Ch128 - Countermeasures

Xie Zhiwei’s face didn’t change, but the hand holding his book shook noticeably. And then he was roaring in his heart. The second f**king time! The second time ahh!!! Hold hands forever your sister! Is Mu He planning to tell his wish to everyone ah!

Don’t you know wishes won’t come true if you speak them out loud, youngster?!

And he even swore he had finished discussing things with his old man, hehe. What did they agree to in the end, ah pooh?!

…wait, but the King of Nine Provinces didn’t make a scene after finding out his son was bent? If the king hadn’t spoke up, Xie Zhiwei would never have known that Mu He already came out of the closet. For a second, multiple scenes flitted past Xie Zhiwei’s mind.

Part 1: The King of Nine Provinces had men deliver over chests of gold, silver, and jewels before tossing out, “Take these and never see my Royal Son again.”

Part 2: The King of Nine Provinces stuck a knife in him and pulled it out all bloody, voice filled with hate. “You seduced my Royal Son. Go to Hell.”

Part 3: The King of Nine Provinces kneeled in front of the ancestral hall and burst into tears. “This king was a playboy and gave birth to a son who likes men. It’s retribution ah…what face do I have to meet my royal ancestors beneath the Nine Springs!”

Each was a classical scene from dogblooded dramas enough to raise a storm, but none of these happened. Xie Zhiwei only stared at the King of Nine Provinces in a daze while his heart did flip-flops. Knowing the man’s temper, he would’ve exploded ages ago. Now it seemed like he was just here to make things awkward on purpose.

Could Mu He have discussed with him…

The King of Nine Provinces couldn’t see any of Xie Zhiwei’s rapidly changing internal drama beneath his calm mien. He only assumed the staredown was a demonstration and laughed coldly before folding his hands behind his back.

“What daoist immortal, what lofty sage? No matter how peerless you are, you’ll still be Royal Son’s person by the end.”

With a crash, the book fell out of Xie Zhiwei’s hands. He quickly picked it up while waves surged in his heart. Just what the hell did they talk about behind the scenes ahhhhhhh!

At last the King of Nine Provinces saw him change his expression. A hint of smugness surged to his face. “This king didn’t used to understand how the Royal Son could be so confused to value a casual acquaintance more than his own father. Now I’m clear.”

Xie Zhiwei placed his book on the table and felt like life had no more meaning. “What are you clear about?”

“This king valued Zhaoshui more than anything in the world. It’s enough to just have one person for a lifetime while one lives. It’s a pity that Royal Son’s heart was dead as ashes, so he was unwilling to appreciate the many wonderful things in this world.” The King of Nine Provinces sighed. “This king was so happy for him when he said he had someone he loved.”

Xie Zhiwei could only stammer, “But, but this person is…”

“This king was indeed surprised at the time, but it couldn’t compare to the relief I felt at Royal Son regaining his emotions.”

The lesser of two evils, right? Better to be gay than hate the world? What kind of logic is this?!

The King of Nine Provinces glanced at Xie Zhiwei. “Moreover, Royal Son treats you and this king with very different emotions. His peerless filial piety still belongs to this king. Royal Son has never disappointed me, so I can’t be happy enough. This king originally planned to eliminate you regardless of anything. Xie Zhiwei, you’ve picked up a life and need to be grateful to Royal Son.”

…so because I didn’t affect his status as a father, the king agreed not to hunt me down and kill me?

Xie Zhiwei was powerless to criticize him. He had given himself the label of nanny dad in the beginning, but it was only a temporary role. If the hero hadn’t bent and only treated him as a respected senior, that might’ve been more dangerous instead? At last he understood why the King of Nine Provinces would run over to put on airs in front of him for no reason.

He was reaping in his benefits as an elder!

Your mother, the original Xie Zhiwei’s at least a few times older than the King of Nine Provinces. Taking advantage of me, aren’t you?!

Next, Xie Zhiwei saw the king take out something from his sleeve.

A lustrous white jade pendant.

Xie Zhiwei grew guarded. “What are you doing?”

“Come here,” the king beckoned. The jade pendant had a yellow tassel hanging below it. “I’m sure you’ve seen it before. This was a token left to this king by my mother consort. This king gave it to Zhaoshui once in the past, then used it to identify Royal Son later on. It’s a very meaningful item, so the king shall give it you to today as a meeting gift.”

So speaking, he arched his brow when he saw that Xie Zhiwei stood there unmoving. “What, you don’t think Royal Son is worthy despite being a dragon and phoenix among the people?“

I say bro, your precious son is on the verge of life and death. Is it really appropriate to arrange his future life in such a rush?

It could be justified if the other party was an unmarried maiden. But he was an old daoist, all right?! But Xie Zhiwei still couldn’t help his narcissistic thoughts. There really aren’t many old daoists that are this handsome and beautiful.

