Translated by: Niladri
Edited by: Kiki
________________
The black-garbed man outside the room realized that the person beside Duan Feiqing wasn't his weakness. Instead, the other person was far more dangerous than he had thought. He let out a whistle and the men in black started retreating as fast as they entered. In an instant, they cleanly withdrew and took away the bodies of their companions.
Only a few piles of clothes were littered in and outside the room. The courtyard was awfully peaceful after such a conflict took place. The rest of the guests stayed inside with their doors closed. They didn’t want to lose their lives because of curiosity.
Duan Feiqing turned around, and carefully examined Lu Heng a few times. After confirming that he had not been harmed, his somewhat frightening expression returned to normal. Lu Heng knew that this person was obsessive so he didn't feel that the other person was looking down on him. He just stood there quietly and allowed the other person to examine him.
“Dearest Heng, these men in black belong to the mysterious organization that has been chasing me.”
Lu Heng wanted to ask something, but lingering within the smell of blood, he caught a familiar smell. The source of the smell was the clothes left by the black-garbed man. After thinking about it, Lu Heng picked up his sword and shook the clothes on the ground. Sure enough, a little black bug fell out.
The little black bug was quite vicious. As soon as it landed on the ground, it turned around a few times, and seeming to want to bite one of them. But when it turned towards Lu Heng, it appeared to have seen something extremely terrifying and turned around to flee towards the door. But then, a small snake that suddenly appeared at the threshold took it into its mouth.
“Little Silver, don’t swallow it!” Lu Heng whispered.
The silver snake blinked twice with mung bean sized eyes, and then spat out the black bug that had reached its throat. It looked at the bug somewhat aggrieved, then climbed to Lu Heng’s feet, rubbing itself against him.
“Little Silver, you have worked hard.” Lu Heng bent down and patted its head. After being pacified, the little snake climbed up to Lu Heng’s ankle and bit its tail. It changed its appearance to an ordinary silver ankle bracelet.
“Is this a Gu?” Duan Feiqing picked up the black insect that had been killed by the snake with the tip of his sword and walked over.
Lu Heng nodded, took out a small porcelain bottle and put the bug in. This Gu was a little strange. He needed to carefully study it.
The Gu that the Miao people used were high rank ones. Every single Gu in the Miao territory had been under Lu Heng's control ever since he came out of the Thousand Gu Cave. No matter which Miao person was in charge of a Gu, they would all bow and pay homage before Lu Heng. Just now, the black bug wanted to attack somebody but fled after noticing Lu Heng's aura. This Gu clearly wasn't from the Miao area.
“Senior martial brother, sister Gouma, are you all right?” Fang Qingwan appeared at the door, worried.
Just now she heard the fight in the room. She wanted to go in and have a look. However, when she opened the door, she saw a small silver snake guarding thedoor. In addition, there was a pile of pitch black clothes on the ground. Fang Qingwan desperately wanted to help, but the little snake prevented her from stepping out out of the room.
After traveling with Lu Heng all the way from Miao territory, Fang Qingwan knew that the little snake was brought by Lu Heng, and she also knew how powerful the little snake was. The little silver snake had remained quietly coiled in front of the door. Every time Fang Qingwan wanted to go out, it bared its fangs at her. She was forced to remain within the room. She was only able to come out after the noise died down and the snake left.
“It's nothing. Are you alright, junior martial sister Fang? ” Duan Feiqing just asked out of courtesy. When he and Lu Heng had been discussing about the <<mind sutra of demons>>, he asked Lu Heng to let the snake Gu go out and guard the door to Fang Qingwan's room.
The <<mind sutra of demons>> was a very sensitive topic, and Duan Feiqing knew from his previous interactions with his dearest Heng that when they were together with one another, every bit of their attention would be on the other person, and their vigilance towards the outside world would be reduced compared to other times. If Fang Qingwan accidentally learnt about <<mind sutra of demons>>, it would be really troublesome. He did not want to use the soul capture technique on innocent people.
“Senior martial brother, those people in black…” Fang Qingwan wanted to say something, but she stopped and glanced at Lu Heng.
Duan Feiqing looked along her line of sight, and then gently said, “It's okay, dearest Heng knows everything about me.”
Fang Qingwan secretly felt a little sour. She calmed her mind and said, “are these people in black the same people who destroyed our Fang family?”
The Fang family of Kaifeng, like the Duan family of Anyang, was a famous family in martial arts circle. Six years ago, the Fang family was destroyed by a group of people in black similar to the Duan Family tragedy. Fang Qingwan, who was only 10 years old at that time, survived only because she was playing in her aunt’s house during the attack.
“We can't rashly jump to such a conclusion. Younger martial sister Fang, it’s getting late. We have to return tomorrow. Why don’t you go back to your room and catch some rest? “
Duan Feiqing’s tone seemed gentle and polite, but Fang Qingwan knew that this was how her senior martial brother usually spoke. She dazedly went out of the door.
As soon as she came out, the cool night wind brought Fang Qingwan somewhat back to her senses. If it was getting late, why was senior martial brother still staying in sister Gouma’s room? No, the question should be why did senior martial brother remain in sister Gouma's room for this long?
