Chapter 35 – Every Day the Protagonist Wants to Capture Me

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Chapter 35 – Every Day the Protagonist Wants to Capture Me

Chapter 35 – A strange decorating style

Chu Shuangtian slowly nodded his head at Chu Sheng, but, contrary to what one might expect, he didn’t solicitously inquire about his well-being, unlike his pampering attitude towards Chu Yu. The expression in his eyes was profound.

Chu Sheng stared at his face for a moment until he calmed down. He smiled and exclaimed: “Father.”

He approached Chu Shuangtian and whispered a few words, asking about his health. After some time, he turned to Lu Qingan. His face was somewhat pale: “Senior, the Chu family’s traitor has fallen to my father’s blade and already great vengeance had been achieved for mother. We think that we should find a method to return.”

Lu Qingan stroked the sword on his waist to comfort himself and some of the coldness vanished from the expression on his face as he nodded and put Yan Hue back in its sheath.

Chu Yu’s attention was attracted by Lu Qingan ’s movements. He glanced at him and saw that there was another sword hanging from Lu Qingan’s waist.

If he had not guessed wrongly, that ought to be the sword that they had found before they were sent to this place.

Looking at how tense Lu Qingan was, it seems that he must have had some kind of relationship with the owner of that sword.

Chu Yu pondered over it for a moment. He really couldn’t reliably remember that sword being in the original novel. He tossed the matter into the back of his mind. While watching Chu Sheng talking to Lu Qingan in a low voice and looking back at Chu Shuangtian, Chu Yu was overcome with boredom. He turned to look at Chu Shuangtian and was unable to tell or not if his vision was true as an icy and malicious smile on his face, like a venomous snake. That smile was vicious and fierce, a needle hidden in silk floss, totally unlike Chu Shuangtian’s normally gentle and refined expression.

Chu Shuanghe?

Chu Yu’s spine suddenly felt cold and his scalp tingled all over.¹

Enduring the sudden emergence of lingering fear, Chu Yu quietly took Xun Sheng in his hand and tried to stay calm and collected before cautiously looking over at him again. Chu Shuangtian’s expression was now one of silent sorrow, like a person whose heart had turned into cold grey ashes, more dead than alive.

Could there be a problem with Chu Shuangtian?

However, the protagonist had already said that he didn’t have a murderous aura and Chu Sheng, who was very close to him and had deep feelings for his father, didn’t seem to notice anything wrong with him. It’s highly unlikely that Chu Shuanghe would be able to deceive both of them. That should only be … an illusion.

Seemingly sensing the intensity of Chu Yu ’s gaze, Chu Shuangtian turned to look at him then reached out and stroked his hair, as if comforting him. He was silent for a long moment. Finally, he smiled and said: “Yu-er, you must listen to your big brother’s words later.”

Why did this sound like a person’s last words, as if he were about to die?

Chu Yu paused then nodded.

Chu Shuangtian sighed. “Your temperament has been cold since you were young. You were unwilling to get close to us and you didn’t want to stay in the valley. Nowadays … well, that may not be a bad idea.”

He stared at Chu Yu for a moment then looked away.

At the beginning he was unable to make heads or tails of these words, then Chu Yu understood: Was Chu Shuangtian glad that the original Chu Yu wasn’t close to them as a child and thus when Madam Chu died, he would be unlikely to be overly sad?

How could that be true? A single drop of the original Chu Yu’s consciousness made him feel miserable but, fortunately, it only lasted for a few moments.

Chu Yu opened his mouth to explain, but he was forced to step back as he did not know where to begin. He went back to Xie Xi and sighed mournfully.

Xie Xi grabbed his hand and squeezed it gently. He didn’t speak.

After Chu Sheng had finished consulting Lu Qingan, Chu Yu realized that he had already unconsciously leaned towards Xie Xi who had then placed his arm around his waist and was smiling proudly. When Chu Sheng saw this scene, he bristled angrily and pulled out San Hou: “Where do you think you’re putting your filthy hands?!”

Xie Xi just briefly glanced at him but otherwise ignored his outburst.

Chu Yu broke into a cold sweat and quickly pried apart Xie Xi’s hold on him.

What a joke, that he actually dared to offend this brocon older brother of his. Clearly, there was a mistake in Xie Xi’s upbringing. The child’s emotional intelligence was actually so low!

Chu Sheng glared daggers at Xie Xi with an ugly expression and quickly pulled Chu Yu behind him. He looked at Lu Qingan.

Lu Qingan was always unwilling to talk very much and so nodded: “You tell them.”

Chu Sheng understood this without being told and said, “Father, little brother…”

Looking quickly at Xie Xi, he then automatically overlooked him and continued. “When I was teleported from the other side with senior Lu, I noticed that there was a large array there that was bound to another array. When Senior Lu broke the array but we realized it began to repair itself. I thought that if we are to break this spell, we will have to explore that palace.”

He pointed to the palace: “If my guess isn’t wrong, then the core of the spell should be there.”

It seemed to be similar to the array at Maple Valley.

Chu Yu thought about it and realized that if the array was made by Chu Shuanghe, it was very likely that he learned it from the Chu family. Looking at the Lu Qingan’s ferocious, explosive action… This method of breaking the array was really crude.

