Chapter 3

"Where are you from? Where do you live? Do you have siblings? Have you ever paid respects to any master before?" Xie Bi An settled Fan Wu She into his neighboring courtyard, helped him with spring cleaning, carried things and chatted with him, asking questions most of the time.

But Fan Wu She treated his words like gold*. Occasionally, his answers evaded the crucial point*. He seemed to be high on alert and had no interest in talking.

Xie Bi An spread out the bedding he took from his house and said with a smile: "Don’t mind me for being long-winded, I grew up here ever since I was young and rarely had any friends of my own age, let alone a living person. In fact, I always wanted to have a junior brother. I...Senior brother will take good care of you." He was a little embarrassed saying these two words "senior brother", yet he felt very pleased in his heart as if he had taken up some extraordinary important position. Finally, he was someone else's senior brother. Finally, he had a junior brother.

It's probably because he took over Zhong Kui's daily life since he was little. He always enjoyed taking care of people. Even if master was not around in the future, he would have someone to share the delicious food he made and the wines he brewed.

Fan Wu She glanced at Xie Bi An. He suddenly wrinkled his nose and sniffed hard.

Xie Bi An immediately reacted: "It’s the quilt, isn’t it? I put a sachet I made in the cabinet." He grabbed his quilt and sniffed, "You don't like this scent?"

Fan Wu She walked over and picked up a corner of the quilt and drew it close to his face, yet he didn't dare to inhale at all. Just letting the smell flit weakly across his nose had already made his heart flutter.

This scent...

The memories that he had desperately suppressed came spilling out. He remembered that year, deep in that magnificent palace, where the flickering five-stemmed lotus lamp candle was hanging overhead, casting layers upon layers of shadows. The golden and jade goblets were lying all over the place, the imperial robe and crown abandoned on the floor. The Agarwood bed shook violently, the misty silk curtains swaying along with its motions, pushing away layers of flirtatious ripples*. Inside the curtain, the jade was warm in the spring night*. The red quilt turned over like waves. As if he was insane, he pressed this person into endless collisions. At that time, he had breathed in this exact fragrance, just that it was hotter, thicker, and more enchanting...

"Junior brother?"

As if he was shocked from waking up from a dream, Fan Wu She threw the quilt away, as if his hand was scalded, and said dully: "Too fragrant."

"Too fragrant?" Xie Bi An sniffed again, "I put lilac, wrinkled giant hyssop, atractylodes, white aconite, green osmanthus and tangerine peels in it. This is a recipe for calming nerves and aiding sleep. For fragrance, I only used some orchids. Did I put too many? Maybe I put too many. I planted so many in the yard, it's a pity not to make use of them."

Gentlemen are like an orchid, gentlemen are like an orchid*, this person still loves to plant orchids so much.

Fan Wu She's eyes were dark and difficult to understand. Resentment welled up within him without warning.

Why, why could he forget everything? The things he did, the sins he committed, and the people he harmed, he had forgotten all of it. He reincarnated innocently and lived a carefree life under the shadow of a powerful master.

Now, he was living free and carefree as if nothing had ever happened.

How come I tried so hard to remember, and yet he forgot so easily?!

"Junior brother, you came so suddenly, so I couldn't find any new bedding in such a short amount of time. You'll have to put up with it tonight. Tomorrow I will bring you to town and buy some new ones, okay?"

Fan Wu She said nothing. He carried a bucket of dirty water and walked out.

Xie Bi An stared at the young man's back and mumbled: "His temper is a little weird." Then he smiled again, "Maybe he's just shy."

This courtyard, which had never been inhabited before, looked brand new after a quick clean up. Xie Bi An cut some fresh flowers from the garden to add some personality to the house.

After returning from drawing water, Fan Wu She didn't even spare a glance at Xie Bi An. As a junior brother who treated his senior brother so rudely right after he joined, he would have been punished if he was at someone else's house. Although Xie Bi An was a little depressed, he did not take it to heart, thinking that it was understandable to have some abnormalities when an ordinary person encountered such huge changes in one day. If Fan Wu She had been like this since he was young, then he must have lived a difficult life, which made it even more unnecessary for Xie Bi An to complain about it.

After instructing Fan Wu She not to leave Heaven Master Palace alone without authorization, Xie Bi An bid farewell and planned to visit his master.

Zhong Kui is a wine addict. He acted as if life revolved around wine. Every place in Heaven Master Palace was named after wine. For example, the main hall was called Jiuyun, Zhong Kui's bedroom was called Zhuyeqing, Fan Wu She's temporary residence was called Hantanxiang, and Xie Bi An named his courtyard Xiaoyaoniang.

When he arrived at Zhuyeqing Hall, he ran into Bo Zhu who was just leaving.

"Where is master?"

"Heaven Master went back to sleep after taking a bath." Bo Zhu said helplessly, "I don't know where he went again this time. He's so dirty and smelly."

"Sleeping again? He didn't eat anything to fill his stomach?"