Then he thought back to the scenes in the dreamscape and Mu He’s last angry words, which were imprinted into his head. Xie Zhiwei took a step back and said calmly, “Perhaps Your Royal Majesty is unaware, but this surnamed Xie and him…”

“Wait a minute.” The King of Nine Provinces cut him off before he could finish.

Xie Zhiwei was only concerned with Mu He and didn’t notice any movement until now. There was a fluttering sound in the forests before a large red figure swept past the gap in the door, followed by loud and clear bird song. The King of Nine Provinces raised his brow and suddenly threw the jade pendant at Xie Zhiwei, who caught it by instinct.

He’s stuffing it to me?

After knowing Mu He’s feelings towards Xie Zhiwei were that kind, the King of Nine Provinces had changed his tune so quickly! As expected, only a father of that caliber could birth such an outrageous son.

Xie Zhiwei was about to throw it back when the King of Nine Provinces raised a hand. “Let’s not talk about that now. This king will take you to see someone.”

Xie Zhiwei wanted to speak, but the door was gently pushed open by someone outside. He instinctively hid the pendant inside his sleeve. The next moment, Qiu Chongyun appeared in the doorway with a smile. “What kind of mysterious things are brother-in-law and this daoist talking about for so long? Come on, chat on the phoenix’s back instead. That little girl is still waiting.”

“Very well.” The King of Nine Provinces seemed to be waiting for this and relaxed. He looked at Xie Zhiwei and said, “You come too.”

Xie Zhiwei naturally had to ask. “Who is it?”

“You’ll know when you see her, you’ve met.” the king remained vague.

Xie Zhiwei was more careful in this world than his actor one, so he really didn’t know many girls at all. Mengmeng counted as one, but she was already a fallen jade and withered flower. However, there was another girl both he and the King of Nine Provinces knew.

Yin Wushuang.

Under the king’s guidance, the flame phoenix landed steadily in the wind and snow. Qiu Chongyun touched its neck and looked at the small courtyard before them with amazement. “This place is so familiar…why does it somewhat resemble the daoist’s residence in Summit City?”

Xie Zhiwei nodded without surprise. Indeed it’s alike. Even the type of fish in the pond inside is exactly the same…I was surprised the first time I came here too.

This was Mu He’s little compound. With the King of Nine Provinces disguised as a civilian, this was probably the only place outside Yin Cangshan’s control. Even Qiu Chongyun had never come here, so how did Yin Wushuang find her way over?

At this moment, the gates opened to reveal a face identical to the King of Nine Provinces. When he saw them, he immediately said respectfully, “This subordinate greets Your Royal Majesty.”

“Faceless, you’ve worked hard,” the king replied.

Faceless looked exactly the same as the king, but showed some humility in his features. “This is all within my duty.”

“Mm, where’s Wushuang?”

“The commandery princess just arrived and is inside.”

Faceless stepped aside and invited the group in. Xie Zhiwei then discovered that there was a white mass hanging off his arm whose tail was swaying in time with Faceless’s movements like a swing. He noticed Xie Zhiwei’s gaze and said rather abashedly, “By nature, snow civet beasts like to bite people. I’ve let Xie zhenren witness a joke.”

Xie Zhiwei had been bitten by Dog too, so he was deeply sympathetic. He asked as he walked, “You’re currently pretending to be the King of Nine Provinces. How will you deal with Yin Cangshan if you run out like this?”

Before Faceless could speak, he suddenly looked into the courtyard and said, “Commandery princess should go in, it’s cold outside.”

Yin Wushuang turned a deaf ear and walked over while biting her lip, bravely facing the King of Nine Provinces. “Uncle King, did my father really do something wrong this time?”

“Wushuang is a good child. Since you’ve asked, you should already know the answer yourself,” the king said lightly. “Otherwise, you wouldn’t have come to see me.”

Yin Wushuang finally broke down as her eyes grew red-rimmed. “How could father…he wasn’t like this before. Mu He gege isn’t paying me any attention anymore either, so I could only find Uncle King.”

Qiu Chongyun had the good sense to hand her a silk handkerchief for her tears and said gently, “Commandery princess doesn’t need to feel sad. Your Mu He gege’s almost been tormented to death by your father. How could he have the strength to speak? It’ll be fine once he’s rescued, ah.”

Yin Wushuang shook her head. “I don’t have to talk to Mu He gege, I just don’t know what to do.”

The King of Nine Provinces patted her shoulder lovingly. “Don’t fret, let’s talk it over slowly inside. Uncle has many people here who are all very kind. They want to help your father and Mu He gege.”

Xie Zhiwei stood in awe of the King of Nine Provinces.