Is this the same senior martial brother of the Taichu sect who never meets with the female disciples alone, and even if he had to discuss important and private matters with women alone, he always chooses a spacious and publicly visible space?
For the moment, no matter what, the junior martial sister Fang kept tossing and turning in her sleep.
Lu Heng was sitting at the table here, holding the small porcelain bottle with the unknown Gu and turned it around gently on his fingers. The art of refining Gu in Miao territory has never been passed on to outsiders, which gave rise to a faint guess in Lu Heng's mind.
“What’s the matter with the man in black?” Seeing that Duan Feiqing had cleaned up the mess and sat beside him, Lu Heng asked, “In the letter you left, didn't you say that Feng Weifang’s mind was under your control?”
Duan Feiqing nodded and said, “In recent years, I have found out several dark tendrils of this mysterious organization through Feng Weifang. In Southwest Mainland, several sects have ties with this mysterious organization. All of its tendrils in this region are already in my grasp."
All the stuff just now made Lu Heng thirsty. He poured a cup of tea and was just about to gulp it down when Duan Feiqing gently held his wrist: “Dearest Heng, the tea is cold. Please wait a moment.”
Duan Feiqing got up and brought the kettle on the small stove to make tea for Lu Heng. The tea set used in the inn was not of high quality porcelain, but Duan Feiqing’s actions while brewing the tea were so pleasing to the eye that it seemed that the rough tea set was also covered with glittering luster.
“It’s just a year ago that I suffered an accidental internal injury, which weakened my control over the Demonic method. Although the time is very short, but I don’t know why it was detected by the people behind the scenes. That person decisively decided to give up all his forces in the southwest to come after my life." Duan Feiqing put the tea in front of Lu Heng.
“Have you tried using soul capture on people with ties to this?" Lu Heng took a look at the man in front of him whose appeared just like a gentle young master from an aristocratic family. When soul captured was used on a person, they would lose all control and thought, becoming a puppet in Duan Feiqing’s hands. As long as he gave a order, even if the other person was unwilling, they wouldn't be able to resist.
Lu Heng doesn’t think that this man’s means were cruel. In the art of Gu techniques, it wasn't uncommon to control people with Gu. He suddenly recalled a certain name for people like this- black sesame buns.
T/N: Took liberty with translation. The word used basically refers to someone who is beautiful and gentle (white) on the outside, while vicious (pitch black) on the inside. Literally means this food:
Duan Feiqing asked hesitantly, “Dearest Heng, do you think I’m too cruel?”
“Fool, among all the techniques of refining Gu, there are methods way more cruel than this.” Lu Heng laughed and saw relief wash over the man's face. He said, “I’m going to sleep. Do you still want to go?”
Duan Feiqing, however, looked at the open window and the door that had been destroyed and could not be closed. On the ground, there was the corpse water left by the man in black. He frowned slightly and said, “Dearestah Heng, this place is too dirty to live in. It seems that the inn is full, so why don’t you come to my room and get some rest?"
Lu Heng looked at Duan Feiqing with an indescribable look. Although he was a man, Duan Feiqing didn't know. It wasn't appropriate for a single man and an unmarried woman to live in the same room. No, bah, bah, bah, what a single man and unmarried woman? These women’s clothes are starting to lead me astray. For the first time, Lu Heng felt like he was going too far.
Seeing Lu Hen's expression, Duan Feiqing realized that his words were not appropriate: “Dearest Heng, don’t worry about it. I’ll guard you outside the door.”
It was late autumn, and the night dew was heavy. Even those who practiced martial arts would be uncomfortable to spend a night outside.
“It doesn’t matter. Miao people don’t care that much. We can divide the quilt and sleep on the ground.” Lu Heng said.
Translated by: Niladri
Edited by: Kiki
________________
The next day.
After compensating the inn for their losses, the three waited at the front door for the waiter to bring the horses out. However, the waiter soon walked out with an apologetic expression.
“Esteemed guests, I’m truly sorry.”
It turned out that some poisonous weeds accidentally got mixed with the newly arrived horse feed in the inn yesterday. One of the three horses had the misfortune to eat the particular batch that got mixed with the poisonous weed. When the waiter went to fetch the horse, he found that the horse was lying dead on the ground. As a result, the inn refunded the accommodation fee and the compensation that had barely warmed up in his hands back to Lu Heng's trio.
“Sister Gouma, why don’t you and I ride together?” Fang Qingwan suggested. This was the most appropriate solution. Good horses were rare in Qingyang County and if they bought a bad horse, it wouldn't be able to keep up with their pace.
“No." Naturally, Lu Heng refused. How could he ride with a woman? He didn’t want to ruin her reputation.
However, when he saw Fang Qingwan's dumbstruck expression, Lu Heng suddenly remembered that he was currently disguised as a woman. He just made a random excuse: “I’m sorry, I’m not used to being close to people I’m not familiar with.”
“Dearest Heng, if you don’t mind, how about riding with me?”
Qingyang County was located in the southwest basin, rife with the countryside's picturesque scenery. In late autumn, frost tipped the red autumn leaves. The weeds were starting to turn yellow, their reflections dancing on the beautiful, shimmering creek. Such a landscape, blanketed with fallen leaves, could never be seen in the Miao territory, which had a tropical climate all year around.
