His tone was so full of vinegar that Xie Zhiwei sweated a bit. If he remembered correctly, the King of Nine Provinces held heartfelt love for Mu He and cared for him in every possible way. How was he so insecure that heâd stoop to comparing himself against a dead man?
In the original novel, the King of Nine Provinces would feel all sorts of emotions whenever the hero recalled his gratitude to Xie Zhiwei. But the protagonist was always quick to assuage him by saying, âAlthough Xie zhenren was good, Royal Fatherâs grace is more important,â âNothing on Heaven and Earth can compare to Royal Father,â coaxing his father so that the happy man was stuffing money and imperial power into his hands. Here was another chance for the hero to incur favor, so he would definitely use his skills to say honeyed words.
Mu He looked sideways at the bamboo grove. A few rays of morning light pierced through the last cover of night, haloed with crow-gray mist. His eyes seemed to brighten for a second before turning into pools of stagnant water with no ripples. Time trickled on while Xie Zhiwei hid behind some rockery and started to fret. Youngster, hurry and explain yourself. Go flatter your father! Why are you staring at the sky at a 45-degree angle instead? Youâre no He Zheng, there arenât any cameras filming you right now!
But no matter how he complained, Mu He couldnât hear him. He seemed to solidify into a portrait filled with sorrow. In the end, it was the king who sighed and said, âFather knows the answer but still asks, or else why would your hand still be crippled? Itâs all because of that XieâŠforget it, I wonât mention him.â
Mu He finally nodded and murmured back, âThanks to Royal Father for your understanding.â
Xie Zhiwei was secretly resentful. It was you, King of Nine Provinces, who insisted on chopping off my arm. His broken fingers might be my fault, but Iâm not responsible for them staying broken for four years! How is a dead man supposed to hurt your son?!
But really, the hero wasnât going to soothe his father? How did he pass the last few years? Even though the King of Nine Provinces was unhappy, he was still willing to hand over power to his son?
Xie Zhiwei was nursing his doubts when he saw the king waving over an attendant, who came over respectfully with a brocade box in both hands. The King of Nine Provinces gave him a look before gesturing to Mu He with his chin, and the attendant held the box in front of Mu He. He went on his knees, opened it up, and said, âCongratulations to Your Highness.â
Xie Zhiwei squinted and peeked inside before his eyes widened.
This was the military command token of the capital cityâs imperial guards.
Your mother, whatâs going on?! The hero has a bigger halo than his novel counterpart! Is Heaven fair at all? He didnât even cajole a single line! All he did was pose sadly and his father gave him military power!
Mu He looked at the box with hooded eyes before hooking up his lips slightly. He actually looked rather helpless. âRoyal Father, Iâm not interested in such things. Itâs better to keep it for someone more suitable.â
Xie Zhiweiâs jaw dropped.
Did I hear wrong? The hero says he doesnât love power?
Heheh, words are just words. Even Jack Ma claimed he didnât like money.
Obviously the heroâs skills had risen another notch. Compared to flattering others, playing hard-to-get to gain what he wanted was much more dignified. It seemed that in this twisted plotline, the protagonistâs white lotus image wasâŠeven more effective?
The King of Nine Provinces persisted. âRoyal Son, your father is incompetent. I donât know what you want, so I can only give you the one thing I have⊠I hope you can be happier, donât beâŠâ As he spoke he saw Mu He, who had his identical features, adopt an indifferent expression with no desires. This pure temperament unpolluted by the mundane world was very different from himself. Suddenly filled with fatherly love, the king couldnât help raising a hand to touch Mu Heâs head.
But his fingers had hardly touched the hair when Mu He looked up and took a step backward. The King of Ning Provinces was left patting air awkwardly. Still, he seemed used to it and withdrew his arm to cover a dry cough from his mouth.
Mu He bowed respectfully. âThe summer heat has yet to recede but it isnât daylight yet. Itâs better for Royal Father to return early.â
The King of Nine Provinces looked at his polite, detached son and gave a long sigh. Finally he admonished, âThen you must accept this military token, or else youâll be letting father down.â
âThank you, Royal Father,â Mu He said.
Xie Zhiwei rolled his eyes. This really is â traveling a thousand li to deliver a military token, the courtesies are light but the affections heavy.â
As the carriage trundled down the mountain road, Mu He stood watching from the bamboo grove with the brocade box in his hands. His expression remained blank until the carriage disappeared, before he looked down, fished out the item, and threw the box into the stream. Sweeping his eyes over the polished jade of the military token, his smile deepened. It was still the same smile and same man, but the immortal aura around him had vanished without a trace, leaving him looking like a shura in white. Xie Zhiwei couldnât help having chills after witnessing him changing his face like flipping pages in a book.
Abruptly, a flash of green light swooshed over. Startled, Xie Zhiwei dodged while the light caused a few bamboo to explode in his wake. By the time he regained his footing, there was an extra person in front of him.
Mu He stood across him as he lightly spat out two words. âChi Yan.â
Xie Zhiweiâs mind went blank. This was the first time Mu He was looking at him with such eyes: so cold that there was no sadness or joy, as if he was a corpse. Although Xie Zhiwei knew his Chi Yan disguise was to blame, he still couldnât bear it. It was like raising a kitten while knowing full well itâd grow into a tiger thatâd eat you someday. When that day really came, his heart was still uncomfortable.
Cold sweat began to gather at Xie Zhiweiâs back, giving him a chill. Seeing him remain mute, Mu He narrowed his eyes as his tone grew lighter. âSince you came seeking death yourself, donât blame me for this.â
Xie Zhiwei shook his head against the invisible pressure as more cold sweat dripped down from his forehead, almost seeping past his mask to reach his neck.
