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Published at 28th of November 2022 11:33:25 AM


Chapter 43

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Translator: transcendentwings

Editor: teaff 

Translator’s Note: Update 2/2

At this point, Zhou Beinan’s curiosity overwhelmed his rage: “Why are you so opinionated against Xu Xingzhi? Has he ever done anything wrong to you?”

The expression on Xu Pingsheng’s handsome face became slightly distorted. He snapped coldly: “It really is a bore for Zhou-gongzi to investigate things like this.”

Zhou Beinan’s family was very liberal, thus he had cultivated a sharp tongue that was hardly merciful since young and also hated those who gossipped and slandered so-and-so this or so-and-so that in order to sow discord. As such, he wasn’t polite at all and stated bitingly: “If Xingzhi genuinely did something unforgivable to you, did you have to go around announcing it to everyone? You keep saying that you don’t want to be compared to him, but that’s only because you know that you can’t compare to him.” 

Xu Pingsheng’s expression was so ugly that it couldn’t get any uglier: “Did he ask you to come and tell me all of this?”

Zhou Beinan didn’t expect that Xu Pingsheng would harbor such malice in making conjectures about Xu Xingzhi. Rendered speechless for a moment, he vaguely felt that his questioning of Xu Pingsheng this time wasn’t executed well.

Seeing Zhou Beinan’s so discombobulated, Xu Pingsheng lifted his head and sneered: “May Zhou-gongzi please go back and tell him that I, Xu Pingsheng, know that I can’t compare to him, so I have already compromised and avoided clashing with his highness. Thus if he could, please avoid revealing our relationship casually as to prevent unnecessary troubles be brought unto me.”

Zhou Beinan’s face was livid. Noticing that Xu Pingsheng felt absolutely no remorse and wanted to just leave, his irascible temperament exploded again.

“It’s such a shame for Xingzhi that since he thinks you like Yuan-shimei, he has always taken a step back in consideration for you.” Zhou Beinan racked his brains to come up with the sharpest and harshest tone imaginable, “But now, it seems that it was really unnecessary.”

Xu Pingsheng stopped abruptly, his back muscles were in a knot as he tensed before he barely managed to force himself to relax.

He scoffed, said no more, and continued on his way without acknowledging it any further.

Walking to the corner, he took out a bottle of medicine adorned with the unique cloud pattern of Fengling Mountain from his lapel. 

This was what he pleaded Guangfu-jun for for a long time before he was finally able to obtain.

However, before he was able to thank Guangfu-jun and leave, Guangfu-jun abruptly commented: “I don’t like people who gossip about others behind their backs and incite discordance.”

Xu Pingsheng froze, feeling as if he had been ruthlessly impaled by someone with a spear through the chest and had his heart, liver, stomach, and lungs skewered out, exposing them to the scorching sun.

Deathly pale, Xu Pingsheng defended himself: “Shifu, I. . . I didn’t. . . I had thought. . .” 

“You thought I would merely reprimand Xu Xingzhi and let bygones be bygones?” Guangfu-jun’s expression was icy and stern, “Xu Xingzhi. . . He is different from the others. Only Xu Xingzhi must never have anything to do with those heretical demonic cultivators.”

. . . Only Xu Xingzhi must absolutely not be associated with demonic practitioners.

Only Xu Xingzhi is special.

Even if he had heard of these words until he became tired of it, knots still formed in Xu Pingsheng’s chest until they became bound into one mass making him feeling extremely displeased. 

“I can tell that you don’t like him.” Guangfu-jun calmly stated, “I’ll give you a chance. Keep a close eye on him and if you find that he maintains a close relationship with cultivators of the demonic path, just come and report it to me.”

Xu Pingsheng clenched his fists even more tightly in his sleeves.

—Guangfu-jun didn’t see eye to eye with people who slander others, but how would Xu Pingsheng be any different. He only went through with it once and he was already shaking with disgust, vowing not to do it again.