Chu Yu quietly looked over Chu Sheng shoulder at Xie Xi.

That time, he had silently mocked the protagonist for using such a brutal method to blast apart the array at Maple Valley. Now he can assume that the protagonist was simply acting the way that people in this world are accustomed to…

Previously, Chu Yu and Xie Xi had been teleported to a small house at the lakeside palace. Now they walked back to the front of the palace. It was only then that Chu Yu saw the characters written like dragons flying and phoenixes dancing above the palace door.

Jing Hua Sect.²

Walking beside Chu Shuangtian, Chu family’s Keqing suddenly said: “Huh… Jing Hua Sect?”

In a flash, he seemed to realize something. He gave Lu Qingan a strange look then stopped talking. Chu Yu saw this reaction and made as if to speak but then stop as Lu Quingan looked like he did not want to be bothered, but he was itching to find out what it was about. He turned around and saw Chu Sheng’s pensive look so Chu Yu tugged at his sleeve and asked: “Big brother, what is this Jing Hua Sect?”

That ****ing deceptive author wrote 500,000 words of the original novel but did not include very much content at all. These strange names are always unexpectedly appearing. Fortunately, he knew the big picture from the original novel … even though the plot was now a mess.

Chu Sheng also looked at Lu Qingan and hesitated for a while but he was unable to withstand his little brother’s confused expression when he asked the question. He whispered: “The Jing Hua Sect was one of the Demonic Path sects. Their inner disciples were extremely good at creating arrays. I heard that their sect master made an array that imitated the one from the Mausoleum Ruins, forming a special space. If I’m not wrong, that should be this place. More than one hundred years ago something happened, I don’t know what. They were attacked, encircled and suppressed by the other Demonic Path sects…”

Chu Sheng continued to explain, his voice getting softer and softer: “I heard that the Jing Hua sect master and senior Lu were quite familiar with each other. He was acclaimed as a genius of his generation. With his sword in hand, he slaughtered his enemies in all four directions. It’s a pity that even while possessing two hands can’t defeat four enemies.³ In the end, the sect master was defeated and his soul was scattered. The sect’s disciples fled in all directions and vanished without any traces.”

Although his voice was already, Lu Qingan and other people still heard it clearly. When Lu Qingan heard the words “his soul was scattered” his steps paused for a moment and a glimpse of a deep pain flashed through his eyes. The expression on his face then became even colder and quieter. His hands involuntarily went to the sword on his waist.

Chu Yu had an epiphany: Oh, that sword must be the legacy of Lu Qingan’s beloved.⁴ No wonder the expression on Lu Qingan’s face was so ugly when he saw it.

Cultivators are generally more cold-hearted when compared to ordinary people. It was extremely difficult for them to consider someone a close friend. After all, they live for a long time so they can’t carelessly form attachments to other people. Cultivators also have good memories. During the long years of their lives, if a friend of theirs dies they will remember it for hundreds of years.

Many people are not able to defeat this demon of temptation.⁵ As a result, most would rather ascend to heaven and remain above the mundane world, keeping themselves free of all attachments.

Chu Yu, a person who was steeped in the liberal arts, was earnestly thinking deeply about the philosophy of life. He was unconsciously slowly heating up chicken soup for the soul, wondering when to pour it out for the protagonist. Suddenly, he felt that there was someone staring deeply at him. When blinking he turned to look, he saw that he was walking alone behind everyone else. Xie Xi was staring at him intently. His glittering eyes seemed to hold Chu Yu in place.

After seeing Chu Yu turn around, Xie Xi smiled and softly said “Shixiong.”

This scene made Chu Yu involuntarily think back to that time when the protagonist was a little shota.⁶ His mind was beautiful and not contaminated with lustful thoughts and he still easily showed his respect to Chu Yu like before…

The embarrassment he felt from being pressed down and doing “this and that” suddenly vanished like smoke and dispersed like clouds. He was eager to pet and stare at his cute and loveable, well-behaved Xie Xi. He coughed and asked permission from his team leader: “Big brother, I’ll go and talk to my Shidi.”

Chu Sheng smiled like someone who was holding himself back, but the expression on his face was respectful: “No! Little brother, that boy is scheming against you!”

Chu Yu: “…”

Chu Yu was really too embarrassed to tell Chu Sheng that his family’s cabbage has already been nibbled on…

Heading through the main entrance they made their way to the main hall of the Jing Hua Sect palace. Lu Qingan pushed the door open and through the cracks, they could see…a large coffin.

Lu Qingan was silent and paused for a moment then pushed the door completely open, suddenly seeing a wide clearing .. a hall full of coffins.

The pitch-black coffins were arranged in an unusual petal pattern in the spacious hall. Not only was the atmosphere not even the slightest bit gloomy, but it was instead rather imposing and quite beautiful. The floor was littered with paper money offerings for the dead, incense stick, and so forth. When one stepped on the floor, it felt soft from all the layer upon layers of offerings there. Chu Yu looked at the scene in front of him and was struck utterly speechless.

