Editor’s Note: Hey lovely readers! This note does not contain information about our Bad Shixiong. It does address issues surrounding the other translation of this work on Novel Updates.
We are deeply unhappy that someone else chose to translate over us, especially as we update regularly and had indicated no intention of dropping this novel.
Yes, we are slow, because the translators on Peach Blossom Codex actually translate, rather than relying on MTL to ‘mass dump’ and produce what is usually inferior work with missing text.
In an effort to supply more chapters more quickly, we asked the lovely Lucky Koi and one of our gorgeous Peach Blossom translators, Teo for help.
Therefore we will drop three chapters this week, then two per week up until chapter 21 to compensate you guys (we absolutely know it sucks to wait a week for the next chapter). But it is not feasible long term for us to keep up this pace, and we refuse to ‘compete’.
All of us have jobs/schooling and other commitments in real life, and it takes time to produce quality translated and edited chapters. We all also work on other novels.
Though these are ‘fan translations’, we aim to provide quality over quantity, and the only thing we ask is that you support the original author of the work by buying their novel on JJWC, as this helps them to keep writing.
We will be translating all chapters. We will occasionally drop more than one chapter per week if we have enough of a stockpile and the time. We apologise to those who are frustrated by this, but we do need to find a balance as this is a hobby. Thank you for your support and understanding!
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Special thanks to Teo for help translating this chapter.
Bai Fanlu was pushed back by the other party’s force field, making his blood boil. A rare moment which made him have the desire to swear out loud. But he was clearly very honest inside, yet he was betrayed by his occupational disease whispering in his ear again, as his three views began to go astray.
The main point was that the damned voice was too deep and charming. It was simply like rich wine drenched with poisonous love.
And the deliberately increased pitch at the end was like a sharp fishing hook that could trap anyone’s soul.
No, no, no! Absolutely not! This man was both a scumbag and a demon. He must not be fooled.
This was not some audio drama, but his current reality. This person could pose a serious threat to his own survival! Internally, Bai Fanlu was grasping at the edge of a cliff, in a precarious situation, but managed to gather his remaining trace of reason.
Yun Zhan was definitely doing this on purpose, going back and forth with his despicable methods. He cast the book’s Bai Fanlu away like a pair of worn out shoes when he was done pursuing a relationship with him. Now that Bai Fanlu had taken over and maintained a respectful distance, Yun Zhan began to deliberately flirt with him. It was the same Yun Zhan who drove the book’s Bai Fanlu to madness just for his filthy and repulsive goals!
Bai Fanlu himself cherished his own life and was determined to stay as far away from this scumbag as possible. He must not yield to this alluring voice.
Ab-so-ute-y! Not!
He coughed twice. “Shidi must cease this nonsense. I figured that you and I should focus on our cultivation. In order to avoid misunderstanding, it’s better to maintain some boundaries…”
As he spoke, his throat tightened a little, which caused him to cough again. He noticed that Yun Zhan’s hand, which held onto his, trembled slightly and he felt joy at this reaction.
But on the surface, Bai Fanlu continued to put up a pretence of a distressed, helpless and grieving expression. His tone also carried a trace of regret as he continued, “In the past, I was weak-willed and trapped by my internal demonsXin mo: Internal demons 心魔. I would describe it as a human’s negative desire or internal struggle that could disturb one’s mind or make the person off-balance.. Through my battle with you, although I'm furious that you injured me, I understand that I am to blame for my own incompetence. This matter also fully opened my eyes.”
Bai Fanlu purposely put emphasis on the second half. The subtext was: See how you injured me? Not blaming you was already the best outcome. So let’s erase our past mutual affection and what not with one slash. Afterward, we should go our separate ways.
“A good man ought to be ambitious. We should take it upon ourselves to put immortal cultivation above all else, so as to live up to Shizun’s expectations…”
The more Bai Fanlu spoke, the harder it was for him to find a place to stop. He never expected this eloquence in himself, and the way he brought up major principles and great truths could even move himself to tears.
Yun Zhan stared at him in silence with those dark and flickering eyes.
Bai Fanlu gazed back sincerely and thought that Yun Zhan probably assumed he was on the brink of tears because of his reluctance to give up their relationship. The rich feelings in his voice must have been genuine and effective enough.
He intentionally sighed and secretly counted the second to see what kind of reaction Yun Zhan had.
