Finally, with the assistance of the Lord of the Gate, Zong Yan collected some papyrus from the era of the Black Pharaoh.
These well-preserved papyrus documents contained examples of magic patterns that had been lost to history. They each contained patterns that could be combined and rearranged to create formidable new alchemical formations.
With a glance, Zong Yan knew the papyrus sheets had extraordinary significance for modern-day humans. The occult world might seem to be disconnected from the rest of humanity, but in fact they maintained contact with major countries at the highest level. It was no exaggeration to say the occult world’s achievements in magic patterns would eventually make their way into the “scientific” discoveries of various nations, creating a leap forward for human technology.
He thought about it, sifted through the sheets again, and put aside the most dangerous ones. Then he took Yog’s hand, and together they left the pyramid of the Black Pharaoh.
Sometimes too much knowledge would lead to one’s downfall. Similar words were carved into MU’s school rules. They were also among the top three guidelines of the investigator’s handbook.
“Where are we going now?”
The Lord of the Gate glanced sideways. His long hair, like flowing moonlight, fell gently on Zong Yan’s shoulder.
Zong Yan couldn’t resist. He covertly stretched his fingers to catch the strands of soft, falling silver. When he looked up, his gaze collided with a pair of smiling golden eyes.
Startled, he tried to withdraw his hand, but the gray-haired evil god raised a beautiful eyebrow, seeming to indicate his discontentment with this action.
A moment later, the silver hair that fell to Yog’s waist lengthened wildly, turning into thousands upon thousands of living strands of silk, firmly trapping Zong Yan inside them.
Some tendrils went even further, lifting the hem of the black-haired young man’s clothes, diving inside each layer of fabric, striving to achieve zero-distance contact.
“Like my hair so much, hmm?”
""Yog’s voice came from somewhere above him. The words ended in a trailing note with a palpable hint of danger.
Zong Yan, who was wrapped like a mummified dumpling: “…”
Countless silken threads slid suggestively over his body. Some even ran across the inner joints of his legs, stroking lightly. A few tendrils wrapped playfully around his fingers, truly giving him the sensation of hair that was smoother than Rejoice.
To make things even more intense, he was still in a human body. He couldn’t see a thing.
“Enjoy my hair as much as you like.”
As the Lord of the Gate smiled, his movements became extremely tender, and gradually the black-haired young man’s whimpers were muffled in his throat.
“It likes you too… Little Majesty.”
—
After returning from Egypt, they made a trip to Miskatonic University.
MU had recently conducted a vigorous campaign to clean out cultist infiltrators. After all, no one would have dreamed the vice chancellor was actually the high priest of the Sect of R’lyeh. When the truth came out, everyone was shocked.
However, the so-called infiltrator cleaning campaign only managed to catch a few people in the end. Zong Yan looked into it, but he didn’t have much confidence in the school from the start. It was basically stuffed with cultists.
“Many of the people who worship evil gods aren’t fanatics,” said Yog. “Sometimes humans are simply in need of emotional support. Most cultists have clear boundaries. If an evil god asked them to do something contrary to the interests of humanity, they’d change allegiance in a minute.
""“As for how I know that.” The Lord of the Gate sneered. “There are quite a few believers in my sect who joined under the guise of believing in Yog-Sothoth. After they stole the knowledge they were after, they immediately deserted.”
At this point, Yog surveyed Zong Yan up and down with a meaningful look.
Zong Yan: “…”
The latter remembered having the exact same idea when he was at MU. He thought that as soon as he got his hands on physics knowledge, he’d abandon Yog’s religion. He was a little surprised to find out so many other people had the same idea. Great minds ah.
All right, that meant “once an infiltrator, always an infiltrator” wasn’t always true. Even if they were in a cult, their heart was in the right place. One foot in, one foot out, but they’d never betray the interests of humankind.
Zong Yan handed the loot he’d collected from the Black Pharaoh’s pyramid to the Spire Council. The occult world was stunned. The Spire Council awarded him a medal for outstanding contributions.
In fact, Zong Yan didn’t care about the medal. What he cared about was the money. He’d just completed an S-level task, and he couldn’t count how many digits suddenly appeared in his account. Zong Yan stared at the numbers on his bank card with glowing eyes.
