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The sound of the banners’ poles hitting the ground in the yard could be heard inside. The cup fell out of the old lady’s shaking hands and, with a ‘crack,’ shattered into pieces.
She squeezed her eyes shut. When she opened them again, she looked at the fragments on the ground, dazed: “It broke.”
Su Er: “May you have peace all year round.” (1)
岁岁平安 – “Peace for all time” During New Years, when you break a dish, the people around you
have to say “Peace for all time,” so bad luck will be driven away for the whole year. See Here .
“…” The old lady who was in a sluggish state suddenly recovered and looked over incredulously: “You’re not mute!”
No.
Although the voice just now was clear, it was obviously a male’s voice. Not only wasn’t he mute, but he was also a man!
To have lived up until now, she wasn’t stupid. She stood up from her chair in a flurry and dug her nails into Su Er’s shoulder: “If you collude to lie, you will suffer retribution!” (2)
串通 – Collaborate, Collude – work together (with Ji Heng to lie to her)
Su Er said calmly: “Who’d know if you don’t tell anyone?”
The old lady was taken aback.
Su Er: “Those who violate the rules must be caught red-handed to be punished. I lied in front of you, but there shouldn’t be any ghosts around us right now.”
He glanced at her red pendant.
With the protection of this thing, ghosts couldn’t even get close to her.
The old lady had been calculating her entire life, and even when her son turned into a ghost, he couldn’t do anything to her. Yet, two juniors suddenly played her as a fool! She gritted her teeth with hatred: “Go to Hell!” (3)
Calculating – shrewd (negative connotation for smart); 你们等死吧 – “you wait to die”
Su Er looked at Ji Heng, who was not so humane. Ji Heng’s tone was extremely cold: “Your thing can guard against ghosts, but it can’t guard against people.” Bending down, he picked up one of the scattered cup fragments and held it in his hand. He lightly stroked it as he glanced at the lady from the corner of his eye. She couldn’t help retreating a few steps. (4)
斜眼 – squint; to look sideways; from the side of the eye
“By killing you, we can fulfill one of the ghost’s wishes and also snatch up your amulet, killing two birds with one stone.”
For a time, the old lady couldn’t tell whether the ghost outside or the person inside was more terrifying.
One played the villain, and the other played the hero. Su Er timely said: “What’s the difference between us and the ghost?” (5)
唱红脸 – wear the red makeup of the stage hero; play the hero; pretend to be generous and kind.
唱白脸 – wear the white makeup of the stage villain; play the villain; pretend to be harsh and severe.
Seeing someone speak up for her, the old lady nodded rapidly.
Su Er smiled: “Don’t be afraid. Open the door and recognize this marriage properly.”
“But- but doesn’t the town not allow male wives to be married?”
Male wife?
Su Er tried to ignore this new title.
“It doesn’t matter,” he said soothingly. “This was all your idea, so naturally you have to bear it.”
The old lady’s eyes widened.
Su Er: “It’s just another crime.”
Even if that was true, she was still the person Zhou Linjun wanted to kill the most, whether it be before or after death.
She put her hand on the door but didn’t dare to push it open for a long time. Though ghosts couldn’t hurt the old lady, they’d come to scare her many times over the years, and she’d long since gained a psychological shadow: “Can I…” (6)
精神衰弱 – mentally weak, breakdown, psychasthenia (neurotic state characterized by
phobias, obsessions, or compulsions that one knows are irrational)
She didn’t know when Ji Heng suddenly stood behind her, the porcelain pieces deftly flipping in between his fingers.
Su Er added fuel to the fire: “You’ve been persecuted for so many years. You should be tough by now.”
The door finally opened.
Its white bones had rotted into a black and blue, and the maggots crawled over the broken pieces of the white banners, slithering over one another, thick and plentiful. From a distance, they gave off the illusion of a moving picture scroll, and, looking at it again, it was chilling. (7)
发青 – become green; become black and blue;
密密麻麻 – as thick as huckleberries; as thickly as stalks in a field of flax ; close and numerous;
画卷 – moving picture scroll; scroll painting; grand spectacle
After the extreme fear passed, the old lady’s state should have eased, but she still couldn’t open her eyes. Just thinking of the maggots she just saw was enough to make her scalp numb. (8)
More accurately: “She still subconsciously did not open her eyes and did not look at
the maggots that made her scalp numb.”
“Mother was afraid you’ll be lonely in the underworld…” A shard of porcelain quietly rested against her waist. The old lady gritted her teeth and said, “I’ve found a marriage for you.”
A blur flashed in front of her, and before one could even blink, the skeleton arrived just an inch away from her face. With a flash of gold light from the old lady, the skeleton was forced to retreat a few feet back to its original position. It stretched the bones of its neck and let out a roar like that of a beast.