The wait wasn’t long, as the hands around his wrist loosened, and that long leg that was pressed against his moved away as well. Yun Zhan sat back to one side again.
“En.” Just a single word sounded out gently. Yun Zhan’s eyes remained closed as he muttered, “It is I who let Shixiong down.”
This response was like a heavy fist, punching at him straight through the air and it almost made Bai Fanlu fall into the water. It turned out that after the lengthy talk earlier, that made his mouth as dry as desert, and the speech that encapsulated his noble aspirations, was only good enough to get not more than a one-sentence reply from the other party?
This seemed to imply that he didn’t put enough heart into his acting, and made Bai Fanlu want to add more.
But Yun Zhan suddenly opened his eyes. “Who’s there!?”
Ban Fanlu was puzzled. Was there someone? Just when he was about to stand up to survey his surroundings,Yun Zhan glanced at Bai Fanlu. As he half-clenched his right hand, a cluster of blue light appeared and swirled in his palm. The light expanded and the water surface was stirred by the energy force.
Bai Fanlu looked at Yun Zhan, baffled.
“Sect Leader Shixiong? It’s me, Yun Yi. I’m looking for Eldest Shixiong, is he here?”
Bai Fanlu knew this name, it belonged to a Shidi in the same generation as Yun Zhan and he was the youngest in age. Soon after Yun Yi was accepted as a disciple, he became the book’s Bai Fanlu’s fan. Before he became a cultivator, Yun Yi used to help out in his family’s medicine business, he would often send herbs to the Bai Fanlu whenever he was injured. This little foolish fan was pretty adorable.
As if he bumped into something, Yun Yi paused and uttered, “Huh, why is there a boundary field?”
Did Yun Zhan set up this boundary just now? Why on earth would he do that? And against a Shidi in the same Sect, for no reason?
Bai Fanlu found this very strange. Just as he was about to proceed outside to respond, Yun Zhan suggested, “Go out after your clothes are dry.”
Bai Fanlu lowered his head and found that he was drenched from the earlier struggle. The material his immortal robes were made of was light and thin. As a result, his damp, white clothes clung onto his body, revealing a figure that was not too shabby indeed.
“...”
Silently making a series of hand signs, Bai Fanlu dried his clothes right away. He calmly stepped out of the water and walked out the Spiritual Spring Cave through the stairs.
Yun Zhan glanced thoughtfully at Bai Fanlu from behind and a smirk appeared on his face.
Then he shook his head, raised it to glance upward and sighed helplessly.
When the boundary was opened, Ban Fanlu saw Yun Yi Shidi, waiting expectantly outside.
Sure enough, as written in the novel, he looked soft and plump like glutinous rice. The boy was around fourteen years old, judging by his appearance, and behind him stood Wang Chongyu.
Wang Chongyu studied Bai Fanlu. Once he finished talking with Yun Yi, he asked, “Shixiong, I noticed demonic energy around here earlier. Did another demonic creature break in?”
Bai Fanlu was surprised when the other inquired about demonic energy. At first he thought he had missed a spot on himself, but he immediately responded, “It’s Nieyu.”
“Nieyu?” Wang Chongyu was slightly surprised.
“Erm...It’s a long story. I’ll tell you in detail later. Has Shizun come out of seclusion?”
Bai Fanlu didn’t leave the mountain for long. Ling Qingzi mentioned that he would enter seclusion for a day and shouldn’t be out yet. He asked with the sole purpose of diverting Wang Chongyu’s attention to avoid him asking more questions.
It turned out immortals indeed got tired as well. This excuse did rid him of Wang Chongyu, and Bai Fanlu finally returned to his residence and lay down on his bed. But after a short nap, his chronic insomnia kept him up again. Without a phone to listen to his male god’s(男神) Perfect man in one aspect (like appearance, or gaming ability). Chinese culture doesn’t hold back on labelling people as a ‘god'—different from the Western culture. voice, he was left with nothing to do.
Yet, his body was really exhausted. He continued to lay down in silence until he felt it was about time to get up.
When he got up, he searched for Wang Chongyu first and learnt that a day had passed since his rest. The other party was in the middle of guiding the disciples at the morning recitation of the Heart Sutra.
Ling Qingzi should be out of seclusion by now, so Bai Fanlu didn’t proceed to disturb Wang Chongyu. He went looking for Shizun himself. When he arrived there, he found that someone was one step ahead of him.