After Zong Yan finished wrapping up his mission, he went to England.
After some thought, he decided he couldn’t skip the military training for Tsinghua University. It was necessary to show the correct attitude towards his enrollment.
Besides, he’d still be able to attend the coronation. All he had to do was bring along the Lord of the Gate, that handy time-and-space converter. Going to London was the same as strolling through his own backyard. It couldn’t be more convenient.
Zong Yan was still a little worried about Edward, so he ended up dragging Wang KeMing with him.
Now that Wang KeMing was involved, Zong Yan bought a ticket from the United States to London and enjoyed the service in first class once again.
This time he wasn’t flying on someone else’s dime. Zong Yan bought the ticket with money he’d earned himself and traveled with peace of mind.
By now the situation in Britain had stabilized. Zong Yan didn’t bring Yog with him, and he didn’t notify Edward in advance. He wanted to give his young friend a surprise.
“Do you think it’s a bad idea to show up empty-handed?” After getting off the plane, Wang KeMing scratched his head. He looked down at his suitcase and fell silent.
“Should we go to the hotel first and drop off our luggage?” Zong Yan pondered for a moment.
He didn’t know if people in the UK had the same custom, but Zong Yan and Wang KeMing were Chinese, and Chinese people always had to bring something to the door when they visited, otherwise they’d feel awkward.
Zong Yan thought about it. His friend was about to ascend to the throne. It really wasn’t polite to come to the door empty-handed. They needed to buy some gifts.
But… What kind of gift?
The two clueless straight men looked at each other.
“Yan Ge, I have no idea,” Wang KeMing said with a sad face. “Most of my friends like to make things by hand or play music. All I have to do is buy the latest equipment for their hobby and they’re always happy.”
Wang KeMing firmly believed problems that could be solved with money weren’t real problems. He was extremely skilled at managing his interpersonal relationships and knew the exact preferences of all his friends.
But Edward was different.
He was the crown prince of England and about to become king. The British royal family was famous worldwide for its money and power. They could have anything they wanted. Besides, Wang KeMing had no idea what Edward liked. The young prince was casual and relaxed about everything. There seemed to be nothing that especially interested him aside from his eagerness to make friends with Zong Yan.
Besides, they were in England and they hadn’t brought any specialties from China. In the end, the two slinked awkwardly to Chinatown as a last minute solution and bought snacks and specialties like pickled duck.
Early the next morning, before the sun rose, they headed to the entrance of Buckingham Palace with their bags of gifts. They were immediately halted by the guards.
“Stop! Both of you stop right now, or we’ll be forced to open fire!”
With the upcoming coronation, not only was Buckingham Palace cordoned off, the entire street in front of the palace was blocked. There was round-the-clock surveillance. A gnat would have trouble sneaking in.
Zong Yan and Wang KeMing were obviously Asian, they were carrying large bags filled with packages, and they were acting furtively. The instant the guard gave the order, a swarm of camouflaged agents emerged from random hiding places in the bushes in front of them and leveled their guns at the strangers.
“Put down your packages!”
The guards looked at the bags with nervous faces, afraid the two would suddenly pull out a bomb.
Zong Yan and Wang KeMing: “…”
Zong Yan: “Wait, we’re Ed—Prince Edward’s friends. We came over to see him.”
“God, what nonsense!” The guard captain sneered. “His Royal Highness hasn’t given any orders about visitors. Besides, if you’re really friends of His Royal Highness, why would there be any need for you to come here on foot?
“Quit stalling! Drop your bags or we’ll use force!”
With no other choice, Zong Yan and Wang KeMing had to put down their things. They walked out of the blockaded area under the eyes of the guards.
“Looks like we can’t keep it a surprise anymore. Let’s call Edward.” Zong Yan sighed.
Before he even had a chance to see his friend, the gifts they bought were confiscated. What was with that?
Behind them, all the guards were watching the pair, as if they were looking at dangerous enemies. When Wang KeMing pulled out his phone, the tension abruptly escalated.
The guards were surrounding the pile of gift bags to inspect them, but they dodged away as nimbly as monkeys, without a trace of the elegance of British gentlemen.
