Chapter 15

*the title really is this long

Of course Shen QingXian was doing this for the task on the Jade Scroll.

Although it sounded quite absurd, there indeed were 5 more bricks* on the Heavenly Staircase. This was something that was beyond doubt.

*so it’s probably not bricks but some sort of heavenly staircase brick material but it literally says bricks.

The Dao was so and concentrating fully on cultivating was also so.

For a long time, this was a cultivation notion of the Heavenly Dao.

Of course, Shen QingXian would not tell this to Gu JianShen.

As of now, Gu JianShen had an appearance of being extremely good* but that was because he (GJS) couldn’t do anything to him (SQX). If he (GJS) knew that restoring the Heavenly Staircase had something to do with him (GJS), it was highly likely that Gu JianShen would create trouble.

*bit hard to understand in English but the phrase here (千好万好) just means extremely good. To put it more into context, this is a sentence I found online: 男人在没得到你之前对你是千好万好, 一旦追到手变成女朋友情况大不一样 (When a guy has not gotten you (i.e. he is pursuing you), he will treat you extremely good but after he has gotten a hold of you and you become the guy’s girlfriend, the situation becomes totally different (i.e. before you became his girlfriend he would try to gift you many things, but after you become his girlfriend, the quantity and/or quality of the gift decreases). 千 and 万 puts a strong emphasis on 好, hence i used extremely instead of very. To say here that GJS has an appearance of being extremely good is just to say that GJS is now treating SQX extremely well.

Shen QingXian would not allow his own weakness to end up in Gu JianShen’s hands.

Gu JianShen’s thoughts were pretty the same as his (SQX’s) but of course, the words coming out his mouth were[,on the other hand,] full of deep emotions, “First meeting during discussion of Dao, yearning day and night*. I kept longing for when I could meet ShiShu again. By lucky coincidence, I sensed** that you came to Moonset Secret Realm so I followed over.”

*ok so like it sounds way better in Chinese, obviously. These two phrases are poem-like, and I tried my best not to butcher it. The essential meaning of what GJS is poetically saying is that ever since the day he (GJS) first saw SQX at the meeting to discuss the Dao, he (GJS) has been yearning day and night to meet SQX again. Lol, to put it crudely tho, he’s just BSing rn, oh god, i just thought of a scary image, imagine GJS fluttering his eyelashes and acting coquettishly while saying this, agh, my eyes, brain, why are you doing this

**reminder that towards the end of c7, SQX used a spell to make a sugar people (candy) disappear which let “a certain someone from afar to lock their eyes onto him” (excerpted from c7) and that certain someone is, as we all already know, GJS

Logically speaking…Gu JianShen did indeed come a step later than Shen QingXian so it seemed as if there was nothing wrong with those words.

Shen QingXian responded quickly and effectively according to the current situation, “It was Su Yu who thought of descending the mountains to learn through experience and I had nothing to do so I might as well take a walk, and in passing look at the cultivation paths of the cultivators of today.”

Gu JianShen said, “I see.”

Shen QingXian courteously said, “Just that I didn’t think this action of mine would disturb* Your Majesty.”

*the phrase here in Chinese has the meaning of disturbing someone but it also has the meaning of thanking someone for their hospitality (i.e. GJS taking care of SQX as his young master)

Gu JianShen: “How can [you] phrase it this way? Being able to meet ShiShu is JianShen’s fortune.”

On the surface, Shen QingXian gave a slight smile but in his heart he was heheheing*.

*mentioned this before, hehehe is pinyin for 呵呵呵 which is laughter.

It seemed as if they had answered one another’s question and had a reason that was full of logic and evidence but in fact…….both of them was of one mind and pondered over: Just what does Shen QingXian (Gu JianShen) plan on doing?

The Jade Scroll pumped its fist(s) into the air and shouted loudly: Do you!

…….Okay, it only dared to say this in its heart QAQ!

Continuing this conversation would only result in repeated and long-winded words with no concept or depth and Shen QingXian didn’t want to waste another night so he closed his eyes and said: “Sleep.”

