Ch129 - Recollection

“If any unrest breaks out in the capital at that time, we can spread out the lower disciples to help with evacuations. Great Master Du Sheng can enter the palace as escort, while the rest go block Yin Cangshan. We can split up and enter the city from multiple roads to ensure that nothing slips through,” Yan Zhifei drew two strokes on a map. “Great Master Du Sheng, is this plan appropriate?”

Du Sheng looked at it in detail and mused, “Sect Leader Yan has considered the outer perimeter walls well enough, but we’re not familiar with the terrain of Yin Estate. Once we enter the inner perimeter, we will be at a disadvantage…”

Yan Zhifei creased his brows. “If there was someone within the estate willing to surrender and lead the way, that would be best.”

“No need to worry about the interior,” a voice called from outside, “This king has already made arrangements.”

The people before the table looked up to see the King of Nine Provinces and Xie Zhiwei stepping over snow one after the other to enter the courtyard.

It was already noon but Xie Zhiwei’s door was tightly shut. Yan Zhifei thought he was sleepy after being overworked in the last two days, so he didn’t wake him up. He was about to check on him when Xie Zhiwei actually appeared with his old nemesis the King of Nine Provinces. Even if the king was forced to cooperate with the daoist sect, he wouldn’t lower himself to win Xie Zhiwei over. What had happened in the course of one night?

Yan Zhifei’s brows furrowed further as his mind came up blank. “Zhiwei, where did you go?”

Before Xie Zhiwei could answer, the King of Nine Provinces spoke first. “Oh, he went with this king for a trip to the capital. This king secretly dispatched my trusted aides and old cohorts, so I couldn’t go without protection.”

Yan Zhifei immediately looked towards Xie Zhiwei at those words. He was always self-restrained and never showed his emotions on his face. Moreover, as the sect leader he couldn’t very well censure Xie Zhiwei in public. But his slightly unpleasant expression already spoke volumes: what was he thinking, rushing to do the other a courtesy?

Xie Zhiwei just coughed and tried to explain, but the king was ahead one step again and bowed towards him in full view of Du Sheng, Yan Zhifei, and the Buddhist and daoist disciples. Then he said, “Royal Son’s matters will depend on you.”

The sight dumbfounded the crowd, including the always amiable Du Sheng. He had never seen the King of Nine Provinces bow to someone else so humbly. Xie Zhiwei was surprised too. This man had been proud and arrogant the entire way back after his calculations were broken. Now he could actually shoulder his pride and bow down to him in front of all these people.

Hm, feels pretty refreshing.

Yan Zhifei’s face was wooden. He stepped forward and pulled Xie Zhiwei outside to ask in a low voice, “If the King of Nine Provinces is bowing this low to you, does this mean it’ll be a perilous mission?”

Xie Zhiwei silently nodded.

Yan Zhifei’s expression turned uglier. Xie Zhiwei had never exaggerated or concealed matters. Since he nodded, it had to mean the chances of saving Mu He were not only dangerous, but even…

“How much certainty do you have?” Yan Zhifei asked.

“None,” Xie Zhiwei replied. That’s not an exaggeration, right?

Tao Daoyao was still unconscious, so he couldn’t get Golden Lotus; Gallant Outlaw finally found him a bit of a breakthrough, yet these past two nights had no moon at all; meanwhile the System’s hourglass sands were slowly trickling down, leaving him with little time left.

Xie Zhiwei’s eyes dimmed at the thought.

Yan Zhifei closed his own a few times before waving his sleeves to shut the door behind them. His voice was markedly louder as he spoke. “Zhiwei, have you been bewitched by something? Is it worth risking your life for him time and again?”

It was rare for Yan Zhifei to be so angry. Xia Zhiqi had just stepped out herself when she spotted them and quickly descended the steps.

Xie Zhiwei took a deep breath and suddenly hooked up the corners of his lips. “Eldest senior brother, I don’t know if it’s worth it either. But if I don’t go, I’ll definitely regret it.”