No wonder they reacted so strongly. The Italian Mafia had recently developed a new type of bomb which was detonated by phone.
“Hello, Edward. It’s me.”
Zong Yan didn’t pay attention. He took the phone from Wang KeMing and put it to his ear. “We came over to see you. Yes, right at the door. We wanted to surprise you.”
It really seemed like he was pretending.
The guard captain saw the two men weren’t escalating matters, but he didn’t dare to take things lightly.
He’d only been standing there a short while when he heard the sound of a car in the street behind him.
The entrance to the street was blocked, and they were some distance from Buckingham Palace. If the royal family wanted to travel, they’d choose a different route. Of course, there were plenty of options. Buckingham Palace was enormous.
“His Royal Highness Prince Edward is here!”
The announcement came from a distance. The guard captain immediately blew his whistle. The guards ran to the sides of the road to salute.
However, in the middle of the salute, the black Rolls-Royce suddenly stopped.
Then, even before the butler in the passenger seat was able to exit the car and open the door for the person behind him, the door in back opened and a figure quickly emerged.
The blond-haired, blue-eyed young prince, who was still dressed in his pajamas, jumped out of the car, rushed over to them, and hugged Zong Yan. His face was full of excitement.
“Ah, brother, I missed you so much!!!”
TL Notes:
Rejoice – 飘柔 – A brand of shampoo. Previously mentioned in Ch. 56 when Zong Yan was admiring Bubbles’ hair
great minds – 有前途啊有前途 – The original was more like “Promising, ah, promising”
one foot in, one foot out – 身在曹营心在汉 – live in the Cao camp but with one’s heart in the Han camp; stand on one’s side apparently but actually on another’s
loot – 羊毛 – wool – Typically obtained from easy-to-shear sheep
what nonsense – 你骗鬼呢 – You lied, You damn liar, etc.
Transliterated names, titles, and places—in this chapter:
brother – 兄弟 – xiōngdì
[ Project Page | Ko-Fi ✿ | Other translations by Confectioner ]
Finally, with the assistance of the Lord of the Gate, Zong Yan collected some papyrus from the era of the Black Pharaoh.
These well-preserved papyrus documents contained examples of magic patterns that had been lost to history. They each contained patterns that could be combined and rearranged to create formidable new alchemical formations.
With a glance, Zong Yan knew the papyrus sheets had extraordinary significance for modern-day humans. The occult world might seem to be disconnected from the rest of humanity, but in fact they maintained contact with major countries at the highest level. It was no exaggeration to say the occult world’s achievements in magic patterns would eventually make their way into the “scientific” discoveries of various nations, creating a leap forward for human technology.
He thought about it, sifted through the sheets again, and put aside the most dangerous ones. Then he took Yog’s hand, and together they left the pyramid of the Black Pharaoh.
Sometimes too much knowledge would lead to one’s downfall. Similar words were carved into MU’s school rules. They were also among the top three guidelines of the investigator’s handbook.
“Where are we going now?”
The Lord of the Gate glanced sideways. His long hair, like flowing moonlight, fell gently on Zong Yan’s shoulder.
Zong Yan couldn’t resist. He covertly stretched his fingers to catch the strands of soft, falling silver. When he looked up, his gaze collided with a pair of smiling golden eyes.
Startled, he tried to withdraw his hand, but the gray-haired evil god raised a beautiful eyebrow, seeming to indicate his discontentment with this action.
A moment later, the silver hair that fell to Yog’s waist lengthened wildly, turning into thousands upon thousands of living strands of silk, firmly trapping Zong Yan inside them.
Some tendrils went even further, lifting the hem of the black-haired young man’s clothes, diving inside each layer of fabric, striving to achieve zero-distance contact.
“Like my hair so much, hmm?”
""Yog’s voice came from somewhere above him. The words ended in a trailing note with a palpable hint of danger.
Zong Yan, who was wrapped like a mummified dumpling: “…”
Countless silken threads slid suggestively over his body. Some even ran across the inner joints of his legs, stroking lightly. A few tendrils wrapped playfully around his fingers, truly giving him the sensation of hair that was smoother than Rejoice.