âWhat, youâre not?â Mu He said with amusement. Although he was speaking normally, Qingping Sword had already materialized in his hands, glowing green as it filled with killing intent.
Of course not. How could I be seeking death? Canât it just be coming to pay New Yearâs greetings? Xie Zhiwei saw that Mu He only took out Qingping Sword and exhaled in relief. At the very least, he was underestimating Chi Yan by not using Black and White Lotus, or else Xie Zhiwei would be hard-pressed to escape today.
At this, Xie Zhiwei came to a realization. Iâm a film emperor. Who do I fear? If laozi wants to act, who can tell the difference?
He only dared to think wild thoughts, but still lacked guts to speak. His gaze only turned contemptuousâhe remembered that Chi Yan had looked at Chu Zhishi this way when facing off in the past.
While Mu He didnât lose his temper like Chu Zhishi, he raised his weapon in response. âPresumptuous.â
Qingping Sword glowed brighter as the jasper at its hilt shifted to a lotus leaf shape before it burst with green light.
What an interesting plot. Originally the hero was supposed to defeat the boss and climb to the peak of his life, but now the boss had died prematurely and the hero could only find him. Xie Zhiweiâs face was full of metaphorical black lines. Youngster, no matter how you fight your master, you still wonât reach lifeâs peak, ahâŠ
When the green light came towards him, Xie Zhiwei didnât dodge or block but simply let it hit his body. He looked up and saw Mu Heâs somewhat surprised expression. Even a person as powerful as Chi Yan wouldnât dare to take the hit head-on. Xie Zhiwei was trying to create the illusion that âChi Yan was so powerful he didnât even fear the Qingping Swordâ so Mu He could train harder instead of coming to attack him immediately.
The wide, colorful cloak on Xie Zhiweiâs body ruffled in response to the strike which shouldâve split him in half disappearing abruptly upon contact like water seeping into soil. Mu Heâs eyes widened before his expression grew serious. Xie Zhiwei took a deep breath and watched as a single lotus began to slowly materialize over Mu Heâs forehead. Its petals were almost a transparent white, while the center was black, giving it an indescribable devilish charm.
The last time Xie Zhiwei had seen this flower was four years ago in the pavilion at Ashen Cloud Mountain. At that time Mu He was still a tender youth and a world away from his current self. He lamented the fact, but put on a greedy expression to stare at the lotus mark. This caused Mu He to mock him.
âWant it? Then exchange it with your life.â
Four years ago, Xie Zhiwei concealed the existence of Black and White Lotus even at the expense of his own life. Now that Mu He was showing them off, it was clear he didnât want Chi Yan to live.
Xie Zhiwei took a step back and with a thought, materialized a huge red lotus blooming behind him. Mu Heâs eyes immediately moved to the flower as he slowly stepped forward. âRed Lotus, itâs mine.â
Still afraid to speak, Xie Zhiwei only shook his head and copied one of Chi Yanâs usual battle stances. The strong aura of Red Lotus immediately overwhelmed his insignificant spark of spiritual power, so he had no worries about exposing his identity. Mu He cupped his hands together as well, preparing to entrap the other with Black Lotus. But suddenly, his foe ripped open a gaping hole in the sky before spinning with open arms to swoop in like a giant ladybug. The hole immediately closed up, leaving the surroundings empty beyond drifting bamboo leaves.
The upright and dignified Demon Lord, known for his fierce and ruthless character, had actually ran away.
Mu He opened his palm to catch a bamboo leaf. It was cool to the touch. He gazed at it softly for a moment before the edges of the leaf ignited into black flames that burned away like a broken dream to scatter as ashes on the wind.
âHe escapedâŠlooks like, Iâm still not strong enough.â
The corners of his mouth curved up gently, but his eyes chilled to the bone.
â
Xie Zhiwei ran all the way to the Demonic Sect gates before relaxing enough to gasp for breath.
Dammit, the heroâs too scary. Originally I wanted to surrender and quit. What Chi Yan, what Red Lotus? Laoziâs not doing it anymore! What was that indescribable scene? Should the original Xie Zhiwei do those things at all?!
Xie Zhiwei thought up a bunch of excuses to flee for his life and was about to go pack his things when he heard someone calling him from behind.
âBenefactor, Iâve finally found you again.â
â
Translatorâs Note: Some readers in the raws were confused over how Tantai Meng could instantly recognize Xie Zhiwei in his disguise (with her face-blindness) even when Mu He couldnât identify his own master.
Itâs simple: she was there to hear Qiu Chongyun talk about forcing Xie Zhiwei impersonate Chi Yan, whose fashion styleâŠis one of a kind.
Have you always felt like youâre missing a spark in your life? Do you want to experience the flames of romance in their purest, most primal form?
Transmigrating into a novel is exciting and so is traveling to the past but really, court customs can be stuffy and traditional robes a pain! So why not free yourself? Be daring and go even furtherâŠs-strip off more layersâŠ
THATâS RIGHT, IâM TALKING PREHISTORIC! The heart-pounding romance of a modern-day doctor and a super spartan warrior awaits you in Banished to Another World, translated by Padam! Will Yan Mo heal his next patient before the local tribe accuses him of murder (again)? Will Yuan Zhan learned to eat his lover without, you know, eating him? Will the morals of the 21st century really take root in a time before electricity and running water, especially when left to the devices of an MCâŠwho really wasnât much of a saint anyways?
Naturally, thatâs for you to read and find out. Go on, the linkâs right there!