Being forced to endure a kick for no reason, the two guards of the Holy Lotus Shrine felt extremely dissatisfied. They had no fear, and were glaring fiercely at the crowd, yelling out profanities. [1]
The accent in Zhushan county is not very different from that of neighbouring counties. Before coming here to preach, the people from the Holy Lotus Shrine also made some preparations so that at the beginning, everyone could understand what they were saying. However, swear words is impossible.
Though they couldn’t understand their words, but looking at these two people’s fierce gazes, the villagers felt afraid and walked a big circle around them.
Seeing that the villagers did not dare to encircle them and discuss, not even daring to meet their eyes, a malicious smile suddenly appeared on the faces of the guards from the Holy Lotus Shrine, their eyes overflowing with contempt.
“Be more honest!” Constable Qin raged. [2]
The guards shot him a dark look.
Faced with their eyes that were full of killing intent Constable Qin was shocked, and he unconsciously raised the iron ruler up in the air. It was a long time before he put it down again.
The guards from the Holy Lotus Shrine began laughing aloud. As they preached, didn’t know how many constables they had already killed along the way. In their eyes, this kind of person simply wasn’t worthy of their concern.
Although they are trapped now, but as they have said, their Holy Lotus Shrine had over a hundred thousand followers and could easily flatten Zhushan county. It wasn’t that the people of the Holy Lotus Shrine had never been locked up before, but that in the end, they killed the dog officer and burned the county magistrate. Not only did they succeed in helping their men escape, they also hanged the constables that had arrested them at the front of the city gates.
“You lot have offended ZiWei XingJun, it is simply unforgivable……”
The words haven’t even finished when a great cloud of white mist was sprayed across the faces of the guards.
– Physician Mo who was brewing soup had just lifted the lid off the pot.
This medicinal soup is extremely bitter so that one wouldn’t even want to drink it. Just catching a whiff of it would make one feel that it was very unpleasant and cause them to frown.
The captives from the Holy Lotus Shrine had been thrown at the edge of the fire and were unable to run, thus they got the full brunt of it.
“Ke ke.” They scrunched up their faces and began coughing non-stop.
The Saintess was even worse off than her underlings. Her acupuncture points had been sealed and was unable to speak or move, thus she could only bear it and feel suffocated, her whole face contorted into a mess.
This was only just the beginning. Under the heat of the fire and their previous struggles, the snow on their bodies began to melt, sliding down their cheeks and their clothes, it was so cold that they were trembling.
Once again, it was the Saintess that was the most unlucky one, because previously when she was sent flying by Mo Li, her face had sunk deep into the snow.
She glared furiously at the culprit, but Physician Mo was standing on the other side of the pot and was obscured by the thick white mist such that his figure couldn’t be seen clearly. Even if one glared until their eyes were dislocated, it would still be useless.
Looking at their sorry state, Constable Qin first felt that his anger had been vented, before he felt that something wasn’t quite right. If they were frozen to the point of being ill and they had to waste medicine on them, then it was so not worthwhile.
But in the end Physician Mo merely said in an understated tone, “No worries, those few are versed in martial arts, they can handle it.”
Constable Qin waged an internal war, when he suddenly realized a problem. Physician Mo had placed these people before the fire in order to block the wind. Going by reason, the direction the smoke is blowing toward shouldn’t be the side where the people from the Holy Lotus Shrine are. How then was it reversed and blowing directly into their faces? It wasn’t the right direction at all!
Could it be –
Constable Qin turned his head and glanced at the physician and was secretly stunned.
Ah, those with a high cultivation absolutely couldn’t be offended.
“Everyone have one bowl. After drinking the medicinal soup, don’t drink the ginger soup again. Those who have been perspiring, don’t stand in the wind.” Mo Li called out to the village chief to get a bowl as soon as possible and drink it before it cooled.
A long line quickly formed in front of the pot, with only a few holding porcelain bowls. After all, one’s hands tend to get cold in winter, so more people used wooden bowls.
The job of dividing the medicinal soup didn’t require the doctor but was left to three of the village’s aunties who naturally took over the job.