To make things even more intense, he was still in a human body. He couldn’t see a thing.
“Enjoy my hair as much as you like.”
As the Lord of the Gate smiled, his movements became extremely tender, and gradually the black-haired young man’s whimpers were muffled in his throat.
“It likes you too… Little Majesty.”
—
After returning from Egypt, they made a trip to Miskatonic University.
MU had recently conducted a vigorous campaign to clean out cultist infiltrators. After all, no one would have dreamed the vice chancellor was actually the high priest of the Sect of R’lyeh. When the truth came out, everyone was shocked.
However, the so-called infiltrator cleaning campaign only managed to catch a few people in the end. Zong Yan looked into it, but he didn’t have much confidence in the school from the start. It was basically stuffed with cultists.
“Many of the people who worship evil gods aren’t fanatics,” said Yog. “Sometimes humans are simply in need of emotional support. Most cultists have clear boundaries. If an evil god asked them to do something contrary to the interests of humanity, they’d change allegiance in a minute.
""“As for how I know that.” The Lord of the Gate sneered. “There are quite a few believers in my sect who joined under the guise of believing in Yog-Sothoth. After they stole the knowledge they were after, they immediately deserted.”
At this point, Yog surveyed Zong Yan up and down with a meaningful look.
Zong Yan: “…”
The latter remembered having the exact same idea when he was at MU. He thought that as soon as he got his hands on physics knowledge, he’d abandon Yog’s religion. He was a little surprised to find out so many other people had the same idea. Great minds ah.
All right, that meant “once an infiltrator, always an infiltrator” wasn’t always true. Even if they were in a cult, their heart was in the right place. One foot in, one foot out, but they’d never betray the interests of humankind.
Zong Yan handed the loot he’d collected from the Black Pharaoh’s pyramid to the Spire Council. The occult world was stunned. The Spire Council awarded him a medal for outstanding contributions.
In fact, Zong Yan didn’t care about the medal. What he cared about was the money. He’d just completed an S-level task, and he couldn’t count how many digits suddenly appeared in his account. Zong Yan stared at the numbers on his bank card with glowing eyes.
After Zong Yan finished wrapping up his mission, he went to England.
After some thought, he decided he couldn’t skip the military training for Tsinghua University. It was necessary to show the correct attitude towards his enrollment.
Besides, he’d still be able to attend the coronation. All he had to do was bring along the Lord of the Gate, that handy time-and-space converter. Going to London was the same as strolling through his own backyard. It couldn’t be more convenient.
Zong Yan was still a little worried about Edward, so he ended up dragging Wang KeMing with him.
Now that Wang KeMing was involved, Zong Yan bought a ticket from the United States to London and enjoyed the service in first class once again.
This time he wasn’t flying on someone else’s dime. Zong Yan bought the ticket with money he’d earned himself and traveled with peace of mind.
By now the situation in Britain had stabilized. Zong Yan didn’t bring Yog with him, and he didn’t notify Edward in advance. He wanted to give his young friend a surprise.
“Do you think it’s a bad idea to show up empty-handed?” After getting off the plane, Wang KeMing scratched his head. He looked down at his suitcase and fell silent.
“Should we go to the hotel first and drop off our luggage?” Zong Yan pondered for a moment.
He didn’t know if people in the UK had the same custom, but Zong Yan and Wang KeMing were Chinese, and Chinese people always had to bring something to the door when they visited, otherwise they’d feel awkward.
Zong Yan thought about it. His friend was about to ascend to the throne. It really wasn’t polite to come to the door empty-handed. They needed to buy some gifts.
But… What kind of gift?
The two clueless straight men looked at each other.
“Yan Ge, I have no idea,” Wang KeMing said with a sad face. “Most of my friends like to make things by hand or play music. All I have to do is buy the latest equipment for their hobby and they’re always happy.”
Wang KeMing firmly believed problems that could be solved with money weren’t real problems. He was extremely skilled at managing his interpersonal relationships and knew the exact preferences of all his friends.
But Edward was different.
