Editor: Sahloknir
Time was frozen to a standstill. No one moved, the expressions of the crowd were fixed, those who spoke, those who laughed, applauded and even those who were about to send the food on their chopsticks into their opened mouths…Even the flowing air was still.
In the midst of the horrifying dead silence, the trembling voice of Yuchi Xiao suddenly rang out.
“Xu…Lord Xu…”
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Xu Shuangtze lifted the curtain and stepped out of the room, he turned back to glance at the trio. There were no emotions in those dull, dark eyes, but anyone who met his gaze could feel fear running through their bones.
“Those who spend their time listening to such frivolous nonsense will have their ears cut off.” Xu Shuangtze said in a flat tone.
No one dared to say another word.
Xu Shuangtze’s gaze then turned to Gong Wei and the plate of drunken chicken on the table. Without the slightest word, he turned and walked down the stairs, the sleeves of his robe suddenly fluttered despite having no gust of wind in the room, and then he disappeared into thin air between the wooden steps.
The frozen time began to flow once more, and the silence seemed to have only lasted for a blink of an eye. The next moment, people started moving again, no one seemed to have noticed the lapse in time. People who were laughing continued to laugh, those who were clapping clapped, and the stream of wine which was still in mid-air suddenly began to flow, falling steadily into the celadon cups without even a drop spilling out.
“Where were we?” The old storyteller was momentarily stunned, and then smiled with relief, “—Yes. I was just talking about that ghost prince receiving his bride. He was to marry a beautiful immortal who had just ascended. The demonic beasts welcoming the bridal entourage were ceremoniously blowing trumpets and clashing cymbals as the bridal sedan came straight down from the heavens to the underworld…”
The audience below laughed and applauded, and no one noticed anything amiss from this ordinary scene. The events that had occurred between the disciples of the famous Immortal Sect and the storyteller were like water droplets evaporating under the sunlight, disappearing from everyone’s consciousness, leaving no trace.
There was only silence in the seating area, the silence between the trio stretched on endlessly. Suddenly a gasp could be heard before Yuchi Xiao forced out a few words.
“I can’t believe I’m still alive…”
Gong Wei put down his chopsticks, thinking to himself, Luckily I ordered a plate of drunken chicken. If I did not resist eating those beautiful peonies on the window sill of the room, my corpse would have been cold by now.
As he was thinking, Meng Yunfei spoke in a trembling voice, “Are we still going back to the inn later?”
“…”
The three of them fell into silence at the same time, no one wanted to go back to face the cold expression of Lord Xu.
Yuchi Xiao looked slightly remorseful, “If only you hadn’t interrupted the Lakeside Lover story featuring the Immortal Guqin Master.”
Hearing the remark, Meng Yunfei frowned and asked, “Are you any better? Didn’t you interrupt the Tyrannical Sword Immortal and His Spring Peach?”
“How could I have known that a big shot like Lord Xu would come out in disguise to listen to a storyteller?”
“So why can’t we just let him listen to that Tyrannical Sword Immortal and His Spring Peach?”
“…” Gong Wei couldn’t bear the squabbling any longer and interrupted the duo. “Two young masters, don’t you find that the contents of these stories are quite strange?”
The two immediately quietened down and then turned to Gong Wei together. Meng Yunfei looked as though he suddenly realised something and quickly responded, “Young Master Xiang, you are young and have never seen the world, don’t take such stories too seriously when you hear them, they are all fictional!”
Yuchi Xiao said, “Yes, it is mainly because the people are very interested in the past love history of Lord Xu, so it is inevitable that there are some far-fetched speculations. Don’t ask anyone about it when you return to Cang Yang Sect if you value your life, you understand?”
Why should I pry? I am the main character!
Gong Wei took a deep breath and asked with difficulty, “So that Lotus Immortal…did he really…with your Sword Sect Master…and that Guqin Immortal… “
Yuchi Xiao almost jumped up, “No!”
Zfcu Tecofl tfiv tlr obgftfjv kfjglis jcv gfqilfv, “Zs wjrafg lr cba j vfilmjaf yfjeas, cbg kjr tf ojwliljg klat atf Obaer Pwwbgaji. Pa lr pera atja bcis rfcrjalbcji rabglfr rfii kfii, tfcmf atbrf kglafgr ktb wjxf j ilnlcu bea bo atlr agjvf jgf lcmilcfv ab wjxf atfrf ajifr jr qgfqbrafgber jr qbrrlyif.”
“Chief Gong’s life was mysterious and full of legends, and he died too early. After he passed away, people began to circulate tales about a thousand-year-old peach blossom becoming a spirit. Initially the story was still believable, but as it started circulating around it became extremely exaggerated and absurd, eventually becoming various love histories. In all seriousness, this wouldn’t have happened if the dead could speak.”