“Here Constable Qin, you have a bowl too.”
“It’s fine, I don’t need it. I eat three bowls of rice a meal, my health is very good……”
Under Physician Mo’s stern gaze, Constable Qin obediently took the bowl that he had been handed and drank it all in a single gulp. It was so bitter that his features were scrunched up till the eyes couldn’t even be seen anymore. In his heart, he thought that though Physician Mo wasn’t very old, yet he had already fully received Elder Qin’s teachings, [3] including his way of terrorizing his patients into taking their medicine with his gaze. It was the same, be it toward crying children or stubborn old men, there is no one who dares to not obey.
Many people in Zhushan county is aware that Physician Mo has a master.
But that highly respected elder who had once practiced medicine in Zhushan county, now lived within the mountains so it wasn’t easy to find him. Later there was Physician Mo, so it was even more rare to see Elder Qin.
However, Constable Qin was aware of Elder Qin’s place of residence, because firstly, he was a constable and thus he knew of more things than others. Second, he had the same surname as Qin Lu, so it could be said that they had some fate. Qin Lu had even given him some martial arts pointers, even though he couldn’t be considered as even a disciple in name, but still, he was extremely respectful toward Elder Qin, and would occasionally buy some staples to send to the mountains.
Not only that, even the county magistrate, Master Li, also instructed Constable Qin to take care of Elder Qin. His attitude toward Elder Qin was extremely respectful, thus Constable Qin guessed that Elder Qin must have an extraordinary background.
Normally Constable Qin was very aware of them, going from unconsciously bringing up Mo Li’s master in conversation with others, to being unable to resist cutting in if others even mentioned him. For example, a few days ago, when Mo Li went into the mountains to collect medicinal herbs, Constable Qin guessed in his heart that actually Mo Li went to visit his master. But as he was chatting with Uncle Niu from the dumpling stall, he went and created a legend about the spiritual ginseng.
“Aiya, I forgot one thing!”
Constable Qin slapped his thigh and pulled Mo Li to the side and began telling him about the outsider who had been asking about him.
Mo Li nodded his head to express his understanding.
Constable Qin anxiously said, “No, that’s not right Physician Mo. Our county administration has little manpower. Originally, I had sent people to watch him, but today they were all sent to this village to help out with rescuing people. I’m afraid that man is gone.”
“Where can he go in such a big snow?” Mo Li is very confident about the mountain’s terrain.
This was a place where the path was difficult to find even when the woods were flourishing, much less in winter, when the snow has collected, and mountain passes are sealed.
“That’s true. I heard that his companions are still within the mountains, don’t know whether they would be able to live after this recent storm.” Constable Qin mumbled to himself.
Mo Li thought, they’re probably all dead.
This year’s snowfall was exceptionally heavy, and after that group of people had fallen down the cliff, there was even more snow. An ordinary person who is buried within the snow and didn’t climb out within a quarter of the time it took for water to drip into the copper pot [4], would be beyond hope of saving. Those who were lucky enough to survive, regardless of whether they managed to make it out of the mountains or not would also find it extremely difficult to live. That’s because that night, there was a blizzard and the mountain paths were constantly changing. Thus, those who were unfamiliar with Qi Mao Mountain wouldn’t be able to go out at all.
“Zhushan county is surrounded by mountains. Even if you don’t take the path through Qi Mao mountain, you would still have to bypass Yang Chang ridge [5] and Ye Lang [6] ridge.”
Constable Qin swallowed, “it isn’t wise to provoke a wolf in winter…… Yang Chang ridge only has a single road running through it. Since it snowed so heavily, if he wants to get across, he’ll first have to clear away the snow.”
Mo Li thought for a moment and said, “It doesn’t matter if he ran. If he remained, it would only be a disaster waiting to happen. If he doesn’t give up and wants to enter the mountains to find his companions and forcefully grabs a local to show him the way but is still unable to find them, then there’ll be trouble.”
Constable Qin sighed, letting out a bitter smile, “You’re right, compared to the Holy Lotus Shrine, that visitor is nothing.”
