Chapter 30

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3-0! A fourth of the way through!

Also, a small stylistic change: after much thought, I’ve decided to add hyphens in all “nickname” type situations, so Xiao Heng will now become Xiao-Heng. This is mainly to keep it consistent with stuff like Ah-Xiao, which already has hyphens, and also to preempt any possible confusion in the future if a character actually has 蕭 or 肖 as a surname (both of which are also romanized as “Xiao”).

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The drug powder that had been found was only a small bag.

The Young Miracle Doctor painstakingly examined it for an entire night and in the end, was able to reach only a vague verdict. He told them that this thing probably wasn’t a finished product and that it was related to those that could muddle people’s judgment since it contained two other drugs with this same effect.

The Alliance Leader’s party was once again sitting together.

They weren’t idiots. After digesting the information for a night, they all thought that if it was them, rather than taking the risk to move against Bodhi Prison, it’d still be safer to grab some people secretly. Yesterday night, how much of it was Sir Xiao intending to start something?

They couldn’t help but look at this person.

Ye You asked, surprised, “What is it?”

Academy Master Ge’s relationship with him was not bad, so despite moving lips, the other held back his words.

In a calm and even-tempered way, Qingcheng Sect’s Sect Master Han[1] asked, “After thinking it over, I still think it’s better to just capture a few random people. Why does Sir Xiao think they’d be at Bodhi Prison?”

Ye You calmly said, “I was just guessing.”

“We definitely must go check on Bodhi Prison.” Pavilion Master Ding looked at him and frankly said, “But I remember that yesterday you asked about a prison that everyone knows. Why would you guess from that? Isn’t the usual reaction that someone is kidnapping people in secret?”

Ye You pursed his lips and didn’t reply.

With one glance, Wenren Heng knew that his Junior Brother was pretending, so he considerately matched the other in putting on an act and gently said, “Ah-Xiao, if you have something to say, just say it. Everyone sitting here is an elder, so if you say something wrong, they won’t blame you.”

Academy Master Ge said, “That’s right. Sir Xiao shouldn’t worry about speaking his mind.”

Ye You hesitated for a moment before sighing and saying, “All right.”

The group looked closely at him.

The reason why they felt compelled to force Sir Xiao to speak the truth was that they all felt that he knew something, so they wanted to get it out of him quickly to resolve the current situation and avoid disaster.

Sighing, Ye You said, “I’m just a bit worried.”

Wenren Heng asked, “Worried about what?”

Ye You looked at them. “Yesterday, the most important part of what I said was about it being a Jianghu prison. I added ‘that everyone knows’ because that means it’ll definitely have many people locked within it. Those who died in this villa were Jianghu adventurers. Have all of you thought about why they captured adventurers specifically and not just some common civilians? What’s the difference between Bodhi Prison and an ordinary prison?”

“The difference…” Academy Master Ge spoke only halfway before the inside of his eyes almost exploded with a flash with light. “The difference is that the people within are all those who’ve practiced martial arts!”

Ye You said, “And that is exactly what I’m worried about.”

The group sank into silence.

They not only were unable to find more clues but also became even more struck with the gravity of the situation. If that owner[2] really wanted to use those who practice martial arts to test drugs, and if there had already been results, then this was really much too terrifying.

Internally thinking about this matter, Academy Master Ge felt that this was even more serious than the issue with the book and said, with difficulty, “But then… but then this isn’t certain, right? What if he took ordinary people to test his drug and then used it on martial artists?

“I’m simply stating a worry. Because in the letter, it said the efficacy was quite good, and in the end, there are differences between an ordinary person and a martial artist,” Ye You said, “I’m afraid he used the people inside the prison to test his drug, and even finished testing it, but since those people would never see the light of day, he also went and captured a few adventurers to test himself.”

In deep thought, the Alliance Leader furrowed his brows. “No matter how it is, let’s go look in on Bodhi Prison first.”

Manor Lord Wei nodded. “Then let’s first finish investigating this matter, and obtain some concrete evidence, before speaking any further. But…”

Pavilion Master Ding coldly said, “It’s true that the owner of this place was kidnapping people. Tell everyone outside to be more careful.”