It seemed that Yun Zhan just finished reporting to Ling Qingzi regarding the matter of Nieyu.
When Bai Fanlu was inches from the door, he heard Ling Qingzi’s voice, “...There are unusual activities involving demonic creatures everywhere. This is indeed out of the ordinary.”
“Mo-er? Come in.”
Bai Fanlu’s desire to withdraw was dashed in a moment. He immediately entered the chambers.
“Shizun.” Bai Fanlu cupped his hands in greeting and bowed, then stood beside Yun Zhan with his head lowered.
“Shizun has already heard of the events of yesterday from Yun Zhan.” Ling Qingzi said.
Bai Fanlu raised his head. When he looked at Ling Qingzi, he took a glance at Yun Zhan out of the corner of his eye. He wasn’t sure what exactly the other party said to Shizun. It did seem a little ridiculous for the book’s Bai Fanlu to get eaten by Nieyu with his ability. Ling Qinzi should know his foremost disciple’s abilities very well. So to be on the safe side, Bai Fanlu didn’t answer right away.
“Why did Mo-er go down the mountain alone?”
Bai Fanlu didn’t expect to be asked such a question. He found it strange. Judging by Ling Qingzi’s tone, Shizun didn’t seem to know the reason why he went down the mountain. Assuming Shizun saw the message he left, he shouldn’t have left out the excuse given at all.
As he was in doubt, Ling Qingzi continued, “Yun Zhan just said that he is unqualified to hold the Sect Leader’s position and needs more experience. Did Mo-er go down the mountain for him?”
Bai Fanlu was still unable to make sense of the matter, but he couldn’t get out of this without replying. After pondering for a moment, he replied in an ambiguous and distressed tone, “It wasn’t all for...Shidi.”
This answer conveyed a partial truth and was both unclear and confusing. It could be interpreted differently depending on the listener.
“Oh?” Ling Qingzi stroked his white hair at his waist with his right hand. “Then what is your opinion on what he just said?”
According to what Ling Qinzi just said, Yun Zhan appeared to be refusing the Sect Leader’s position, but this was not in line with his ambition in the book to be someone of a higher status.
Anyway, Bai Fanlu didn’t believe him. If the other party declined this position, he himself would be next in line. It sounded like an underlying implication from Lin Qingzi’s words, but he didn’t want to give it further thought.
“This disciple is convinced that Yun Zhan Shidi is qualified for this position because of his integrity and ability. As for this disciple himself, he needs more hard work to be considered half as good.”
At the end of the speech, Bai Fanlu’s heart was slightly relieved when he saw Ling Qingzi nodded his head slightly.
However, Ling Qingzi’s expression also made Bai Fanlu more puzzled. He was now sure the other didn’t see his message. When he concentrated by pinching his fingers, he felt that this room didn’t contain a single fluctuation of his spiritual energy. Where did that note fly to?
“Yun Zhan.” Ling Qingzi spoke this time.
Yun Zhan came forward upon hearing his name and listened respectfully.
“Since your Shixiong put it this way, Shizun will accept what you said earlier and allow you to go down the mountain. But the matter of the Sect Leader is very important, you should bear this position for now and we shall discuss it later.”
As Ling Qingzi spoke, the hand on his knee performed a series of hand seals and two cyan feathers appeared in his palm. In a moment, the feathers transformed into birds. The two birds were the size of sparrows, with red beaks and blue feathers, hopping around in his palm.
Bai Fanlu was amazed at this skill. Wait, what did Shizun say? Sending Yun Zhan down the mountain? That was great! Then he could remain in the mountain as salted fish鹹魚 aka 'couch potato'.. This was almost hard to believe!
However, Bai Fanlu’s wonderful feeling didn’t last long.
“Mo-er, since you have the intention to improve your cultivation, go down the mountain with Yun Zhan. There are members of the demonic clan who are skilled at changing appearance. This pair of birds are tokens, and as long as you keep them with you, you will recognise each other without fail. In addition, if you don’t have enough spiritual energy, this can be used to transmit messages.
With a wave of his hand, the two blue birds fluttered, one landed in Yun Zha’s palm and the other on Bai Fanlu’s shoulder, but both soon disappeared.
When Bai Fanlu left Ling Qingzi’s abode, his ability to maintain a straight face was at its limit.
Yun Zhan walked in front of him, and turned back to ask, “Does Shixiong not want to go down the mountain?”
