I’ve Already Lost...

As soon as Su Yang left the guest house, he quickly used Cherished Flower Steps, found a hidden shrub and lowered his body to vomit.

Once he emptied his stomach, his face was covered with snot and tears. He gradually stopped and moved to the lake to wash his face. 

He repeatedly kept telling himself that the world was just a fictional story, and those people were just lifeless cannon fodders. In both the original work and in the script, they were all destined to die, all written in their fate. 

This was a martial arts world, and there would be many more calamities and bloodshed waiting for him. And in two years, the war to encircle and annihilate the Evil Sect would begin. Countless deaths, countless casualties. That would be a real scene of carnage from hell.

He had to adapt as soon as possible.

This time, he truly understood what kind of cruel world awaited him outside the walls of the House of Jade.

But he couldn’t back down.

If he wanted to return to reality, he must endure, he must be patient, and he must finish the story.

He wiped the water on his cheeks, stood up using his knee, and took a few deep breaths. He vomited the melancholic feeling away. 

Night fell.

At night, the temperature of the wasteland dropped sharply, bringing a chill as if it was winter.

Su Yang’s party set up two simple pavilions by Willow Leaf Lake and started a campfire. The group of people crowded under the stone bank to rest, some took turns on guard duty to prevent unexpected events. 

Su Yang was wrapped in a soft blanket and nestled on a warm fur mat, but he couldn’t fall asleep. As soon as he closed his eyes, he could see the gory and cruel scene at dusk. The burly man’s dead eyes wide open and hauntingly staring. 

He overestimated his acceptance of the matter.

He sighed, patted awake Mei Shisan beside him, and asked, “I remember you brought liquor, right?”

Mei Shisan nodded.

He took out the wine sack and handed it to Su Yang and said, “Is the Young Master cold? This wine is very potent. Just a few slips will warm you up. Please don’t drink too much.”

Su Yang took the sack, responded incoherently, and sipped it twice in a sulk. 

The wine was indeed potent. Su Yang tasted its burning pungency, feeling the heat in his throat as it silently calmed his anxious heart. Because he had vomited out the contents of his stomach prior, drinking on an empty stomach easily intoxicated him. After drinking only four or five mouthfuls, his head felt dizzy.

So he closed the lid to the wine sack and handed it back to Mei Shisan. He returned to his blanket nest, wrapped himself up, and tried to sleep through the night while being slightly drunk. 

However, he still couldn’t enter dreamland.

After tossing and turning for a while, he finally lifted his blanket in frustration. He took his sword, and stood up while saying to Mei Shisan, “I am going for a stroll, do not follow me.”

Frowning in worry, Mei Shisan cautioned, “But Young Master, those people…”

Su Yang repeated with a bitter expression, “Do not follow me, I want to be alone.”

Mei Shisan had no choice but to nod and obey.

Su Yang didn’t walk toward the inn’s direction on the other side of the lake. He wandered slowly along the lake to the opposite end and finally arrived at the sharp corner where the two stone banks met. 

Su Yang jumped on a large stone with a flat top and stared at the night sky. 

The bright Milky Way ran through the sky, a magnificent scene that was never visible in the brilliant city lights.

In a half-conscious state, Su Yang felt that these bright stars in the sky, as far as his eyes could see, were like the headlights of immeasurable lines of cars on the city roads. The glows seemed like they were within his reach. 

Hence his raised hand, trying to reach into the night sky and touching the bright and clear light.

There was a very slight noise from clothing friction in the trees behind. He pulled out his sword and turned toward the newcomer, alert. 

It was the young leader who still had his face covered. 

He changed into a darker form-fitting garment, camouflaged in the shadow of the oasis shrubs, making his figure hard to spot. 

Su Yang chuckled and said, “You still cover your face in the dark, are you too ashamed to show it?”

The man didn’t answer.

After a moment, a deep voice came from under the silk scarf, “Those who like to stargaze would keep the innocence in their hearts. Although you are from the Evil Sect, you are not a bad person.”

Hearing this, Su Yang gave a ‘humph’.