Mo Li glanced at the group of Holy Lotus Shrine people who were trembling from the cold and frowned, “I have never before heard of the Holy Lotus Shrine, but they actually have a few hundred thousand followers?”
The constable quickly shook his head and replied, “I don’t know much either, I just heard about them from Master Li. It seems that these people created even more chaos in the south, going to the extent of assisting a rebel general and helping that guy who calls himself TianShou Wang [7] with his battles, occupying several cities in the southwest, and are very arrogant.”
“TianShou Wang?” Mo Li is completely unfamiliar with this title.
“Oh, it only surfaced last year.” Constable Qin tried his best to recall and after making sure that he had remembered correctly, he smiled bitterly, “Physician Mo, you’re also aware that there is a lot of chaos in this world. To be able to live in peace like us in Zhushan county, is already a blessing of birth. That bustling Imperial City is surnamed Zhao this year, and then Zhang next year. [8] In the northern side there’s a rebellion, and in the southern side another flag is toppled. Everyone is fighting day in day out, there is not a single day of peace and stability, really unable to blame those people for being bewitched by the Holy Lotus Shrine. Ah, it is not easy to be alive!”
Mo Li couldn’t help but to look at Constable Qin a few moments longer, “These words, did it come from you?”
“No no, it’s what Master Li said.” Constable Qin gave a quick smile. Seeing that there was nothing much left to do in the village, he gestured to the people who had arrested those from the Holy Lotus Shrine to head back to the county town.
Mo Li stopped him, “These villains possess some skills, you won’t be able to cope. When I’m done seeing the patients, I’ll go back together with you.”
Constable Qin couldn’t be happier and quickly agreed.
The people from the Holy Lotus Shrine glared angrily toward Mo Li, especially the hair covered in ice, face stiff, Saintess.
The guards rolled their eyes and proclaimed in a loud voice, “Our Holy Lotus Shrine Lord is assistant to the deity, ZiWei XingJun. A lotus spirit with a pure soul. [9] Those fortunate enough to see his real body will definitely receive a lot of benefits.”
Mo Li, “……”
A lotus spirit?
Calling himself a holy lotus, this lotus spirit really knew how to paste gold on his face, [10] and even borrowed the name of ZiWei XingJun. Master had once said, be it ZiWei or the Emperor, as long as it was a person who wanted to bring chaos, they all like to create an aura for themselves.
“Our Sect Master has commanded us to educate the world. Today the emergence of the dragon god is a sign of the arrival of ZiWei XingJun……”
“What nonsense!” Mo Li interrupted the words of the guard by instinct.
The guard let out a crafty smile and calmly waited for Mo Li to refute his words. He sneered and thought, these people are so ignorant, panicking just because they saw something unusual. Moreover, the Holy Lotus Shrine just happens to be the best at confusing people.
Yet after that one shout, Physician Mo turned away and busied himself, not bothering with the guard anymore.
The guard was astonished. He was just about to say his piece again when his acupuncture point got sealed.
Holy Lotus Shrine guard: “……”
Saintess: “……”
Wait a minute, why did the situation turn out differently from how they thought it would?! Where was the angry rebuttal? Why didn’t he try to argue with them over the truth and attempt to make them see reason Why was their acupuncture points simply blocked just like that? Wasn’t he afraid that the people would be filled with doubts and dissatisfaction toward him?
Then they turned to look at the villagers and became so angry that they flipped backward.
“ZiWei XingJun, who is that? Never heard of it before!”
“That’s right that’s right. Isn’t the dragon god responsible for governing over the clouds and the rain? Since when did it involve reincarnation? Is this not crossing the boundary? Nonsense, it is absolutely nonsense, Physician Mo was right to scold them!”
“I think they want build a temple, but don’t want to pay for it so they used the dragon god as an excuse. When the time comes, then they’ll occupy the dragon god’s temple to worship their whatever it’s called ZiWei XingJun!”
“That’s right that’s right, how preposterous!”