When he finished, he gave Yan Zhifei a low bow filled with unprecedented respect and sincerity as well as silent obstinacy. Yan Zhifei couldn’t even speak for a moment. Xie Zhiwei next went to open the door and prepared to go inside.

“Regret?” Yan Zhifei asked from behind him. “If you run into an accident for the sake of saving him, will you regret it then?”

Xie Zhiwei’s steps paused. He was silent for a spell, then said slowly, “I don’t know. I haven’t thought that much…in this life, I’ve never done anything without first considering the consequences. Just let me, be capricious this once.”

Although he spoke those words to Yan Zhifei, it birthed a sense of determination within Xie Zhiwei.

Yan Zhifei exhaled softly and went over to pat him gently on the shoulders. He only said four words: “You must be careful.”

Xia Zhiqi nodded as well. “Second senior brother, let go and do as you like. The entire daoist sect will be behind you.”

Xie Zhiwei’s eyes shook as thoughts flitted through his mind. His voice was raspy as he spoke. “Many thanks, I shall.”

This world and these people. How could he bear to see them annihilated?

On this day, various sects arrived at the Buddhist sect one after the other. By evening everyone had gathered in front of Mahavira Hall to discuss their plans. With the encouragement of the King of Nine Provinces and Yan Zhifei and Du Sheng leading the call, the crowd was excited to eliminate Yin Cangshan, return peace to the world, and claim justice for the cultivation world.

Xie Zhiwei found time to check on Tan Daoyao.

The child was still slumbering heavily. The hostile qi had previously done damage to his heart and lungs and burned most of his body, so it was already hard for him to survive. He wasn’t filled with spiritual energy like Tantai Meng, but just a child with nothing at all. Nor did he understand how to activate Golden Lotus, so it was only healing him at half efficacy, forcing them to wait.

When he recovered, he could take out Golden Lotus, or else all their previous efforts were for naught.

This was also Mengmeng’s last wish.

But how long would the System let him wait?

And how long…could Mu He afford to wait?

Xie Zhiwei looked at the cloudy skies while the mixed, noisy shouts of the crowd reached him from Mahavira Hall. There wasn’t a single ray of light as the skies neared evening.

That night Xie Zhiwei didn’t sleep, but quietly entered the System. Gallant Outlaw’s dialogue box floated into view. “Idol, still not sleeping when it’s this late?”

“Don’t wanna sleep.”

“What, afraid that the hero will meet you in your dreams and waste his spiritual energy again?”

“…mm.” Xie Zhiwei agreed. “If this world is destroyed, everyone will disappear with it, right?”

Gallant Outlaw found his question ridiculous. “Isn’t that obvious? Even the hero will be gone by then, so why would the System keep any of the irrelevant side characters?”

“Irrelevant?” Xie Zhiwei suddenly laughed. “So much for ‘living the text.’ The truth is, you only care whether the settings of these characters are colorful enough, or if the plot has explosive points, or whether the entire novel has existence value. You’ve never treated any of them as real people, including your own protagonist.”

“How could I not treat them as real people? They first came to life in my heart before I could make them leap off the page, ah.” Gallant Outlaw retorted before finally sensing Xie Zhiwei’s odd state. He grew cautious. “Idol, what’s wrong…what’s provoked you this time?”

Xie Zhiwei exhaled a breath. “Lemme ask you, how much do you know about me?”

“Of course it’s everything, ah. Idol you forgot, you gave me viewing authorization.”

“I don’t mean about the plot. I’m asking about when I was still called Xie Zhi.”

“Huh?”

