Ch112 - Within a dream

Faceless was very professional despite his curiosity and didn’t persist in his questions. He came straight to the point.

“You have already affected the relationship between the king and Shizi. This one has orders to act, so sorry for offending.” So speaking, he grabbed his sword in one hand and the chains bound by white lotus light in the other to attack Xie Zhiwei again.

Xie Zhiwei retreated while taking out Qingping Sword. He had no idea how the conversation was going between Mu He and the King of Nine Provinces. If Faceless was still chasing him even now, perhaps…

Actually, minor soy sauce characters like Faceless without much of a role in the plot were fine to kill. But Xie Zhiwei’s bark had always been worse than his bite. Even his bad temper from his last life would only stop at his mouth. He rarely got physical with others, much less murderous. However, if the King of Nine Provinces was bent on having his own way and making Faceless pester him constantly, who knows who he’d pretend to be tomorrow if he was faking Mu He today? Suppose he failed to recognize him at a glance one of these days? It would spell trouble.

Xie Zhiwei’s thoughts flew while he yielded multiple moves to Faceless. But the latter didn’t appreciate the gesture at all and kept pressing closer, occasionally trying to wrap his chains around his body.

Xie Zhiwei creased his brows. Enough already! There are still people inside! All of them can beat you up.

But of course he couldn’t summon Chu Zhishi and the rest right now. In their eyes, Mu He and the King of Nine Provinces were on the same side. Since Faceless had come to ambush him, they would just blame Mu He for being a two-faced, capricious villain—even if that was a fact. Faceless was equally cautious and didn’t show off in other people’s territory. He was planning to just sneak in and leave, but didn’t expect Xie Zhiwei to be such a gentleman. He didn’t call for help or bully him with his strength…so Faceless could only seize the chance to act petty.

After the nth time tossing the chains, Faceless suddenly received a kick to his chest. He felt pain before a fishy sweetness gushed from his throat and made him spit up blood. As he flew out in mid-air, a foot connected with his wrists and sent the White Lotus chains flying far away. Xie Zhiwei couldn’t have attacked him so suddenly. This person was…

Faceless’s heart leaped before he peeled off the mask on his face. Ignoring the severe pain in his chest, he crawled up from the ground to kneel. “This subordinate greets Shizi.”

Mu He’s face was as cold as ice. “Faceless, are you sick of living?”

Although Mu He had kept his distance from the people of the king’s manor, he was always gentle and polite. He didn’t visibly show his joy or anger and spoke and acted with poise. He concealed himself from the world, but always had a set of close friends in court, which showed his ability to pull people together.

Now he was showing a rare moment of anger.

Faceless hadn’t followed the King of Nine Provinces to the inn to block Xie Zhiwei, or else he would’ve been more shocked with what Mu He did there. He bowed lower and said, “This subordinate followed the king’s orders to invite Xie zhenren back. Shizi…you should be aware of this.”

“No need,” Mu He gave him a chilly look. “Three days have long passed. Royal Father and I have agreed that touching shizun is prohibited in the future.”

Since Mu He arrived, he and Xie Zhiwei had only exchanged a look before the latter withdrew to the sidelines. Mu He spoke loudly without a breeze flustering the folds of his robes. His aura was cold enough to pierce a winter night.

Is the King of Nine Provinces so easily appeased? Why does it feel so surreal?

Forget it. This is a rare positive scene for Mu He, I can’t steal his thunder.

A few dozen feet away from the inn, Xie Zhiwei silently used a bit of spiritual energy to flick open the doors. Yan Zhifei slept late and was currently discussing something with Xia Zhiqi. When the doors suddenly opened, the lamp light from inside illuminated the three figures in front of the forest. Yan Zhifei and Xia Zhiqi exchanged looks before moving towards the source.

It just so happened that Faceless was kneeling to ask Mu He, “The king changed his mind? May this subordinate dare to ask…whether Shizi is joking?”

“You dare question me?” Mu He narrowed his eyes before sending Faceless flying with a flick of his sleeve.

Xie Zhiwei glanced at the approaching figures and turned to nod at them. “Eldest senior brother, third junior sister, apologies for disturbing your rest.”

Mu He cupped his hands as well. “Greetings to eldest martial uncle and third marital aunt.”