Seeing the words taken right out of his own mouth, Manor Lord Wei restrained himself from rolling his eyes and, with a chuckle, gave the other a glance, not taking it to heart. He and everyone else quickly decided to set out the next day. Just in case, on the day of departure, everyone carefully searched through the villa once more, confirming that there weren’t any further clues, before leaving the area.

A hidden path led the way out of the villa, and outside was a large mountain. There were only one or two villages in the surroundings, and they were both faraway; it could be said that the area was entirely secluded. If it wasn’t for the map, no one could have imagined that there could be another world hidden away here.

Everyone walked until almost noon before they reached a small county town. After resting for only a short while, everyone began hurrying towards the nearest large city.

Wenren Heng prepared a carriage and looked inside at the Young Miracle Doctor and his good friend Qin Yuemian.

The Young Miracle Doctor was too foolish, and as he was used to riding in their carriage, he simply came over on his own, carrying that pile of miscellaneous items on his back. Qin Yuemian didn’t want to stay by himself, so he followed closely behind the Young Miracle Doctor when the other got on the carriage. At this moment, perceiving his good friend’s stare, he innocently turned to look back.

Wenren Heng asked, “You’ve been too idle recently?”

Qin Yuemian’s beautiful, expressive eyes creased as he laughed and said, “Yes, there’s not much to do at home. If I’m idle, I’m idle, so why not go look at some fun things.”

Wenren Heng had some suspicions.

He knew that, from the beginning, Qin Yuemian worried that the matter with his Junior Brother was a setup that’d prove harmful to him, so the other decided to follow along. Thus, on the way, he had honestly told this person that Ah-Xiao truly was his Junior Brother so that his good friend could go and play, at ease. Following that, right now, Qin Yuemian should’ve gone to look for that pack of scoundrels to go carousing, admiring flowers and teasing birds[3]. So why was he still following along?

Ye You also gave Qin Yuemian a look before moving his eyes away to find a place to lean against and close his eyes.

Wenren Heng tossed aside his good friend’s stare. “If you’re tired, you can lean against me to sleep.”

Ye You said, “I’m not really tired.”

Wenren Heng turned a deaf ear and motioned for the other to rest by his side. Following readily along, Ye You leaned over, found a comfortable position, and returned to sleep. Wenren Heng’s expression immediately turned soft, as warm as a breeze in the third month.

“…” Qin Yuemian felt his eyes hurt, as if he had happened to see something appalling.

In all these years, he had truly never seen Wenren Heng treat anyone like this before.

He dared to use that brain of his to make a bet: as long as they’re familiar with Wenren Heng, when seeing these two together, their first reaction would be that Wenren Heng had fallen for the other. But the truly strange thing was in Wenren Heng’s way of handling matters. If Wenren Heng had truly fallen for someone, that person would’ve been won over long ago. But from his observations over this period of time, these two people really haven’t made any moves to be more intimate. This was really too strange.

Even if Sir Xiao was difficult to handle, Wenren Heng couldn’t possibly be too afraid to make any moves, right?

In the end, why was it? It couldn’t be that the other person was being treated as a child being raised!

Qin Yuemian felt as if there was a mischievous cat scratching about incessantly in his heart, and he especially wanted to find someone to ponder about this matter together, but that crowd consisting of Young Master Li and the others all weren’t here. The only one by his side was a little fool, and just by looking, he could tell the other would be of no use.

With some grievances, he looked at the Young Miracle Doctor and asked, “Miracle Doctor, you don’t get tired of reading books every day?”

The Young Miracle Doctor said, “No, I’m used to it.”

Qin Yuemian asked, “You don’t go out to play?”

The Young Miracle Doctor asked blankly, “Play where?”

Qin Yuemian looked at the Young Miracle Doctor who was like a blank sheet of paper. In his thoughts, he felt somewhat sympathetic but also somewhat mischievous. Smiling, he patted the other’s small shoulder and benevolently said, “How about this, when we reach our destination, this brother will take you…”

Wenren Heng said lightly, “Ji.”

Qin Yuemian’s words were suddenly stuck in his throat. Remembering that this little fool was Miracle Doctor Ji’s beloved disciple, he realized that if he truly led the other astray, then Miracle Doctor Ji would likely kill him. In Jianghu, one could offend anyone as long as one didn’t offend the doctor. He thereupon stiffly stowed away any improper intonations in his voice and said, “This brother will take you to a bookstore and buy you some other medical books.”