Duan Feiqing deliberately slowed down the horse's pace and let Lu Heng enjoy the scenery that was completely different from the Miao territory. Seeing Lu Heng’s face beaming with admiration, Duan Feiqing felt warmth in his heart and whispered in the other person's ear: “There's also beautiful sceneries of the frozen north outside the Great Wall. When these disputes are over, I will accompany you to see them one by one.”
“If I want to see it, I can see it myself.” Lu Heng curled his lips.
Lu Heng felt the chest behind him rumble violently. The warm breath that the man let out when he was laughing caressed the back of his neck, making Lu Heng a little uncomfortable.
In order to better his disguise, Lu Heng used secret methods to control his body shape, making this body as petite as possible. Although he still seemed a lot taller than the average woman, in front of Duan Feiqing, he was more than half a head shorter. Now he was sitting in front of him, almost embedded in the arms of the man behind him. In order to divert his attention, Lu Heng looked around and found that Fang Qingwan was so far ahead that he could barely see her.
“Why is she riding so fast?” Lu Heng looked at the figure riding gracefully ahead of them, baffled. What could be seen of her back was slowly vanishing among the cloud of dust.
“I’ve been away from the sect for a long time. Now, I'm finally returning.”
Lu Heng was trying to say something when a bobcat suddenly flashed past. The passing beast was too close to the horse, startling it into rearing up. Lu Heng, born in Miao territory, was not good at riding, and lost his balance at that moment. Fortunately, Duan Feiqing caught him.
Lu Heng didn’t pay attention to this incident. He was still interested in the roadside scenery and didn't notice Duan Feiqing’s strange expression behind him.
Duan Feiqing protected the man in front of him with one hand and controlled the horse forward with the other hand. Doubts colored his mind. In his haste, his palm had fallen on Lu Heng’s chest. Although Duan Feiqing never had close contact with a woman, he heard the servants talk about going to brothels before when he was at the sect. To summarize, he had learnt that the body of a woman was different from that of a man and her chest was softer.
Duan Feiqing’s palm subconsciously tightened. During that moment of rudeness, he felt that his beloved's chest was as flat as a board and also strong to the touch. Duan Feiqing was a man of meticulous thoughts. He recalled the accident by the Crescent Lake a few years ago and his daily life with Lu Heng. A faint guess arose in his mind.
Lu Heng, like him, was also a man. Duan Feiqing was unexpectedly calm, and there was no anger in his heart for being deceived. He knew that his dear Heng must have suffered.
It's just that he had always regarded Lu Heng as his future wife. Now that he knew his real gender, Duan Feiqing consciously needed to adjust his mentality. As a man, how can you treat him as his wife? If the other person knew about it, he might be filled with rage from embarrassment and break off their friendship.
Every time Duan Feiqing thought about that possibility, he felt like falling into an ice cave. He would never allow this kind of thing to happen. From today on, he will take care of his dearest Heng as his younger brother. In any case, in his heart, the other person was more important than his own life.
Although Duan Feiqing thought like that, when Lu Heng felt tired and leaned into his arms, he felt his heart beat faster as he subconsciously hugged the other person. However, treating another man as a beloved would only be an insult. Duan Feiqing felt like he needed to wake himself up.
Duan Feiqing, who didn’t know that being a cut-sleeve was a thing, fell into endless self loathing.
[T/N: Cut-sleeve means homosexual. There is a whole story about how an emperor, who had a male lover was reluctant to wake him up when he fell asleep on his sleeve and instead chose to cut off the sleeve with his blade instead]When Fang Qingwan arrived at the foot of the mountain gate, she saw the Third senior martial brother Sang, who was also in the same sect, looking around.
“Little sister, you've finally returned. You really scared our senior martial brother when you snuck out this time.” Sang Jing greeted her, took the reins from Fang Qingwan’s hand and looked behind her.
“What about senior martial brother? Didn’t he go down the mountain to look for you?"
“He’s not looking for me.” Fang Qingwan said in a low voice.
“Ah?” Fang Qingwan’s voice was so low that Sang Jing didn’t hear her clearly. He asked again, but Fang Qingwan refused to answer.
Noticing how Fang Qingwan looked a little depressed, Sang Jing recounted what happened in the sect after she left. "When you left without telling anyone, we were all scared to death. It was still only senior martial brother who stayed calm and took it step by step. At that time, he didn’t panic at all. He guessed that you might have gone to Miao territory through the books you read in your room, then he ordered the disciples to retrace your steps along the south side…"
Sang Jing was a little careless with his words, but after saying it, he didn't feel like anything was wrong. It wasn't that senior martial brother didn't care about junior martial sister. Although junior martial sister never dared to admit it in front of senior martial brother, her admiration for him was as clear as day. He had to admit that senior martial brother was really dense.
“Well, senior martial brother really was concerned about you. When I told him that I had news of you, he was so anxious that he almost tripped over. ” Sang Jing quickly appeased.
[T/N: Bro, he tripped over because of his dear Heng, and not for this rando white lotus]
However, Fang Qingwan didn’t show a trace of joy because of this. She asked in a guarded manner: “What did you say at that time?”
