Author: The One Who Tells Stories Under the Bridge (夊楼ĺşä¸čŻ´äšŚç).
Translated by: Yujuan
It wasnât that Ji Mo couldnât understand Chang Huiâs ill-will towards authors. Unlike most Celestials, the novel that he had originated from, Powerful Minister, was a book whose intrinsic quality was focused on officialdom struggles and trickery regardless of the popular fantasy element added to it.
It is hard for a jade tree to gaze admiringly upon itself, and so the branches of the sweet osmanthus reach out toward the imperial court.
Millions upon millions of fine jade pearls in the region south of the Yangtze River, none of whom can compare to the Chang Familyâs tanhua lang[1].
Powerful Minister began with this folk doggerel, depicting the court newman Chang Huiâs respectable past. Yet, not even three chapters had passed before he was sentenced to prison for participating in a political reform, ushering in an unforeseen event that would change his entire life.
âSon, your father does not blame you. I only blame myself for teaching you how to be an upright person, but did not have the heart to teach you how to be an official.â
After leaving him with these brief last words, Chang Huiâs father, a senior statesman, spent the very night writing up a petition to take responsibility for all charges before hanging himself. At long last, Chang Hui received the emperorâs decree for pardon.
After his fatherâs death and finally realizing the dark side of officialdom, the downhearted Chang Hui returned to his home village with his wife. Yet, there were still people unwilling to let him off, dispatching an assassin after him. In the end, Chang Huiâs entire family was met with a tragic death under the assassinâs blade, leaving him the only survivor due to a treasure handed down in his family, and he concealed his identity, waiting for an opportunity to take his revenge.
From then on, no longer was there the jade-like gentleman assistant minister Chang, only the powerful minister Chang Hui, who coerced the emperor and manipulated the affairs of state every step of the way.
If there wasnât such a large disparity between his armed strength and the others, the current five rulers might not be able to defeat one Chang Hui in the sole terms of intrigue. In addition, this person was steadfast, and his only pursuit in life was his work. The moment he took a seat behind his office desk, he emanated the energy of someone about to die from overwork.
So even though, in the past, there was a limit to Su Geâs cultivation, with Chang Hui assuming personal command, Ji Mo had never worried about the Godly Continentâs future. But who knew that the Monster King who had stayed put for three years would suddenly inform Chang Hui of the truth, turning the Shrineâs most secure backer into his enemy.
Ji Mo had already heard of the Monster King investigating the truth of the Celestialsâ emergence, and he had probably had some kind of major breakthrough to make such a big move, but his character should be a meek animal who stayed quietly at home munching on grass as long as he wasnât being bullied, was it possible that something had happened to turn him OOC again?
Mm, the word âagainâ really made his stomach hurtâŚ
While contemplating the origins of this current misfortune, Ji Mo momentarily forgot to respond to Ye Junhou, causing the Demon Lord to speak out again in displeasure, âMorning Star Priest, I merely wanted to invite you to the Dark Capital, was there a need to frighten my child?â
With Ji Moâs bidding in mind, Ye Mingjun wasnât originally intending to speak out, but seeing as Ji Mo didnât seem to want to answer Ye Junhou, he protested discontentedly after thinking for a bit, âIâm very gentle.â
This really was the truth; strictly speaking, he hadnât used a single harmful technique, and that couldnât even be considered a fight to the immortals.
Ye Junhou had been secretly watching Ye Mingjun ever since he entered the hall, but unfortunately he paid no one attention apart from Ji Mo. Seeing him open his mouth on his own accord, he took the opportunity to probe, âYouâre that white-robed Celestial with immeasurable power my son told me about? Are you interested in giving a demonstration of your skills?â
Ye Junhou had just broken through a bottleneck this year, and thought that his strength surpassed Su Ge by a large margin; from his observation, this personâs cultivation was equally matched with Su Geâs, but for some reason, he gave off an inexplicable feeling, the vitality that ran through him very unlike the other Celestials.
In terms of aura, this person was slightly similar to Ji Mo, though there was a wide gap between their strengths.
This subtle difference in aura could only be detected by those of his cultivation level. While Ye Junhou had received the Monster Kingâs letter, as someone who was a transmigrator in his novel and had some understanding of the real world, he had been slightly skeptical. He had originally planned on capturing Ji Mo to verify it, but was slightly believing now that he had met Ye Mingjun.