The Young Miracle Doctor said, “Other books?”

Qin Yuemian said, “We’ll go look. Maybe there’s some you haven’t seen yet.”

The Young Miracle Doctor was very happy. “Yes!”

Qin Yuemian rubbed his nose, not wanting to look.

 

From the small county town to the big city, the party expended almost half a day’s worth of effort.

The sky was heavily overcast, and they hadn’t entered the city for long before it started raining. They hastily found a restaurant to hide from the rain and decided that they might as well eat a meal while they’re there. But before they could even step inside, they heard a person loudly shout, “Master,” and run directly over from across the way. As the person neared, he stumbled and piteously fell down in a puddle on the street.

The Wang family head turned his head to look and said, astounded, “What happened?”

From the fourth piece of the map onwards, those who were able to draw paths became steadily fewer in number, so they’d spend countless days in places so desolate that birds won’t even poop, and every time they came out, there was a feeling as if it’d been lifetimes ago when they went in. Thus, from then on, they developed the habit of sending a few subordinates to wait for them ahead at big cities where they’d probably arrive. These subordinates could then learn of any urgent matters waiting at home, and their masters could conveniently handle it when they arrived.

And so every time they arrived at a big city, they’d stay for two or three days in order to handle matters relating to their sects.

The household servant who had come this time was one of those left behind by the Wang family.

While walking the path set by the fifth piece of the map, they spent many days within the large mountain, and even more days in the villa, and so it had already been quite a while since they’ve had contact with the outside world. The Wang family head guessed that there was probably some incident and told the servant not to hurry and to relay it slowly.

The servant lifted his head, the rain mingling with the tears on his face, and said, choked with emotion, “The Old Master, he… he passed.”

The Wang family head saw black before his eyes. He immediately forgot his previous order to the servant not to hurry and rushed over, taking two steps in one, to grab the other by the collar. “Say it again!”

“The Old Master, he passed,” the servant said, crying, “The news came four days ago. It was caused by that Lantern-Extinguishing Poison!”

The moment these words were said, the expressions on the Alliance Leader’s party all changed.

“Nonsense!” the Wang family head roared. “When we left, the poison in my dad was about to be completely removed!”

The servant said, “He was poisoned again some time ago, and by that time, Miracle Doctor Ji had already left. By the time he rushed back, the Old Master had already lost all strength and returned to the heavens. Miracle Doctor Ji said that this time he had been given too much poison.”

The Wang family head’s mind buzzed, and his body swayed, almost falling to the ground.

He had left home this time for the purpose of catching the ringleader behind the poisoning in order to avenge his dad, but in reality, while he was being tossed left and right like a fool by that person, his dad had once again been subjected to poison.

What exactly did he do?

He believed in them this much that he easily ran off following behind them, leaving a gap for that poisoner to enter, and without even giving himself a final chance to see his dad’s face!

The Wang family head felt a mouthful of blood blocking his throat.

He forcefully swallowed it back down and, with reddened eyes, looked at the crowd of people standing in front of the restaurant. He had to grind his teeth before he could get his voice to come out normally. He asked, “Wasn’t… wasn’t it said that the poisoner had some other scheme?”

“You don’t understand?”

Ye You didn’t wait for anyone else to speak and took the initiative to put forth the question. He stepped through and extricated himself from the crowd to stand in front of the Wang family head.

Wenren Heng faintly wrinkled his brows and was just about to have his subordinates provide an umbrella only to see Wei Jiangyue running over, umbrella already in hand, to place it over his Junior Brother’s head.

Wenren Heng, “…”

Wei Jiangyue looked at the person beside him, feeling as if the other’s eyes had shown with some cold light just now, but it was barely a moment before it was stowed away, as if it had never been. He hadn’t the time to think on it when the Wang family head opened his mouth to ask, “Understand what?”

Ye You said, “Understand that the black piece isn’t the poisoner.”

The Wang family head almost violently ended him right then and there before forcefully pushing down the anger and asking, “What do you mean? Wasn’t it all of you who originally said that this was a chessboard set by that black piece?”

Ye You said, “That’s right, it’s the black piece that set this chessboard, but we said it was only a possibility that he set the poison; it’s not entirely certain that’s the case.”