Gu JianShen looked at his (SQX’s) butterfly-like eyelashes and slowly replied, “Okay.”

This time, the two were not earnest and didn’t vie for who would sleep first and who would sleep second…

After all, to them, the thing called sleep was different compared to others.

Even if they had fallen asleep, their unconscious* would be awake. As long as there was the slightest sign of disturbance, they would immediately wake up so there was no need to worry about the other person taking advantage of the other’s sleeping state to mount a sneak attack.

*just letting you guys know, it says 神识 here which in previous chapters was a power of SQX and tled as divine knowledge but it makes more sense to say unconscious here

Shen QingXian probably slept first and Gu JianShen fell asleep not a moment later. After all, he (GJS) was tormented for an entire day. Weariness washed over him (GJS) and he unwittingly fell asleep.

Under the clear and bright moonlight, the two people who embraced one another as they fell asleep was as beautiful as a painting. It was so beautiful that it made the little insects cease making any sound, the night wind cease whistling about, and the tree leaves cease rustling…because they were reluctant to wake them (SQX & GJS) up.

The next day, Gu JianShen moved a little and soon afterwards, Shen QingXian opened his eyes.

With a warm and tender voice, Gu JianShen said, “Did I wake you up? Sleep a bit more, I’ll go prepare breakfast.”

Shen QingXian originally wanted to say “okay,” and the two needed to separate anyway. If by any chance Su Yu woke up and saw them tightly hugging one another, don’t know what he (SY) would think…

He first glanced at the Jade Scroll and his hands that were just about to loosen their hold, immediately tightly hugged again.

Gu JianShen, “What’s wrong?”

The task was not marked completed…

What went wrong? They slept together. Unless, Gu JianShen didn’t sleep the entire night.

Impossible…he (GJS) definitely slept.

The time was not enough?

Shen QingXian’s brain moved at lightning speed and immediately thought of countless possibilities and then filtered out the most likely one.

——The sky had not brightened yet.

Shen QingXian withdrew into Gu JianShen’s embrace and with a smothered voice, said, “I still want to sleep a bit more.”

Gu JianShen stared blankly for a moment.

Shen QingXian earnestly moved bricks*, “Close your eyes. If you don’t sleep, I can’t fall asleep.”

*reminder, the phrase means to do hard physical labor which in this case is completing tasks so that more bricks can be added to the Heavenly Staircase

“ ! ”

This…was he (SQX) acting coquettishly? Gu JianShen was hit with a faceful of cuteness.

With a smile on his face, he embraced Shen QingXian and stuck snugly close to the point of his (SQX’s) ear and softly said: “En, [I will] comply with anything you say*.”

*idk if the sweetness of this sentence is getting across but like another phrasing is ‘it’s all up to you’. GJS is basically saying if you want me to sleep beside you then I will sleep beside you, if you want me to personally feed you breakfast then I will personally feed you breakfast, if you want me to pick that berry for you to eat then I will pick that berry for you to eat, if you want me to carry you b/c you don’t want to walk then I will carry you, etc.

This voice…using a modern day secular world adjective, it’s…….so su* that it could one’s ears pregnant**!

*the su here is 苏 as in Mary Sue. To say someone is Mary Sue can be a compliment (i.e. you’re very outstanding or you have charisma or you’re handsome) or an insult (i.e. you’re very narcissistic). Here you can tell it’s used as a compliment b/c of the later part and su here just means that GJS’s voice was so perfect and ethereal

**the raw didn’t say make ‘ears pregnant’ but make ‘a person pregnant’ but saying ‘ears pregnant’ might be more familiar than saying ‘person pregnant’. Making one’s ears pregnant.is a way of complimenting how good a voice is or how good a song is.

Shen QingXian’s delicate ears trembled as he said in a low voice, “Sleep!”

A little bit of shyness could be heard.

Gu JianShen’s heart itched. How could he be reluctant to let go of him. He hated that he couldn’t carry the person back to WeiXin Palace and lock him up.

After the sky brightened, the Jade Scroll finally stopped pretending to be dead and that line of sleep together turned a light gray.