Gong Wei’s face paled as Meng Yunfei spoke, he had heard a terrible set of words he couldn’t ignore, “…various love histories…”
Not noticing the grimace on Gong Wei’s face, Meng Yunfei responded, “Oh that’s okay. It is just Lord Xu of Cang Yang Sect, Lord Ying of the Immortal Alliance, the three clans of Sword, Medicine and Metal, the four Xuanmen Immortal Saints, the venerable masters of the six great families, the various leaders of the eight sects, and several famous great ghost cultivators of the Ghost Wall…are mainly all there is.”
“In fact, the stories between Chief Gong and Lord Xu are not very common, after all, that Lord Xu of the Cang Yang Sect mourns his late wife is known to the world. The people prefer to listen to the various stories between Lord Xu and Lord Ying, because the endings are mostly happy and fulfilling, and many opera companies have performed them.”
“…”
“…”
The air was incredibly quiet for a moment before Yuchi Xiao said implicitly, “Yunfei, you really know a lot about these things.”
Meng Yunfei smiled awkwardly and replied, “Not really, haha.”
Yuchi Xiao went on, “Erm…Yunfei, I heard a rumour previously that Immortal Guqin Master was fond of collecting novels, and every time he listened to storytellings, he would laugh in enjoyment…”
Meng Yunfei immediately said, “Shut up! At least my master didn’t pay someone to write Goodbye My Lover!”
Gong Wei: “…”
Gong Wei once again took a deep breath, got up and politely said, “Excuse me, two young swordsmen, I will be back in a moment.” Then without looking back, he lifted the curtain and walked out of the room.
The two young men turned their heads in unison to see him go out, and Yuchi Xiao asked in a whisper, “He seems to be in a bit of shock, look at how clumsily he walks…”
Meng Yunfei nodded, “After all, he is a disciple of the Cang Yang Sect — I did say that you shouldn’t have interrupted that Tyrannical Sword Sect Master and His Spring Peach, right?!”
Gong Wei silently recited a Mind Purifying Mantra and when he was at the bottom of the stairs, he beckoned a waiter with a whisper, “Later, tell those two upstairs that I’m heading back to the inn first.” Then, with one foot after another, he went straight out the door into the bustling street. He looked left and right, and caught sight of a bookstore at the corner and walked towards it hurriedly.
The bookstore was small, but was packed with all kinds of books and play scripts. With both hands behind his back, Gong Wei spun once round to look at all the books before waving at the storekeeper, “Do you have any novels about famous immortals?”
The shopkeeper looked at Gong Wei with an understanding expression before replying, “Yes, yes, yes. May I ask which immortal masters does this young master admire more?”
Gong Wei thought to himself, “So this is how you all express your admiration.” He sighed and rubbed his throbbing brow with his knuckles before responding hesitantly, “Actually I-I don’t know much about any of them, is there anything you can recommend?”
For some reason, the shopkeeper became quite enthusiastic when he heard Gong Wei’s response. “Ahh Young Master, you’ve come to the right place!” cried the shopkeeper, “We are well stocked with the latest book and have the complete series featuring the Lotus Immortal from the past to modern times. Have you heard of The Underworld: A Story of Undying Love? It’s about Cang Yang Sect’s Lord Xu’s descent into the earthly realm to quell chaos, and it’s not even half a month since it was released from the capital! Last month’s Kaiyuan Tabloid News also had the original Lakeside Lover, but because the Immortal Guqin Master has ordered the world not to print it, the copies are limited and expensive. Apart from that, we also have Romance on Dai Mountain, Memories of a Peach Blossom Demon, and Lord Ying’s Secret Affair…”
Well done Liu Xuzhi! You’re happy to listen to stories featuring others, but when it’s your turn, you’ve banned production!
Gong Wei forcibly interrupted the shopkeeper who became rather relentless in recommending the Lord Ying’s Secret Affair to him, and finally asked, “Don’t you have any regular novels? There are so many female disciples from the Medical Sect, and what about the immortal ladies of the Eight Great Sects who were as beautiful as flowers…”
The shopkeeper was nearly shocked into silence. “That’s abnormal isn’t it, Young Master? Those are all ladies!”
Gong Wei blinked. “?”
“Although we all have a need for erotic books, but how can we ruin the reputation of ladies!?”
“…”
Gong Wei fell into silence under the condemning gaze from across the room.
The shopkeeper unhappily continued, “Do you want it or not, Young Master? If you’re not interested in Lord Ying’s Secret Affair, then The Underworld: A Story of Undying Love is actually not a bad choice. One day, if it is banned by Lord Xu from the Cang Yang Sect, this book’s value will rise and it could even be your family heirloom to pass down to your grandchildren. Won’t you think about it? Are you sure you won’t consider it? How about I give you a ten percent discount on the Lord Ying’s Secret Affair…”
Gong Wei was quelled under the shopkeeper’s barrage of sales attacks. Without thinking, he hastily shoved a copy of The Underworld: A Story of Undying Love into his sleeve, dropped some silver and left with a hand clutching his forehead.
