Chapter 36 – Every Day the Protagonist Wants to Capture Me

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Chapter 36 – Every Day the Protagonist Wants to Capture Me

Chapter 36 Who’s knocking on the door?

Chu Yu was silent for a moment, thinking ten thousand things in a split second, his heart full of worries.

What did this mean? In front of these people, is that what … must be done in this location to break the array?

What the ****! What kind of bad taste is this? Shizun, can’t you have a normal boyfriend?!

Seeing that the expression on Chu Yu’s face was a bit strange, Xie Xi, who had been staring at him unblinkingly, looked briefly at the stone slab for a moment then said: “What is written on it is ‘antique’?”

Ah!

With a shocked look on his face, Chu Yu once more took a closer look. He nearly coughed up blood. The calligraphy was blurry and the person who wrote had a dishonest style so that at first glance the characters looked like ‘tongue kiss, but if you looked more carefully, it said ‘antique’ …

WT*!

Chu Yu seemed as if he had the ability to hear the hysterical laughter of the fujoshis that must be happening right now in the comment barrage. He rubbed his forehead and coughed. He kept his expression completely neutral: “Yes, antique … what antique could it be?”

(TN: Here, take a look and judge for yourself:

古物 – antique; antiquities
舌吻 – tongue kiss; actually “French kiss” but I don’t think they have France in Xianxia)

Lu Qingan also came over and silently examined the scribbled handwriting on the stone slab. He took the slate into his storage ring and whispered: “Follow me.”

Chu Yu had yet to stand up to catch up with Lu Qingan when he was suddenly lifted up by Chu Sheng and practically carried away in his embrace. This behavior, like a mother who was overprotective of her child, gave Chu Yu some complex feelings. He looked at the protagonist who was still standing there smiling as before, with an indulgent look in eyes. Chu Yu felt inexplicably distressed.

The protagonist had been so young when he lost his parents and he has never experienced the persistent loving care of his relatives. In contrast, the Chu family never hid their overprotectiveness and stubborn love for Chu Yu. When Xie Xi was watching this, how could that child feel good in his heart?

With the group following behind him, Lu Qingan went to the coffin in the center of the main hall. He didn’t need to speak since they all knew that the coffin had a secret. They looked at it and saw that there was a hole under the coffin. Looking at the size of that hole, it was just big enough to for a sword be inserted into it.

Lu Qingan pulled out Bu Heng from his waist and inserted it.

Immediately, a pale red light shone brightly around the sword and slowly three characters written like dragons flying and phoenixes dancing, lively and bold calligraphy appeared above the sword’s hilt – antique lake.

Chu Yu kept his face expressionless: “…”

Antique Lake?

The lake outside is called Antique?

Shizun what is going on with your good gay friend’s brain cells?!

There was clearly a split second when Lu Qingan didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. He pulled the Bu Heng sword back out. He seemed to be in a trance as he remembered something in the past, but very soon his rare smiled faded away and he resumed his usual expression that was bleak and cold as snow.

Chu Yu was silent.

Just as Chu Shuangtian lost his Dao companion, Lu Qingan also lost a good friend and with his temperament, he probably has only ever had a few friends. It’s enough to make him feel sorrowful for a few hundred years.

Moreover, for a cultivator from the Righteous Path and a Demonic Path sect master to have become friends… it’s easy to realize that such a thing wouldn’t have been easy at all. It must have been two people of talent who greatly appreciated one another and who had many of the same interests.

Although he felt sympathy for him, Chu Yu was currently in no position and didn’t have the qualifications to sooth Lu Qingan and cook a pot of chicken soup. Lu Qingan, for the most part, didn’t seem to need it either.

The two of them were silent for a moment. Then they turned and walked out of the main hall.

Chu Shuangtian actually still had some doubts: “Fellow Daoist Lu, you seem to be familiar with this place? But you still haven’t put up any defenses?”

Daddy Chu, why are you poking people’s wounds?!

Chu Yu was shocked and was afraid that Lu Qingan would be angry. He did not expect, Lu Qingan to merely stop walking. He didn’t turn his head and simply said: “I know Shen Nian’s character.”

Shizun’s intimate friend of the same gender¹ was… Shen Nian?

Shen Nian?!!