However, Guangfu-jun just gave him a righteous excuse to continue committing such a filthy offense. 

. . . Glv tf tjnf atf gluta ab gfoerf?

We Ulcurtfcu tfrlajafv obg j ibcu alwf yfobgf gfqislcu: “P klii.”

. . . Lf vlv cba.

In Fengling Mountain, he had nothing to rely on except for his shifu Guangfu-jun and he was still just an attendant to this day, no different from the servants who serve their masters in the mundane world. 

While his thoughts were all tangled up, Guangfu-jun asked him one last question: “I heard that you and Xu Xingzhi are blood-related brothers.”

We Ulcurtfcu’r ilqr aegcfv qjif, yea atf kbgvr atja mjwf bea bo tlr wbeat ifoa cb gbbw obg jguewfca: “Rb, atf akb bo er pera mjwf ogbw atf rjwf nliijuf. Pa’r qgbyjyis yfmjerf kf rtjgf atf rjwf regcjwf atja atlr gewbg rajgafv eq.”

Guangfu-jun didn’t seem to truly believe that the two were brothers either and had only inquired casually: “You can leave.”

After Xu Pingsheng exited, that was when he bumped into Zhou Beinan and was provoked for no reason. 

He squeezed the pill bottle in his hand tightly.

After a moment, he whipped around and hurled the medicine vial into the water.

The container was lightweight so the sound of it falling into the water was not harsh as ripples gently expanded outwards and then gradually faded soon after.

On the other side, Zhou Beinan was also infuriated pretty badly by Xu Pingsheng. He kicked the stone steps, but accidentally used too much force and ended up hopping around several times in pain, clutching his ankle and huffing loudly. 

A cold voice came from behind: “This is of their personal affairs, why are you sticking your nose into it?”

Zhou Beinan was startled. When he turned around and saw that it was Wen Xuechen, he snapped angrily: “Why are you roaming around in such an elusive manner?”

Wen Xuechen’s wheelchair ran over the cobblestone path and made a fine shasha sound: “If you quarrel with him like this, he will definitely put the entire blame on Xingzhi.”

Zhou Beinan exclaimed incredulously: “Is he sick in the head? How could Xingzhi have asked me to say such a thing?” 

“Since he is Xingzhi’s older brother, he may understand Xingzhi better than you.” Wen Xuechen continued calmly, “But in the eyes of outsiders, you are Xingzhi’s best friend so your attitude towards him must also be Xingzhi’s attitude towards him in private. . . . You conducted yourself too impulsively this time.”

Zhou Beinan had no words to refute for the moment and ruffled his hair irritably: “. . . It’s better to tell him to stay away from Xingzhi instead. Otherwise, who can guarantee whether those narrow-minded and petty people wouldn’t use this against him one day when they get the chance.”

Wen Xuechen shot a glance at the corner of the corridor where Xu Pingsheng’s figure disappeared, wholeheartedly agreeing with Zhou Beinan’s words.

Zhou Beinan eased his anger and pointed to the medicinal bottle in Wen Xuechen’s hand: “Are you going to find Xingzhi?” 

“When I went back to the room to sort out things, I coincidentally found that I brought a few extra medicinal pellets.” Wen Xuechen downplayed it casually, “Just sending it to him along the way.”

Zhou Beinan slipped his short spear back into its sleeve: “I’ll go with you.”

After Zhou Beinan wheeled Wen Xuechen a few steps forward, Wen Xuechen questioned in befuddlement : “. . . Xu Pingsheng is truly Xingzhi’s elder brother?”

“It doesn’t look like it ba?” Now that Wen Xuechen had stumbled upon the truth, it was useless to hide it, thus Zhou Beinan openly grumbled about it, no longer being secretive, “I didn’t believe it when I first found out either. I mean, the appearance and temperament of those two are not even remotely alike.” 

Wen Xuechen mulled over Xu Pingsheng’s words, shook his head and agreed: “. . . Truly not alike at all.”

