familiar footsteps that he was able to close his eyes, feeling as if his heart that had been left hanging had finally returned to him.

He put down the tea cup.

In the next moment, Ye You pushed open the door and entered.

Wenren Heng put on an expression as if the other’s return was a happy surprise. He asked, “Didn’t you say you were spending the night outside?”

Ye You said, “I met a few friends, and we went to Fengchun House to drink some wine, so I came back after. Why hasn’t Senior Brother slept yet?”

“I’m just about to sleep.” Wenren Heng paused. “Before you left, I had you take the medicine with you. Have you used it?”

Ye You said, “Not yet.”

Wenren Heng nodded and, after the other had washed up, attentively changed the medicine. After watching the other go to bed and sleep, he took the opportunity afforded by going to the bathroom to call his subordinates over and have them relay all that had happened over the course of the night.

The scarred man was still conflicted over whether or not he should listen to Young Master Xiao about not telling the Sect Master the matter with Sir Wei, but since the Sect Master had mentioned before not to let Young Master Xiao do any martial arts while they were watching him, he first relayed the matter about the lightness skill.

Wenren Heng interrupted him with, “You said that this person was ranked third?”

The scarred man said, “Yes.”

“A high-ranking prostitute spilling wine, and even spilling it on a guest sitting on the first floor’s single seating. Would she need to run down personally?” Wenren Heng said, “Did she have customers today? Investigate who they are.”

The scarred man, “…”

Sometimes he truly thought that the Sect Master and Young Master Xiao were both quite terrifying.

Since it could no longer be concealed, the scarred man outlined the whole sequence of events from beginning to end. Seeing the Sect Master nod, he struggled a bit with his desire to leave before then relaying that, on the way back, he and Young Master Xiao had a conversation in which the other party asked about the Demonic Sect’s Sect Master.

Wenren Heng gave him a look. “Yes, you guessed correctly. But for now I don’t want to return that person just yet.”

The scarred man, “…”

Wenren Heng said, “Those Elders are in Suzhou right now. If they meet with him privately, there’s no need to mind. But if they want to bring him with them, then immediately come and tell me.”

The scarred man anxiously said, “But there’s so many of the righteous faction here, if his identity is exposed…”

The moment he said it, he realized that no one had ever seen Sect Master Ye’s true appearance and that even those Elders were always disguised, so with how clever Sect Master Ye was, the likelihood of his being exposed was very small.

It was only from this that he felt some peace of mind. “This subordinate understands.”

Wenren Heng made a sound in acknowledgement, extremely satisfied.

The scarred man watched the other return to the room. He inwardly wondered if Sect Master Ye suddenly regained his memories in the middle of the night and saw the Sect Master sleeping by his side, would the two end up fighting? The more he thought, the more apprehensive he became, but he also knew that he could do nothing to stop such a thing from happening, so he might as well give up all hope and go back, close his eyes, and think nothing more of it.

 

Right as Ye You was getting sleepy, he heard the sound of the door opening. And then his Senior Brother undressed, got on the bed, and held his hands so that he couldn’t help but open his eyes.

Wenren Heng probed his internal energy for a bit. “I heard you used the lightness skill today.”

Ye You said, “I didn’t use much internal energy. Nothing’s wrong.”

Wenren Heng said, “Tomorrow, get Miracle Doctor Ji to take a look.”

Ye You quietly agreed and then went back to sleep.

Wenren Heng waited for a while, originally thinking that his Junior Brother would ask some things, only for not a single word to be said, preventing anyone from knowing how much the other party knew. He slowly caressed the leftover warmth in the other’s fingertips and watched this person peacefully lying by his side. Temporarily throwing away all thoughts of those troublesome things, he also went ahead and slept.

 

For these past few days, the Alliance Leader had waited to discuss the matter with others. He thought that while it was still unclear whether the person who placed the book was really just messing around or not, it was best not to make such a thing public, in case they really ended up being tricked and becoming embarrassments. Thus, they decided on a location to meet. And believing that, with the outside clamor, the poisoner would be too self-conscious to dare come out afterwards, everyone separated.