“I said that you and a Miao woman entered the boundary of Qingyang County and immediately, senior martial brother rushed down the mountain to meet you. Since I've come here, I have never seen such a big change in his bearing.” Sang Jing actually thought that he should be able to coax this junior martial sister into a smile. But he didn't know why, Fang Qingwan’s expression grew even worse. After leaving a cursory sentence of wanting to rest first, she hurriedly went across the mountain gate.
The confused Sang Jing tried to catch up and have a look, but then heard the sound of the horse’s hooves. He thought that it must be his senior martial brother came back and turned towards that direction, but the scene he saw rendered him speechless. Unexpectedly, his senior martial brother had come holding a Miao girl in his embrace.
Sang Jing felt that he might not have slept well last night and was having hallucinations. He rubbed his eyes hard and found that the scene did not disappear.
Junior martial sister seemed to have encountered someone in the Miao territory whom senior martial brother owed a romantic-debt when he was young. The Miao girl coming to the sect might mean that she still had feelings for senior martial brother. Otherwise, how could the gentlemanly senior martial brother, who had never been close to a woman, be so affectionate and considerate towards the Miao girl, and put her in his own Songtao courtyard, unable to bear the separation for a moment. Although it was too early to say anything, a wedding might be on the cards.
Two disciples were discussing the rumor that had been spread among the disciples of the sect recently. As soon as they turned around the corridor, they saw the person they were talking about standing at the corner with a plate in his hand.
“Sen-senior martial brother.”
It’s over. Being caught speaking about senior martial brother meant that they might have stay in horse stance for the entire night. The two disciples broke out in cold sweat.
“Hmm.” Duan Feiqing just nodded and walked over.
“Our senior martial brother just now seemed to smile?” A disciple asked his companion in disbelief.
Duan Feiqing pushed open the gate of the Songtao courtyard, and saw Lu Heng sitting under the osmanthus tree in the courtyard, studying something intently.
“Dearest Heng.”
Lu Heng looked up, saw Duan Feiqing, and smelled the smell of food wafting from the plate in his hand: “You are so slow! I'm starving.”
With a gentle smile, Duan Feiqing put down his plate, se/rved a bowl of glutinous rice dumplings with fermented osmanthus and handed it to Lu Heng: “Yesterday, you said that the sweet scented osmanthus was quite delicious. I remembered that I had pickled some osmanthus wine before, and just went to the cellar to get it. It took me some time. Dear Heng, I have kept you waiting.
“Oh? You had such hobbies? ” Lu Heng tasted a bit of it. The sweet scented osmanthus was fragrant, the glutinous dumplings were soft, the soup was sweet and fragrant, and the faint aftertaste of wine continued to linger.
“Did you forget that when you were in Crescent Spring, you said that you had seen this kind of food in books and wanted to have a taste? Unfortunately, there weren't any sweet-scented osmanthus trees in Miao area.” Duan Feiqing looked at Lu Heng with doting eyes as the other person wolfed down the food in the bowl one spoonful after another. “Since I've come back, every year when osmanthus is in full bloom, I pickle a pot of osmanthus honey, thinking that one day dearest Heng will come and I can make a bowl for you to taste.”
Lu Heng was really a little hungry. After eating the bowl of dumplings, he was satisfied and put down the porcelain bowl in his hand. Duan Feiqing saw a little osmanthus on the side of Lu Heng’s mouth. He raised his hand and tried to wipe it off for him. He stopped in mid air and withdrew it.
No, his Heng is a man. He couldn't treat a man like that. Duan Feiqing put his hand under the table and clutched his robe. However, when he caught sight of his rosy, plump lips and the sweet-scented osmanthus lingering there, he couldn't help but feel an unscratchable itch in his heart. He settled down and handed over a soft handkerchief: “Dearest Heng, you have osmanthus on your lips.”
Lu Heng took the soft handkerchief and wiped his lips randomly. In fact, he had noticed all of Duan Feiqing's weird looks and it wasn't the first time either. This man was acting a little strange these past two days. He kept showing a struggling and contradictory expression but Lu Heng didn't know what he was worrying about. He needed to find a chance to talk to him about it, but first, there was something more important he had to bring up.
“Just now, I cut the Gu open and studied it carefully.” Lu Heng uncovered the silver saucer which was clasped on the stone table. “This method of refining Gu is a little rough, it doesn’t look like it was made by the Miao people. It may also have something to do with my past. “
Lu Heng divulged to Duan Feiqing details regarding the past that Nadolo told him before he died.
“Do you mean that this Gu was probably the result of researching and refining the golden silkworm Gu by the aristocrat young master back then? When Duan feiqing saw Lu Heng narrate this matter, he knew that there was no feelings of father-son kinship with that aristocratic family's master.
“Yeah.” Lu Heng nodded, “Where is Feng Weifang now? I want to see him. I suspect that the person behind the scenes may have known about his situation through the Gu.”
“Follow me.”
The highly respected leader of Taichu sect was seriously injured. In the duel with his enemies, his meridians were torn, and his martial arts were exhausted. Now he was cultivating himself in Qingyang mountain, and the other matters of the sect were all managed by Duan Feiqing, the leader’s eldest disciple. This is a well-known thing in the world of martial arts.