More like I don’t want to go down the mountain with you.
Just as he wanted to walk past him, Yun Zhen added, “I thought that Shixiong went down yesterday to further your cultivation, I didn’t expect they were just empty words on the paper.”
Empty words on the paper…
Bai Fanlu suddenly realised that his note had not disappeared for no reason! It had been wrongly sent to Yun Zhan!
To be suddenly bashed in the skull by such a screw up, he started to feel a migraine, but could not outwardly show this. If he did, it would mean admitting that he wasn’t the real Shixiong.
He must not, shall not, could not...screw up in front of Yun Zhan.
“It’s just a momentary mistake, that’s all.”
“I understand. Shixiong wants to leave the burden of our relationship behind.”
“...”
Bai Fanlu endured repeatedly as Yun Zhan lied through his teeth.
There was something amiss. Whatever Yun Zhan mentioned to Ling Qingzi sounded like a deliberate trick.
As Bai Fanlu pondered, Yun Zhan suddenly came closer and put his hand past Bai Fanlu’s shoulder, forcing him to back against the wallWall Slam: 壁咚, or Kabedon, that refers to a character asserting their dominance over an individual by entrapping them against the wall using their hands, often slapping the wall fiercely and created a ‘don’ sound.
. Bai Fanlu was startled. In the corner of his eye, he could see two Shidi peeking from not too far away.
Yun Zhan tilted his head slightly and leaned closer to Bai Fanlu’s ear. From a certain angle, it was like the two faces connected seamlessly.
Bai Fanlu long ago learned that the recurring topic of the Shidis’ gossip was the intimate behaviour between the book’s Bai Fanlu and Yun Zhan.
Did Yun Zhan see through his cover and was trying to force him to reveal his secrets?
“...Yun Zhan, I told you before.”
Bai Fanlu knew that he must not dismiss him too obviously. With about thirty percent of his spiritual energy, he effortlessly flicked off Yun Zhan’s hand, that was like a greedy dog’s claw, like flicking off dust with his fingers.
Yun Zhan straightened up and chuckled, “Shixiong, you seemed to have forgotten something.”
“What?” Warning bells rang loudly within Bai Fanlu’s head. What could he possibly forget about the book’s Bai Fanlu? Was Yun Zhan finally going to express his doubts?
“Nothing.” Yun Zhan didn’t continue. “Shixiong, you should pack up your weapons soon. We will depart when the mist is at the second point tomorrow.”
The mist at the second point was how time was marked in the immortal realm. As the sun rotated in the human realm, it appeared in the immortal realm as a sea of hazy mist. The mist at the first point is about dawn, or six in the morning, which meant that the second point was around eight in the morning.
Inside Bai Fanlu’s head, he was thinking about how Yun Zhan still had an ounce of his humanity to not depart before the time when other disciples got up to train—at six.
As for his weapon...Ban Fanlu thought it was about time to get himself a new one.
Most of the weapons used by the disciples in the Tianshu Sect came from Qiong Forest. The wood from the immortal trees in the forest could be used to craft a hilt and sheath for the sword. However, the blade had to be forged from the butian stones that were scattered in the forest. The result depended on both cultivation and luck.
There was one person who was good at this, and that was Wang Chongyu. Bai Fanlu recalled that Wang Chongyu’s immortal cultivation level was not outstanding, but he had a rich insight into various kinds of spiritual materials.
The book’s Bai Fanlu once joked that he was the best candidate to manage the artefact forging furnace in future.
In addition, another reason why Bai Fanlu thought of asking him for help was that as soon as he returned to his room, he found that Wang Chongyu was there. He was standing in front of the table and looking through some sheets of paper.
Seeing that he was lost in his thoughts, Ban Fanlu felt strange. He was pretty sure that those were blank pieces of paper.
However, the appearance of Wang Chongyu reminded Bai Fanlu of the matter regarding the forging of his sword. In an instant, his mood lifted like he had found a saviour.
But when Wang Chongyu heard him come in, he greeted him with a perplexed expression.
“Shixiong, do you really plan to have Yun Zhan as your cultivation partner?”
Did Yun Zhan reincarnate?? I wonder if this is like the first or second draft and the “author” had to scrap most of it in order to get it published. So BFL read the publicized version but it’s not the ~true story or whatever.
Idek, but YZ has some balls. I’m gonna need BFL to stick to his guns bc YZ will play him like a fiddle.