The Wang family head’s breathing became abruptly coarse and heavy. Wei Jiangyue felt his unused arm stiffen with tension, afraid that this person would end up killing Sir Xiao. He again looked at the person beside him and saw that the other was still as calm as ever, those light eyes appearing as if immersed in this rainwater, carrying with it traces of a cold chill.

He suddenly had a kind of ridiculous notion.

It seemed as if this young sir, who looked so delicate as to be toppled by a mere push, was the one who was truly seated on high, and conversely, this Wang family head, who had led his family for many years already, seemed to be shorter than the other by half a head. Even while currently displaying enormous anger, the Wang family head’s loftiness was still beneath the other party’s.

“Still don’t understand? The black piece set the board. The white piece set the poison.” Ye You matched the Wang family head’s oppressive line of sight and said, “The board the black piece set was the rare book. After the book was taken by someone, he thought of a way to let the white piece know of the book’s existence. The white piece wanted to obtain Pursued Until Scattered and so sent people to poison and then openly went to the city of Suzhou to wait for an opportunity to steal the book.”

The Wang family head angrily said, “Didn’t that rare book contain further mysteries? Then what reason would he have to still poison my dad!”

“We’ve been outside for more than two months, and with this many opportunities, if the poisoner truly had a grudge against your dad, why would he wait until now to set the poison?” Ye You looked at him. “Let me tell you. Because although the map was a complete mess, there was still a general idea of the direction we were heading towards. The white piece didn’t know where we were ultimately going to end up, but this issue made him feel uneasy. Since he was uneasy, he definitely wanted to drag the matter on for a bit, so he did something to mislead and obscure the truth so as to draw away people’s attentions, thus your dad became a ghost beneath his blade. This order must’ve been given while we were at the last city, and when it reached Suzhou, the assassin simply waited for an opportunity and succeeded.”

With both eyes a scarlet-red, the Wang family head asked, “Where’s the evidence? Black piece this and white piece that, but do you have evidence?”

“Intuition,” Ye You said, “If I didn’t guess wrong, when we were successfully drawn over to the villa, the black piece would’ve already made his next move. If you don’t believe me, then wait…”

Before he could finish saying the phrase, “then wait for the news,” he saw an adventurer braving the rain and running over, saying, “Alliance Leader, finally found all of you. A few days ago, some people were injured by ‘Colorless Blood’ and ‘Lone Wolf’!”

The Alliance Leader’s expression changed slightly. “What?”

Academy Master Ge also shouted out, “You’re sure you haven’t made a mistake? Those two people had long ago been locked up in Bodhi Prison!”

“It’s definitely them, no mistake,” that adventurer said, “After they beat those people, they even said that Bodhi Prison was theirs now, that it wasn’t able to keep them locked up at all, and that they can do whatever they want. Wudang and Shaolin’s people have already gone over. Alliance Leader, all of you should hurry over to look as well. Many people are locked within Bodhi Prison, so what can be done if something really did happen?”

The Alliance Leader, Academy Master Ge, the Wang family head, and everyone else in the surrounding crowd all immediately turned quiet and stood there stiffly.

The only sound remaining in heaven and earth seemed to be the pitter-patter of the rain, and an enormous dark cloud seemed to be unfolding, spreading out before them, wordlessly enveloping them in its depths.

In that moment of deathly stillness, Ye You’s calm voice rang out, “See, this is the black piece’s next move. He thought of a way to stir up an incident so as to draw people over to Bodhi Prison. Since the destination is Bodhi Prison, then my earlier worries weren’t uncalled for.”

No one opened their mouth, but they all deeply felt the chill of the autumn rain.

Ye You looked at the lifeless person in front of him and quietly said, “Head, restrain your grief.”

The Wang family head felt his head clear then, and while doing his utmost to suppress his grief, he said, in a hoarse voice, “I don’t understand. The black piece clearly knows the white piece’s true identity, so why doesn’t he just directly say it? Why go in circles like this?”

Ye You lowered his eyes and said, in conjecture, “It’s possible that he had no other way and could only entrust his hopes to the entirety of Jianghu. Another possibility is that he has no evidence, so even if he said so, no one would believe him, and they might even seek him out for a fight.”

The Wang family head turned silent.