He really knows a thing or two. Although I’m not sure what Yin Cangshan did to make Yin Wushuang so disappointed in him. But it’s clear she’s feeling very insecure and helpless at the moment.

As she was a childish, naive little loli used to getting her way, she wouldn’t understand any fundamental truths. The King of Nine Provinces didn’t say anything profound, but just told her there were a lot of good people here to help her. A single sentence was enough to put her heart at ease.

Yin Wushuang wiped at her tears while entering the room, talking about the past two days as she wept.

Yin Cangshan had set up a spell formation in the estate and forbade Yin Wushuang from entering, saying that he’d locked up a bad guy. But every time the formation emitted red light, one would hear a man’s painful, restrained growls coming from inside. Yin Wushuang thought the voice sounded familiar and told Yin Cangshan it felt like Mu He gege’s voice.

But Yin Cangshan only asked her how that was possible. Mu He gege had gone to the daoist sect. Yin Wushuang half trusted, half doubted him, because the King of Nine Provinces was at the estate too and never mentioned anything. It wasn’t until Yin Cangshan left the house one morning for matters unknown that she was bored and suddenly saw a white cat sneaking inside. She recognized it as Dog, Mu He gege’s snow civet spiritual pet. But why would it suddenly show up at her house? She suddenly thought of the noises coming from the rear courtyard and had enough sense to follow in silence.

The guards in front of the spell formation naturally moved to block the cat, but they were no match for the ancient spirit beast and were sent wailing in a mess after Dog scratched and bit them. Yin Wushuang slipped in amidst the chaos and suffered a shock. This spell formation was too horrible, all dark red like solidified blood. She could feel her skin burning painfully from a distance away while the person locked in its very center was none other than Mu He.

His collarbones had been pierced and the upper half of his body was drenched in blood. Scared to death, Yin Wushuang couldn’t believe that Yin Cangshan would be so cruel. In her memories, her father was always smiling and cheery—how could he hurt others? She even tried to argue for him with agitation. “Last time father and I were playing on the fake rockery at Mu He gege’s house for fun. When I fell down my father was so distressed. How he could kill anyone? That masked man was there too. If father wanted to hurt him, he could’ve made a move then!”

Mu He didn’t argue back but only said lightly, “Your father is strong enough to set up this spell formation..yet was careless enough to let you fall off the rockery while standing right next to you.”

Yin Wushuang had covered her ears and ran back out. Soon enough, Yin Cangshan returned and she went to ask him why Mu He was inside the spell formation. But before she could speak, Yin Cangshan just laughed, rubbed her head, and cheerfully entered the formation with great enthusiasm. Yin Wushuang felt that something was wrong and decided to follow him after some hesitation. And then she witnessed Yin Cangshan killing the guards before the formation.

While he stood there and moved his fingers, light flew out from the spell formation and slashed the guards’ necks. Their heads fell on the spot and rolled back and forth on the ground. Yin Wushuang tried her best to muffle her mouth, not daring to make a sound. She ran back to her rooms and cowered beneath the covers, but Yin Cangshan never came to see her again. A long time later, she mustered her courage to find Yin Cangshan again, only to discovered that he’d locked his door and forbade anyone to enter his room. Late at night, his rooms glowed with red light that looked like a red lotus from far away.

Yin Wushuang thought back to how Mu He had killed a man with Red Lotus back at the inn and once again slipped outside the spell formation with fear. By now the guards were all dead, but no one had time to clean up their bodies. She gritted her teeth and rushed inside. This time, Mu He was exceptionally cold and didn’t say a word. He was a completely different person from the daytime, though it wasn’t clear what had left him so angry.

Yin Wushuang was out of ideas, so she could only raise her nerve to knock on the “King of Nine Provinces'” door. Faceless got some clues between her sobs and quickly released news so the real King of Nine Provinces could arrange this hasty meeting.

The King of Nine Provinces sighed with emotion. “The snow civet beast has done a great service. It’s Royal Son’s spiritual pet and must have sought out his spiritual energy after losing touch in the past two days.”

Yin Wushuang had poured out her emotions, so her crying was fainter now. “Uncle King, why was Mu He gege suddenly so mad last night? Did father hurt him again?”

Xie Zhiwei silently looked away and pretended he was air.

The King of Nine Provinces sighed. “Your Mu He gege has always been generous and won’t begrudge your father. But right now you need to go back home and pretend you didn’t discover anything.”

“And then?”

“Don’t panic. When uncle finishes discussing countermeasures with everyone else, I’ll have this fake uncle tell you.”

“All right.” Yin Wushuang exhaled. She was about to leave when she paused. “But Uncle King needs to promise me one thing, or else I won’t do anything.”