Chu Yu suddenly stopped walking and his face froze.

Chu Sheng noticed Chu Yu’s worsening of his expression and worriedly felt his pulse: “What’s wrong, little brother?”

Chu Yu’s mouth twitched: “…Nothing.”

He bowed his head and his thoughts could not help but fly to that time ten years ago.

***

Chu Yu opened his eyes and in a flash, as expected, he saw the demonic cultivator’s pale, beautiful face. Standing just in front of the golden bowl’s protective field, he stared directly at Chu Yu with a smile on his face.

Chu Yu said in an aloof way, “Young master, are you not afraid that I might lose control of my hand and accidentally throw a sword at you and poke your eyes out?”

The young master from the Demonic Path’s refined attitude did not change and he smiled as politely as before: “If Young Lord Chu would be willing to take the initiative to withdraw from the golden bowl’s protection to bring about his own destruction, I would be exceedingly satisfied.”

In response to his words, other Demonic Path cultivators surrounding him took out their swords, and surrounded him, looking murderous.

Chu Yu rolled his eyes silently and gave them a scornful glance. He was already used to these spectators. He lowered his head and used his fingers to calculate the time. He has been locked inside for nearly seven days.

It was very boring in here and he didn’t know how the protagonist had survived for ten years in the original novel.

Chu Yu pondered over it while harassing the System: “In the original book, the protagonist’s ten years inside the Mausoleum Ruins the book only casually references it and it didn’t say if he picked up anything. I’m your host. Why don’t you give me a hint?”

System: “Ha ~ ha ~”

**** dare to Haha!

Chu Yu was indignant. Turning off the System interface, he looked up at the young master from the Demonic Path, who was sitting outside the golden light, discussing something with his men. Chu Yu said lazily: “You snatched up the spirit grass so urgently before but now you are spending your time here so leisurely. Aren’t you worried about delaying your proper business matters?”

The young master said with a low voice: “My present business is killing you.”

Chu Yu was struck silent: “Excuse me but I must ask, at what time did we become enemies?”

Could it be that he someone who had been offended by the original Chu Yu? The original was very ambitious and proud, with a cold and elegant noble bearing that it was normal for him not care if he offended a lot of people.

The young master once again whispered softly: “It’s not because I want to settle a grudge. I merely saw you in Fang Ye City and thought that the Chu family’s third son graceful and elegant demeanor was exceptionally good. I couldn’t help but want to kill you.”

… Get lost, you ****ing pervert!

Was this person one of those Demonic Path cultivators outside Fang Ye City?

Chu Yu mentally thought “bah!” but continued to enquire: “Young master is from Yu Shou Sect?”

“Naturally, of course not.” The young master was quite patient. He sat down opposite Chu Yu and smiled at him. His manner was sincere and casual, looking as though they were two close friends right in the middle of drinking tea and playing chess as they chatted of old affairs. His manner was gentle and polite. “My father is the Lord of the Mei Yin Valley.”²

Chu Yu, who was naive and unfamiliar with this world, stared blankly at him: “Mei Yin Valley? What do you do? You use your charms to kill people?”

A vein appeared in the young master’s forehead but just as quickly as it appeared it soon disappeared and he remained as calm and refined as he was before: “Those in the valley specialize in the art of enchantment, but even so … it’s just a minor support skill.”

… Looking at this person’s manner, Chu Yu could tell at once that the opposite of what he was saying was true.

Chu Yu smiled and made a show of being very earnest as he nodded: “Is that so? I know a fellow sect member who would be extremely interested in your Valley’s skills. If you come across him, the young master must take care of him as much as possible.”³

A faint smile that was yet not a smile appeared on the young master’s face: “Oh?”

Chu Yu said: “You just recently saw him. That person from Tian Yuan Sect. He looks like a deputy with a sharp and unkind manner, a spineless person who takes pleasure in deceiving others. He loves to put on an act.”

The young master said in a whisper: “Ah, him. If my matters had not been so urgent, I would have killed him. Instead, I must be reminded to take care of him after the war.”

Chu Yu smiled and nodded. He even wanted to shake hands with this young master to thank him. This person looks like he has a promising future ahead of him. If only he hadn’t set his mind on taking Chu Yu’s little life.