After Ye You heard all this, he dismissed it with a laugh and didn’t bother trying to parse their true intentions. He obediently packed up the luggage along with his Senior Brother and prepared to set out. He didn’t forget what he had promised before and went to find those martial heroes to bid goodbye before he left. He spoke with them for a long while before being reluctantly sent back.

Wenren Heng was watching it all from close by. Finally seeing his Junior Brother getting on the carriage, he also entered. Not understanding how his Junior Brother came to be on good terms with them, he asked, “Did you hit it off with them?”

“It’s not that,” Ye You said, “I simply promised that if I had any news, I would tell them. As a person, you have to be true to your words.”

Wenren Heng lifted a brow.

“I said I didn’t know anything.” Ye You didn’t wait for him to ask and innocently said, “It’s my Senior Brother who suddenly wanted to leave today. Since I’m the Junior Brother, the only thing I can do is listen and leave. I can’t be of any help at all. In my heart, I really do feel very sorry.”

Wenren Heng was hit with a pot of blame, and shaking his head, he helplessly laughed.

Of those living in the Wang family residence, Wenren Heng was the first to leave. Following him was the four sect leaders — Chen, Han, Dong, Tian — and following them was Manor Lord Wei and Pavilion Master Ding. The Alliance Leader still wanted to stay one more day.

After five days, Wenren Heng’s group successfully reconvened with the others in a small, rural village not far from the city of Suzhou. They prepared to set out, following the lead of Junior Academy Master Ge to the bottom of the cliff where he found the book.

According to Junior Academy Master Ge, that place was not that far from Suzhou, so everyone didn’t think that there would be any issues on the way. However, after only three days, they found that an entire crowd of people from Jianghu was following behind, and the number kept increasing little by little. After six days, it was almost the same number as the amount of people who had originally crowded Suzhou in the first place.

The group couldn’t not investigate what was going on, and, as expected, the results the subordinates brought back was that the information had been leaked and rumors were flying, leading to everyone knowing that they were going to search for that rare book. Pavilion Master Ding, with his terrible temper, coldly said, “Who was the one that opened their mouth? Did they think it wasn’t already confusing enough?”

The subordinate trembled in fear. “Pavilion Master, this subordinate hasn’t finished speaking.”

Pavilion Master Ding said, “Speak.”

The subordinate wiped off his cold sweat. “At first, it was said that Pursued Until Scattered had resurfaced in Jianghu and we were secretly going to look for it. Later, it was said that we were going to look for hidden treasure from a previous dynasty and that all kinds of precious things were buried there.”

Manor Lord Wei amiably asked, “A previous dynasty’s hidden treasure?”

“Yes,” the subordinate said, “This still isn’t it. Even later, it was said that this was a dwelling place of the immortals, and that within there’s an elixir that can give one immortality.”

Everyone silently stared at him.

Under their collective gazes, the subordinate weakly said, “And today’s new rumor is that dwelling there is a li-li-living dragon and that just by touching it, one can immediately be-be-become an immortal…”

Everyone, “…”

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[1] 淋過雨的春筍 A reference to the idiom 雨後春筍 which is referring to how fast bamboo grows after being rained on in the spring. It’s saying that once a matter comes to light, all the details start coming out just as quickly.

[2] 天下大亂 I basically just translated this directly, but according to my dictionary, it more succinctly means “the whole country in rebellion”, which I thought fit less nicely into this.

[3] 世子 In case you don’t remember, this means he’s the son of a prince, though there’s no English equivalent for that, so I’m just translating it as “Prince”.

[4] Specifically, he thinks 不怕一萬就怕萬一 which roughly means that he wasn’t afraid of those one thousand/countless number of beauties (一萬), but he was afraid of that one beauty/possibility (萬一). This is a pretty clever play on words, and I just wanted to share it LOL.

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I hurried this out since I was so late with the last one. I feel as though my Chinese is getting better but my English is getting worse the more I translate lmao. Apologies in advance for any errors.

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