Ch136 - Afterstory (I)

The two embraced at the peak above the sea of clouds while surrounded by radiant gold light.

“A Master for a day means a Master for a lifetime…” Mu He greedily nuzzled against Xie Zhiwei’s face before wetness finally flowed from his eyes. “Thank you shizun, for treating disciple so well. It was disciple who didn’t understand this entire time.”

“Let’s turn over all the rights and wrongs of the past,” Xie Zhiwei brushed away the tears with his fingertips, voice earnest. “You just need to know that from now on, you’ll be my entire world.”

Mu He looked at him in a daze. “I’m shizun’s entire world…is this a dream?” He suddenly tightened his embrace and said in a trembling voice, “This must be a dream. Please don’t wake up too soon…please don’t.”

Xie Zhiwei’s head was pressed tightly against Mu He so that he couldn’t budge. In the end, he could only sigh and bite the other’s ear. It wasn’t a hard nip, but the tingling warmth was quite real. Mu He released him as if electrocuted, the bite turning his entire face a scorching red. He glanced sideways at Xie Zhiwei, eyes clear and bright from the reflected sunset.

Xie Zhiwei said softly, “It’s not a dream. Take a good look at me…mmph…”

Before he finished, Mu He had already cupped his face while his whole body shook to kiss him on the lips. He had already “lost him” twice, the second time right after a confession. Mu He’s dreams had come true, but he didn’t even have time to be happy and spent four years guarding his charred corpse.

Although he coincidentally got a spiritual spring, everything had an eventuality. There was no guarantee that his master would come back from the dead. Mu He waited on the edge of hope or despair, braver than anyone, yet more vulnerable than anyone as well.

The crisis in the capital was lifted that year and the city returned to prosperity. The scene of Mu He kissing Xie Zhiwei’s corpse stunned everyone until they all knew about their relationship. But the man was already dead, so what was there to criticize after they’d done so much for the world? The King of Nine Provinces donated all of his possessions to the daoist clan, who resolutely refused to accept them. They just wanted the nation to mourn Xie Zhiwei and bury him with state rites. The emperor personally sent down a decree to agree and made Mu He the crown prince.

The burial of Xie Zhiwei and the conferment of crown prince were two major events in the cultivation world and imperial court. Mu He asked that they be held on the same day. He didn’t drag his feet like last time, but was unnaturally calm and personally carried the body to the spiritual bed, wiped it down, and changed it into new daoist robes. He buried his head as he worked without shedding a single tear.

Everyone said he’d seen through things, thought past things, or that his heart had died. But on the day before the burial, after Xie Zhiwei had enjoyed all sorts of glorious rites and respects, he took Xie Zhiwei’s body and disappeared.

He came to Wansheng Peak, prepared to fall into long slumber with Xie Zhiwei in the ice cave at the top of the mountain. But he’d just placed the other on a flat ice slab when a revelation occurred. The ice began to melt on its own and turned into a large ice coffin. Then Xie Zhiwei’s body was surrounded by light; soon enough, spiritual spring water filled the interior.

Mu He suddenly recalled that Xie Zhiwei had once ascended. Could it be that shizun could resurrect from the dead once more?

Very possible!

He was wild with joy and faced the coffin while crying and laughing. He wanted to find someone to share in the good news, but was terrified that they’d tell him he was mistaken….in that case, he was willing to guard shizun like this forever instead. If he gave up now and shizun really woke up without being able to find him, his master would definitely get mad.

…how he dearly wanted to see shizun’s angry self again.

Heaven didn’t let down his hopes. The spiritual spring really worked as the corpse in the coffin healed from charred black and withered skin regained its shine. The turnaround was visible to the naked eye. By the beginning of the third year, the Xie Zhiwei lying in the coffin looked all but alive with rosy cheeks and black hair.

He simply wasn’t breathing.

Mu He gradually began to speak again.

He would ramble to the person in the ice coffin, “Shizun, there’s an extra lot of stars in the sky tonight.” “It rained again, disciple doesn’t want to go out.” “A line of geese just flew by. It’s autumn now, shizun.”