"He only drank hangover soup. He said to wake him up after White Master stewed some pork ribs."

Xie Bi An smiled: "I'm hungry now. I'll go prepare something to eat. I guess junior brother is hungry too."

"Heaven Master really accepted that person as his disciple?"

"Yeah, though master does things a bit eccentrically and unreasonably, he always keeps his promises."

"But, what does Heaven Master like about him? Although he looks handsome, his qualifications, roots, and bones are unknown."

Xie Bi An didn't tell Bo Zhu about the matter regarding the wine money to save some face for Zhong Kui: "People who master takes a liking to are definitely not bad, it's just..."

"What?"

Xie Bi An smiled bitterly: "He doesn't seem to like me. He doesn't talk and ignores me. I wanted to ask about his history, but he isn't willing to talk about it."

Bo Zhu widened his eyes: "What kind of person is he? Who doesn't like White Master? He has Heaven Master as his master and White Master as his senior brother. He truly doesn’t know how to appreciate it."

"You don't have to put it that way. Maybe...maybe he got scared and hasn’t recovered yet." Xie Bi An rubbed Bo Zhu's head, "Luckily you informed me early today and I arrived before Official Lord Cui did. Otherwise, I might not even have a junior brother."

Bo Zhu felt a little worried and said: "Official Lord's side..."

"Official Lord has a sharp tongue but also a soft heart. Tomorrow I'll bring over some good tea and apologize on master's behalf." Xie Bi An smiled, seemingly in a good mood.

Bo Zhu said with jealousy: "White Master, you look so happy. If it's a junior sister, I will also be happy for you, even if it's a clever and well-behaved junior brother, but that guy...Anyway, I think he's a little weird."

"Don't judge a book by its cover. Maybe he's cold from the outside and warm on the inside. I guess he's just wary of us. It will be alright once he becomes more familiar with us." Xie Bi An instructed, "Bo Zhu, Wu She still doesn't know the rules very well. Keep an eye on him. Don't let him run all over the place."

He grew up here since he was young, and now that he had an official position he could roam freely around the Underworld without any hindrance. But when he was young, Zhong Kui never allowed him to step outside Heaven Master Palace. The vitality of living beings could supplement the cultivation of ghosts. Although those who serve in the Underworld were all ghosts with no grievances in their previous life, there was no guarantee that anyone could resist this temptation. Heaven Master Palace had a boundary, and Fan Wu She could only stay in it until he had the ability to protect himself.

 "Got it."

"By the way, help me find out which Yanluo Hall the person I brought back today was sent to."

"Oh, what happened to him?"

"He..." Xie Bi An knew he shouldn't concern himself with matters pertaining to the human realm. Humans and ghosts should draw the line clearly and not offend each other. Moreover, he and the Yanluo Hall performed their respective duties. He shouldn't meddle too much. However, the matter of core stealing was of great importance. After all, it was the core stealing demonic cultivator in the human realm who had burnt down the Underworld. If master knew about this, he wouldn't sit by idly and remain indifferent.

Bo Zhu stopped questioning: "I got it White Master. I will go now."

Xie Bi An went to visit Zhong Kui. Seeing that he was sleeping soundly, he relaxed and went into the kitchen to prepare dinner.

He knew master's taste very well, but what does his junior brother like to eat? He forgot to ask. Xie Bi An decided to make some common household dishes, which were neither spicy nor sweet, which people, in general, should be used to eating.

Xie Bi An made a table of dishes. There’s taro stewed pork ribs, crispy bean curd with sauce, braised egg with asparagus, steamed mandarin fish, rouge chicken breast, plus cold dressing shredded vegetables, and shredded pork and mushroom soup*. Usually, he would prepare two small bottles of wine for Zhong Kui, but he didn't need to do so tonight.

After preparing the meal, he woke Zhong Kui.

After napping for 2 hours, Zhong Kui slept off his hangover and felt refreshed. He had also freshened up, and he looked very different from his sloppy appearance from when he first returned. He was tall and mighty, with thick eyebrows and beautiful sideburns. Most accomplished immortals were very elegant and could only be viewed from a distance, but he was chivalrous, cheerful, and wild. It looked like he's from a different species.

But Xie Bi An felt that this kind of master was a good cultivator. He didn't avoid mortal's customs, came into the world, and entered the society based on true intentions.

The Path is not far from man. When men try to pursue a course, which is far from the common indications of consciousness, this course cannot be considered The Path*. If one ignored the suffering of people for the sake of cultivation and only aimed to ascend, wouldn't it go against the original intention of cultivation?

Zhong Kui sat down, his eyes gleaming: "When I was outside, I missed your dishes."

Xie Bi An served him a bowl of soup: "Master, you eat first, I'll go and call junior brother over."

"Wait." Zhong Kui gnawed the ribs without looking up, "How did you get hurt?"

"Got injured by a sword when harvesting a soul. It's alright now."

"You have the soul-suppressing stick beside you. Not many souls are able to hurt you. Did you encounter something troublesome?"