Ever since he transmigrated, the System restrictions and his unpleasant death had made both Gallant Outlaw and Xie Zhiwei seal away the name “Xie Zhi” without ever mentioning it again. Now that Xie Zhiwei was taking the initiative to talk about it, Gallant Outlaw was a bit overwhelmed at first. It took him some time before he answered, “Idol was really dazzling back then, ah. You were popular in both television and film circles, had good acting skills and an excellent image, and was more handsome in ancient garb than modern styles. You dominated the screen for nearly a decade and bagged several big awards…that’s what the news often say. And the girl who shared my desk at middle school bought a dozen notebooks just to paste your stickers in them. Her room was also full of your posters and her mom even scolded her for it. Tsk, even my younger self wanted be your kind of…ah no, the kind of heroes you acted, who punished evil and promoted good in the name of righteousness.”

“And the rest?”

“The rest of what?”

“My private life.”

Gallant Outlaw didn’t understand what Xie Zhiwei was playing at today, but thought it over carefully. “Idol is an actor with actual acting chops with no hype or scandals. Your private life is very clean, ah. I only heard those girls found out your family were generations of scholars? At any rate it was pretty good, no problems there.”

“Actually, I’m an orphan,” Xie Zhiwei said lightly.

Gallant Outlaw was surprised. “Eh? Didn’t they say your parents were teachers or something? I figured someone as ethereal as Idol had to have a happy and harmonious family…”

“Those were all things put out by the agency,” Xie Zhiwei snorted. “My parents died a long time ago. I was raised by relatives who didn’t really look after me. They took over the family fortunes and I earned my own college tuition by working part-time.”

The entertainment circle was a mess. Even actors with real ability like Xie Zhiwei had falsities about them, to say nothing of those actors who got by on popularity alone.

Gallant Outlaw was startled. “That’s all in the past. Idol’s developed so well and progressed so smoothly, you don’t need to care about them.”

“Mhm, I cut off contact with them,” Xie Zhiwei’s expression was indifferent. “But things weren’t smooth at all before I became famous. My college buddy accompanied me to an audition, but then he climbed into the director’s bed in secret and easily replaced me for the role.”

Gallant Outlaw was all righteous indignation. “Dammit, that’s too much. Who is it, ah?”

Xie Zhiwei said a name.

Gallant Outlaw slapped his thigh. “F**k! So it was him, ah. The tabloids were actually true. But Idol, don’t be mad. He’s just a pretty little face with no real skills. The flick he acted in didn’t raise much waves at all. If it had been you, you’d definitely leave your mark in film history.”

These were all events of a distant past. Xie Zhiwei had even forgotten the plot of that movie, so he couldn’t be sure whether he’d act it well or not. Still, an “of course” slipped past his lips before he went on, “Later on I got lucky. A small-time director was producing a little art film that no one cared about, but I acted in it without asking for a penny. Then this film won an international award and helped me take off. Still, that’s the entertainment industry for you. It’s normal for you to replace me today and me to cheat you tomorrow. Nobody treats anyone else as someone on their side.”

Gallant Outlaw kept flattering, “So Idol is still a clear stream in the industry by avoiding their lot.”

It sounded nice, but in truth Xie Zhiwei hadn’t put anyone in his eye and offended people all over the place, so that when he fell they all turned on him and left his career in a slump.

Xie Zhiwei said, “I was so-so at best. I had no friends in my last life.”

Idol is the only one who can say something so bleak, so boldly. “But Idol, what was up with you and He Zheng? You’ve worked with him before, so it doesn’t make sense that problems between you two would make the relationship so awkward, ah.”

Xie Zhiwei sneered at the mention of that man. “It’s all because of that one-time cooperation.”

“Ah, how did it happen?”

“I never thought highly of actors who relied on popularity alone. They don’t have any acting skills, but they’re good at raising hype and marketing a certain image,” Xie Zhiwei was still resentful as he spoke. “Back then he hadn’t exploded into popularity yet, but had a certain amount of fame and a huge ego to match. He NG'd ten times for a single crying scene. My mouth had gone numb with saying the lines by then, but he still couldn’t get into character. In the end he had to use f**king eyedrops. Of course I couldn’t take it.”