He stumbled out of the shop in a daze. It was difficult to accept that he had been written as someone who had a relationship with his very own Shixiong, numerous affairs with all sorts of demons and ghosts, and finally lived in seclusion with Xu Shuangtze!
All this in a series of more than twenty books detailing the histories of his secret affairs. Shaking himself out of his thoughts, he looked at the book he had hurriedly purchased. Seeing that the cover looked relatively normal, he breathed a sigh of relief before flipping the book open.
Who knew that the first sentence to confront him as he skimmed through ten lines of the book were, ‘Xu Shuangtze was coughing up blood while carving a tombstone with his own hands. On the tombstone he wrote…Tomb of my beloved wife, Gong Wei’. Gong Wei immediately snapped the book shut and fought the insane urge to toss the manuscript immediately.
My eyes are going blind.
In his previous life, Xu Shuangtze had gone to so much trouble to get rid of his ‘demonic and inhuman’ right eye, but now he found a way to successfully do it without any effort!
He took a deep breath and looked at the book sitting harmlessly in his palm. He wanted to throw the text away, but with so many people around, he could not make himself drop the book. What if someone else picked it up?
Sighing, Gong Wei helplessly shoved the manuscript back into his sleeve and hired a bullock cart to ferry him back to the inn.
The journey back was slow and Gong Wei couldn’t help but take the book out again to read. He barely read a few sentences before closing the book again with a ‘snap’. Sighing in slight despair, he pushed the book back into his sleeve again. As the journey continued, Gong Wei found himself taking the book out to read multiple times. Each time he took the book out to read, he could barely manage a few lines before forcefully shutting the book again. This book is too much thought Gong Wei as he shoved it back into his sleeve for the umpteenth time.
This was Xu Shuangtze, the man who reacted terribly when Gong Wei tried to kiss him as a joke in the Xuanji Hall, to the point of trying to stab him immediately with No Way Out. How could he possibly show that level of affection, of even holding his hands? By the time the bullock cart wobbled back to the inn, night had already fallen. Gong Wei rolled up the book, which was capable of giving one an eyesore from a thousand miles away and stuffed it back into his sleeve again. He gently jumped out of the cart and pushed open the doors of the inn with a creak, only to be greeted by the resentful voice of Yuchi Xiao, “Where have you been?
Gong Wei was startled by the scene and stammered, “What are you two young swordsmen doing?”
The lobby of the inn was emptied, leaving behind only a yin candle with a flickering green flame which was sitting on the long table in the middle of the room. Yuchi Xiao and Meng Yunfei were sitting on opposite sides of the table, looking slightly greenish as the eerie candle light cast moving shadows on their faces.
All around the large, empty space were objects dangling from red threads. Some were hung higher than others, some were big, while others were small. All in varying rounded or squarish shapes. Each was covered in a thick blood-red cloth that did not let in any streak of light in or out.
Gong Wei immediately guessed what they were as he reached out to touch the nearest one and muttered, “Mercury mirrors?”
“Don’t touch them!” Meng Yunfei hurriedly stopped him and said, “Lord Xu has asked the Prince of Linjiang to collect all the mercury mirrors in the city and hang them here, and each mirror has a restraining talisman painted on its surface, so that whenever the ghost cultivator uses a mirror art to cause trouble, it will immediately be confined in the corresponding mirror space.”
There were hundreds of mirrors covered with red cloth, swaying slightly in the gloomy green glow despite the lack of wind. Each mirror was facing the three men from every direction. The night was still and silent, as the innkeeper and the waiting staff had been asked to leave. The room was so so quiet that even a pin dropped on the floor could be heard.
The vibrant inn of the day now looked like a scene from the Underworld.
Gong Wei shivered at the eeriness, “When the ghost cultivator comes, there will naturally be noise. Why don’t you two young swordsmen go upstairs and wait in the room?”
Yuchi Xiao stiffened, “It’s cooler here.”
“…” Gong Wei said sincerely, “Young Swordsman, please take your time and cool off.” He said, preparing to lift his feet to go upstairs.
Meng Yunfei covered his mouth and whispered, “Lord Xu is upstairs…”
Gong Wei’s foot hovered stiffly above the step, and after a while he calmly retracted it. He then straightened the cuffs on his robe, and said with sudden approval, “It really is cooler downstairs!” He walked over to the long table and just like the two of them, he pulled out a bench, sat down and sighed.
The three of them sat around the table, staring at each other as time passed in the night. The hundreds of red cloths hanging over the mirrors rustled, as if countless invisible figures were passing through them.
There was no other unusual movement until late into the night, and the chill emanating from the candle grew, as if even the ground beneath their feet were starting to freeze up. Gong Wei finally couldn’t take it anymore and respectfully returned Meng Yunfei’s cloak and Yuchi Xiao’s outer robe. He rubbed his hands together and said, “Take your time to cool off, I’ll go upstairs and wrap myself in a quilt first!”
Meng Yunfei wanted to say something but stopped, “Lord Xu—”
Gong Wei decisively replied, “Lord Xu is magnanimous and would not take issue with a non-human being like me!”