They planned to head over together to visit Xu Xingzhi, who was injured and resting in bed, but who would have guessed that when they approached the Zhinan Hall, the two of them saw that Xu Xingzhi had already alighted from bed, dressed loosely, standing at the doorway crossly.

Under the three-character gate “Zhinan Hall”, two youths knelt there, each with a bucket raised above their heads.

Meng Chongguang and Jiu Zhideng’s faces were both bruised and bloody, in quite a sorry looking state. The corner of Jiu Zhideng’s lip was split and Meng Chongguang’s left cheek was swollen into a large lump, looking a bit comical, like a little squirrel hiding a load of chestnuts in its cheek pouch. 

Xu Xingzhi was only wearing a pair of trousers, he didn’t even have an undershirt on and had only haphazardly draped the white cloud-patterned robe over his shoulders. The beautiful grooves and outline of his abs paired with his thin waist complemented each other seamlessly. His face was pale and his lips were ruddy. He leaned against the door and placed the back of his hand against his forehead in a somewhat tired and weak manner, as if he were measuring his own temperature.

Xu Xingzhi has always spoiled those two, but now they actually saw Xu Xingzhi punishing them to kneel. Zhou Beinan felt that it was a very fresh experience and walked up to him to ask: “What’s going on? Not having a good rest, coming out here to get buffeted by the wind, do you find your life to be too long ah.”

“Rest my ass.” Xu Xingzhi huffed angrily, “I just settled down to rest and these two brats barged into my room to have a scuffle.”

Jiu Zhideng and Meng Chongguang turned their gazes to each other at the same time then turned away from each other from disgust in unison when their eyes met. 

Meng Chongguang lifted his face and just happened to notice Xu Xingzhi’s loosely dressed appearance. His gaze flickered and then he sniffled aggrievedly: “Shixiong, clothes. . .”

Xu Xingzhi interrupted him: “Shut up and kneel properly. Spill a drop of water and you’ll kneel for another two hours.”

Jiu Zhideng glanced at the person beside him, but couldn’t see the fierce look he had on when he rushed towards him from the window as if he wanted to feast on his flesh and sleep on his hide: “Shixiong, you’ll catch a cold if you dress like this.”

Xu Xingzhi fired back without thinking: “If I catch a chill, it’ll only be because I was angered by the two of you. Since you won’t explain why you fought, then it’ll count as both of you at fault. Everyone will get punished together, no one will be granted amnesity.” 

Zhou Beinan peered at the two on the ground, then carelessly slung his arm around Xu Xingzhi’s neck, pushing him towards the room: “Okay, okay, why is your temper so volatile. . .”

His words came to a sudden stop in his mouth. As soon as Zhou Beinan touched Xu Xingzhi’s skin, he felt that something was wrong. He reached out and placed a hand against his forehead and cursed: “You have a fever?”

Meng Chongguang and Jiu Zhideng raised their heads simultaneously when they heard his words and the water in the buckets sloshed around three times, splashing onto each other.

Spotting Wen Xuechen, Xu Xingzhi pointed at him indignantly and complained: “Him, it’s all his fault.” 

Wen Xuechen frowned: “It was only three strikes, how. . .”

Xu Xingzhi was churlish: “Come, come, come over here, lie down and let me beat you three times, I can directly pound you into a coffin.”

Wen Xuechen wasn’t someone who liked to quarrel or make fun of others to relieve boredom. He maneuvered his wheelchair right before the steps and ordered solemnly: “Go into the room. I still have some pills for oral consumption on me.”

The three of them entered the room and shut Meng-Jiu, the two of them, outside. 

The two of them supported the bucket on their heads with similar looks on their faces which were growing paler and more restless.

After a long time, Jiu Zhideng gritted his teeth and squeezed out: “. . . You are not a mortal, you’re a demonic spirit.”

Just now, he clearly saw Meng Chongguang’s eyes outside the window become dyed with a crazed bright red while a cinnabar mole appeared on his forehead like a bundle of flames, contrasting with the blue veins climbing across his forehead, so sinister that it made people quiver with fear.