Translated by: Niladri
Edited by: Kiki
________________
The black-garbed man outside the room realized that the person beside Duan Feiqing wasn't his weakness. Instead, the other person was far more dangerous than he had thought. He let out a whistle and the men in black started retreating as fast as they entered. In an instant, they cleanly withdrew and took away the bodies of their companions.
Only a few piles of clothes were littered in and outside the room. The courtyard was awfully peaceful after such a conflict took place. The rest of the guests stayed inside with their doors closed. They didn’t want to lose their lives because of curiosity.
Duan Feiqing turned around, and carefully examined Lu Heng a few times. After confirming that he had not been harmed, his somewhat frightening expression returned to normal. Lu Heng knew that this person was obsessive so he didn't feel that the other person was looking down on him. He just stood there quietly and allowed the other person to examine him.
“Dearest Heng, these men in black belong to the mysterious organization that has been chasing me.”
Lu Heng wanted to ask something, but lingering within the smell of blood, he caught a familiar smell. The source of the smell was the clothes left by the black-garbed man. After thinking about it, Lu Heng picked up his sword and shook the clothes on the ground. Sure enough, a little black bug fell out.
The little black bug was quite vicious. As soon as it landed on the ground, it turned around a few times, and seeming to want to bite one of them. But when it turned towards Lu Heng, it appeared to have seen something extremely terrifying and turned around to flee towards the door. But then, a small snake that suddenly appeared at the threshold took it into its mouth.
“Little Silver, don’t swallow it!” Lu Heng whispered.
The silver snake blinked twice with mung bean sized eyes, and then spat out the black bug that had reached its throat. It looked at the bug somewhat aggrieved, then climbed to Lu Heng’s feet, rubbing itself against him.
“Little Silver, you have worked hard.” Lu Heng bent down and patted its head. After being pacified, the little snake climbed up to Lu Heng’s ankle and bit its tail. It changed its appearance to an ordinary silver ankle bracelet.
“Is this a Gu?” Duan Feiqing picked up the black insect that had been killed by the snake with the tip of his sword and walked over.
Lu Heng nodded, took out a small porcelain bottle and put the bug in. This Gu was a little strange. He needed to carefully study it.
The Gu that the Miao people used were high rank ones. Every single Gu in the Miao territory had been under Lu Heng's control ever since he came out of the Thousand Gu Cave. No matter which Miao person was in charge of a Gu, they would all bow and pay homage before Lu Heng. Just now, the black bug wanted to attack somebody but fled after noticing Lu Heng's aura. This Gu clearly wasn't from the Miao area.
“Senior martial brother, sister Gouma, are you all right?” Fang Qingwan appeared at the door, worried.
Just now she heard the fight in the room. She wanted to go in and have a look. However, when she opened the door, she saw a small silver snake guarding thedoor. In addition, there was a pile of pitch black clothes on the ground. Fang Qingwan desperately wanted to help, but the little snake prevented her from stepping out out of the room.
After traveling with Lu Heng all the way from Miao territory, Fang Qingwan knew that the little snake was brought by Lu Heng, and she also knew how powerful the little snake was. The little silver snake had remained quietly coiled in front of the door. Every time Fang Qingwan wanted to go out, it bared its fangs at her. She was forced to remain within the room. She was only able to come out after the noise died down and the snake left.
“It's nothing. Are you alright, junior martial sister Fang? ” Duan Feiqing just asked out of courtesy. When he and Lu Heng had been discussing about the <<mind sutra of demons>>, he asked Lu Heng to let the snake Gu go out and guard the door to Fang Qingwan's room.
The <<mind sutra of demons>> was a very sensitive topic, and Duan Feiqing knew from his previous interactions with his dearest Heng that when they were together with one another, every bit of their attention would be on the other person, and their vigilance towards the outside world would be reduced compared to other times. If Fang Qingwan accidentally learnt about <<mind sutra of demons>>, it would be really troublesome. He did not want to use the soul capture technique on innocent people.
“Senior martial brother, those people in black…” Fang Qingwan wanted to say something, but she stopped and glanced at Lu Heng.
Duan Feiqing looked along her line of sight, and then gently said, “It's okay, dearest Heng knows everything about me.”
Fang Qingwan secretly felt a little sour. She calmed her mind and said, “are these people in black the same people who destroyed our Fang family?”
The Fang family of Kaifeng, like the Duan family of Anyang, was a famous family in martial arts circle. Six years ago, the Fang family was destroyed by a group of people in black similar to the Duan Family tragedy. Fang Qingwan, who was only 10 years old at that time, survived only because she was playing in her aunt’s house during the attack.
“We can't rashly jump to such a conclusion. Younger martial sister Fang, it’s getting late. We have to return tomorrow. Why don’t you go back to your room and catch some rest? “
Duan Feiqing’s tone seemed gentle and polite, but Fang Qingwan knew that this was how her senior martial brother usually spoke. She dazedly went out of the door.
As soon as she came out, the cool night wind brought Fang Qingwan somewhat back to her senses. If it was getting late, why was senior martial brother still staying in sister Gouma’s room? No, the question should be why did senior martial brother remain in sister Gouma's room for this long?