Yuchi Xiao immediately complimented, “Very well, you have guts! If Lord Xu wants to kill you later, remember to call out to both of us!”
Gong Wei could not help but feel a little touched, “Young Swordsman, you…”
Yuchi Xiao smiled, “At least we can pass the sword to Lord Xu…”
Gong Wei’s expression turned cold, with a flick of his sleeves he headed upstairs in a huff. The inn was empty except for them, and his own footsteps could only be heard tapping on the wooden stairs until he reached the second floor. Suddenly, he heard a faint movement in the Heavenly Room at the end of the corridor, it was the gentle and composed voice of a man, “That day you told me there was a mistake in the Book of Life and Death, so I went down personally to the Underworld to check it out myself but all was silent at the Ghost Wall, and the bronze doors were tightly shut…”
Gong Wei jerked to a halt and recognised who the owner of the voice was.
Immortal Alliance Master, Ying Kai!
Shixiong! My dearest Shixiong who is a saviour to all sufferings!
Ying Kai is undoubtedly the other most likely person in the world, apart from Yuchi Rui who is capable of getting Gong Wei out of Xu Shuangtze’s hands. Gong Wei almost rolled himself into a ball to crawl into the room to hug Ying Kai’s leg on the spot, but stopped in his tracks momentarily
Hang on.
He suddenly remembered that Xu Shuangtze had cast the Great Seal over Lingjiang City and Ying Kai would not be able to easily barge in, otherwise it would be to refute the reputation of the Cang Yang Sect. Realisation dawned on him, that the voice from the room is most possibly from a voice transmission talisman.
As Gong Wei had guessed, within the next moment he heard Ying Kai ask worriedly, “Shuangtze, do you need me to rush into Linjiang City immediately? I know you don’t have a problem, but this time the situation is absurd and highly unusual, even beyond both our understanding…”
Xu Shuangtze replied with cold indifference, “No need.”
Gong Wei’s heart felt uncomfortable, making him fidgety and giving him an impulse to stick his ears closer, to eavesdrop the conversation behind the tightly shut doors. However, he knew that Xu Shuangtze must have known that he was outside the door by now, so even taking two steps closer would be a sure death sentence. Gong could only reluctantly head upstairs to his room, but suddenly an idea flashed in his head, That’ll do!
He dashed up the stairs and arrived at the same spot on the third floor, crouched down in the corner, and fumbled around in the dark. Indeed, there was a pitch black hole in the corner which led straight downstairs—a drainage pipe.
He then searched for a long broomstick and frantically pulled it out of the broom head, turning it into a hollow bamboo pole, which he carefully inserted down the black hole. One end of the bamboo pole was now pressed against his ear and the other had a wiretapping charm drawn with his blood and was sneakily extended to the front of Xu Shuangtze’s tightly shut room. Gong Wei adjusted the angle of the pole to push it nearer to the door slit and then held it in place.
This way, Ying Kai’s voice from the room came up through the hollow bamboo pipe and was much clearer than before,
“Sixteen years ago, when Gong Wei ascended to the Immortal Platform, he did not have his sword Bai Taishou with him, and after he passed, the sword was nowhere to be found. I personally searched for it for many years without success, and now this sword could have fallen into the hands of anyone, and it is not surprising that it was stolen by a ghost cultivator…”
This bamboo pole trick was first encountered by Gong Wei in his previous life in the Disciplinary Court. There was once a few mischievous young disciples from the Medical Sect who were caught eavesdropping on their master and sent to the Disciplinary Court to be taught a lesson. However, it resulted in Chief Gong being highly impressed and praising their wits and even shamelessly picking up the idea from the kids. Gong Wei and Yuchi Rui used the same trick to eavesdrop on Ying Kai’s snoring, and after listening, they even learned to mimic it. As a result, they were almost chased and beaten down Dai Mountain by Ying Kai with the same bamboo pole.
You can’t imagine it right, Lord Xu, that a “demonic non-human” has wisdom unique to a demonic non-human!
Gong Wei had a belly full of mischief as he crouched on the ground and stretched his ears to focus on the voice at the other end of the bamboo pole. However in the midst of his mental fervour he had missed parts of the conversation, not knowing what Xu Shuangtze said, Ying Kai suddenly stopped talking, there was a period of silence, after a while Ying Kai’s voice could be heard again, “Although you are suspicious, I must remind you of one thing…”
It was rare for Ying Kai to express his displeasure so clearly, and Gong Wei’s curiosity arose as he heard him say in a deep voice,”Sixteen years ago, the Ghost Judge told you that Gong Wei’s soul had already been destroyed and that it would never return. Therefore, even if Bai Taishou has appeared in Linjiang City, you cannot use this to suspect that the ghost cultivator who went around killing people is the returned soul of the Lotus Immortal.”
“Such baseless words are no different from slander, do you understand, Shuangtze?”
