Sitting in the carriage was Cheng Yun He. Leaving the city’s gate, his emotions suddenly surged up. He immediately stuck out his head and looked at the northern gate of the majestic city slowly shrinking from his sight. He thought about his home there; his parents, wife and children were all there. For many generations, his family had been people of Great Zhao. He was born and grew up in this capital; all in all, he had been there for more than forty years.
He suddenly remembered a phrase: born here, grow up here, and die here.
He smiled bitterly and thought: Living here does not mean growing up here. Growing up here does not mean dying here! These thoughts seemed to be what he was telling himself. He had the sense that he might not be able to die in this Great Zhao.
A great man leaves his life in the battle field; who cares about where he would be buried?
He could not help but recite these verses:
“Going through thousands of miles of golden sand
After forty years, there is no minding death.
Sad autumn winds have turned all the hair white.
Endless troubles have made the heart colder.”
After reciting, he did not think it was too good; it just seemed like something he said at the moment. Grinning, he thought: Why is the last verse “made the heart colder?” I was given a great responsibility by the minister. This journey is my chance to make a mark and advance.
He shook his head and sat back in the carriage, not bothering to write down those verses.
When Cheng Yun He left, it was late autumn. Leaves fell all over the ground as the autumn winds gently blew under the gloomy sky. Thick layers of dark clouds hanging above made the heart feel a heavy burden.
******** (walkthejianghu.com)
In Iron Cloud Citadel, Chu Yang had finished three challenges. Returning to Bu Tian Pavilion, he picked up a book and started reading.
Wu Qian Qian frowned in puzzlement as she looked at the tall pile of books on Chu Yang’s desk.
When did our Minister Chu become so studious and start reading so diligently? This kind of focus without resting, eating or sleeping put to shame to all the scholars who studied hard to become officials!
But…
If our Minister Chu was reading strategies, arts of war, or something similar like the history of the continent, then Wu Qian Qian would not have found it so strange.
But this guy was reading books that the scholars would consider inferior! There was “Famous Love Stories” and some other fictional legends. Plus, he also read some absurd supernatural fantasies!
Those stories were not long; they were just stories that authors wrote for fun during their free time. They had no meaning and were probably used to coax children…
This was really amusing!
Minister Chu intensely looked at the book; his mind seemed to be completely engrossed in it. His mouth also muttered the words as if trying to memorize them.
This left Wu Qian Qian speechless…
The worst part was that Minister Chu seemed to be addicted. He even laughed idiotically every now and then!
This was a person wearing a black outfit and a horrifying mask; this person in a powerful position was reading a childish book and even laughed once in a while!
Forget about witnessing it, just thinking about it was enough to give people goosebumps.
Wu Qian Qian was getting wave after wave of goosebumps. As for Minister Chu, he continued to giggle like a fool. The most undignified thing was his mind often wandered off, and his eyes had just a blank stare. Following that would be some glistening drool as he seemed to be dreaming about some distant thing…
Reading books to the point the spirit left the body… children’s books… this must be some incredible spiritual state!
Wu Qian Qian silently lamented: When will this long day pass?
As she was doing paperwork, a creepy, wanton laughter rose up from behind her. If Wu Qian Qian did not have a sense of humor and patience, she would have smacked King of Hell Chu’s face with that book. Then she would have splashed the tea on his face and pointed him to the door!
Wu Qian Qian was even more speechless with the origin of these books. That King of Hell Chu abused his power and sent his powerful subordinates everywhere to search for them. Sending assassins to hunt for children’s books, our King of Hell Chu was especially skilled. Each one must bring back at least twenty! Can’t hold them? You will be greeted with corporal punishment!
Each time she thought about these fierce guys looking so helpless and pitiful as they carried piles of children’s books in, Wu Qian Qian almost stopped breathing from trying to hold down the urge to laugh.
That emotion peaked when she saw Hall Leader Cheng carry a stack of books in.
An old man with a wrinkly face gloomily held a stack of children’s books.
Wu Qian Qian laughed like crazy!
Once, when Minister Chu was completely engrossed, the prince came to visit. He came in but Chu Yang was still calmly reading. Prince Tie Bu Tian’s mouth widened in surprise.
After that, the prince asked something that made Wu Qian Qian laugh uncontrollably every time she thought about it, “Ah, is Minister Chu improving his intellect?”
As the leader of an intelligence network, a supervisor of an assassin group, and the minister of a spy organization, his actions left people at a loss…
The worst of it all was the fact that he would come in early each morning saying sadly, “I forgot that story!”
Wu Qian Qian was speechless!