The villagers were all filled with indignation. If they wanted to build a temple, they could do it themselves, how could they snatch it?
As Mo Li listened to their discussion, the anger that had come out of nowhere slowly dissipated, and the corners of his mouth curled up into a smile as he tilted his head toward the skies.
That dragon that appeared in the clouds must also have hoped that this place would be safe and secure.
Translator’s Notes:
[1] To be exact, they are saying things to scold/curse others.
[2] Though I used the word ‘honest’ here, the actual phrase has a similar connotation to ‘self-aware’ (in terms of their attitude toward others)
[3] The phrase is “尽得…真传” which means that he is the true/ head/ personal/ succeeding disciple of Qin Lu. In case you are unfamiliar, usually disciples come in three categories: outer-sect disciples, inner-sect disciples and finally, the personal disciple(s). Usually, only the personal disciple(s) are taught directly by their Master, and receive their full knowledge, but other disciples do not (of course they’re also the most talented/ have the greatest potential).
[4] Not sure if I translated this correctly, but it’s something like an ancient water clock. This is a drawing of it:
(Only it’s with four boxes/levels)
[5] Yang Chang (羊肠) = sheep intestine
[6] Ye Lang (野狼) = wild wolf (lol I love this author’s naming sense XD)
[7] Literally means “king bestowed by heaven”.
[8] Means that the ruling/imperial family is always changing.
[9] This phrase (净灵圣莲 所化) contains a double-meaning: firstly, that the shrine lord was actually a spiritual lotus that had cultivated into a human, and secondly, it is used to express that this person is “as pure/holy as a lotus” (in normal English, it’s “as pure as a lily”, but you get the gist).
[10] To (shamelessly) think too highly of oneself.
Being forced to endure a kick for no reason, the two guards of the Holy Lotus Shrine felt extremely dissatisfied. They had no fear, and were glaring fiercely at the crowd, yelling out profanities. [1]
The accent in Zhushan county is not very different from that of neighbouring counties. Before coming here to preach, the people from the Holy Lotus Shrine also made some preparations so that at the beginning, everyone could understand what they were saying. However, swear words is impossible.
Though they couldn’t understand their words, but looking at these two people’s fierce gazes, the villagers felt afraid and walked a big circle around them.
Seeing that the villagers did not dare to encircle them and discuss, not even daring to meet their eyes, a malicious smile suddenly appeared on the faces of the guards from the Holy Lotus Shrine, their eyes overflowing with contempt.
“Be more honest!” Constable Qin raged. [2]
The guards shot him a dark look.
Faced with their eyes that were full of killing intent Constable Qin was shocked, and he unconsciously raised the iron ruler up in the air. It was a long time before he put it down again.
The guards from the Holy Lotus Shrine began laughing aloud. As they preached, didn’t know how many constables they had already killed along the way. In their eyes, this kind of person simply wasn’t worthy of their concern.
Although they are trapped now, but as they have said, their Holy Lotus Shrine had over a hundred thousand followers and could easily flatten Zhushan county. It wasn’t that the people of the Holy Lotus Shrine had never been locked up before, but that in the end, they killed the dog officer and burned the county magistrate. Not only did they succeed in helping their men escape, they also hanged the constables that had arrested them at the front of the city gates.
“You lot have offended ZiWei XingJun, it is simply unforgivable……”
The words haven’t even finished when a great cloud of white mist was sprayed across the faces of the guards.
– Physician Mo who was brewing soup had just lifted the lid off the pot.
This medicinal soup is extremely bitter so that one wouldn’t even want to drink it. Just catching a whiff of it would make one feel that it was very unpleasant and cause them to frown.
The captives from the Holy Lotus Shrine had been thrown at the edge of the fire and were unable to run, thus they got the full brunt of it.
“Ke ke.” They scrunched up their faces and began coughing non-stop.
The Saintess was even worse off than her underlings. Her acupuncture points had been sealed and was unable to speak or move, thus she could only bear it and feel suffocated, her whole face contorted into a mess.