Faceless kept spitting up blood as he crawled upright, clutching his chest as he heaved for breath. Yan Zhifei knitted his brows and asked, “Zhiwei, who is this now?”

Xie Zhiwei introduced, “This is the right-hand man of the King of Nine Provinces. Just then he ambushed me, but my disciple came in time to stop him. Because Sect Leader Senior Brother is present, I shouldn’t deal with it privately.”

Xia Zhiqi understood his meaning and looked suspiciously towards Mu He. “In other words, you’ve gone against the King of Nine Provinces?”

Mu He shook his head in denial. “Disciple convinced Royal Father to stop causing trouble for shizun and the daoist sect.”

Yujing Sect and the King of Nine Provinces had been at loggerheads for ages, so Yan Zhifei wasn’t convinced. “Is this true? How did you convince the King of Nine Provinces?”

Mu He was about to speak when Faceless’s figure flashed. He tossed out his sword, stepped on the blade, and flew off.

“Hold it,” Mu He was about to chase him when Xie Zhiwei pulled him back. He turned around in shock. “Why did shizun stop me? He offended you and deserves to pay for his crimes.”

Before Xie Zhiwei could explain, Yan Zhifei stepped in. “He’s still the king’s man in the end. Zhiwei simply don’t want you to be troubled.”

Xie Zhiwei exhaled in relief. No matter how Yan Zhifei felt about Mu He, he could at least get along on the surface. That’s good then. As long as Mu He doesn’t get stubborn in the future, the daoist sect won’t actively make him their enemy. He looked in the direction where Faceless had fled, but there was nobody there. Even that shiny length of chain was gone, a testament to Faceless’s efficiency.

He turned to Mu He and said, “It’s late, you should go back early.”

Mu He was naturally unwilling and mumbled, “But…disciple misses Suihan Lodge. Could shizun take disciple with you when going back this time?”

This was open, honest stalking.

Xie Zhiwei was a little reluctant. First off, they couldn’t relax while the mastermind behind the scenes was still at large; secondly…who knows what this fellow was planning. Yet he had no reason to refuse him. It was perfectly reasonable for a disciple to want to go back and take a look. Xie Zhiwei subconsciously glanced at Yan Zhifei, who ended up speaking instead.

“Then stay overnight. Get up early tomorrow, don’t tarry.”

Mu He was happy and secretly squeezed Xie Zhiwei’s hand as he bowed. “Many thanks to martial uncle.”

Xie Zhiwei silently gritted his teeth, while Xia Zhiqi shook her head. “All of the rooms are full. How should we arrange it?”

Yan Zhifei said directly to Mu He, “You stay in Zhiwei’s room.”

Crap? Xie Zhiwei’s heart hung in the air while Mu He agreed and grinned at him. “Since these are Sect Leader Martial Uncle’s arrangements, shizun, we—”

“Zhiwei, you live with me,” Yan Zhifei ordered next.

Mu He’s face, which was so joyful that it almost bloomed peach blossoms, instantly stiffened into a piece of wood. He dejectedly followed them into the inn before closing the door to his rooms without doing anything else, resigned to his fate.

Xie Zhiwei looked around. Tantai Meng and Chu Zhishi had long been exhausted by their ordeals and had blown out the lights in their rooms. They shouldn’t come to harass Mu He, so tonight would be peaceful at least. Xie Zhiwei closed the door to the room in relief, only to hear Yan Zhifei calling him solemnly from the bed. “Zhiwei, come sit over here.”

Xie Zhiwei was about to sit when he saw Yan Zhifei indicating the space beside him on the bed and automatically stiffened. Ever since Mu He did those things to him, he had a subconscious fear of Man + Bed. So much crap had happened in between that Yan Zhifei’s gesture completely unearthed intrusive thoughts.

After a while, Xie Zhiwei asked, “What do you need…eldest senior brother?”

Yan Zhifei grew doubtful upon seeing Xie Zhiwei standing there while rubbing his hands subconsciously. “What are you spacing out for? Come here, I need to tell you a few words.” He sat very properly on the bed. Even his face was was square and straight, much like his personality.

Xie Zhiwei mentally slapped himself 300 times. What am I thinking? The hero bending was an exception. How can there be so many exceptions in one world!