What kind of person was this?
The books that Chu Yang already read, Wu Qian Qian calculated that they would fill up a few large chests!
Even more especially excessive was that this guy did not only just like children’s books, he also liked children’s toys! And he did not like toys for boys, he liked toys for girls!
She even witnessed this guy holding a doll with dreamy eyes saying, “I must bring it back tonight!”
Wu Qian Qian’s daily nightmare was each time Minister Chu was getting ready to leave. He would say one sentence to her, “Elder martial sister, if you have free time, go out and buy me a toy!”
Each time she heard this, Wu Qian Qian practically went into convulsions.
The only thing she could be proud of was:
Have any of you witnessed King of Hell Chu laugh like an idiot while reading a book? I am the only one!
Have any of you witnessed King of Hell Chu looking dreamily at a girl’s toy? I am also the only one!
While Wu Qian Qian never spoke these words, she did have these eye-opening experiences!
“Minister, someone wants to see you!” Cheng Zi Ang’s voice rang out. He sounded like he just got his tooth pulled out, not loud like normal.
They should know what their Minister Chu was doing not to asking like that!
“Who? I am busy!” While Minister Chu was ‘researching and studying hard’, he did not have any patience.
“Sir, the people that came the other day!” Cheng Zi Ang’s face was now wrinkly like a bitter gourd. If I could turn him down, I would have done it already. But you can’t turn down this person! He is from the Hei Mo Clan, and this one is a King level master!
“The people from the other day?” Chu Yang asked skeptically.
An icy voice suddenly rang out, “Minister Chu, you sure are big!”
Before the statement ended, a person in black appeared at the doorway. His movement was extremely fast like that of ghosts and demons.
Chu Yang looked up right away, and exclaimed in surprise, “Haha, I thought it was someone else. It’s you, sir! Please sit! Please sit! No wonder a magpie was singing at the door early this morning; it’s because of your arrival! Qian Qian, bring tea! The best one! Quickly get my best tea!”
Such intimate and excited words made the Hei Mo Saber King feel as if he was meeting family that he had not seen in many years.
After he finished talking, Minister Chu quickly moved from his spot and stepped out to greet his guest.
The Hei Mo Saber King grunted and was a about to say something when he caught a glance of the children’s book in King of Hell Chu that was being flipped open by the wind.
This leader of Bu Tian Pavilion was clearly read a book called “The Story of the Water Buffalo and the Mean Dog.” His eyes shifted to the desk, and saw many books of the same kind. There were “The Secret of in the Palace,” “The Love Story of the Three-Headed Toad and the Two-Legged Horse,” and “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” as well!
The Saber King felt as if he was going crazy. Within moments, he two eyes glared at Minister Chu. Goosebumps could be seen on the back of his hands!
Wu Qian Qian stood on the side with her head down in shame for her leader while trying to hold down her laugher.
“Ah… ahem! Cough, cough…” Minister Chu was slightly ashamed and yelled out to cover up, “Qian Qian, you’re still not putting your books away? How does it look letting our guest see this?”
Then he casually looked at the Hei Mo Saber King, “Funny! Cough… cough. All young ladies are like that! Haha…”
Wu Qian Qian paled from anger. How did they become my books? If you want to keep your dignity, at least don’t frame this on me! But she could only glare at King of Hell Chu. While this eldest miss was annoyed, she did not dare say it; she quietly swallowed her anger and started to put away “her books.”
The Hei Mo Saber King’s mouth became crooked as he sat down. He silently cursed this shameless guy: Clearly these books are on your side. There is even one in your hand, and you blame it on somebody’s daughter! But he laughed and replied, “It’s nothing! All little girls love those books…”
When he said these words, the Saber King’s face also reddened. Little girls were supposed to be seven or eight years old; the little girl in front of him was seventeen or eighteen already!
But today, he came asking for a favor, so he had to say some nice words!
“Swoosh… swoosh” Wu Qian Qian tossed all the books into a chest. She carried the chest toward Minister Chu and said, “Minister, sir, please give me the book in your hand. It’s my book; please return it to me! You have used it to fan enough already!”
“Ack…” Chu Yang had finally realized that he was still holding one in his hand and quickly tossed it into the chest Wu Qian Qian was holding. He laughed loudly, “It is too hot!”
The Hei Mo Saber King’s mouth twitched as he thought: Motherf*! It is the end of autumn. All the leaves have fallen, and snow is about to come down. You are still fanning yourself; you must have really bad health!
[TLN: I can only hope that Mo Qing Wu leaves quickly, so that our MC can regain some of his dignity.]