Ye You said, “After all, the Lantern-Extinguishing Poison reemerging in Jianghu is not a small matter. If the white piece wins in the end, then with his status as a person of high-standing and virtue, he’ll definitely have a scapegoat confess and let you believe that everything was done by this scapegoat.”

The Wang family head’s face suddenly stiffened. “Investigate! This matter isn’t over!”

As he said this, he no longer looked at anyone, and he also paid no attention to the falling rain. He simply took his servant and left.

The Wang Patriarch had been murdered, so he must hurry home, but when the funeral arrangements were complete, he would probably return.

Academy Master Ge opened his mouth, but he ultimately couldn’t say that he was also returning to Suzhou and, in the end, simply sent his son to go along with the Wang family head. Their Dingtian Academy and the Wang family had always been friendly, so now that Elder Wang had passed, they must send someone over, but he himself couldn’t go.

Whatever the case may be, Elder Wang must be given an explanation.

Ye You watched the Wang family head walk far away and only then did he turn around and enter the restaurant, but just as he stepped onto the first step, his body couldn’t help but sway. Wei Jiangyue’s expression changed, and he hurried to support the other, but there was a person on the side who was even faster.

Wenren Heng half-carried his Junior Brother and lectured, “Stop trying to act brave when your body isn’t well.”

Ye You gave a bitter smile and said quietly, “I’m just worried.”

“I know you want to quickly discover the truth.” Wenren Heng sighed. “But there’s still me. You focus on getting better.”

Ye You lowered his eyes and gave a small, “Yes.”

Wenren Heng supported his Junior Brother into the restaurant and asked for a private room. Following the waiter up to the second floor, after two, three steps, the two collectively turned back to look at Wei Jiangyue, who had been following behind them the entire time.

Wei Jiangyue had many things weighing on his mind, and his entire head was filled with Sir Xiao’s presence just now.

This person had an outstanding intellect and could quickly understand the current situation, easily seeing through every move’s intentions from both sides. He was also cool and composed, carrying an air of eminence about his person, making it so that others couldn’t help but look at him, willing to have their hearts won over.

But this kind of person had actually lost his martial arts, and at that time, he originally could’ve successfully fled but didn’t because of Wei Jiangrou.

Wei Jiangyue didn’t dare to imagine how confidently and willfully at ease he’d live if he still retained that monstrous lightness skill, so seeing him leave, Wei Jiangyue unconsciously followed along and only now returned to the present.

He looked at the two people in front of him.

Wenren Heng and Ye You also looked at him.

In the next moment, Wei Jiangyue acted as if, “I just happened to be following behind you two; I was also preparing to eat,” and putting on an arrogant face, he stepped past them to go upstairs.

Wenren Heng didn’t expose the other and simply brought his Junior Brother to the private room. Seeing his Junior Brother go to sit down alone, as if nothing was wrong, he knew that the small swaying at the entrance just now had all been an act. Even as he felt relieved, he still couldn’t help but say, “You enjoy showing off too much.”

Ye You said, “I know, but didn’t I save it in the end.”

Wenren Heng still wanted to lecture some more, but he restrained himself, and in the end, he couldn’t say it out loud.

Because he thought that this was normal; the abolishing of his martial arts had caused all of his Junior Brother’s sharpness to come bubbling out. If his Junior Brother had truly maintained indifference, then that would’ve counted as a problem.

It was at this time that Qin Yuemian and the Young Miracle Doctor also entered the room, and after the group ordered, a conversation started.

Qin Yuemian said, “I think the incident this time is really too scary. One black and one white fighting it out, and we’re all stuck on the same chessboard. If only we were simply watching on the sidelines. I’m afraid that in the future we’ll also be pulled into this messy business. What does Junior Brother Ah-Xiao think?”

Ye You said, “Who knows, but I’ve already been pulled in once before.”

Qin Yuemian realized with a start that he shouldn’t have mentioned it and gave a dry cough. “Ah, why isn’t the food here yet, I’m starving.”

Ye You laughed and said, “It’s all right, I didn’t take it to heart.”

Qin Yuemian gave a short laugh and no longer spoke arbitrarily.