However … this was an illogical contradiction. He said that he had an urgent business matter to attend to but now he wasted his time here. Isn’t he afraid of a lightning coming down from the heavens to strike him down?

Chu Yu looked at the young lord and sighed. He was thinking of saying something again when thunder and lighting suddenly appeared in the distant skies. The sound was as if a mountain was being split apart and the skies darkened as dark clouds came together to form a dense mass filled with golden snakes of lightning that danced wildly in the sky as if it was going to extinguish all life.

Chu Yu was overwhelmed with joy: He had just been thinking about it when it suddenly came true?

After catching sight of this situation, the young master from Mei Yin Valley was finally unable to dally any longer in this place. He immediately ordered his men to secure the demonic worms and made ready to leave. He kept on eye on Chu Yu as he said: “Are you really going to sit inside the golden bowl’s protection for the next ten years? Even if it is a high-grade defensive treasure nevertheless, can it really fully protect you inside the Mausoleum Ruins? You can’t say for sure you will be able to escape unscathed.”

Chu Yu’s face was expressionless: “Are you saying that you are willing to take me along with you without any compensation?”

The young master from Mei Yin Valley laughed out loud: “How can that be?”

After saying that, he waved to Chu Yu and turned around to walk into the hole that the demonic worms had made.

In the next moment, the Demonic Path cultivators had all left.

Chu Yu breathed a sigh of relief, then he once again mourned his current situation: Well, the Mausoleum Ruins is an unpredictable place. He was afraid that it’s not easy to quietly grow mushrooms here.

Thunder rumbled for a while and golden lightning pierced the gloom. There was a loud banging sound as lightning suddenly streaked across heaven and earth and struck down three inches in front of Chu Yu. When the smoke and dust had dissipated, a deep pit was revealed

Chu Yu looked at it and his eyebrows twitched.

****! This sort of thing … if the golden bowl is hit by that a few dozen times then I’m afraid it will crack.

The light from the electric arcs gradually faded away. The surrounding area once again turned dark and gloomy with a thin layer of dust and Chu Yu couldn’t see anything. Chu Yu narrowed his eyes while trying to think of countermeasures. In the darkness, suddenly there was the sound of someone gently knocking on the golden light shield.

The knocking came three times. The sound of the “bang, bang, bang” was unhurried, as though it was a guest who had come for a visit.

Chu Yu was stunned. He faintly caught a glimpse of a person standing outside the golden bowl’s protective shield.

These are the ruins of the ancient cultivator’s war but just now someone has suddenly appeared. Where did he come from?

The hair on Chu Yu’s body stood on end and his hands and feet suddenly felt ice-cold. Licking his lips, he stared fixedly at that person, cautiously raising Xun Sheng.

The “person” outside seemed to be thinking about something. After a moment, he chuckled. Lighting from the sky stabbed down, briefly illuminating the image of the person outside the golden bowl in bright light.

For just a moment, Chu Yu was able to see that person

He looked very young, around twenty-six, but who knew how old the ghosts wandering around the Mausoleum Ruins really were? He looked good. Though Chu Yu only got a brief glimpse of him, Chu Yu saw his sword-like eyebrows and starry eyes. That person looked handsome and graceful. It was likely that he had led a distinguished and unconventional lifestyle before his death.

As he was thinking this, the person outside the protective barrier said in a casual tone of voice: “Oh, it’s been a long time since I last saw a living person. Looking at your robes, you are from Tian Yuan Sect?”

Chu Yu forced himself to endure the feeling of every hair on his body trying to stand on end and laughed hollowly: “Senior knows about Tian Yuan Sect?”

The man sighed. “I’m not sure. The thought just suddenly popped out of my mind. It seems as if I have a very important close friend from Tian Yuan Sect …”

It shouldn’t be an enemy.

With that news Chu Yu’s eyes were fairly brimming with tears: “Then senior, rest in peace. This junior will go back and burn incense for you.”

“That won’t be necessary.” After the man seemed to have been examining Chu Yu for a while. He smiled and said: “It looks like natural aptitude is pretty good. This is very timely. I am missing a container for my soul so I will borrow your body.”