_________________________________________________________________________
Editor: Sahloknir
Time was frozen to a standstill. No one moved, the expressions of the crowd were fixed, those who spoke, those who laughed, applauded and even those who were about to send the food on their chopsticks into their opened mouths…Even the flowing air was still.
In the midst of the horrifying dead silence, the trembling voice of Yuchi Xiao suddenly rang out.
“Xu…Lord Xu…”
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Xu Shuangtze lifted the curtain and stepped out of the room, he turned back to glance at the trio. There were no emotions in those dull, dark eyes, but anyone who met his gaze could feel fear running through their bones.
“Those who spend their time listening to such frivolous nonsense will have their ears cut off.” Xu Shuangtze said in a flat tone.
No one dared to say another word.
Xu Shuangtze’s gaze then turned to Gong Wei and the plate of drunken chicken on the table. Without the slightest word, he turned and walked down the stairs, the sleeves of his robe suddenly fluttered despite having no gust of wind in the room, and then he disappeared into thin air between the wooden steps.
The frozen time began to flow once more, and the silence seemed to have only lasted for a blink of an eye. The next moment, people started moving again, no one seemed to have noticed the lapse in time. People who were laughing continued to laugh, those who were clapping clapped, and the stream of wine which was still in mid-air suddenly began to flow, falling steadily into the celadon cups without even a drop spilling out.
“Where were we?” The old storyteller was momentarily stunned, and then smiled with relief, “—Yes. I was just talking about that ghost prince receiving his bride. He was to marry a beautiful immortal who had just ascended. The demonic beasts welcoming the bridal entourage were ceremoniously blowing trumpets and clashing cymbals as the bridal sedan came straight down from the heavens to the underworld…”
The audience below laughed and applauded, and no one noticed anything amiss from this ordinary scene. The events that had occurred between the disciples of the famous Immortal Sect and the storyteller were like water droplets evaporating under the sunlight, disappearing from everyone’s consciousness, leaving no trace.
There was only silence in the seating area, the silence between the trio stretched on endlessly. Suddenly a gasp could be heard before Yuchi Xiao forced out a few words.
“I can’t believe I’m still alive…”
Gong Wei put down his chopsticks, thinking to himself, Luckily I ordered a plate of drunken chicken. If I did not resist eating those beautiful peonies on the window sill of the room, my corpse would have been cold by now.
As he was thinking, Meng Yunfei spoke in a trembling voice, “Are we still going back to the inn later?”
“…”
The three of them fell into silence at the same time, no one wanted to go back to face the cold expression of Lord Xu.
Yuchi Xiao looked slightly remorseful, “If only you hadn’t interrupted the Lakeside Lover story featuring the Immortal Guqin Master.”
Hearing the remark, Meng Yunfei frowned and asked, “Are you any better? Didn’t you interrupt the Tyrannical Sword Immortal and His Spring Peach?”
“How could I have known that a big shot like Lord Xu would come out in disguise to listen to a storyteller?”
“So why can’t we just let him listen to that Tyrannical Sword Immortal and His Spring Peach?”
“…” Gong Wei couldn’t bear the squabbling any longer and interrupted the duo. “Two young masters, don’t you find that the contents of these stories are quite strange?”
The two immediately quietened down and then turned to Gong Wei together. Meng Yunfei looked as though he suddenly realised something and quickly responded, “Young Master Xiang, you are young and have never seen the world, don’t take such stories too seriously when you hear them, they are all fictional!”
Yuchi Xiao said, “Yes, it is mainly because the people are very interested in the past love history of Lord Xu, so it is inevitable that there are some far-fetched speculations. Don’t ask anyone about it when you return to Cang Yang Sect if you value your life, you understand?”
Why should I pry? I am the main character!
Gong Wei took a deep breath and asked with difficulty, “So that Lotus Immortal…did he really…with your Sword Sect Master…and that Guqin Immortal… “
Yuchi Xiao almost jumped up, “No!”
Zfcu Tecofl tfiv tlr obgftfjv kfjglis jcv gfqilfv, “Zs wjrafg lr cba j vfilmjaf yfjeas, cbg kjr tf ojwliljg klat atf Obaer Pwwbgaji. Pa lr pera atja bcis rfcrjalbcji rabglfr rfii kfii, tfcmf atbrf kglafgr ktb wjxf j ilnlcu bea bo atlr agjvf jgf lcmilcfv ab wjxf atfrf ajifr jr qgfqbrafgber jr qbrrlyif.”
“Chief Gong’s life was mysterious and full of legends, and he died too early. After he passed away, people began to circulate tales about a thousand-year-old peach blossom becoming a spirit. Initially the story was still believable, but as it started circulating around it became extremely exaggerated and absurd, eventually becoming various love histories. In all seriousness, this wouldn’t have happened if the dead could speak.”