Gallant Outlaw coughed. “You scolded him?”

“I didn’t go that far. After we finally passed the take and went to remove our makeup, I couldn’t hold back and said if he couldn’t cry now, he might as well run to cry in other people’s beds when he runs out of dramas to film in the future.”

“Cough cough. Although it wasn’t bad-intentioned, it’s not much different from scolding someone, Idol. Your temper back then was really…did he argue with you then?”

“No. Back then he just smiled and said nothing. But it was that sentence he never forgot,” Xie Zhiwei expelled a deep breath. “After his popularity skyrocketed, he heard I was out of things to film and personally made a phone call. He said a certain director had liked me for a long time and that he could introduce me to his bed.”

Gallant Outlaw was shocked. “That’s too shameless, what a scoundrel! I was blinded by his innocent mask too, and even used his looks to write the protagonist.”

Xie Zhiwei nodded in fervent agreement. “So you should know why I felt so conflicted with Mu He’s face when I first crossed over, right?”

Gallant Outlaw nodded deeply in understanding as well. “How about now? Do you still care about that face that looks identical to He Zheng’s?”

Xie Zhiwei paused then said slowly, “Although Mu He’s looks were based off him, I really can’t remember what He Zheng looks like anymore.”

As time passed, he only thought of Mu He when seeing that face…

Gallant Outlaw seized the chance to shift the topic. “Not remembering is only right. The hero’s still better. So Idol, that choice of yours…hehe, do you want to reconsider? If you pick Option 1 you still have to go back and see that fellow He Zheng.”

Xie Zhiwei froze. “I’ve already defaulted, can I still change my choice?”

“Of course you can. You can find me anytime to switch. How now, want to change to Option 2?”

Xie Zhiwei’s eyes flickered with a faint and strange emotion, but his mouth only said, “I don’t want Option 2.”

“Okay.” Gallant Outlaw was a little disappointed. “Idol, time’s almost up. Go sleep a bit, I’m gonna write my novel.”

“Write your novel? The one you started before?”

“Right ah, it’s almost finished.”

Xie Zhiwei grew interested. “Damn, that’s pretty fast. Let me have a look.”

Gallant Outlaw grew coy. “The contents probably…aren’t good for you to read.”

“Didn’t you say it was a cultivation novel? Stop dawdling, let me see it. Maybe I could even consider your Option 2 after that.”

“Really!” Gallant Outlaw cried instantly. “Idol, don’t trick me, ah.”

“Stop wasting words, hurry up.”

The other side had just dumped over a TXT file when the System forcibly closed the dialogue box. But this time it didn’t kick him out directly, but reminded him, “You still have unread documents. You can open them at any time to browse the contents, but time outside the System will no longer be suspended during this period. Manual service is still restricted to 20 minutes.”

In other words, time would still be flowing while he read the file and he wouldn’t be able to click on the dialogue box. The System co-existed with the outside world during read mode.

That’s enough to pass the time.

Xie Zhiwei decided not to sleep for the next two days. Although he didn’t know whether an angry Mu He would come running into his dreams, it was better to take precautions to preserve his spiritual energy as much as possible.

He hadn’t read novels in a long time, so he couldn’t wait to open the TXT file. And then he saw the following story: a disciple was taken in by a master and accompanied him down the mountain to fight monsters while upgrading and picking up weapons and accessories along the way.

Mm, there’s the shade of those top-tier thrilling stories in the work.

Strangely enough, he had read nearly 200,000 words when daylight broke and there was still no sign of any major female characters. Xie Zhiwei found it odd since this wasn’t Gallant Outlaw’s usual style. He was about to keep reading when someone knocked on his door from outside. It was the King of Nine Provinces calling him.

“Xie Zhiwei, that child’s awake.”

—

The author has something to say: Teacher Xie’s bitter last life 2333

The Chinese commenters:

Translator’s Note: Man I really want to read Gallant Outlaw’s first ever danmei novel lololol