"I was just about to tell you." Xie Bi An briefly described Meng Ke Fei's death which resulted from core theft.

Zhong Kui didn't stop chewing, but his two eyebrows were pinched.

"I feel that this is not a simple matter, so I called Bo Zhu to find out where he has been sent to. After that...I haven't figured out what to do."

"Leave it to me."

"Okay."

"Wuliang Sect's elder dared to defy the law. It's really reckless."

"Master, Xiang Qu Zhen Ren lost his mind for a moment as he was anxious to avenge his disciple. He and the other cultivators have already learned their lesson and will not do it again. I'm thinking..." Back then, he just wanted to scare Xiang Qu Zhen Ren to close the formation. If he really filed a complaint to Official Lord Cui by performing a forbidden soul-calling technique, at least 10 years of life would be deducted, but this was not really a big matter. He didn’t want Xiang Qu Zhen Ren to be punished.

"Mm, you play it by ear then."

Xie Bi An heaved a sigh of relief: "T-then I'll go and call junior brother now."

When he arrived at Fan Wu She's residence, there was no light in the room. It was pitch black. Xie Bi An hesitated a bit before lightly knocking on the door and said softly: "Junior brother, junior brother?"

He couldn't be sleeping this early, right? Could it be...he's still unhappy about the quilt being too fragrant?

Xie Bi An thought for a while and turned back. He scooped out some rice, vegetables, and soup separately and put them in the bamboo basket, intending to send it over to Fan Wu She.

Zhong Kui was dissatisfied: "Let him starve if he doesn't want to eat. How can a senior brother deliver food to a junior brother?"

Xie Bi An smiled and said: "He's still young, and came into the ghost realm suddenly. Perhaps he's feeling nervous. I will take care of him in the next few days."

He took the bamboo basket to Fan Wu She's door and knocked again: "Wu She, I've put the food outside the door. If you wake up and see it, eat it while it's hot."

For a long time, there was no response. Xie Bi An left, feeling a little disappointed.

Inside the room, Fan Wu She wrapped himself in Xie Bi An's quilt. He was almost like an infant curled up inside the mother's womb. He heard Xie Bi An's footsteps gradually fade away, and opened his trembling mouth, biting the exuding orchid-scented soft quilt.

His eyes were bright in the darkness, except that a curtain of water gradually emerged from them. The darkness seemed to thicken into a thick fog, making it harder to breathe. A faint voice called out like a cry for help: "Big brother..."

 

----

treated his words like gold*[惜字如金]----FWS is very careful/cautious about XBA’s words

evaded the crucial point*[避重就轻]--- avoid the important and dwell on the trivial; evade serious matters and take up trifles.

pushing away layers of flirtatious ripples*[推开层层暧昧的涟漪]---literal translation from Chinese text. You can imagine the bed is like your hand (for example), situated in the middle of a water source, like a lake, so when you shake your hand on the surface of the lake, it'll create ripples.

jade was warm in the spring night*[玉暖春宵]--- 玉暖, or温香暖玉, usually means a woman (in this case is XBA), 春宵 means the period when man and woman are having sex (in this case, man and man)

There’s taro stewed pork ribs, crispy bean curd with sauce, braised egg with asparagus, steamed mandarin fish, rouge chicken breast, plus cold dressing shredded vegetables, and shredded pork and mushroom soup*[有芋头炖排骨，脆皮包浆豆腐，芦笋烩蛋，清蒸桂鱼，胭脂鸡脯，加上一个凉拌三丝，一个肉丝菇汤，]----see picture below xD

The path is not far from man. When men try to pursue a course, which is far from the common indications of consciousness, this course cannot be considered The Path* [道不远人，人之为道而远人，不可以为道]----this is from Li Ji's 'Zhong Yong'

Editors Thoughts:

Hi everyone~ I hope you enjoyed this chapter! 

I think some of you might be confused about the phrase "Gentlemen are like an orchid". Let me give you a quick explanation on it. What the author said was 君子如兰 which translates to "A gentleman cultivates his mind and nurtures his virtue by being frugal, and does not change his character and disposition because of poverty." which is trying to say that although XBA was a prince/emperor (I think?) in his previous life, he still acts the same now even though he is (comparably) living in poverty compared to last time. 

I realized that a few of you (especially if you are new to cultivation novels) might be confused by the term roots and bones. A simple and general explanation would be: roots are something like the meridians in the body, and usually your inner qi/power/sprit energy (depending on what kind of novel you are reading) uses the meridians as a pathway to channel the power. And bones are well... bones LOL. The better the bones the more sturdy the body. Usually, the better your roots and bones, the more suited your body is for cultivation and the higher your cultivation can climb. Hope this helps! 

Do leave a "Like" comment if you like this chapter! 

 

Edited on 14 Mar. 21 (Emzie)

Edited on 18 Jun. 21 (Ari)----as usual, more footnotes as well and a picture added

Edited on 18 Jul 21 (Limit) 

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