Ye Mingjun couldnât read his mind, but he wasnât very interested in challenges, and so he refused decisively, âI donât like fighting people, love and romance suits me more.â
The purpose of his birth was to guide the immortals in search for the Way of Heaven and purify the world. In terms of fighting ability, he wasnât as powerful as the Abyss Dagger-Axe of Heaven and Earth or the Diorama of Civilization, although the ones who had chosen to self-destruct after entering the peaceful era were these two ancient artifacts who would never have the chance to enter the battlefield ever again.
No, youâre absolutely unsuited for love and romance, donât believe in your own misconception.
Ji Mo didnât know much about Ye Mingjunâs fighting capabilities, but he had been treated to the entire process of the immortalâs courting skills, so he gave him zero marks without the slightest hesitation. So as to stop his own cutsleeve story from updating, he said indifferently, âYe Mingjun is a newly admitted guest to the Shrine. He practices beyond the world all year round, so he does not understand common courtesies, this one hopes that the Demon Lord will not blame him.â
âAm I just that to you?â
Ye Mingjun expressed his complete dissatisfaction at his role as a guest.
What else do you want? You donât even know what love is, and you want to talk about romance?!
Although he criticized inwardly, after taking into consideration the consequences of Ye Mingjun doing something wayward, Ji Mo helplessly tacked on, âAnd a good friend of mine.â
The moment he said those words, Chang Hui, who would never let go of an opportunity to taunt an author, said coolly, âI can see that the two of you are very intimate with each other, to the point of sitting at the same seat, even casting the High Priest to the side.â
Very intimate with each other? He liked those words!
Blinking a little happily, Ye Mingjun recalled that he had to return a polite greeting after being praised, and responded amicably, âYour words are truly pleasant to the ear.â
ââŚâ
Unexpectedly, Chang Hui fell silent after receiving Ye Mingjunâs earnest look. He started to reflect on this serious question, had he been praising him earlier? Had some sort of mystical force distorted his sarcastic tone?
No one understood the blows delivered by Ye Mingjunâs devastating sensibility more than Ji Mo, and after casting Chang Hui a sympathetic glance, an idea suddenly flashed across his mind, and so he replied without turning a hair, âYe Mingjun has some origins relating to Brilliant Moon; we are also considered friends of the same homeland.â
Someone involved with Brilliant Moon and had come from the same place as Ji Mo, was it possible that this was Brilliant Moonâs god?
At this thought, the three Celestials were inevitably surprised, especially Chang Hui, who had thoroughly investigated Ye Mingjun before this.
In the past, Ji Mo had escorted plenty of Celestials, but never had there been someone like Ye Mingjun who was very closely associated or even lived together with him. Moreover, on the next day after Ye Mingjun had come to the Shrine, Ji Mo brought him over to meet Brilliant Moon. The Monster King had also delivered a letter to Brilliant Moon, but no reply was given, was it becauseâŚ
Observing their expressions, Ji Mo knew that he had succeeded in steering their line of thought.
Among the three Celestials, Chang Huiâs expression was the most troubled; Su Ge was mostly pleasantly surprised, as Ye Mingjun suited his impression of god more than Ji Mo; as for Ye Junhou, he who hadnât quite believed that the gods would be ordinary authors was quicker to accept this piece of information than the others.
As a transmigrator protagonist, Ye Junhou didnât bear that much ill-will towards the authors, since he could guess to a certain extent that his cheats had been given to him by his god. Besides, Dark Black liked vengeful protagonists, and had never been equivocal in meeting his protagonistsâ desires. When all was said and done, no one would hate a dad who assisted him in dominating the world and gifted him a harem of 3000 women.
This chapter is scrapped from readlightnovel.org
Nowadays, eight out of ten protagonists were transmigrators, and from the very start, Ji Mo had been unable to ascertain if these protagonists who claimed to come from the present world was the same kind as him, until he discovered a way to determine it.
Firstly, the names of bigwigs in real life definitely wouldnât appear in novels, so there wasnât any information about them in the Celestialsâ memories.