He finally headed over and sat next to Yan Zhifei, who didn’t move and simply looked at him. “Zhiwei, you shouldn’t have stopped him just then. Let him chase so you can see whether he was sincere or not. The daoist sect cannot afford another scourge.”

Although the words had no obvious reproach, Xie Zhiwei still whispered, “My fault.”

Yan Zhifei couldn’t help shaking his head at the sight. “Bai Jianzhu and Bai Yu used to oppress you, then you accepted a sharp-witted disciple. You should reflect upon it seriously. But I didn’t even get stern and you’re already… Forget about me. You don’t speak even when others offend you. Haven’t you suffered enough losses the last time around?”

Xie Zhiwei’s face flashed with sorrow before his voice dropped even lower. “Yes, eldest senior brother.”

Seeing this, Yan Zhifei couldn’t bear to say anymore. After all, there was nothing wrong with Xie Zhiwei’s personality; there was just too many evil people in the world. A long pause later, he sighed and said, “Sleep now, you still need to head for the daoist sect tomorrow.”

Xie Zhiwei’s heart suddenly relaxed. Sure enough, Yan Zhifei yield to soft power, not hard—his principles were grand and touched him; plus, he was already trying hard to straighten things out! The fact was that he acted plenty arrogant around Mu He nowadays!

Although Yan Zhifei was like a serious school principal, Xie Zhiwei wasn’t nervous even though they were sleeping on the same bed for the first time. He had no worries that this perfectly ordinary man would suddenly do some bad things to him.

Sleeping openly on the same bed with another man is the correct way to go!

Xie Zhiwei almost wanted to cry, feeling that the broken world had straightened itself whole again. Thanks to his sense of security in Yan Zhifei’s presence, Xie Zhiwei slept very soundly for the first half of the night, but he wanted to cry yet had no tears for the second half. Mu He actually snuck into his dreams again.

Xie Zhiwei was having a bunch of random dreams at first. He saw Tantai Meng, Qiu Chongyun, Yin Wushuang and the rest fighting over each other for Mu He while watching cheerily from the sidelines. Suddenly, Mu He dragged him into the fray and kissed his face. The girls were outraged and unanimously pointed their fingers at him. Xie Zhiwei wanted to flee, but Mu He dragged him back. The girls surrounded them in an instant and brandished their sharp, shiny nails.

When he was in a difficult spot, a thunderbolt lit up the sky and cleared his thoughts with a jolt. But the dream remained even when the hubbub disappeared. He looked around and saw the scenery had changed to Suihan Lodge. A large patch of thorny bamboo formed a turquoise screen, and even the thorns shone emerald green as if freshly grown.

The white-robed figure by the fish pond turned towards him. “Shizun, you’re here.”

Beneath the swaying shadows of bamboo, Xie Zhiwei couldn’t help resting a hand against his forehead. “If you use up all your spiritual energy, I won’t give you any more.”

Mu He had a smile on the corner of his lips as he strode over quickly. “Shizun wouldn’t abandon this disciple, or else disciple would long be dead by now.”

“You won’t die.” Xie Zhiwei was sincere. How can the protagonist perish? What a joke.

But in Mu He’s ears, this sounded like a veiled promise, as if Xie Zhiwei would protect him for life. When the latter back away, he pretended not to notice and simply drew him into his arms. “If I can’t see shizun in the future, I’ll just use Black Lotus to enter the dreamscape. Why did I think of this earlier?”

Xie Zhiwei didn’t make any futile struggles; in any case, he couldn’t lose any flesh in a dream. He only thought expressionlessly, So Black and White Lotus have been reduced to erotic goods instead…

—

The author has something to say: Merry Christmas~ I was abused by a book today and cried so hard I couldn’t leave the house. So I temporarily decided to edit the plot, I want sugar in my story hmph

The Chinese commenters:

Translator’s Note: It’s a bit overdue, but I’ve uploaded subs for the other Too Bad Master Died Early fanvid as well! This one features Luo Yunxi and Wu Lei in the lead roles and covers all of Arc 1. Again it’ll be unlisted on YouTube, but you can find it in the MDE Playlist on my channel!

Too Bad Master Died Early – Arc 1 Fanvid