This was the most self-assured she’d sounded all day. Her gaze was firm and Xie Zhiwei even felt that such maturity looked somewhat out of place on her face.

“What is it?” the King of Nine Provinces asked.

“All of you can do as you like,” Yin Wushuang said, “But don’t hurt my father.”

“Fine,” the King of Nine Provinces agreed. “This king promises to keep your father whole and intact.”

Only then did Yin Wushuang feel at ease and leave with Faceless, who was still dangling Dog from his arm. His retreating figure looked especially helpless.

Xie Zhiwei secretly sighed. In the end she’s still a child who can be sent off with a word. Dead men can be whole and intact too.

Qiu Chongyun’s eyes fluttered to rest on Xie Zhiwei. “Daoist, you know more. Why did Yin Cangshan suddenly go on a mad killing spree without reason? And he seems to have…entered closed door cultivation?”

Sister, you already have a man. Can you restrain your gaze, ah pooh.

Seeing the King of Nine Provinces look his way too, he adopted a profound manner and said, “Naturally, it’s because of Red Lotus.”

“Red Lotus?” the king echoed.

“Precisely. Of the four lotuses, Red Lotus is the most difficult to integrate into one’s divine consciousness. Alone is fine, but when combined with Yin Cangshan’s hostile qi from the demon world, it has no benefits and only harm. It will not only weaken his spiritual power, but confuse his mind.”

“No wonder he went on a rampage out of the blue,” Qiu Chongyun nodded with understanding. “Then nephew only has Black and White Lotus left in his consciousness. How did he fuse them all together?”

The King of Nine Provinces suddenly asked Xie Zhiwei, “For a while Royal Son was slightly ill, but he improved after you arrived. Did you channel spiritual energy to him?”

Of course Xie Zhiwei wouldn’t shirk credit. “Yes. If we want to balance out Red Lotus, the only way is to combine it with Golden Lotus. Otherwise, he has to use the spiritual energy of outsiders.”

“Looks like Yin Cangshan’s next step will still be seeking out the Buddhist sect. We must make a pre-emptive strike.” the King of Nine Provinces pondered for a moment and instructed Qiu Chongyun, “Chongyun, you go back to the palace and wait for a chance to move.”

Qiu Chongyun tsk’d. “Acting mysterious again. Very well, His Imperial Majesty is still waiting for me.”

The King of Nine Provinces waited until she left on her flame phoenix before he spoke. “Xie Zhiwei, Great Master Du Sheng has already agreed to give Golden Lotus to save Royal Son. But that spell formation is powerful and Royal Son’s life is at stake, so there’s no time for delay. Since you are already one of his people and accepted this king’s jade pendant—”

Xie Zhiwei took the pendant out of his sleeve and put it directly on the table. “Your Royal Majesty, keep it.”

There was a crisp sound as the stone made contact with the mahogany tabletop.

The King of Nine Provinces quickly picked it up for inspection and felt relieved when it was unharmed. Then he glared at Xie Zhiwei. “You…what is the meaning of this?!”

Xie Zhiwei returned his look calmly. “The king loves his son so much that he would go as far as taking out his most cherish token to draw in a person he dislikes. Regardless of whether or not you’re sincere, Your Royal Majesty’s sudden earnesty has touched this surnamed Xie.”

The King of Nine Provinces stared at Xie Zhiwei a moment without saying a word and narrowed his eyes. “Indeed. If not for the sake of Royal Son, this king wouldn’t bother paying attention to you. But Xie Zhiwei, you’ve seen Royal Son’s heart. Even ice would warm after being muffled in his feelings!”

That’s wrong, bro. Muffled ice would only melt, not warm.

The King of Nine Provinces saw no change in Xie Zhiwei’s face and had to humble himself. “Human hearts are made of flesh and blood. You taught him with great care back then and gave him spiritual power multiple times now. Wouldn’t this all be in vain if he gets hurt? Count it as this king begging you. It’s a dangerous trip. If you…this king shall donate all of my family’s possessions to the daoist sect to give you merit.”

As expected of the King of Nine Provinces. Even when sending someone off to die, he still reasons fiercely.

Unfortunately, it’s not the least bit persuasive.

Xie Zhiwei finally spoke up, his words measured. “No need to say anymore. Take back that jade pendant too, this surname Xie doesn’t want anything.”

For the first time, the king’s face paled. “Xie Zhiwei, you…”

“I’ll save him,” Xie Zhiwei said.

The King of Nine Provinces widened his eyes.

“I just want you to know, this surnamed Xie is saving him not for your jade pendant, or because you begged me, and certainly not because I heard you talking about donating possessions to earn merit, but because…” Xie Zhiwei looked at him and slowly exhaled. “Because I want to.”

—

Translator’s Note: ahhhhhh my hEART

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