Seeing this, there was a trace of delight in the old lady’s eyes. “I gave you life, and I can take it away.”
If she hadn’t reported him first, she would have certainly been killed by this monster.
There were no friendly sentiments between mother and child, and the skeleton did not fluctuate. Instead, it calmly asked: “Father didn’t owe you anything. Wasn’t he also poisoned?”
For so many years, he hadn’t killed anyone and wasn’t in a hurry to do so. More killing intent surged towards Su Er.
Su Er slowly spoke each word: “Do you want to… kill your wife and mother?” (9)
“苏尔一字一停” – “Su Er paused at each word.”
The fire in the brazier had long gone out, and a faint burning smell lingered in the air, reminding them of what kind of farce was going on here.
“Wife?” The skeleton suddenly laughed in a hoarse voice, which sounded even more unsettling than the previous shrill voice. Inexplicably, it suddenly changed its attitude: “We are married. Next is our wedding night.”
Su Er’s fingers inadvertently rubbed against the outside of his pocket and traced the outline of the taser inside before responding.
Ji Heng did not interfere with his choice, and instead whispered a reminder: “Ghosts exist because of obsession.”
Su Er was slightly startled before comprehension dawned on him. It’s really no wonder… A ghost who has done wrong during his lifetime did not repent after death. The skeleton’s obsession was the rules, so it could not break the rules at will. (10)
Su Er temporarily forgot that a ghost was bound by its obsession because
he was nervous about being in the same room as the Ghost King.
In such a situation, his chances of survival were quite high. (11)
More accurately, the sentence starts with “In such a conversion” (“换算,” meaning “conversion”)
I could not make sense of it so I changed it to situation
Ji Heng quietly gave Su Er a talisman: “This can delay him for a few seconds if something happens.”
Su Er: “I don’t think I can get out in a few seconds.”
Ji Heng: “I will wait by the door. It’s enough time for you to shout.”
Su Er thought for a moment. This plan was quite safe.
The skeleton crawled into the house, its body contorting and distorted.
Su Er was a little disappointed that it didn’t go to the cemetery. At night, evil spirits ran rampant in the town, so the cemetery was much safer (T/N: because it was empty).
The door closed again, but this time, the people inside and outside had changed. The ghost and Su Er were now in the room, while Ji Heng and the old lady stood in the yard. Too many things happened that night, and they had mentally stimulated the old lady beyond what her physical strength could keep up with. Gasping, she went and entered another room (T/N: through another entrance).
There were still some unused red candles in the room, and Su Er lit them one by one.
Light was needed to have a clear vision, so he could precisely attack with the taser in case of an emergency. (12)
More accurately: “Only with light could one have a clear vision, and the taser can be accurate in an emergency.”
In the flickering candlelight, the skeleton’s empty eye sockets seemed to come to life. Its voice was like a broken erhu as it spoke something unrelated to the events of that night: “The person who lights the candle has a choice, but the candle does not.”
Likewise, no child can choose his or her origin.
“My parents were very strict. A slight mistake would end in me being exposed to the blazing sun for quite a long time.” The skeleton probably wanted to laugh, but without skin and flesh, its jaw swung all the way down in an extremely frightening way. “But I didn’t care. That’s how all the children in town were brought up.” (13)
More accurately: “The skeleton probably wanted to laugh, but without skin and flesh,
the whole curvature of his chin was pulled open in an extremely frightening arc.”
“…Until the day I saw my mother poison my father’s wine.”
The candlelight made his eyes hurt. Su Er avoided eye contact and asked, “Why didn’t you report it?”
When some children see their parents commit crimes, they may act against their morals because of love. However, the Ghost King had no affection for his parents. (14)
违心 – one’s convictions or one’s will; what one sees as right and wrong
“Because my father stole alcohol.” The skeleton felt it had been asked a very boring question, and got impatient: “Long ago, during Chinese New Year, I secretly stole a piece of meat from the table to eat before my relatives arrived. I was almost beaten to death by my father… And the nature of stealing wine is even more severe.” (15)
营养 – nutritious. In this context, it means very dry or boring
The skeleton extinguished the flame of a candle with its fingers: “Perhaps our family has a habit of stealing. Father stole alcohol, mother cheated on us… and then I stole the votes again. What’s been passed down through blood cannot be stopped.”
After saying this, it seemed to feel much better, and its tone had returned to what it was before. Although it was hoarse, there was less cruelty in it.
Su Er played the role of listener and didn’t open his mouth once.
The skeleton was satisfied with this silence: “Since you want to be the Chief Guard so much, I can fulfill it.”
Su Er’s eyes flickered: “Are you serious?”