After a while, he didn’t know what to say anymore. Thus, he recited their past again, saying how stupid he was for not understanding shizun’s heart, or what he’d do instead if he could redo things, etc. With no one else around, there was no need to conceal his emotions. He would talk and talk until he wanted to cry, but was afraid that Xie Zhiwei would be unhappy to see him like that if he happened to wake up at that moment, so he forced himself to do other things to replace those distracting thoughts.

He dug the entire coffin out of the cave and placed it in front of the cave at sunrise. He boldly fished Xie Zhiwei from its depths to lean against him, imagining what shizun might say to him, what tone he would use, how he’d look at him.

He thought that there must have been a lot of things that shizun didn’t get around to doing.

After combining all Five Treasures, his cultivation level had already reached the peak, meaning he could come and go as he pleased all around the world. He silently slipped back to the daoist sect, knocked Chu Zhishi unconscious, and used Golden Lotus to regrow his arm. In late autumn, he came alone to the empty Suihan Lodge to sweep and tidy up in the dead of night when no one was around. His eyes took in the full view of the red maples that Xie Zhiwei had mentioned below One Step Cliff.

He’d gone to the South Sea too, remembering every detail of Jade Wheel Island. When he came back, he told Xie Zhiwei all about it. Occasionally he’d buy some paper money and incense to burn as offerings to Tantai Meng in the rear mountains of the Buddhist sect.

But he never truly revealed himself in front of anyone. Shizun only had him by his side so it was enough if he too, only had shizun. If shizun never woke up, he would never accept this gorgeous world alone.

But this was all in the past. These four years and everything before then was all unimportant now. Mu He eliminated all his extra thoughts and dedicated his heart and body to kissing Xie Zhiwei. His range of motion was large, but extraordinarily tender, as if any extra strength would make the person he was kissing disappear.

He was even more careful than the time he had his first kiss.

Xie Zhiwei was the opposite. He wrapped his arms around Mu He’s neck and powerfully returned the kiss as if he wanted to swallow the other whole.

He had waited for four years too. Although he was unconscious and in deep sleep, he could always remember Mu He’s name in that long stretch of time and how heartrending the other had called out to him for the last time.

Neither of them could leave the other.

When the pair returned to the daoist sect, they didn’t disturb anyone else.

—

The thorny bamboo grove was flourishing as Chu Zhishi led a bunch of disciples to the outskirts of Summit City. Everyone wore serious expressions as they moved in regular motions to gather bamboo shoots. Chu Zhishi took the lead as he used both hands to hack with his sword.

“Dig deeper. If you break them, I as shizun will beat you with a board.”

Abruptly, a figure landed in front of him, his crow-gray robes an identical hue with the forest’s shadows.

“This year’s bamboo shoots aren’t bad. I’ll charge you ten strings of coins for one catty. How is it ah, youngest junior brother?”

“Disciple will count the total and go to Heavenly Sun City later to ask youngest martial uncle for payment.”

Both of these voices sent a shock through Chu Zhishi’s body. His head whipped up to see the two figures standing shoulder-to-shoulder before his hands slackened and the sword dropped from his fingers.

Around him, the Heavenly Sun City disciples had long sucked in cold breaths or cried out in shock, completely in a mess.

“AhhHHHHhhhhh! Someone reanimated second martial uncle’s corpse!”

“No no no! Second martial uncle’s ghost appeared!”

“What to do what to do what to do, do we disciples run or not shizun?!”

—

Translator’s Note: Ah yes, nothing like a hearty harvesting session with your shizun turned horror as you meet your (undead?) heroic second martial uncle!

❗❗Important: Guys I forgot to translate an extra bit of the author’s note in Chapter 134. She mentions a song she thought was a good fit for Teacher Xie and the novel’s love line, so I suggest you go back and check out her comments! I’ve also linked to a YouTube video with English lyrics so you can enjoy the song too~ ❗❗

The Chinese commenters: