DPM Chapter 68
Translated by Snowfall77
Wu Xingyun didn’t get up when Ye Fan left. As much as possible, Wu Xingyun wanted to avail himself of valuable extra rest.
Ye Fan was gone, and Wu Xingyun might encounter difficulties. Thus Wu Xingyun needed to know how to resolve them himself.
The first two days were very tranquil, not like Wu Xingyun was someone who liked to cause trouble. He continued to go every day to receive Wang Ruoxu’s ‘holy water,’ so he could keep living. After which he sincerely toiled at whatever his assigned hard labor was.
On the third day, Wu Xingyun once again drank the water and was about to leave, when Wang Ruoxu called to him.
“Wu Yun, please stay.”
The other people rather rapidly left the hall, only the Wang brothers remaining.
Wang Qiang stood in front of the gate, arms folded across his chest. Wang Ruoxu still sat cross-legged on his mat, eyes half-narrowed, looking Wu Xingyun up and down.
Sensing a odd, dangerous mood in the air, Wu Xingyun immediately raised his guard.
“Can I help you with something?” Wu Xingyun asked.
Twirling his goatee, Wang Ruoxu gave an overdone caricature of profundity: “We’re in the middle of trying to practice an advanced Tao skill. We need a special person and we believe it to be you, so we will be asking for your help.”
While Wang Ruoxu was driveling, Wu Xingyun was already carefully surveying his surroundings.
Wang Qiang, the strongest mutant in the city, was blocking the gate, thereby barring Wu Xingyun’s escape route.
By positioning himself there, Wang Qiang controlled the exit. Since Wu Xingyun was only a ordinary person, and if the Wang brothers wanted to capture Wu Xingyun as a hostage, Wang Qiang had strategically chosen. Wu Xingyun had never seen the true extent of Wang Qiang’s strength, though Wu Xingyun surmised it was vastly higher than his own. If it came to a fight, and Wu Xingyun couldn’t take Wang Qiang in one strike, Wu Xingyun would be in considerable trouble.
Wu Xingyun decided to suss out the situation first. “Yes,” he said, “I’d be happy to help any way I can.”
Wang Ruoxu slightly sneered with a “hehe,” adding: “Good, I’m delighted. Well, let Wang Qiang tell you about it, I’ll go prepare first.”
Watching Wang Ruoxu spring up and walk through the hall to the inner glass room, Wu Xingyun’s heart was uneasy. Things were too strange.
Wang Qiang took a step closer to Wu Xingyun, hands akimbo: “It’s like this. My elder brother practices from ancient texts, and for the good of everyone, he wants to advance even further. He needs your cooperation. If you’re well-behaved, do as instructed, in the future we’ll treat you well. At least better than that Ye Fan joker.”
Wu Xingyun noted Wang Qiang’s sly tone. Whatever this was about, it was going to be a difficult thing. They’d sent Ye Fan away, ensuring he left normal Wu Xingyun behind. The two brothers were plotting?
“I’ll do my best,” Wu Xingyun falsely promised, “What do you want me to do?”
“My elder brother needs yin to feed his yang,” Wang Qiang said, “He made calculations of the birthdays of everyone in the city. Your birthday has the most yin. So, if you assist him, afterwards you’ll gain many benefits.
Wu Xingyun didn’t completely understand the Taoist term “gathering yin to tonify yang.” However, he’d impulsively made up the birthdate he’d given Wang Ruoxu. Therefore it was impossible that he actually fulfilled the requirements.
“It’s not that I don’t want to help, but my birthday……” Wu Xingyun said, “The counting method isn’t the same……” His voice trailed off. Seeing Wang Qiang’s jaw clenching, Wu Xingyun realized that nothing he said now would change anything. So he simply asked: “How am I to help him?”
“Hehe.” Wang Qiang walked a circle around Wu Xingyun, eyes wantonly sizing up the soldier’s body, until coming to rest on Wu Xingyun’s rear. “Do you really not understand, or are you just pretending to not understand? I’m talking about fucking. Don’t you and Ye Fan do it enough?”
" "Startled, Wu Xingyun stared blankly, though he now unequivocally understood. He couldn’t help feeling his body clench at knowing the Wang brothers’ intentions.
Wu Xingyun also couldn’t help being incredulous that Wang Ruoxu had landed on him. Frankly, Wu Xingyun knew he was plain and lacked sex appeal. Whereas the women the Wang brothers slept with had at least a bit of good looks. Why suddenly the idea of men? Unless all this was actually targeted at Ye Fan?
Questions piled up in Wu Xingyun’s mind, but he didn’t have the time to solve them. With Wang Qiang looking like he was about ready to use force, Wu Xingyun spoke quickly: “This……It doesn’t matter to me, I’m just worried Ye Fan will be unhappy when he gets back.”
“Humph,” went Wang Qiang, “You don’t have to worry about that one. You only have to consider yourself. Now, if you’re willing, follow me so you can wash your ass clean.”
Wang Qiang spoke while walking, not looking back. Knowing his strength unequal to the mutant’s, Wu Xingyun didn’t try to escape. Furthermore, Wu Xingyun was now more anxious about Ye Fan’s safety than his own.
Full of apprehension, Wu Xingyun followed Wang Qiang. At last they came to a bathhouse with a filled tub, the water still warm.
Giving every appearance of being sincerely well-behaved, Wu Xingyun went in. Though when Wang Qiang kept loitering, Wu Xingyun said: “I’m not used to being watched. Can I bathe by myself? Be assured, Wang Ruoxu is my life-saving benefactor. I’ll repay him as I ought to.” Wu Xingyun paused for a moment, as if thinking. “I……Afterwards, can I have some fresh meat and vegetables? I’ve been eating porridge for many days.”
Seeing that Wu Xingyun was being obedient, not showing the least bit of unwillingness, and even taking the initiative to ask for benefits, Wang Qiang had no misgivings. He summoned two other mutants to guard the door while he advanced to Wang Ruoxu’s room.
Despite Wu Xingyun’s conjecture that Wang Ruoxu had ulterior motives, Wu Xingyun was actually overthinking it.
Wang Ruoxu’s purpose for getting rid of Ye Fan for a spell and calling on Wu Xingyun was precisely what Wang Ruoxu had told Wu Xingyun.
Wang Ruoxu had been a Taoist priest before the end days, though he’d never read much of what had been available to him. When disaster struck the world, Wang Ruoxu had fled, managed to find his younger brother, and together they’d occupied Xi’an.
Only then had Wang Ruoxu started to pay attention to the ancient texts of the temple. Some of them were quite abstruse, and Wang Ruoxu, who hadn’t been fond of studying before, was unable to make much sense of the traditional writing style.
Now that they were in a new savage age, Wang Ruoxu knew the texts would be useful. Unfortunately, his education level was pitifully low, and even if he wanted to study, he couldn’t find a teacher.
Neither was he willing to let others see the texts. Therefore he only had Wang Qiang to help decipher their meanings.
Of course, Wang Qiang’s schooling wasn’t that high either, and he couldn’t understand any better than Wang Ruoxu. But with blind guesses and luck, they managed to make some progress.
Most of the books Wang Ruoxu had retrieved were the usual Taoist standards, like Baopuzi, the Dao De Jing, and so on. Then there was a lone book, with no other copies, from the temple that used recondite and cryptic language. Within the book were strange methods of practicing. Even more astonishing, the words ‘Saer thick fog’ were written in the book, seemingly prophesying the fog’s incursion of the earth.
A few days earlier, Wang Ruoxu had finally nabbed a university student to translate these writings.
The university student had been a junior in language studies, only managing to translate two pages before being killed on Wang Ruoxu’s orders. Wang Ruoxu had feared the student might have loose lips or be dishonest, and had therefore silenced the student prematurely.
And even with just those two pages, Wang Ruoxu already stood to greatly profit. Practicing the translated methods with Wang Qiang, both brothers felt their martial force grow by leaps and bounds. This was also where Wang Ruoxu found the phrase “gathering yin to tonify yang,” and an ‘utmost yin.’
Wang Ruoxu believed that the ‘utmost yin’ wasn’t contained within a woman, instead it was referring to the ‘yin’ and ‘yang’ of a man, a dark mysterious theory that practically sent Wang Ruoxu round the bend. Taking everyone’s birthdates, Wang Ruoxu spent a long time doing his astrological calculations, before finding that it was Wu Xingyun’s birthdate that fell in line with the ‘utmost yin’ descriptor.
Wang Ruoxu had wanted to get his hands on Wu Xingyun right away, yet he did have a slight fear of Ye Fan.
When Ye Fan went out to hunt, he would demonstrate his strength and skill, earning the city residents’ respect.
Consequently, it was Wang Qiang who came up with the plan of sending Ye Fan away on a task. Without Ye Fan, Wu Xingyun, an ordinary person, was easily grasped.
Now, suffering tiny pangs of guilt, Wang Ruoxu said: “What if Ye Fan comes back……”
Wang Qiang, on the other hand, had long since been resentful of Ye Fan. Ye Fan got along well with the other mutants, did his work properly, was especially powerful and strong, and possessed a faint amount of prestige. All of which made Ye Fan a threat to Wang Qiang. Wang Qiang didn’t want Ye Fan to stay, he wanted to eliminate Ye Fan.
Just that Wang Ruoxu set a little too much store by Ye Fan, and certainly wouldn’t chase Ye Fan away permanently. So Wang Qiang had to get what he wanted roundaboutly. By the time Ye Fan got back to see this scene with Wu Xingyun unfolding, there’d assuredly be conflict. When that happened, Wang Ruoxu wouldn’t speak up for Ye Fan anymore.
Pleased with these thoughts, Wang Qiang said: “Elder brother, you don’t need to be afraid of Ye Fan. He won’t return for at least half a month. We began this pratice today, by the time Ye Fan gets back, we’ll have already greatly advanced. If he knows what’s good for him, he won’t try to stop us from continuing to sleep with Wu Yun. And if he can’t be reasonable, why should we be anxious? What’s more valuable? Ye Fan or the methods of this great book?”
Hearing his brother’s words, Wang Ruoxu let go of his fretting over Ye Fan.
“Besides,” Wang Qiang continued, “I already explained to Wu Yun what’s expected, and he seems plenty willing. He understands we can do more for him than Ye Fan ever could. Isn’t it the way of the world to follow the strongest?”
Wang Ruoxu nodded energetically, feeling his younger brother made a lot of sense: “Good. When Wu Yun comes, I’ll have him first, then you next.”
Not actually wanting to fuck a man in the slightest, Wang Ruoxu consoled himself with thoughts of how beneficial it would be. If the method was as good as the book claimed, he could have an invincible, incorruptible body and see clearly to great distances. Sleeping with a man was worth it.
The two brothers were each wrapped up in their own beautiful thoughts, but eventually tired of waiting for Wu Xingyun to make his appearance. Irritated, Wang Qiang declared: “I’m going to go see why he isn’t here yet. How long does it take to wash your ass?!”
But before Wang Qiang could leave the glass room, he saw the two mutants guards running towards him, appearing panicked. “No, it’s no good……Wu Yun has disappeared!”
Hearing the news first, Wang Qiang went soft in the knees. If Wu Yun was gone, that meant he was not in fact willing to be with the two brothers. Instead, Wu Yun would surely seek out Ye Fan for help. Furthermore, without Wu Yun, the brothers wouldn’t be able to succeed at this new practice. They would have wasted their efforts and achieved nothing.
Behind Wang Qiang, Wang Ruoxu asked: “Younger brother, why has that young man still not come?”
Wang Qiang stomped his feet: “Brother! He’s run away!”
“What?!” Wang Ruoxu stared blankly for a moment, then both brothers glanced at each other, saying in unison: “Blockade the whole city, search everywhere, we must catch him!”
tonify (third-person singular simple present tonifies, present participle tonifying, simple past and past participle tonified)
(traditional Chinese medicine) To increase the available energy of
(more generally) To invigorate; to have a restorative effect on.
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/tonify
rebalance qi using tonification, a therapy that’s said to improve energy flow.
https://www.healthline.com/health/tonification
抱朴子Bàopǔzǐ
collection of essays by Ge Hong 葛洪 on alchemy, immortality, legalism, society etc
道德经[dào dé jīng]
Dao De Jing: The Classic of the Virtue of the Tao (by the ancient philosopher Lao Zi)
DPM Chapter 68
Translated by Snowfall77
Wu Xingyun didn’t get up when Ye Fan left. As much as possible, Wu Xingyun wanted to avail himself of valuable extra rest.
Ye Fan was gone, and Wu Xingyun might encounter difficulties. Thus Wu Xingyun needed to know how to resolve them himself.
The first two days were very tranquil, not like Wu Xingyun was someone who liked to cause trouble. He continued to go every day to receive Wang Ruoxu’s ‘holy water,’ so he could keep living. After which he sincerely toiled at whatever his assigned hard labor was.
On the third day, Wu Xingyun once again drank the water and was about to leave, when Wang Ruoxu called to him.
“Wu Yun, please stay.”
The other people rather rapidly left the hall, only the Wang brothers remaining.
Wang Qiang stood in front of the gate, arms folded across his chest. Wang Ruoxu still sat cross-legged on his mat, eyes half-narrowed, looking Wu Xingyun up and down.
Sensing a odd, dangerous mood in the air, Wu Xingyun immediately raised his guard.
“Can I help you with something?” Wu Xingyun asked.
Twirling his goatee, Wang Ruoxu gave an overdone caricature of profundity: “We’re in the middle of trying to practice an advanced Tao skill. We need a special person and we believe it to be you, so we will be asking for your help.”
While Wang Ruoxu was driveling, Wu Xingyun was already carefully surveying his surroundings.
Wang Qiang, the strongest mutant in the city, was blocking the gate, thereby barring Wu Xingyun’s escape route.
By positioning himself there, Wang Qiang controlled the exit. Since Wu Xingyun was only a ordinary person, and if the Wang brothers wanted to capture Wu Xingyun as a hostage, Wang Qiang had strategically chosen. Wu Xingyun had never seen the true extent of Wang Qiang’s strength, though Wu Xingyun surmised it was vastly higher than his own. If it came to a fight, and Wu Xingyun couldn’t take Wang Qiang in one strike, Wu Xingyun would be in considerable trouble.
Wu Xingyun decided to suss out the situation first. “Yes,” he said, “I’d be happy to help any way I can.”
Wang Ruoxu slightly sneered with a “hehe,” adding: “Good, I’m delighted. Well, let Wang Qiang tell you about it, I’ll go prepare first.”
Watching Wang Ruoxu spring up and walk through the hall to the inner glass room, Wu Xingyun’s heart was uneasy. Things were too strange.
Wang Qiang took a step closer to Wu Xingyun, hands akimbo: “It’s like this. My elder brother practices from ancient texts, and for the good of everyone, he wants to advance even further. He needs your cooperation. If you’re well-behaved, do as instructed, in the future we’ll treat you well. At least better than that Ye Fan joker.”
Wu Xingyun noted Wang Qiang’s sly tone. Whatever this was about, it was going to be a difficult thing. They’d sent Ye Fan away, ensuring he left normal Wu Xingyun behind. The two brothers were plotting?
“I’ll do my best,” Wu Xingyun falsely promised, “What do you want me to do?”
“My elder brother needs yin to feed his yang,” Wang Qiang said, “He made calculations of the birthdays of everyone in the city. Your birthday has the most yin. So, if you assist him, afterwards you’ll gain many benefits.
Wu Xingyun didn’t completely understand the Taoist term “gathering yin to tonify yang.” However, he’d impulsively made up the birthdate he’d given Wang Ruoxu. Therefore it was impossible that he actually fulfilled the requirements.
“It’s not that I don’t want to help, but my birthday……” Wu Xingyun said, “The counting method isn’t the same……” His voice trailed off. Seeing Wang Qiang’s jaw clenching, Wu Xingyun realized that nothing he said now would change anything. So he simply asked: “How am I to help him?”
“Hehe.” Wang Qiang walked a circle around Wu Xingyun, eyes wantonly sizing up the soldier’s body, until coming to rest on Wu Xingyun’s rear. “Do you really not understand, or are you just pretending to not understand? I’m talking about fucking. Don’t you and Ye Fan do it enough?”
" "Startled, Wu Xingyun stared blankly, though he now unequivocally understood. He couldn’t help feeling his body clench at knowing the Wang brothers’ intentions.
Wu Xingyun also couldn’t help being incredulous that Wang Ruoxu had landed on him. Frankly, Wu Xingyun knew he was plain and lacked sex appeal. Whereas the women the Wang brothers slept with had at least a bit of good looks. Why suddenly the idea of men? Unless all this was actually targeted at Ye Fan?
Questions piled up in Wu Xingyun’s mind, but he didn’t have the time to solve them. With Wang Qiang looking like he was about ready to use force, Wu Xingyun spoke quickly: “This……It doesn’t matter to me, I’m just worried Ye Fan will be unhappy when he gets back.”
“Humph,” went Wang Qiang, “You don’t have to worry about that one. You only have to consider yourself. Now, if you’re willing, follow me so you can wash your ass clean.”
Wang Qiang spoke while walking, not looking back. Knowing his strength unequal to the mutant’s, Wu Xingyun didn’t try to escape. Furthermore, Wu Xingyun was now more anxious about Ye Fan’s safety than his own.
Full of apprehension, Wu Xingyun followed Wang Qiang. At last they came to a bathhouse with a filled tub, the water still warm.
Giving every appearance of being sincerely well-behaved, Wu Xingyun went in. Though when Wang Qiang kept loitering, Wu Xingyun said: “I’m not used to being watched. Can I bathe by myself? Be assured, Wang Ruoxu is my life-saving benefactor. I’ll repay him as I ought to.” Wu Xingyun paused for a moment, as if thinking. “I……Afterwards, can I have some fresh meat and vegetables? I’ve been eating porridge for many days.”
Seeing that Wu Xingyun was being obedient, not showing the least bit of unwillingness, and even taking the initiative to ask for benefits, Wang Qiang had no misgivings. He summoned two other mutants to guard the door while he advanced to Wang Ruoxu’s room.
Despite Wu Xingyun’s conjecture that Wang Ruoxu had ulterior motives, Wu Xingyun was actually overthinking it.
Wang Ruoxu’s purpose for getting rid of Ye Fan for a spell and calling on Wu Xingyun was precisely what Wang Ruoxu had told Wu Xingyun.
Wang Ruoxu had been a Taoist priest before the end days, though he’d never read much of what had been available to him. When disaster struck the world, Wang Ruoxu had fled, managed to find his younger brother, and together they’d occupied Xi’an.
Only then had Wang Ruoxu started to pay attention to the ancient texts of the temple. Some of them were quite abstruse, and Wang Ruoxu, who hadn’t been fond of studying before, was unable to make much sense of the traditional writing style.
Now that they were in a new savage age, Wang Ruoxu knew the texts would be useful. Unfortunately, his education level was pitifully low, and even if he wanted to study, he couldn’t find a teacher.
Neither was he willing to let others see the texts. Therefore he only had Wang Qiang to help decipher their meanings.
Of course, Wang Qiang’s schooling wasn’t that high either, and he couldn’t understand any better than Wang Ruoxu. But with blind guesses and luck, they managed to make some progress.
Most of the books Wang Ruoxu had retrieved were the usual Taoist standards, like Baopuzi, the Dao De Jing, and so on. Then there was a lone book, with no other copies, from the temple that used recondite and cryptic language. Within the book were strange methods of practicing. Even more astonishing, the words ‘Saer thick fog’ were written in the book, seemingly prophesying the fog’s incursion of the earth.
A few days earlier, Wang Ruoxu had finally nabbed a university student to translate these writings.
The university student had been a junior in language studies, only managing to translate two pages before being killed on Wang Ruoxu’s orders. Wang Ruoxu had feared the student might have loose lips or be dishonest, and had therefore silenced the student prematurely.
And even with just those two pages, Wang Ruoxu already stood to greatly profit. Practicing the translated methods with Wang Qiang, both brothers felt their martial force grow by leaps and bounds. This was also where Wang Ruoxu found the phrase “gathering yin to tonify yang,” and an ‘utmost yin.’
Wang Ruoxu believed that the ‘utmost yin’ wasn’t contained within a woman, instead it was referring to the ‘yin’ and ‘yang’ of a man, a dark mysterious theory that practically sent Wang Ruoxu round the bend. Taking everyone’s birthdates, Wang Ruoxu spent a long time doing his astrological calculations, before finding that it was Wu Xingyun’s birthdate that fell in line with the ‘utmost yin’ descriptor.