Is this the same senior martial brother of the Taichu sect who never meets with the female disciples alone, and even if he had to discuss important and private matters with women alone, he always chooses a spacious and publicly visible space?
For the moment, no matter what, the junior martial sister Fang kept tossing and turning in her sleep.
Lu Heng was sitting at the table here, holding the small porcelain bottle with the unknown Gu and turned it around gently on his fingers. The art of refining Gu in Miao territory has never been passed on to outsiders, which gave rise to a faint guess in Lu Heng's mind.
“What’s the matter with the man in black?” Seeing that Duan Feiqing had cleaned up the mess and sat beside him, Lu Heng asked, “In the letter you left, didn't you say that Feng Weifang’s mind was under your control?”
Duan Feiqing nodded and said, “In recent years, I have found out several dark tendrils of this mysterious organization through Feng Weifang. In Southwest Mainland, several sects have ties with this mysterious organization. All of its tendrils in this region are already in my grasp."
All the stuff just now made Lu Heng thirsty. He poured a cup of tea and was just about to gulp it down when Duan Feiqing gently held his wrist: “Dearest Heng, the tea is cold. Please wait a moment.”
Duan Feiqing got up and brought the kettle on the small stove to make tea for Lu Heng. The tea set used in the inn was not of high quality porcelain, but Duan Feiqing’s actions while brewing the tea were so pleasing to the eye that it seemed that the rough tea set was also covered with glittering luster.
“It’s just a year ago that I suffered an accidental internal injury, which weakened my control over the Demonic method. Although the time is very short, but I don’t know why it was detected by the people behind the scenes. That person decisively decided to give up all his forces in the southwest to come after my life." Duan Feiqing put the tea in front of Lu Heng.
“Have you tried using soul capture on people with ties to this?" Lu Heng took a look at the man in front of him whose appeared just like a gentle young master from an aristocratic family. When soul captured was used on a person, they would lose all control and thought, becoming a puppet in Duan Feiqing’s hands. As long as he gave a order, even if the other person was unwilling, they wouldn't be able to resist.
Lu Heng doesn’t think that this man’s means were cruel. In the art of Gu techniques, it wasn't uncommon to control people with Gu. He suddenly recalled a certain name for people like this- black sesame buns.
T/N: Took liberty with translation. The word used basically refers to someone who is beautiful and gentle (white) on the outside, while vicious (pitch black) on the inside. Literally means this food:
Duan Feiqing asked hesitantly, “Dearest Heng, do you think I’m too cruel?”
“Fool, among all the techniques of refining Gu, there are methods way more cruel than this.” Lu Heng laughed and saw relief wash over the man's face. He said, “I’m going to sleep. Do you still want to go?”
Duan Feiqing, however, looked at the open window and the door that had been destroyed and could not be closed. On the ground, there was the corpse water left by the man in black. He frowned slightly and said, “Dearestah Heng, this place is too dirty to live in. It seems that the inn is full, so why don’t you come to my room and get some rest?"
Lu Heng looked at Duan Feiqing with an indescribable look. Although he was a man, Duan Feiqing didn't know. It wasn't appropriate for a single man and an unmarried woman to live in the same room. No, bah, bah, bah, what a single man and unmarried woman? These women’s clothes are starting to lead me astray. For the first time, Lu Heng felt like he was going too far.
Seeing Lu Hen's expression, Duan Feiqing realized that his words were not appropriate: “Dearest Heng, don’t worry about it. I’ll guard you outside the door.”
It was late autumn, and the night dew was heavy. Even those who practiced martial arts would be uncomfortable to spend a night outside.
“It doesn’t matter. Miao people don’t care that much. We can divide the quilt and sleep on the ground.” Lu Heng said.
Translated by: Niladri
Edited by: Kiki
________________
The next day.
After compensating the inn for their losses, the three waited at the front door for the waiter to bring the horses out. However, the waiter soon walked out with an apologetic expression.
“Esteemed guests, I’m truly sorry.”
It turned out that some poisonous weeds accidentally got mixed with the newly arrived horse feed in the inn yesterday. One of the three horses had the misfortune to eat the particular batch that got mixed with the poisonous weed. When the waiter went to fetch the horse, he found that the horse was lying dead on the ground. As a result, the inn refunded the accommodation fee and the compensation that had barely warmed up in his hands back to Lu Heng's trio.
“Sister Gouma, why don’t you and I ride together?” Fang Qingwan suggested. This was the most appropriate solution. Good horses were rare in Qingyang County and if they bought a bad horse, it wouldn't be able to keep up with their pace.
“No." Naturally, Lu Heng refused. How could he ride with a woman? He didn’t want to ruin her reputation.
However, when he saw Fang Qingwan's dumbstruck expression, Lu Heng suddenly remembered that he was currently disguised as a woman. He just made a random excuse: “I’m sorry, I’m not used to being close to people I’m not familiar with.”
“Dearest Heng, if you don’t mind, how about riding with me?”
Qingyang County was located in the southwest basin, rife with the countryside's picturesque scenery. In late autumn, frost tipped the red autumn leaves. The weeds were starting to turn yellow, their reflections dancing on the beautiful, shimmering creek. Such a landscape, blanketed with fallen leaves, could never be seen in the Miao territory, which had a tropical climate all year around.
Duan Feiqing deliberately slowed down the horse's pace and let Lu Heng enjoy the scenery that was completely different from the Miao territory. Seeing Lu Heng’s face beaming with admiration, Duan Feiqing felt warmth in his heart and whispered in the other person's ear: “There's also beautiful sceneries of the frozen north outside the Great Wall. When these disputes are over, I will accompany you to see them one by one.”
“If I want to see it, I can see it myself.” Lu Heng curled his lips.
Lu Heng felt the chest behind him rumble violently. The warm breath that the man let out when he was laughing caressed the back of his neck, making Lu Heng a little uncomfortable.
In order to better his disguise, Lu Heng used secret methods to control his body shape, making this body as petite as possible. Although he still seemed a lot taller than the average woman, in front of Duan Feiqing, he was more than half a head shorter. Now he was sitting in front of him, almost embedded in the arms of the man behind him. In order to divert his attention, Lu Heng looked around and found that Fang Qingwan was so far ahead that he could barely see her.
“Why is she riding so fast?” Lu Heng looked at the figure riding gracefully ahead of them, baffled. What could be seen of her back was slowly vanishing among the cloud of dust.
“I’ve been away from the sect for a long time. Now, I'm finally returning.”
Lu Heng was trying to say something when a bobcat suddenly flashed past. The passing beast was too close to the horse, startling it into rearing up. Lu Heng, born in Miao territory, was not good at riding, and lost his balance at that moment. Fortunately, Duan Feiqing caught him.
Lu Heng didn’t pay attention to this incident. He was still interested in the roadside scenery and didn't notice Duan Feiqing’s strange expression behind him.
Duan Feiqing protected the man in front of him with one hand and controlled the horse forward with the other hand. Doubts colored his mind. In his haste, his palm had fallen on Lu Heng’s chest. Although Duan Feiqing never had close contact with a woman, he heard the servants talk about going to brothels before when he was at the sect. To summarize, he had learnt that the body of a woman was different from that of a man and her chest was softer.
Duan Feiqing’s palm subconsciously tightened. During that moment of rudeness, he felt that his beloved's chest was as flat as a board and also strong to the touch. Duan Feiqing was a man of meticulous thoughts. He recalled the accident by the Crescent Lake a few years ago and his daily life with Lu Heng. A faint guess arose in his mind.
Lu Heng, like him, was also a man. Duan Feiqing was unexpectedly calm, and there was no anger in his heart for being deceived. He knew that his dear Heng must have suffered.
It's just that he had always regarded Lu Heng as his future wife. Now that he knew his real gender, Duan Feiqing consciously needed to adjust his mentality. As a man, how can you treat him as his wife? If the other person knew about it, he might be filled with rage from embarrassment and break off their friendship.
Every time Duan Feiqing thought about that possibility, he felt like falling into an ice cave. He would never allow this kind of thing to happen. From today on, he will take care of his dearest Heng as his younger brother. In any case, in his heart, the other person was more important than his own life.
Although Duan Feiqing thought like that, when Lu Heng felt tired and leaned into his arms, he felt his heart beat faster as he subconsciously hugged the other person. However, treating another man as a beloved would only be an insult. Duan Feiqing felt like he needed to wake himself up.
Duan Feiqing, who didn’t know that being a cut-sleeve was a thing, fell into endless self loathing.
[T/N: Cut-sleeve means homosexual. There is a whole story about how an emperor, who had a male lover was reluctant to wake him up when he fell asleep on his sleeve and instead chose to cut off the sleeve with his blade instead]When Fang Qingwan arrived at the foot of the mountain gate, she saw the Third senior martial brother Sang, who was also in the same sect, looking around.
“Little sister, you've finally returned. You really scared our senior martial brother when you snuck out this time.” Sang Jing greeted her, took the reins from Fang Qingwan’s hand and looked behind her.
“What about senior martial brother? Didn’t he go down the mountain to look for you?"
“He’s not looking for me.” Fang Qingwan said in a low voice.
“Ah?” Fang Qingwan’s voice was so low that Sang Jing didn’t hear her clearly. He asked again, but Fang Qingwan refused to answer.
Noticing how Fang Qingwan looked a little depressed, Sang Jing recounted what happened in the sect after she left. "When you left without telling anyone, we were all scared to death. It was still only senior martial brother who stayed calm and took it step by step. At that time, he didn’t panic at all. He guessed that you might have gone to Miao territory through the books you read in your room, then he ordered the disciples to retrace your steps along the south side…"
Sang Jing was a little careless with his words, but after saying it, he didn't feel like anything was wrong. It wasn't that senior martial brother didn't care about junior martial sister. Although junior martial sister never dared to admit it in front of senior martial brother, her admiration for him was as clear as day. He had to admit that senior martial brother was really dense.
“Well, senior martial brother really was concerned about you. When I told him that I had news of you, he was so anxious that he almost tripped over. ” Sang Jing quickly appeased.
[T/N: Bro, he tripped over because of his dear Heng, and not for this rando white lotus]
However, Fang Qingwan didn’t show a trace of joy because of this. She asked in a guarded manner: “What did you say at that time?”