He was the crown prince of England and about to become king. The British royal family was famous worldwide for its money and power. They could have anything they wanted. Besides, Wang KeMing had no idea what Edward liked. The young prince was casual and relaxed about everything. There seemed to be nothing that especially interested him aside from his eagerness to make friends with Zong Yan.
Besides, they were in England and they hadn’t brought any specialties from China. In the end, the two slinked awkwardly to Chinatown as a last minute solution and bought snacks and specialties like pickled duck.
Early the next morning, before the sun rose, they headed to the entrance of Buckingham Palace with their bags of gifts. They were immediately halted by the guards.
“Stop! Both of you stop right now, or we’ll be forced to open fire!”
With the upcoming coronation, not only was Buckingham Palace cordoned off, the entire street in front of the palace was blocked. There was round-the-clock surveillance. A gnat would have trouble sneaking in.
Zong Yan and Wang KeMing were obviously Asian, they were carrying large bags filled with packages, and they were acting furtively. The instant the guard gave the order, a swarm of camouflaged agents emerged from random hiding places in the bushes in front of them and leveled their guns at the strangers.
“Put down your packages!”
The guards looked at the bags with nervous faces, afraid the two would suddenly pull out a bomb.
Zong Yan and Wang KeMing: “…”
Zong Yan: “Wait, we’re Ed—Prince Edward’s friends. We came over to see him.”
“God, what nonsense!” The guard captain sneered. “His Royal Highness hasn’t given any orders about visitors. Besides, if you’re really friends of His Royal Highness, why would there be any need for you to come here on foot?
“Quit stalling! Drop your bags or we’ll use force!”
With no other choice, Zong Yan and Wang KeMing had to put down their things. They walked out of the blockaded area under the eyes of the guards.
“Looks like we can’t keep it a surprise anymore. Let’s call Edward.” Zong Yan sighed.
Before he even had a chance to see his friend, the gifts they bought were confiscated. What was with that?
Behind them, all the guards were watching the pair, as if they were looking at dangerous enemies. When Wang KeMing pulled out his phone, the tension abruptly escalated.
The guards were surrounding the pile of gift bags to inspect them, but they dodged away as nimbly as monkeys, without a trace of the elegance of British gentlemen.
No wonder they reacted so strongly. The Italian Mafia had recently developed a new type of bomb which was detonated by phone.
“Hello, Edward. It’s me.”
Zong Yan didn’t pay attention. He took the phone from Wang KeMing and put it to his ear. “We came over to see you. Yes, right at the door. We wanted to surprise you.”
It really seemed like he was pretending.
The guard captain saw the two men weren’t escalating matters, but he didn’t dare to take things lightly.
He’d only been standing there a short while when he heard the sound of a car in the street behind him.
The entrance to the street was blocked, and they were some distance from Buckingham Palace. If the royal family wanted to travel, they’d choose a different route. Of course, there were plenty of options. Buckingham Palace was enormous.
“His Royal Highness Prince Edward is here!”
The announcement came from a distance. The guard captain immediately blew his whistle. The guards ran to the sides of the road to salute.
However, in the middle of the salute, the black Rolls-Royce suddenly stopped.
Then, even before the butler in the passenger seat was able to exit the car and open the door for the person behind him, the door in back opened and a figure quickly emerged.
The blond-haired, blue-eyed young prince, who was still dressed in his pajamas, jumped out of the car, rushed over to them, and hugged Zong Yan. His face was full of excitement.
“Ah, brother, I missed you so much!!!”
TL Notes:
Rejoice – 飘柔 – A brand of shampoo. Previously mentioned in Ch. 56 when Zong Yan was admiring Bubbles’ hair
great minds – 有前途啊有前途 – The original was more like “Promising, ah, promising”
one foot in, one foot out – 身在曹营心在汉 – live in the Cao camp but with one’s heart in the Han camp; stand on one’s side apparently but actually on another’s
loot – 羊毛 – wool – Typically obtained from easy-to-shear sheep
what nonsense – 你骗鬼呢 – You lied, You damn liar, etc.
Transliterated names, titles, and places—in this chapter:
brother – 兄弟 – xiōngdì
[ Project Page | Ko-Fi ✿ | Other translations by Confectioner ]
