Ch82 - King's manor

One mild slur (XZW being a straight dude).

When Xie Zhiwei regained consciousness, it was already dark outside. His surroundings were so foreign that he laid there like a zombie for a while before sitting up with a jolt. The room was completely empty without a single shadow. Unlike the humble quarters of the small compound, this place was quite spacious, contained a frameworked bed with a brocade tent and many furnishings that looked like treasured antiques. Combined with the glazed lamps reflecting the light, this was nothing but: luxurious.

Xie Zhiwei had yet to live in a such a magnificent place since his transmigration, but he wasn’t happy at all, nor did he felt an urge to explore. If his guesses were right, there should be a very valuable sword rack in this room too. He looked expressionlessly towards the table before equally expressionlessly averting his eyes.

Sure enough, it’s there.

The sword rack was made from pure white jade with no imperfections, built carefully by a craftsman hired by the King of Nine Provinces. But the rack was often empty because the sword it held was a million times more valuable, so the owner wasn’t willing to put it there like some ornament. Xie Zhiwei further guessed that the bed should be covered in a snow silk quilt from Mt. Tian. White lotuses were embroidered on the bedding, making it the commonly used quilt of the King of Nine Provinces’ Shizi Mu He.

Xie Zhiwei didn’t bother to look, just rub the embroidery with his hands, and laughed coldly. He had never been here before, but Gallant Outlaw had described the room in detail in order to flesh out the hero’s rich second generation settings.

—This is Mu He’s house!

Why did that damned old gay bring me here? Is he gathering enough people to play Fight the Landlord with his dad?

That’s not funny at all!

He lowered his head and saw that he was still wearing his clothes though they hung torn and tattered off his body. Rather than embarrassment, he felt relieved—at least nobody had touched him while he was asleep.

Looks like there’s still some difference between the hero and that pervert Ming Kong. At least he won’t take advantage of others. Xie Zhiwei wanted to cry but had no tears. What “nobody touched him,” what “take advantage of others”? He was supposed to be the most powerful person in the book, but had been reduced to acting like some girl who had to protect her “virginity.” If he remembered right, he had clearly heard Tantai Meng shouting before Mu He rendered him unconscious.

…with the hero’s unstable nature, Mengmeng’s odds look grim.

What was all this? He spent all that effort to find a partner for the hero but ended up being fancied himself. Xie Zhiwei had no heart to wonder how this “sinful relationship” had come into being. He had to hurry up and find a way to leave.

At the same time, the door opened from outside and Mu He appeared with his back to the night sky. He had already changed to a different set of white robes with cuffs and gold trimming at the hems, making him look more regal.

“Has shizun slept well?”

Xie Zhiwei subconsciously retreated further into the bed and averted his eyes. “I didn’t want to sleep, it was Black Lotus who forced me.” I just want to stay far, far away from you!

“It was Black Lotus at first,” Mu He sighed gently and looked at him with distress. “But shizun was still unconscious for four to six hours after that after disciple released the lotus…shizun must have worked very hard these past few days.”

“Mm,” Xie Zhiwei said.

That’s putting it lightly! There was all sorts of strangulation, then getting tortured by Black Lotus in Blood River Lake, then facing Black Lotus in the courtyard as it…cough, ‘tortured’ me again.

The candle flames suddenly flickered as a breeze shut the doors. Mu He was already in front of the bed and sitting by Xie Zhiwei’s side. Although Xie Zhiwei could’ve stopped him, he was one step too late. Mu He stared at his half-raised hand and suddenly flushed before whispering, “Shizun moved inside the bed as soon as disciple appeared. Are you making room for me?”

His eyes were bright and glimmering, filled with anticipation like the time he begged Xie Zhiwei to take him in as a disciple. That wasn’t much, though. Xie Zhiwei was wondering why he was acting like a shy little wife. Was his hand really that beautiful?

He gave Mu He no face when he answered, “You’re thinking too much.”

He felt like he’d done plenty. Before he was craven and feared for his life, but wanted to do some good deeds before letting the hero release him at a crucial point. Now he just wanted the hero to kill him and be done with it once and for all. Xie Zhiwei observed Mu He’s expression, which had suddenly collapsed, and asked, “What did you do with that girl called Tantai Meng?”

Mu He chuckled and said wretchedly, “What does shizun think I did?”

—Originally, I expected you to do this and that with her, but now you’ve changed your sexual orientation. You probably look at Mengmeng the same way I look at your father, indifferent and even disgusted. Of course you’re ruthless and vengeful, so…

Xie Zhiwei looked at him in silence, but his expression said it all.

Mu He suddenly grabbed his wrist. “It’s just as shizun thinks, disciple killed her.”

Xie Zhiwei sucked in a cold breath and shrank into a corner while trying to tug his hand free.

As expected!