. . . Jiu Zhideng knew that this was the rumored demonic spirit seal. 

With a wave of his arms, he leapt through the window, but instead of circulating his demonic power, he socked Jiu Zhideng in the face with a straight punch.

This punch came on too fiercely and Jiu Zhideng slammed into the wardrobe. His rage was stoked by the metallic taste in his mouth and it instantly surged with the force of a prairie fire.

Jiu Zhideng and he were both sword cultivators, unlike those physical cultivators who focused on hand-to-hand combat skills. Thus after exchanging blows for a while, they were both easily picked up one by one and thrown out of the room by Xu Xingzhi who was startled awake by them.

What are the intentions of the one surnamed Meng for sneaking into Fengling Mountain in the guise of a mortal? 

Further, he sticks to Shixiong everyday for what purpose?

And. . . How could he?

Since he was a demonic spirit, why wasn’t he more self-aware? Why did he make such excessive demands without consideration? What face did he have to stay so close by Shixiong’s side day after day?

Wasn’t he aware that if his identity was revealed, how it would stain Shixiong’s reputation? 

There were no outsiders at this moment and Meng Chongguang no longer needed to put up a pretense. The look in his eyes changed slightly as he lifted the corner of his lips savagely and arrogantly. He didn’t directly answer Jiu Zhideng’s question: “You kissed Shixiong.”

Jiu Zhideng was so enraged that his breathing was erratic: “You. . .”

Without Xu Xingzhi before him, Meng Chongguang seemed like a completely different person from inside to the outside. That dazzling glow that was harmless to people and animals turned into tens of thousands of sharp poisonous spikes and barbs which no one dared to touch casually.

He whispered: “If you dare to reveal my identity, I will tell Shixiong that you made a move on him while he was sleeping.” 

Jiu Zhideng’s eyes widened: “. . .”

“Did you want Shixiong to find out that a demonic practitioner coveted him for a long time and took advantage of him when he was weak to violate him?”

When he uttered the word “violate”, Meng Chongguang almost clenched his teeth until his gums bled, and his shoulders trembled with hatred.

“How are you any better than me? Jiu Zhideng was startled by his own voice as the maliciousness in it sounded terrifying even to himself, “Is Shixiong aware that you are a demonic spirit? If he knew that you were a demonic spirit, would he still treat you like this?” 

Hearing these words, the expression on Meng Chongguang’s face sank a little, but he still forced a smile and fired back: “Shixiong treats those of the demonic, ghostly, and spiritual path with equality and fairness, and would never. . .”

“But you lied to him.” Jiu Zhideng exhausted all of his thoughts before he asserted those words coldly and ruthlessly, each word piercing the other’s heart, “From the day you entered the sect, you kept him in the dark for more than ten years.”

The expression on Meng Chongguang’s face immediately turned ugly until it couldn’t look any worse.

When Jiu Zhideng saw this, he nodded coolly: “You are also afraid.” 

The two glared at each other with hatred for a long time before turning their gazes aside reluctantly.

The compass needle of threat spun around and around relentlessly, until in the end, it became fixed in the middle.

Both of them couldn’t speak easily.

Because neither one of them dared to take responsibility for the consequences after their veil of lies were broken through. 

The author has something to say:

Jiu-mei (young wolf-pup baring its teeth)

Guang-mei (young civet baring its teeth)

Author’s Chapter Summary: 

Surveillance, kneeling in punishment, Asura field

The translator has something to say: a chapter full of unease and complicated emotions for everyone, XPS has his own difficulties and pettiness, ZBN is too brash, WXC is also somewhat self-righteous, MCG is possessive and afraid of losing what he has, JZD thinks too much and assumes that his way is what’s best, while our dear MC, XXZ is caught up in the middle, *sighs*

The editor has something to say: Comparing your kids to other kids is not healthy




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