“Talking so much nonsense.” Saying it with his signature Young Master’s attitude, he smirked. “How do you know I wasn’t planning a way to kill everyone here while appreciating the amazing view? I am, after all, a member of the Evil Sect. What task am I not willing to accomplish by any means?” 

Gu Feidi laughed, shook his head and didn’t speak. 

Upset and embarrassed by the man’s reaction, Su Yang looked at the man with displeasure for a long time. Then he sneered, “You know who I am, but you are still wearing a sock puppet馬甲 Also known/ translated as vest, hiding or misleading the person’s identity.. That’s not fair! I want to see what you are hiding under that scarf today!”

Before he finished his last words, he had already closed the distance between them with the Cherished Flower Steps. He hopped down from the boulder, and his sword was close to the man’s face covered in a silk scarf, trying to uncover the man’s true identity!

Gu Fei blocked his sword and asked, “I am not wearing a sock puppet. Is this a terminology of the Evil Sect?”

Su Yang: “...”

Su Yang became even more infuriated, and his moves became fiercer, with no means to be merciful. 

“Calling out the Evil Sect, the righteous sect or whatever. From what I see, you folks from the Central Plains are not good people either!” Su Yang nagged while under the influence. “You only know how to fight and kill every day. What hateful grievances between two arch- rivals, these are all empty words from a group of hypocrites who play fancy dress-up, never admitting their wrongdoing. They even segregate everyone into good and evil? Righteous and unrighteous? Don’t make me laugh!”

Surprise filled Gu Feidi’s eyes as his eyebrows raised up high under the silk scarf.

He leaned at a tricky angle to avoid the sharp point of Su Yang’s blade with difficulty. It still left a cut behind on his silk scarf. 

Su Yang scowled, waved his sword forward and continued to say, “It was clearly they who attacked first today. If you asked me, I would say they were not good people either!”

Gu Feidi stopped Su Yang’s attack and replied, “The Wu Household was indeed not a good group of people, they have been a thorn in the Imperial Court’s side for many years. Elimination was inevitable.”

Shocked by Gu Feidi’s statement, Su Yang attacked again and shouted in anger, “You Central Plains people have the time to come pick a fight with us when you haven’t cleaned up your own hideous mess?!”

Gu Feidi retreated and said with a smile, “You have a point.”

The already dejected Su Yang felt more aggrieved and angry when hearing Gu Feidi’s laughter. He swung his sword, hacking at his opponent in a disorderly manner, venting his feelings in this fight. 

“So what if I am from the Evil Sect!”

“So what if I gave the final order!”

“So what if people die!”

“We are members of the Evil Sect, anyway!”

“The righteous sect would kill us even if I didn’t fight back!”

Su Yang looked at the supporting character in front of him. He only dared to speak out his inner thoughts because it won’t affect the plot’s direction. 

The man silently blocked all his disorganised attacks without saying a word.

In the end, Su Yang slashed at the masked man with a heavy strike. Thinking: I have embarrassed myself enough. If I miss this last hit, whatever! It means that I should clean up and return to the camp.

However, his movement was a little sluggish from the alcohol, so his opponent evaded his attack lightly. Not only did he miss, he embedded his sword into the tree trunk. He couldn’t tug out his stuck sword, no matter how hard he pulled. 

Gu Feidi supported Su Yang by the shoulder from behind and whispered in his ear, “You are drunk, best for you to go back.”

Hearing a sigh close to his ear, Su Yang’s scalp was about to explode!

He subconsciously released his hold on the stuck sword, used his internal energy to turn around and grab at the silk scarf. 

He pulled off the soft silk scarf, revealing a young and handsome face, inches from his own. 

Su Yang stared at Gu Feidi for a long time.

He released his hand, patted his forehead and sighed in pain, “I am really drunk! Why am I seeing illusions of this guy again!”

Gu Feidi echoed in surprise. “Again?”

Su Yang muttered, “What did you eat? Growing so tall! You are the same height as I am now.”