Gong Wei’s face paled as Meng Yunfei spoke, he had heard a terrible set of words he couldn’t ignore, “…various love histories…”
Not noticing the grimace on Gong Wei’s face, Meng Yunfei responded, “Oh that’s okay. It is just Lord Xu of Cang Yang Sect, Lord Ying of the Immortal Alliance, the three clans of Sword, Medicine and Metal, the four Xuanmen Immortal Saints, the venerable masters of the six great families, the various leaders of the eight sects, and several famous great ghost cultivators of the Ghost Wall…are mainly all there is.”
“In fact, the stories between Chief Gong and Lord Xu are not very common, after all, that Lord Xu of the Cang Yang Sect mourns his late wife is known to the world. The people prefer to listen to the various stories between Lord Xu and Lord Ying, because the endings are mostly happy and fulfilling, and many opera companies have performed them.”
“…”
“…”
The air was incredibly quiet for a moment before Yuchi Xiao said implicitly, “Yunfei, you really know a lot about these things.”
Meng Yunfei smiled awkwardly and replied, “Not really, haha.”
Yuchi Xiao went on, “Erm…Yunfei, I heard a rumour previously that Immortal Guqin Master was fond of collecting novels, and every time he listened to storytellings, he would laugh in enjoyment…”
Meng Yunfei immediately said, “Shut up! At least my master didn’t pay someone to write Goodbye My Lover!”
Gong Wei: “…”
Gong Wei once again took a deep breath, got up and politely said, “Excuse me, two young swordsmen, I will be back in a moment.” Then without looking back, he lifted the curtain and walked out of the room.
The two young men turned their heads in unison to see him go out, and Yuchi Xiao asked in a whisper, “He seems to be in a bit of shock, look at how clumsily he walks…”
Meng Yunfei nodded, “After all, he is a disciple of the Cang Yang Sect — I did say that you shouldn’t have interrupted that Tyrannical Sword Sect Master and His Spring Peach, right?!”
Gong Wei silently recited a Mind Purifying Mantra and when he was at the bottom of the stairs, he beckoned a waiter with a whisper, “Later, tell those two upstairs that I’m heading back to the inn first.” Then, with one foot after another, he went straight out the door into the bustling street. He looked left and right, and caught sight of a bookstore at the corner and walked towards it hurriedly.
The bookstore was small, but was packed with all kinds of books and play scripts. With both hands behind his back, Gong Wei spun once round to look at all the books before waving at the storekeeper, “Do you have any novels about famous immortals?”
The shopkeeper looked at Gong Wei with an understanding expression before replying, “Yes, yes, yes. May I ask which immortal masters does this young master admire more?”
Gong Wei thought to himself, “So this is how you all express your admiration.” He sighed and rubbed his throbbing brow with his knuckles before responding hesitantly, “Actually I-I don’t know much about any of them, is there anything you can recommend?”
For some reason, the shopkeeper became quite enthusiastic when he heard Gong Wei’s response. “Ahh Young Master, you’ve come to the right place!” cried the shopkeeper, “We are well stocked with the latest book and have the complete series featuring the Lotus Immortal from the past to modern times. Have you heard of The Underworld: A Story of Undying Love? It’s about Cang Yang Sect’s Lord Xu’s descent into the earthly realm to quell chaos, and it’s not even half a month since it was released from the capital! Last month’s Kaiyuan Tabloid News also had the original Lakeside Lover, but because the Immortal Guqin Master has ordered the world not to print it, the copies are limited and expensive. Apart from that, we also have Romance on Dai Mountain, Memories of a Peach Blossom Demon, and Lord Ying’s Secret Affair…”
Well done Liu Xuzhi! You’re happy to listen to stories featuring others, but when it’s your turn, you’ve banned production!
Gong Wei forcibly interrupted the shopkeeper who became rather relentless in recommending the Lord Ying’s Secret Affair to him, and finally asked, “Don’t you have any regular novels? There are so many female disciples from the Medical Sect, and what about the immortal ladies of the Eight Great Sects who were as beautiful as flowers…”
The shopkeeper was nearly shocked into silence. “That’s abnormal isn’t it, Young Master? Those are all ladies!”
Gong Wei blinked. “?”
“Although we all have a need for erotic books, but how can we ruin the reputation of ladies!?”
“…”
Gong Wei fell into silence under the condemning gaze from across the room.
The shopkeeper unhappily continued, “Do you want it or not, Young Master? If you’re not interested in Lord Ying’s Secret Affair, then The Underworld: A Story of Undying Love is actually not a bad choice. One day, if it is banned by Lord Xu from the Cang Yang Sect, this book’s value will rise and it could even be your family heirloom to pass down to your grandchildren. Won’t you think about it? Are you sure you won’t consider it? How about I give you a ten percent discount on the Lord Ying’s Secret Affair…”
Gong Wei was quelled under the shopkeeper’s barrage of sales attacks. Without thinking, he hastily shoved a copy of The Underworld: A Story of Undying Love into his sleeve, dropped some silver and left with a hand clutching his forehead.