Shizun’s special (gay) friend, his taste is not ordinary… truly really unique…

Lu Qingan’s eyelids twitched and he looked at the sword on his waist. He stepped forward, face expressionless and without the slightest hint of caution, reached out and pushed the nearest coffin lid away and looked at the inside of the coffin.

After looking at it for a long time, he did not speak then walked to another coffin and repeated his actions. Chu Yu couldn’t help but be curious. He went to see what was inside but was pulled back by Chu Sheng. Chu Sheng then wanted to take a look at it but he was pulled back by Chu Shuangtian. Finally, Chu Shuangtian was able to take a look.

When Chu Shuangtian saw it, he seemed somewhat surprised and looked up at Lu Qingan. He and Lu Qingan were cultivators of the same generation but were merely casual acquaintances. He meditated for a while then followed Lu Qingan’s actions in opening the coffin lids.

Chu Yu and Chu Sheng, who had been pushed to the back, moved forward to take a look.

The coffin was lined with a golden silk fabric embroidered with delicate and complex patterns. Chu Yu stepped forward and was stunned. His mood was indescribable as he looked at something that was carefully wrapped in a silk fabric… a broken stone slab?

Chu Yu rubbed his eyes. He was not mistaken. It was nothing but a broken stone slab.

Chu Yu couldn’t help but silently follow along and look at the coffins that were opened by Lu Qingan and Chu Shuangtian. As expected, each coffin had a piece of carefully wrapped broken stone slab. He tried to bear with it for a long time but couldn’t hold back. He reached out and with the greatest of care lifted up a broken stone slab He turned it around and looked at it from every side. It was really just an ordinary rock.

Someone leaned in behind him. Chu Yu thought it was Chu Sheng and he absent-mindedly batted at him with the back of his hand: “Big brother, all of the coffins here only have a broken stone slab inside?”

Jing Hua sect master’s interior decoration style was really unusual…

Behind him was a low cheerful laugh: “They should all be the same.”

Chu Yu was shocked and jumped to look back but not at Xie Xi who was close at hand with both his hands practically embracing Chu Yu’s waist. He instead looked back at Chu Sheng who was studying the stones not far away.

Thank goodness these stones slab had attracted the brocon’s attention.

Chu Yu looked at Xie Xi’s slightly smiling face and couldn’t help but pinch his cheeks: “Shidi…”

Xie Xi let him knead. He bowed his head and listened carefully.

Chu Yu said: “Ah, all the years have passed silently and now the little boy is no longer in front of me, no longer held in my arms like a soft whisper, so cute and innocent, all of a sudden he grew up …”

Xie Xi silently looked at him for a moment then smiled: “Your Shidi is long and big, what is Shixiong not satisfied with?”

Chu Yu: “…”

Chu Yu decided not to involuntarily flirt with the protagonist again.

Chu Yu remained absolutely calm as he batted away a certain person’s claws that were moving closer and closer to him: “Work, it is all very well to talk, but getting things done is another matter.”

There were nearly a hundred coffins in the main hall, and with several people started taking action. Soon all of the coffins had been opened. Inside all of them was an ordinary stone slab. Chu Yu volunteered to take all the stones out of the coffins and line them up together.

Lu Qingan looked at the stones then glanced at Xie Xi before nodding. “Put them together.”

Xie Xi respectfully bowed his head and looked at the pile of stone slabs. After a short pause, he picked up the stones and began to piece together the message that seemed to be written in a natural and unforced style, like moving clouds and flowing water.⁷

Chu Yu squatted down and looked at Xie Xi with a smile. Xie Xi trembled a little at the look in his eyes. He sighed and tried very hard to keep calm. After a while, a complete flagstone was revealed on the ground.

Chu Yu moved closer to him and took out his handkerchief to help Xie Xi clean his hands. By the time he finished wiping, the other two members of the Chu family suddenly had blue veins popping out of their foreheads. In the silence, Chu Yu didn’t notice anything. He then managed to find some time to look at the stone slab and his mouth twitched.

The master’s damned beloved friend had evil interests to the end and unexpectedly the stone actually had only two words on it. The rest was just an intricate pattern. Perhaps because it had been a long time, the calligraphy on these ordinary stones had become somewhat blurred.

Chu Yu blinked.

Tongue —— kiss?

WTF???

********

Translator’s Notes:

• “…two members of the Chu family suddenly had blue veins popping out of their foreheads” – like in anime/manga. See image above.
• “Tongue kiss” was actually “French kiss” as in a kiss with lots of tongue action. However, I was reluctant to use “French kiss” since there probably isn’t any France in the cultivation world.
• Wow, so Lu Qingan is supportive of Chu Yu and Xie Xi’s relationship because he also had a male lover?
• Thanks for reading and please do let me know if there are any errors this time.

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1. 头皮猛地一炸 – his scalp exploded
2. 镜花门 – Decorative Mirror Sect
3. Meaning superior numbers can overwhelm an enemy.
4. 基友 – very close same-sex friend or gay partner
5. 魔障 – Mara, the demon of temptation
6. 正太 – young, cute boy; derived from Japanese
7. 行云流水 – a natural and flowing style of calligraphy