Hero, you’ve changed. What happened to the original protagonist who cherished the fairer sex and never hit women? You use to tease every girl from the ages of eighty to baby, respecting the old and loving the young.

Now look, you’ve killed such a great beauty! Mengmeng’s looks would be peerless in the modern-day entertainment industry, but…what a waste, ah!

Mu He gripped Xie Zhiwei’s wrist and observed his reactions. “Has disciple upset shizun?”

Xie Zhiwei couldn’t break free and somehow Mu He had drawn closer in the interim. Feeling suffocated, he only said coldly, “Nangong Shizi, those are heavy words.”

Silence fell upon them before Mu He’s voice visibly quavered. “Shizun…what did you call me?”

He seems to feel quite wronged?

So what! You’ve killed human lives, youngster!

Despite his rants, Xie Zhiwei still couldn’t resist glancing at Mu He. His looks were already out of this world and he naturally carried a melancholy aura. Currently, his brows were knotted and his face close enough for Xie Zhiwei to make out the mist obscuring his eyes. Although it wasn’t utter heartbreak, it was still a very infectious expression.

The original Mu He had used this as an ultimate move to win girls to his side.

Just imagine a godly face looking at you in sorrow. What kind of normal girl could resist him? Of course they’d rush over to comfort him. One of them even said, “If love between a man and woman can cheer Shizi up, then I beg Shizi to sleep with me.”

Thankfully Xie Zhiwei was a man who wouldn’t succumb to such things.

Mu He’s fingers released him as he pressed reluctantly, “Does shizun really loathe disciple so much?”

His eyes were still firmly fixed on Xie Zhiwei’s face, as if trying to grasp the slightest trace of his reactions. If the answer disappointed him, he looked like he’d die from despair.

Xie Zhiwei just sighed before hearing his own voice apparently soften. “I don’t want to do this either.”

He gave a start. No, that’s not right ah. The hero is a faker who swallows tigers whole. How could I be affected by his act? He hid both hands in his sleeves and reasserted himself. “When I brought you to Ascension City back then, it wasn’t to see you kill innocent lives today. You’ve truly disappointed me.”

“Disappointed…” Mu He closed his eyes with a bitter smile. “Because disciple killed that white-robed female? Or because disciple killed the Bai father and son? Or perhaps…because shizun’s heard of other rumors about this disciple?”

Xie Zhiwei looked at him. “What do you think?”

Heh. So you know you’ve done plenty of foul deeds too.

Mu He’s expression froze before he stretched out his palms to sit properly on the bed. The sudden formality made Xie Zhiwei uneasy as he remained huddled up in a ball in a corner, his expression guarded.

Mu He said lightly, “When disciple first saw the return of the immortal master, I forgot my place and offended my betters.”

Offended your betters? You’re deceiving your master and destroying your elders, okay?! Xie Zhiwei’s face nearly turned black.

Mu He bowed his head and went on, “The winds of the imperial court are treacherous. If you don’t hurt others, you’ll be hurt yourself. Some things disciple was forced to do, but shizun naturally wouldn’t understand these things as someone removed from the mortal world.”

Xie Zhiwei’s head lowered as well. Of course I can understand! It was super thrilling reading how you ascended to hegemony in the novel okay?!

“As for that white-robed female named Tantai Meng, shizun is saddened by her death, but feels more disappointment in disciple’s actions. Therefore, I can conclude that shizun only has ordinary relations with her, just like the year we met her outside Ascension City and shizun cherished her innate talent. It was disciple who thought too much.”

…why did we suddenly go off-topic? Hero, can’t you be more coherent when you narrate?

Your thoughts are really…yes, I did admire her innate talent, but I liked the fact that she was a pair with you even more. No issue there.

But I am very sad now. Not just ordinarily sad. She was such a good girl. If you didn’t want her, someone else would. Why did you kill her?!

“So?” Xie Zhiwei asked.

“So, why would I bother using Qingping Sword on someone that doesn’t matter to either of us?”

Xie Zhiwei was listening blankly when he suddenly sat up at those words. “You lied to me?”

Mu He just happened to be leaning forward, so Xie Zhiwei’s actions caused him to crash into his arms. Their lips came so close that he could feel the slight heat coming off them. Before Xie Zhiwei could react, Mu He reached out with his arms and encircled him in an embrace. Xie Zhiwei’s face blanched, but before he could rebuke Mu He, the man’s expression grew more sorrowful.

“It was wrong of disciple to test shizun like that just then,” Mu He remained carefully respectful despite the terrifying force of his arms. “But disciple wants to ask, isn’t taking Bai Jianzhu’s life to pay for shizun’s death exactly what shizun told disciple to do back then?”

Xie Zhiwei’s eyes widened. Then he heard Mu He give a bitter laugh by his ear.

“Shizun is scared of this disciple, right?”

—

Translator’s Note: we need to stop letting Mu He have the last word in these chapters because every time he does, he’s sad…