Secondly, due to copyright problems, an author would not mention other novels in their own story, but it wasnât impossible for them to know a few classic titles that had gotten so popular they were adapted into films.
Apart from all these, there were also plenty of taboo words and phrases that only an author would know, and on that basis, Ji Mo was finally certain after testing them in every possible way that he and the other Celestials had come from different worlds.
Ji Mo had also suspected himself of being a Celestial whose character was an author, but the Monster Kingâs existence had negated this conjecture.
He remembered every little thing he had written into his book, and he could even recall how many misspellings he had corrected when he closed his eyes. To create a character to such detail, the author must have been really bored.
However, it would be best if his guess was wrong. After all, reality had always been cruel, and only a novel would receive a happy ending.
Ji Moâs line of thinking wasâ Since the Celestials have found a way to summon the authors, Iâll use false information to confuse their perception and let them think that all gods are as tough as Ye Mingjun.
Just like how a son would not doubt his fatherâs might as a child, it was easy for the protagonists to believe that the authors were stronger than them, and this misconception would allow him some time to uncover the truth.
Ji Mo had found out from Ye Mingjun that Su Ge already had the cultivation on par with the immortals, and while it couldnât be compared to ancient artifacts like Ye Mingjun, he was able to surpass the human cultivators in the real world. This level of cultivation could not possibly be brought to creation by an ordinary human.
There was a secret at the back of the Celestials. For instance, if there was a powerful immortal just like Ye Mingjun, who had blended into modern society and transformed the novel protagonists into reality for some particular reasonâŚ
âI heard rumors of two of you going in and out of each othersâ rooms, frequently cuddling up to each other. You canât possibly convince me that youâre purely friends from the same homeland, can you?â
Just when a terrifying guess popped up in Ji Moâs mind, his thoughts were suddenly interrupted by Chang Huiâs abrupt question, and helplessly looked over.
Alright then, even if there was a mastermind behind this, they had been the ones to personally write the massacre of the protagonistâs family, and a single word hadnât deviated from canon. Why hadnât this mastermind switched his occupation to a scriptwriter, rescuing all these storylines?
This conjecture still needed some investigation, and yet, the banquet was still going on. While Ji Mo wanted to find a secluded spot to collect his thoughts, he could only deal with it and answered, âYe Mingjun is handsome, with elegant bearings and an extraordinary grace, I found him simply irresistible at our first meeting.â
Ye Mingjun was completely unable to understand the innumerable twists and turns of Ji Moâs mind, but this did not stop him from feeling happy because of these words.
He had gotten used to all sorts of flattery in the past, but when these words were spoken by Ji Mo, it gave rise to a rare sense of achievement in him. Looks like Ji Mo had been right, that the harder it was to gain something, the more valuable it was.
Thinking of this, Ye Mingjun finally changed his outlook on the existence of banquets. If banquets could make Ji Mo like him so, he wouldnât mind attending a few more of these.
The information everyone had received was more than they had imagined this time around, and all parties were slightly unable to sit still. Ji Mo especially was itching to verify the possibilities of his guess with Ye Mingjun, and said to Su Ge, âHigh Priest, Ji Mo cannot hold his liquor, please allow me to take an early leave.â
Yet Chang Hui, who had just received new information, didnât seem like heâd let go of him easily, and said blandly, âIf memory serves me right, you have yet to take a single sip of alcohol.â
Brother, I know youâve always been a very serious guy, but you donât need to pay so much attention to me!
Ji Mo had gained a deep understanding of Chang Huiâs meticulousness back at the Shrine, and knowing that a common excuse wouldnât hold him down, he thought he might as well go for it and pulled Ye Mingjun up with a smile, âThe moon is too beautiful tonight, it just makes me want to cut my sleeves, weâll return in a short while.â
This reason was just too brutal; it caused everyone on the scene to stare blankly at him. Looking on as the two hurriedly left with their hands held together, the three Celestials couldnât help but let their imaginations run wild.
So this was how gods got along with each other?
Come to think of it, they had yet to meet any female Celestials in this world⌠So, what purpose did these gay gods have for gathering them here?
What a terrifying thoughtâŚ
TL Notes
[1]
âtanhua langâ â ć˘čąé; Title given to those who received third graduate/place in the imperial examinations in Ancient China.