Skeleton: “Husband and wife are one. Your glory is mine.”
Knowing that there was no such thing as a free lunch in this world, Su Er quietly waited for the follow-up terms. Sure enough, it didn’t take long for the skeleton to start fiddling with the last remaining candle: “As long as you can remove the pendant from the old lady.”
Su Er: “Why me?”
Anyone could help with this. If you caught someone breaking the rules in town, you could force with to follow your instructions. Wouldn’t it get his revenge early?
Skeleton: “I can only awaken from my slumber once every few years, and I will be awake for only seven days.”
During this period, it was difficult to encounter rule breakers. At most, it would seize the opportunity to go scare the old lady. If it could scare her to death, it would be a good thing.
Su Er reminded: “This town doesn’t lack ghosts.”
It’s easy to ask those guys to fight (T/N: Because the old lady’s pendant only worked against Zhou Linjun).
Skeleton: “Don’t expose your family’s ugliness in public.” (16)
家丑不可外扬 – “Domestic scandals should not be made public;” “Family troubles are not things to be talked about in public.”
It doesn’t want fellow ghosts to know about its family scandals.
Su Er pointed at himself.
The skeleton laughed maliciously: “You are family now.”
“…” Su Er said quietly, “I’ll think about it and give you an answer tomorrow night.”
The ghost was displeased with his hesitation. It reached its fingers out to him several times, but it reluctantly held itself back.
A glimpse of light broke through the black as ink night. Daybreak was approaching, and like a snake, the skeleton quickly climbed out the window and disappeared.
Su Er opened the door.
Ji Heng: “How was the talk?”
Su Er: “It tried to kill me several times, but it held back.”
This was exactly what he expected. Ji Heng: “Although wise ghosts are difficult to deal with, their intelligence is sometimes a good thing.” (17)
“Their intelligence” was added by me to make it less vague.
Su Er explained the deal proposed by the Ghost King.
Ji Heng smiled slightly and asked, “What do you think?”
Su Er sighed: “Once I take the pendant, I’ll be an accomplice. The crime of murdering my mother-in-law should be enough for the Ghost King to kill me easily.” (18)
My interpretation: The the old lady told Zhou Linjun “I found you a wife,” thus taking responsibility
for the town’s crime of marrying two men. Zhou Linjun couldn’t kill Su Er for that crime.
Ji Heng nodded: “It’s difficult to think of a way.”
The pendant had to be taken, but how was still uncertain.
At dawn, Wen Buyu ran over with blood scabs on the corner of her mouth: “I met Wan Yi on the road, and he said that the host has asked everyone to go back to the Educational Hall.”
Su Er looked at her wound: “Are you alright?”
Wen Buyu: “It’s just a minor injury. I’m lucky to survive.”
She didn’t want to experience the events of last night ever again.
When she didn’t hear Ji Heng speak, Wen Buyu was a little worried and promised: “I said nothing to Wan Yi.” After the skeleton left, some wandering spirits chased her for a long time. There was no time to consider schemes and tricks. She paused and said, “Wan Yi shouldn’t dare to deceive others by using the host.” (19)
She is saying Wan Yi wouldn’t dare lie about the host wanting to see them, so going
back to the Educational Hall shouldn’t be a trap
There was not a bit of trust on Ji Heng’s face. Still, he turned to Su Er and said: “It’s okay to go back and have a look. The host has been too quiet this time.”
Su Er felt the same way. Usually, he didn’t see Mr. Shuhai at all. It seemed the other party spent all his time in his room reading a book. After a moment of contemplation, he whispered a few words to Ji Heng, who nodded.
On the ordered street, the two figures (T/N Ji Heng and Wen Buyu) didn’t fit in.
Along the way, Wen Buyu was a little nervous. “Can’t Su Er go?”
Ji Heng: “Leave someone behind just in case.”
“But… Why did the host ask us to gather?”
Ji Heng didn’t respond.
She didn’t know if it was a psychological effect. The more she wanted to go slower, the more the path under her feet seemed to shorten. By the time she raised her head again, they’d arrived at the Educational Hall. Wen Buyu took a deep breath and pushed the door in. Wan Yi and Shen Jiangbei were sitting on stone stools, and the host had also arrived.
Mr. Shuhai’s gaze swept over them: “There is still one missing.”
Ji Heng: “Su Er just got married last night. According to the customs here, he can’t return to his parents’ home (T/N: Educational Hall in Su Er’s case) until three days later.”
“…”
The author has something to say:
Su Er: I’m the most beautiful cub on the street!
There should be one or two chapters left for this game. Although Su Er’s performance was not stable, he should have gained some experience for the next game, so his survival ability will improve. I hope everyone won’t despise him for his temporary weakness (No, I really can’t go on)