Wenren Heng gave his Junior Brother a look. Ever since they were on the fourth piece of the map, his Junior Brother had always been in his line of sight, and those Demonic Sect Elders had also been following close behind them, so this matter with Bodhi Prison was probably done by someone else.

Was this something his Junior Brother had instructed prior to losing his memories, or was another accomplice helping his Junior Brother move this chessboard forward?

Who could it be? Wuwang Temple’s Xie Junming?

Wenren Heng was suddenly extremely dissatisfied. When looking for an accomplice, he didn’t look for his own Senior Brother and instead actually went to look for another man. Did Junior Brother really think that his Senior Brother was so unreliable?

Ye You didn’t know why he felt a cold chill in the air. He looked at his Senior Brother but failed to understand a thing.

Qin Yuemian also felt somewhat cold, and looking at Wenren Heng, he thought that it was due to his ill-timed topic of conversation. He had the profound thought that he was about to be out of luck, so he decided to pretend as if he didn’t exist and lowered his head to study the teacup in his hands. He decided to take the little fool to the bookstore the moment they finished eating, even if knives started raining from the sky.

 

During the period of time these people were eating, the subordinates had already found an inn and put everything in order.

Ye You was following his Senior Brother to the inn but, after a few steps, said, “Senior Brother, I want to walk by myself for a bit.”

Wenren Heng gave him a look. “To go where?”

Ye You said, “Wherever.”

Wenren Heng didn’t ask him if he wanted to meet up with those Elders of the Demonic Sect or if he simply wanted to get some air, hesitating for only a moment before agreeing. “Then come back early.”

Ye You said, “I know.”

After he finished speaking, he took the umbrella from his Senior Brother and slowly walked ahead following the main road. As per usual, the scarred man followed him but, as per the Sect Master’s orders, didn’t dare get too close and could only protect him secretly.

Those Elders of the Demonic Sect were always following their Sect Master’s movements, so seeing him this time, they were immediately eager to meet up. But then they saw their Sect Master vaguely raise his hand and thereupon understood that he didn’t come to look for them. Suspicious, they said, “What does the Sect Master want to do?”

“Ah, I don’t know. If he’s not looking for us, who else can he look for?”

“It couldn’t be that his martial arts is completely gone, so he’s in a bad mood?”

“Is that possible, it was the Sect Master himself who wanted us to act, how could he be in a bad mood… Wait, why is he going into a male brothel?”

Miao Wang said gravely, “Sure enough, he’s in a bad mood, so he wants to get drunk?”

The group, “…”

After a moment of deathly silence, someone suddenly had the thought. “Wait, why is it a male brothel? He likes men?”

The group, “…”

Their thoughts were exactly the same as the scarred man, who was thinking that Young Master Xiao wanted to get drunk, and also possibly wanted to visit a prostitute. He wiped away his cold sweat and hurriedly went to inform his Sect Master, or else it might be too late.

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[1] Briefly mentioned in a previous chapter. 青城派 lit. verdant city sect. And, remember, he’s a 幫主 like Academy Master Ge, so he’s in charge of a smaller-sized sect.

[2] I’ve kind of been going back and forth on whether to translate 主人 as master or owner, and I think I’ve decided on the latter, since there’s so many “Masters” running around and I don’t want any confusion. Just a note/reminder that this is referring to the owner/master of the villa.

[3] 吃喝玩樂 lit. eat and drink and make merry, translated as “carousing”, and 賞花逗鳥 which was translated literally. Most likely a euphemism for hitting on women, but I had the hardest time wording this in an actual sentence. I assume both of these combined is a euphemism for going to a brothel.

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I love how Ye You is like, “I can’t let Senior Brother find out my plans!” while Wenren Heng is like, “Why didn’t my Junior Brother choose me to help him plot his intricate schemes??”

So, (sort of) good news. After this, word counts are mostly around the ~4k range instead of 6k, so hopefully I’ll be able to translate chapters faster from now on. I don’t know what it is about these 6k chapters that just slows me down so much.

I also (finally) made a site icon! I decided to just lean full-on into the site name and made it Calbee’s shrimp chips. <small>Is this subliminal product placement? And should I have chosen a Chinese snack instead of a Japanese one? But North Sea Fish Snacks Translations definitely does not sound as snappy as Shrimp Chips Translations.</small> <small><small>Aw, man, now I’m hungry…</small></small>

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