Shen QingXian saw there was an extra brick on the Heavenly Staircase and suddenly felt very enthusiastic. The path to ascension was just around the corner!

Speaking of, there was still that task of asking for the Golden Dragon that was not completed. Shen QingXian thought about how he could move the subject in that direction.

At this time, Su Yu’s voice transmitted over, “Last night I slept really well.”

Su Yu woke up!

Shen QingXian was still hugging Gu JianShen!

Unfortunately for them, at their current cultivation level, both could not use a technique similar to teleportation.

Su Yu lazily stretched, “Chao Yan, are you still asleep?”

Shen QingXian: “……”

Su Yu looked around, “Where’s older brother Qing Shen?”

Shen QingXian reached out a hand to cover Gu JianShen’s mouth.

Gu JianShen’s eyes were full of smiles and Shen QingXian used his own eyes to threaten him.

[And then,] Gu JianShen actually kissed the palm of his (SQX’s) hand.

Shen QingXian: “……”

The smile in Gu JianShen’s eyes became deeper. Shen QingXian wasn’t able to resist and kicked him (GJS).

Su Yu had already walked over. As he walked over, in a low voice, he said, “Why did you make your sleeping bag this big again? You really won’t catch a cold?”

Gu JianShen raised his voice to say, “[He] actually did catch a cold.” Saying so, he winked at Shen QingXian.

In a flash, Shen QingXian unexpectedly grasped [the meaning of]…

Don’t dare say [they are] ‘heart of one mind’, in any case, a little bit of understanding is still there*.

*this here is a play on word raw is 心有灵犀不敢说，反正一点通是有了 and the original phrase is 心有灵犀一点通 (Hearts which beat in unison are linked, Baidu). 一点通 from Baidu is ‘are linked’ in original phrase but in this phrase I tweaked it to ‘understanding’. SQX basically saying although they don’t have tacit understanding, they do have some understanding of each other

Shen QingXian revolved his spiritual qi, making his own face red and then he coughed.

Su Yu quickly walked over, “Caught a cold?”

He walked close and after seeing the sight in front of him, he immediately became dumbfounded.

In the sleeping bag, Shen QingXian was sleeping in Gu JianShen’s embrace. He (SQX) had a flushed complexion, his eyes were watery, and had the appearance of slightly gasping for breath…

Little peach blossom: “! ! !”

Gu JianShen: “Last night he kept saying he was cold so I could only help him by hugging him to warm him up.”

Warm…….warm up…….

It was only quite a while later that Su Yu was finally able to find his voice again, “I…I…I’m going to go boil water.” Drinking hot water when one caught a cold is nevertheless, quite effective.

When Su Yu left, Shen QingXian kicked Gu JianShen. “Get out.”

Gu JianShen pinched his (SQX) waist. “ShiShu is so fickle.”

Shen QingXian: “……” This loafer finally revealed his true nature!

When Su Yu came back, Gu JianShen was already preparing breakfast and Shen QingXian was sitting with a long furred cloak draped over his shoulders. He (SQX) looked so cute.

Su Yu passed the hot water to him and Shen QingXian could only continue pretending to be sick. In a low voice, he (SQX) said, “Thanks.”

Su Yu: “Last night I told you not to make your sleeping bag that big but you didn’t listen. Now look what happened!”

“……”

The stealthy Jade Scroll: Don’t want face! Our Esteemed Lord LianHua doesn’t want face anymore! Actually allowed the small peach blossom to scold him!

What could Shen QingXian say? He could only pretend the hot water was Gu JianShen and thoroughly finish drinking him*.

*sounds confusing, raw is 喝他个一干二净. to give an example that might make more sense is “you’re in a bad mood so you take out a can of soda and thoroughly gulp all the content down. after drinking the soda (hopefully) you feel better since you have drunk all your bad mood down.” so SQX is you and the soda is the hot water and the bad mood is GJS.

Afterwards, for the entire day, Su Yu seriously cultivated, Shen QingXian carefully recuperated, and Gu JianShen held many posts simultaneously. Acting as a teacher while acting as a servant while also even having to act as a lecherous person*.”