Wang Ruoxu had wanted to get his hands on Wu Xingyun right away, yet he did have a slight fear of Ye Fan.
When Ye Fan went out to hunt, he would demonstrate his strength and skill, earning the city residents’ respect.
Consequently, it was Wang Qiang who came up with the plan of sending Ye Fan away on a task. Without Ye Fan, Wu Xingyun, an ordinary person, was easily grasped.
Now, suffering tiny pangs of guilt, Wang Ruoxu said: “What if Ye Fan comes back……”
Wang Qiang, on the other hand, had long since been resentful of Ye Fan. Ye Fan got along well with the other mutants, did his work properly, was especially powerful and strong, and possessed a faint amount of prestige. All of which made Ye Fan a threat to Wang Qiang. Wang Qiang didn’t want Ye Fan to stay, he wanted to eliminate Ye Fan.
Just that Wang Ruoxu set a little too much store by Ye Fan, and certainly wouldn’t chase Ye Fan away permanently. So Wang Qiang had to get what he wanted roundaboutly. By the time Ye Fan got back to see this scene with Wu Xingyun unfolding, there’d assuredly be conflict. When that happened, Wang Ruoxu wouldn’t speak up for Ye Fan anymore.
Pleased with these thoughts, Wang Qiang said: “Elder brother, you don’t need to be afraid of Ye Fan. He won’t return for at least half a month. We began this pratice today, by the time Ye Fan gets back, we’ll have already greatly advanced. If he knows what’s good for him, he won’t try to stop us from continuing to sleep with Wu Yun. And if he can’t be reasonable, why should we be anxious? What’s more valuable? Ye Fan or the methods of this great book?”
Hearing his brother’s words, Wang Ruoxu let go of his fretting over Ye Fan.
“Besides,” Wang Qiang continued, “I already explained to Wu Yun what’s expected, and he seems plenty willing. He understands we can do more for him than Ye Fan ever could. Isn’t it the way of the world to follow the strongest?”
Wang Ruoxu nodded energetically, feeling his younger brother made a lot of sense: “Good. When Wu Yun comes, I’ll have him first, then you next.”
Not actually wanting to fuck a man in the slightest, Wang Ruoxu consoled himself with thoughts of how beneficial it would be. If the method was as good as the book claimed, he could have an invincible, incorruptible body and see clearly to great distances. Sleeping with a man was worth it.
The two brothers were each wrapped up in their own beautiful thoughts, but eventually tired of waiting for Wu Xingyun to make his appearance. Irritated, Wang Qiang declared: “I’m going to go see why he isn’t here yet. How long does it take to wash your ass?!”
But before Wang Qiang could leave the glass room, he saw the two mutants guards running towards him, appearing panicked. “No, it’s no good……Wu Yun has disappeared!”
Hearing the news first, Wang Qiang went soft in the knees. If Wu Yun was gone, that meant he was not in fact willing to be with the two brothers. Instead, Wu Yun would surely seek out Ye Fan for help. Furthermore, without Wu Yun, the brothers wouldn’t be able to succeed at this new practice. They would have wasted their efforts and achieved nothing.
Behind Wang Qiang, Wang Ruoxu asked: “Younger brother, why has that young man still not come?”
Wang Qiang stomped his feet: “Brother! He’s run away!”
“What?!” Wang Ruoxu stared blankly for a moment, then both brothers glanced at each other, saying in unison: “Blockade the whole city, search everywhere, we must catch him!”
tonify (third-person singular simple present tonifies, present participle tonifying, simple past and past participle tonified)
(traditional Chinese medicine) To increase the available energy of
(more generally) To invigorate; to have a restorative effect on.
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/tonify
rebalance qi using tonification, a therapy that’s said to improve energy flow.
https://www.healthline.com/health/tonification
抱朴子Bàopǔzǐ
collection of essays by Ge Hong 葛洪 on alchemy, immortality, legalism, society etc
道德经[dào dé jīng]
Dao De Jing: The Classic of the Virtue of the Tao (by the ancient philosopher Lao Zi)