“I said that you and a Miao woman entered the boundary of Qingyang County and immediately, senior martial brother rushed down the mountain to meet you. Since I've come here, I have never seen such a big change in his bearing.” Sang Jing actually thought that he should be able to coax this junior martial sister into a smile. But he didn't know why, Fang Qingwan’s expression grew even worse. After leaving a cursory sentence of wanting to rest first, she hurriedly went across the mountain gate.
The confused Sang Jing tried to catch up and have a look, but then heard the sound of the horse’s hooves. He thought that it must be his senior martial brother came back and turned towards that direction, but the scene he saw rendered him speechless. Unexpectedly, his senior martial brother had come holding a Miao girl in his embrace.
Sang Jing felt that he might not have slept well last night and was having hallucinations. He rubbed his eyes hard and found that the scene did not disappear.
Junior martial sister seemed to have encountered someone in the Miao territory whom senior martial brother owed a romantic-debt when he was young. The Miao girl coming to the sect might mean that she still had feelings for senior martial brother. Otherwise, how could the gentlemanly senior martial brother, who had never been close to a woman, be so affectionate and considerate towards the Miao girl, and put her in his own Songtao courtyard, unable to bear the separation for a moment. Although it was too early to say anything, a wedding might be on the cards.
Two disciples were discussing the rumor that had been spread among the disciples of the sect recently. As soon as they turned around the corridor, they saw the person they were talking about standing at the corner with a plate in his hand.
“Sen-senior martial brother.”
It’s over. Being caught speaking about senior martial brother meant that they might have stay in horse stance for the entire night. The two disciples broke out in cold sweat.
“Hmm.” Duan Feiqing just nodded and walked over.
“Our senior martial brother just now seemed to smile?” A disciple asked his companion in disbelief.
Duan Feiqing pushed open the gate of the Songtao courtyard, and saw Lu Heng sitting under the osmanthus tree in the courtyard, studying something intently.
“Dearest Heng.”
Lu Heng looked up, saw Duan Feiqing, and smelled the smell of food wafting from the plate in his hand: “You are so slow! I'm starving.”
With a gentle smile, Duan Feiqing put down his plate, se/rved a bowl of glutinous rice dumplings with fermented osmanthus and handed it to Lu Heng: “Yesterday, you said that the sweet scented osmanthus was quite delicious. I remembered that I had pickled some osmanthus wine before, and just went to the cellar to get it. It took me some time. Dear Heng, I have kept you waiting.
“Oh? You had such hobbies? ” Lu Heng tasted a bit of it. The sweet scented osmanthus was fragrant, the glutinous dumplings were soft, the soup was sweet and fragrant, and the faint aftertaste of wine continued to linger.
“Did you forget that when you were in Crescent Spring, you said that you had seen this kind of food in books and wanted to have a taste? Unfortunately, there weren't any sweet-scented osmanthus trees in Miao area.” Duan Feiqing looked at Lu Heng with doting eyes as the other person wolfed down the food in the bowl one spoonful after another. “Since I've come back, every year when osmanthus is in full bloom, I pickle a pot of osmanthus honey, thinking that one day dearest Heng will come and I can make a bowl for you to taste.”
Lu Heng was really a little hungry. After eating the bowl of dumplings, he was satisfied and put down the porcelain bowl in his hand. Duan Feiqing saw a little osmanthus on the side of Lu Heng’s mouth. He raised his hand and tried to wipe it off for him. He stopped in mid air and withdrew it.
No, his Heng is a man. He couldn't treat a man like that. Duan Feiqing put his hand under the table and clutched his robe. However, when he caught sight of his rosy, plump lips and the sweet-scented osmanthus lingering there, he couldn't help but feel an unscratchable itch in his heart. He settled down and handed over a soft handkerchief: “Dearest Heng, you have osmanthus on your lips.”
Lu Heng took the soft handkerchief and wiped his lips randomly. In fact, he had noticed all of Duan Feiqing's weird looks and it wasn't the first time either. This man was acting a little strange these past two days. He kept showing a struggling and contradictory expression but Lu Heng didn't know what he was worrying about. He needed to find a chance to talk to him about it, but first, there was something more important he had to bring up.
“Just now, I cut the Gu open and studied it carefully.” Lu Heng uncovered the silver saucer which was clasped on the stone table. “This method of refining Gu is a little rough, it doesn’t look like it was made by the Miao people. It may also have something to do with my past. “
Lu Heng divulged to Duan Feiqing details regarding the past that Nadolo told him before he died.
“Do you mean that this Gu was probably the result of researching and refining the golden silkworm Gu by the aristocrat young master back then? When Duan feiqing saw Lu Heng narrate this matter, he knew that there was no feelings of father-son kinship with that aristocratic family's master.
“Yeah.” Lu Heng nodded, “Where is Feng Weifang now? I want to see him. I suspect that the person behind the scenes may have known about his situation through the Gu.”
“Follow me.”
The highly respected leader of Taichu sect was seriously injured. In the duel with his enemies, his meridians were torn, and his martial arts were exhausted. Now he was cultivating himself in Qingyang mountain, and the other matters of the sect were all managed by Duan Feiqing, the leader’s eldest disciple. This is a well-known thing in the world of martial arts.