Chu Yu didn’t even have time to think “what the ****?” when his body was suddenly frozen. A red light went through the golden light of the protective shield and flew into his body. At that moment, he unfroze. Chu Yu quickly looked inward grieving and lamenting he discovered that there was a cluster of red lights in his Dantian.

Brother, who are you …?

His thought penetrated his Dantian and that person’s lazy reply echoed in his mind: “I’ve forgotten who I am. All that I remember is that my name is Shen. You can rest assured that I unexpectedly don’t want to take over your body.”

Chu Yu was still vigilant.

Shen continued to harp on: “You are only so-so and your talent is also only so good… If I seized your body, how could I go out to meet people?”

Chu Yu: “…”

****! Who was it who just said that his talent was good?!

Shen Nian continued: “I have borrowed your body to nourish my injured soul. I will not treat you unfairly. I am familiar with this place and so I know how to leave the Mausoleum Ruins early.”

……

“Little brother?”

Chu Yu’s mind suddenly snapped back to the present time. He looked up and saw the worry in Chu Sheng’s eyes. Reluctantly, he forced the corners of his lips to curve up. Chu Yu then slowly walked over to the lake and looked down.

The surface of the lake did not reflect his image.

Chu Yu sighed and turned to look at Lu Qingan, who had a grave expression on his face. Chu Yu then looked inward and saw that the red cluster of light in his Dantian was extremely small and dim because of assisting his early departure from the Mausoleum Ruins. A cold sweat broke out on his forehead.

Ahhh!!!

If I’m not mistaken, I think that this is Shizun’s old friend!

The soul fragments that he had cultivated for ten years in his Dantian was unexpectedly that of Jing Hua’s sect master who had a unique taste and style.

Should he tell Lu Qingan?

He was still in the process of worrying about it when Lu Qingan walked to the lake. He looked down and raised Yan Hue then waved it. A powerful burst of Qi surged out from the sword. Not even the tiniest ripple appeared in the surface of the lake but the stars in the sky suddenly became distorted.

Lu Qingan seemed to have a solution to this puzzle and once again struck out with his sword. The water suddenly boiled as a rain of arrows emerged from it.

Lu Qingan’s eyes then held a flash of confusion as he raised his sword to block the attack.

Chu Yu was still in a daze and didn’t notice the rain of arrows. He seized with terror and wasn’t able to respond in time but Chu Shuangtian quickly pulled him back into his arms.

What’s going on?

Lu Qingan frowned at Chu Shuangtian: “Chu Shuanghe changed many of the arrays in this space.”

Chu Shuangtian stroked Chu Yu’s hair then walked next to Lu Qingan and looked down at the lake. “Elder Lu trusts that his Dao companion wouldn’t set up a harmful array like this?”

All you have to do is to look at the coffins in the main hall to know that.

Lu Qingan glanced at him then turned back. He raised his sword with the intent to try to break the prohibition on the lake. Suddenly a sword light glowed and rose up quickly like a bolt of lightning it cunningly and viciously slammed into the unguarded Lu Qingan.

Chu Yu’s heart skipped a beat and turned cold.

What?!⁴

 

*******

Translator’s Notes:

About Lu Qingan’s Dao companion, the phrases used that describe him are:

• 丰神 – elegant bearing/romantic charm
• 风流 – distinguished and accomplished; outstanding; talented in letters and unconventional in lifestyle; romantic; dissolute; loose

It looks like the two of them were like the lovers from my other project When a Fanfic Protagonist Transmigrated into the Original Novel. One was the cold, facial paralysis, sword cultivator who rarely spoke (Lu Qingan) while the other one was the charming, reckless, lively, and free-spirited person (Shen Nian).

• It’s not my fault that there’s a cliffhanger!
• Please read the announcement about the chapters next month.
• It’s pretty funny that Chu Yu misread antiquities as “French kiss”! This must be a Freudian slip, right? Someone’s mind was on “that.”

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1. 基友 – very close same-sex friend; gay partner
2. 魅音谷 – Charming Sound Valley. It could also be translated as Demonic/Magical Sound Valley.
3. I think he’s talking about Song Jingyi.
4. 因鸿 – have no idea what this means. Seems like gibberish to me. 因 – because. 鸿 – eastern bean goose; great; large. I’m guessing it’s just an exclamation of surprise.