Then he reached out a hand to compare their height. “Your face is not as soft and adorkable萌 Meng is a borrowed word from 'moe' which means feeling of cuteness. I used ‘adorkable’, a modernised term that combines adorable and dork, mainly for someone who acts awkwardly cute. as before…”

“Soft and what?” Gu Feidi was puzzled.

Su Yang blinked slowly, then with more force, finally he closed his eyes and shook his head. 

When he opened his eyes again, he confirmed he was not hallucinating. The man in front of him was not an illusion. 

Understanding his situation, and recalling his previous action, Su Yang’s expression immediately darkened. 

He tried to put on the Young Master’s air again. Taking the upper hand by asking his question first, “Why are you here?!”

Gu Feidi stepped back, held his sword and said smiling, “The Tengyun Pavilion ordered me to combine forces with the Village of Mount Qianfeng to locate the Sword Sage’s tomb. I would naturally come to the wasteland. I just didn’t expect to meet my fellow disciple here.”

Su Yang stayed silent. 

Of course, he knew that Gu Feidi was destined to come looking for the tomb. But he couldn’t accept his opponent’s appearance in this form and at this point in time. 

The main points were...

What the hell did he spit out earlier under the influence of alcohol!

He even compared his height with Gu Feidi!

Saying he was no longer soft and adorkable!

…Mr. Plot, could I please reload the saved file?

Just back to the point when they just started their fight!

His heart sank, but he tried his best to maintain his expression and said coldly, “Who is your fellow disciple? You entered the Hidden Pearl Pavilion, a direct disciple of the House of Jade’s Shizun herself. How can I be compared with you?”

After that, he turned to pull his sword out of the tree trunk. “Since you didn’t want to reveal your identity during our fight two days ago, I will pretend I didn’t see you tonight. Tomorrow, we will each walk our own separate ways…”

Gu Feidi frowned. “Are you parting ways with me?”

Su Yang mumbled, “...You walk the righteous way, while my path belongs to the evil one. We were never supposed to walk beside each other on the same path.”

Gu Feidi confirmed, “I never see you unrighteously, yes you are in the Evil Sect, but that doesn’t define you.”

Su Yang countered, “I am the Evil Sect’s Young Master.”

Gu Feidi asked, “...Weren’t you forced?”

Su Yang: “...”

Su Yang speechlessly supported his forehead. Then he said, “I don’t know who or what filled your head with that idea. But I am not being forced. I am not at odds with the Evil Sect. If you said that my Sect is wicked, then I am on the same boat as them. You don’t have to view us separately. Today I was the one who ordered for that group of people to be dealt with...”

Then he lowered his head and caressed the fine sword in his hand, adding, “If you can’t stand by idly and watch those people die in vain, if you want to avenge those people. I will fight you seriously again. If you win, I am at your disposal. If you lose, then…”

Gu Feidi interrupted calmly. “I am at your disposal?”

Su Yang sighed and said, “If you lose, just leave. Stop sticking your nose into my business anymore.”

Gu Feidi stared at Su Yang for a long time and declared, “I’ve already lost.”

Su Yang: “???”

Gu Feidi laughed indifferently and insisted, “It’s cold tonight. You drank to warm up, but you sweated so much. It’s best for you to return to your campfire and get warm. Be careful not to catch a cold.”

Once he was done, he turned around without waiting for Su Yang to reply, and left. 

Su Yang stood in the same spot for a moment, stupefied. He raised his hand and bit his nails. After standing there for a long time, he went back to his camp.

The surrounding area turned quiet again.

After a long time, in a bush less than a foot away from the boulder, a man dressed in black stretched like a cat, before stealthily coming out from his hiding spot. 

He carefully surveyed the surroundings, before pulling out a bone whistle and gently blew out a series of trills similar to ones made by insects. Then he put his instrument away and carved out two small characters on a small piece of wood using the light from the moon and the stars. 

A black owl the size of a fist flew down from the night sky and landed quietly on the man’s shoulder. 

The man skilfully tied the piece of wood to the owl’s claw, took out a piece of meat to feed it to the bird, before releasing it back into the night sky again.