*raw is 登徒子 (Deng TuZi), this is a name of a person. Deng TuZi is a person from a book from around the Warring States period and it’s unknown if there really is such a person but b/c how he is portrayed in the book, Deng TuZi’s name is used to portray a lecherous person

Using Shen QingXian’s words it would be…….don’t know what the hell was wrong with this rascal (GJS).

When night arrived and it was time to sleep, Gu JianShen asked Shen QingXian, “Young master, do you need me to help you warm up?”

Shen QingXian was tired from pretending to be sick, he lowered his voice to say, “Scram.”

Gu JianShen reached out a hand to touch his (SQX’s) forehead, “It’s okay now, [the temperature] has stabilized.”

Shen QingXian glared at him. When Gu JianShen was retracting his own hand, he had actually pinched his (SQX’s) cheek.

That’s right…it was pinched…really pinched…pinched the face of Heavenly Dao’s number one…

In a split second, the entire Moonset Secret Realm trembled!

Su Yu immediately crawled up from the scare. “What’s going on? Did something happen?”

This killing intent was very frightening. Could it be that a high level fierce beast appeared?

It was not only Su Yu, all the cultivators in Moonset Secret Realm jumped from the scare. Each brandished their weapon and stood with rapt attention.

Fortunately, a short while later, this killing intent was curbed and Moonset Secret Realm once again recovered its serenity.

Shen QingXian turned his back and wrapped himself in the sleeping bag, not uttering a word.

The corner of Gu JianShen’s eyes were full of smiles and his mood was good to the point that it was impossible to describe using words.

How did Shen QingXian resist the urge [to kill GJS]? Well, it was all due to old chap Jade Scroll’s painstaking efforts.

Just when Shen QingXian’s heart was consumed by murderous intent, the line “4. You can’t have any killing intent towards Gu JianShen” on the Jade Scroll became increasingly darker and was starting to turn deep black.

At the same time, a line of words appeared on the Jade Scroll: “P.S: When this* becomes deep black, all your previous efforts will go down the drain!”

*‘this’ is referring to the color of the line of the sentence for task 4

The pitiful and miserable 6 bricks on the Heavenly Staircase at this time shook according to the occasion and had the attitude of ‘if you dare kill Gu JianShen then I will fall and die for you to see’…

Shen QingXian: “……” Can only endure!

Because of the anger of Shen QingXian’s, Moonset Secret Realm aroused the attention of countless mighty powers.

This majestic spiritual qi that soared towards the sky! And this astonishing killing intent that was similar to mountains and seas!

Could it be that a Heavenly Artifact was born? Could it be that a fierce beast entered the Heavenly Way?

For a moment, the Heavenly Dao and Heart Domain aside, a crowd of elderly ranked characters convened a meeting to discuss Moonset Secret Realm’s anomaly.

Of course, this was not enough to arouse the attention of the Heavenly Dao’s Six Great Sects and WeiXin Palace.

After all, Ye Zhan, Zeng ZiLiang…and the guardians of Weixin Palace were this current era’s mighty powers that kept situations under control so this kind of small matter was not enough for them to pay attention to.

And it was a good thing that they didn’t pay attention otherwise Moonset Secret Realm would have 100% certainly exploded in place.

Let’s not mention Zeng ZiLiang and company anymore. Ye Zhan this Esteemed Lord flatterer would have definitely discovered that this spiritual qi came from his family’s Esteemed Lord and then wouldn’t he immediately charge towards Moonset Secret Realm? Based on his (YZ’s) cultivation, Moonset Secret Realm could from then on change its name to Moonset Ruins.

Three days later, Su Yu walked out of Moonset Secret Realm. Gu JianShen and Shen QingXian naturally followed.

The small peach blossom’s learning ability was very strong. Gu JianShen taught all that he could teach. Later, he (SY) just needed to cultivate a suitable heart technique.

Shen QingXian had just wanted to ask the small peach blossom what its plan for the future was when his Jade Scroll started flashing.

“10. Join the same sect together with Gu JianShen.”

“11. Reside in the same room together with Gu JianShen.”