He stumbled out of the shop in a daze. It was difficult to accept that he had been written as someone who had a relationship with his very own Shixiong, numerous affairs with all sorts of demons and ghosts, and finally lived in seclusion with Xu Shuangtze!
All this in a series of more than twenty books detailing the histories of his secret affairs. Shaking himself out of his thoughts, he looked at the book he had hurriedly purchased. Seeing that the cover looked relatively normal, he breathed a sigh of relief before flipping the book open.
Who knew that the first sentence to confront him as he skimmed through ten lines of the book were, ‘Xu Shuangtze was coughing up blood while carving a tombstone with his own hands. On the tombstone he wrote…Tomb of my beloved wife, Gong Wei’. Gong Wei immediately snapped the book shut and fought the insane urge to toss the manuscript immediately.
My eyes are going blind.
In his previous life, Xu Shuangtze had gone to so much trouble to get rid of his ‘demonic and inhuman’ right eye, but now he found a way to successfully do it without any effort!
He took a deep breath and looked at the book sitting harmlessly in his palm. He wanted to throw the text away, but with so many people around, he could not make himself drop the book. What if someone else picked it up?
Sighing, Gong Wei helplessly shoved the manuscript back into his sleeve and hired a bullock cart to ferry him back to the inn.
The journey back was slow and Gong Wei couldn’t help but take the book out again to read. He barely read a few sentences before closing the book again with a ‘snap’. Sighing in slight despair, he pushed the book back into his sleeve again. As the journey continued, Gong Wei found himself taking the book out to read multiple times. Each time he took the book out to read, he could barely manage a few lines before forcefully shutting the book again. This book is too much thought Gong Wei as he shoved it back into his sleeve for the umpteenth time.
This was Xu Shuangtze, the man who reacted terribly when Gong Wei tried to kiss him as a joke in the Xuanji Hall, to the point of trying to stab him immediately with No Way Out. How could he possibly show that level of affection, of even holding his hands? By the time the bullock cart wobbled back to the inn, night had already fallen. Gong Wei rolled up the book, which was capable of giving one an eyesore from a thousand miles away and stuffed it back into his sleeve again. He gently jumped out of the cart and pushed open the doors of the inn with a creak, only to be greeted by the resentful voice of Yuchi Xiao, “Where have you been?
Gong Wei was startled by the scene and stammered, “What are you two young swordsmen doing?”
The lobby of the inn was emptied, leaving behind only a yin candle with a flickering green flame which was sitting on the long table in the middle of the room. Yuchi Xiao and Meng Yunfei were sitting on opposite sides of the table, looking slightly greenish as the eerie candle light cast moving shadows on their faces.
All around the large, empty space were objects dangling from red threads. Some were hung higher than others, some were big, while others were small. All in varying rounded or squarish shapes. Each was covered in a thick blood-red cloth that did not let in any streak of light in or out.
Gong Wei immediately guessed what they were as he reached out to touch the nearest one and muttered, “Mercury mirrors?”
“Don’t touch them!” Meng Yunfei hurriedly stopped him and said, “Lord Xu has asked the Prince of Linjiang to collect all the mercury mirrors in the city and hang them here, and each mirror has a restraining talisman painted on its surface, so that whenever the ghost cultivator uses a mirror art to cause trouble, it will immediately be confined in the corresponding mirror space.”
There were hundreds of mirrors covered with red cloth, swaying slightly in the gloomy green glow despite the lack of wind. Each mirror was facing the three men from every direction. The night was still and silent, as the innkeeper and the waiting staff had been asked to leave. The room was so so quiet that even a pin dropped on the floor could be heard.
The vibrant inn of the day now looked like a scene from the Underworld.
Gong Wei shivered at the eeriness, “When the ghost cultivator comes, there will naturally be noise. Why don’t you two young swordsmen go upstairs and wait in the room?”
Yuchi Xiao stiffened, “It’s cooler here.”
“…” Gong Wei said sincerely, “Young Swordsman, please take your time and cool off.” He said, preparing to lift his feet to go upstairs.
Meng Yunfei covered his mouth and whispered, “Lord Xu is upstairs…”
Gong Wei’s foot hovered stiffly above the step, and after a while he calmly retracted it. He then straightened the cuffs on his robe, and said with sudden approval, “It really is cooler downstairs!” He walked over to the long table and just like the two of them, he pulled out a bench, sat down and sighed.
The three of them sat around the table, staring at each other as time passed in the night. The hundreds of red cloths hanging over the mirrors rustled, as if countless invisible figures were passing through them.
There was no other unusual movement until late into the night, and the chill emanating from the candle grew, as if even the ground beneath their feet were starting to freeze up. Gong Wei finally couldn’t take it anymore and respectfully returned Meng Yunfei’s cloak and Yuchi Xiao’s outer robe. He rubbed his hands together and said, “Take your time to cool off, I’ll go upstairs and wrap myself in a quilt first!”
Meng Yunfei wanted to say something but stopped, “Lord Xu—”
Gong Wei decisively replied, “Lord Xu is magnanimous and would not take issue with a non-human being like me!”
Yuchi Xiao immediately complimented, “Very well, you have guts! If Lord Xu wants to kill you later, remember to call out to both of us!”
Gong Wei could not help but feel a little touched, “Young Swordsman, you…”
Yuchi Xiao smiled, “At least we can pass the sword to Lord Xu…”
Gong Wei’s expression turned cold, with a flick of his sleeves he headed upstairs in a huff. The inn was empty except for them, and his own footsteps could only be heard tapping on the wooden stairs until he reached the second floor. Suddenly, he heard a faint movement in the Heavenly Room at the end of the corridor, it was the gentle and composed voice of a man, “That day you told me there was a mistake in the Book of Life and Death, so I went down personally to the Underworld to check it out myself but all was silent at the Ghost Wall, and the bronze doors were tightly shut…”
Gong Wei jerked to a halt and recognised who the owner of the voice was.
Immortal Alliance Master, Ying Kai!
Shixiong! My dearest Shixiong who is a saviour to all sufferings!
Ying Kai is undoubtedly the other most likely person in the world, apart from Yuchi Rui who is capable of getting Gong Wei out of Xu Shuangtze’s hands. Gong Wei almost rolled himself into a ball to crawl into the room to hug Ying Kai’s leg on the spot, but stopped in his tracks momentarily
Hang on.
He suddenly remembered that Xu Shuangtze had cast the Great Seal over Lingjiang City and Ying Kai would not be able to easily barge in, otherwise it would be to refute the reputation of the Cang Yang Sect. Realisation dawned on him, that the voice from the room is most possibly from a voice transmission talisman.
As Gong Wei had guessed, within the next moment he heard Ying Kai ask worriedly, “Shuangtze, do you need me to rush into Linjiang City immediately? I know you don’t have a problem, but this time the situation is absurd and highly unusual, even beyond both our understanding…”
Xu Shuangtze replied with cold indifference, “No need.”
Gong Wei’s heart felt uncomfortable, making him fidgety and giving him an impulse to stick his ears closer, to eavesdrop the conversation behind the tightly shut doors. However, he knew that Xu Shuangtze must have known that he was outside the door by now, so even taking two steps closer would be a sure death sentence. Gong could only reluctantly head upstairs to his room, but suddenly an idea flashed in his head, That’ll do!
He dashed up the stairs and arrived at the same spot on the third floor, crouched down in the corner, and fumbled around in the dark. Indeed, there was a pitch black hole in the corner which led straight downstairs—a drainage pipe.
He then searched for a long broomstick and frantically pulled it out of the broom head, turning it into a hollow bamboo pole, which he carefully inserted down the black hole. One end of the bamboo pole was now pressed against his ear and the other had a wiretapping charm drawn with his blood and was sneakily extended to the front of Xu Shuangtze’s tightly shut room. Gong Wei adjusted the angle of the pole to push it nearer to the door slit and then held it in place.
This way, Ying Kai’s voice from the room came up through the hollow bamboo pipe and was much clearer than before,
“Sixteen years ago, when Gong Wei ascended to the Immortal Platform, he did not have his sword Bai Taishou with him, and after he passed, the sword was nowhere to be found. I personally searched for it for many years without success, and now this sword could have fallen into the hands of anyone, and it is not surprising that it was stolen by a ghost cultivator…”
This bamboo pole trick was first encountered by Gong Wei in his previous life in the Disciplinary Court. There was once a few mischievous young disciples from the Medical Sect who were caught eavesdropping on their master and sent to the Disciplinary Court to be taught a lesson. However, it resulted in Chief Gong being highly impressed and praising their wits and even shamelessly picking up the idea from the kids. Gong Wei and Yuchi Rui used the same trick to eavesdrop on Ying Kai’s snoring, and after listening, they even learned to mimic it. As a result, they were almost chased and beaten down Dai Mountain by Ying Kai with the same bamboo pole.
You can’t imagine it right, Lord Xu, that a “demonic non-human” has wisdom unique to a demonic non-human!
Gong Wei had a belly full of mischief as he crouched on the ground and stretched his ears to focus on the voice at the other end of the bamboo pole. However in the midst of his mental fervour he had missed parts of the conversation, not knowing what Xu Shuangtze said, Ying Kai suddenly stopped talking, there was a period of silence, after a while Ying Kai’s voice could be heard again, “Although you are suspicious, I must remind you of one thing…”
It was rare for Ying Kai to express his displeasure so clearly, and Gong Wei’s curiosity arose as he heard him say in a deep voice,”Sixteen years ago, the Ghost Judge told you that Gong Wei’s soul had already been destroyed and that it would never return. Therefore, even if Bai Taishou has appeared in Linjiang City, you cannot use this to suspect that the ghost cultivator who went around killing people is the returned soul of the Lotus Immortal.”
“Such baseless words are no different from slander, do you understand, Shuangtze?”
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