This was only just the beginning. Under the heat of the fire and their previous struggles, the snow on their bodies began to melt, sliding down their cheeks and their clothes, it was so cold that they were trembling.
Once again, it was the Saintess that was the most unlucky one, because previously when she was sent flying by Mo Li, her face had sunk deep into the snow.
She glared furiously at the culprit, but Physician Mo was standing on the other side of the pot and was obscured by the thick white mist such that his figure couldn’t be seen clearly. Even if one glared until their eyes were dislocated, it would still be useless.
Looking at their sorry state, Constable Qin first felt that his anger had been vented, before he felt that something wasn’t quite right. If they were frozen to the point of being ill and they had to waste medicine on them, then it was so not worthwhile.
But in the end Physician Mo merely said in an understated tone, “No worries, those few are versed in martial arts, they can handle it.”
Constable Qin waged an internal war, when he suddenly realized a problem. Physician Mo had placed these people before the fire in order to block the wind. Going by reason, the direction the smoke is blowing toward shouldn’t be the side where the people from the Holy Lotus Shrine are. How then was it reversed and blowing directly into their faces? It wasn’t the right direction at all!
Could it be –
Constable Qin turned his head and glanced at the physician and was secretly stunned.
Ah, those with a high cultivation absolutely couldn’t be offended.
“Everyone have one bowl. After drinking the medicinal soup, don’t drink the ginger soup again. Those who have been perspiring, don’t stand in the wind.” Mo Li called out to the village chief to get a bowl as soon as possible and drink it before it cooled.
A long line quickly formed in front of the pot, with only a few holding porcelain bowls. After all, one’s hands tend to get cold in winter, so more people used wooden bowls.
The job of dividing the medicinal soup didn’t require the doctor but was left to three of the village’s aunties who naturally took over the job.
“Here Constable Qin, you have a bowl too.”
“It’s fine, I don’t need it. I eat three bowls of rice a meal, my health is very good……”
Under Physician Mo’s stern gaze, Constable Qin obediently took the bowl that he had been handed and drank it all in a single gulp. It was so bitter that his features were scrunched up till the eyes couldn’t even be seen anymore. In his heart, he thought that though Physician Mo wasn’t very old, yet he had already fully received Elder Qin’s teachings, [3] including his way of terrorizing his patients into taking their medicine with his gaze. It was the same, be it toward crying children or stubborn old men, there is no one who dares to not obey.
Many people in Zhushan county is aware that Physician Mo has a master.
But that highly respected elder who had once practiced medicine in Zhushan county, now lived within the mountains so it wasn’t easy to find him. Later there was Physician Mo, so it was even more rare to see Elder Qin.
However, Constable Qin was aware of Elder Qin’s place of residence, because firstly, he was a constable and thus he knew of more things than others. Second, he had the same surname as Qin Lu, so it could be said that they had some fate. Qin Lu had even given him some martial arts pointers, even though he couldn’t be considered as even a disciple in name, but still, he was extremely respectful toward Elder Qin, and would occasionally buy some staples to send to the mountains.
Not only that, even the county magistrate, Master Li, also instructed Constable Qin to take care of Elder Qin. His attitude toward Elder Qin was extremely respectful, thus Constable Qin guessed that Elder Qin must have an extraordinary background.
Normally Constable Qin was very aware of them, going from unconsciously bringing up Mo Li’s master in conversation with others, to being unable to resist cutting in if others even mentioned him. For example, a few days ago, when Mo Li went into the mountains to collect medicinal herbs, Constable Qin guessed in his heart that actually Mo Li went to visit his master. But as he was chatting with Uncle Niu from the dumpling stall, he went and created a legend about the spiritual ginseng.
“Aiya, I forgot one thing!”
Constable Qin slapped his thigh and pulled Mo Li to the side and began telling him about the outsider who had been asking about him.
Mo Li nodded his head to express his understanding.
Constable Qin anxiously said, “No, that’s not right Physician Mo. Our county administration has little manpower. Originally, I had sent people to watch him, but today they were all sent to this village to help out with rescuing people. I’m afraid that man is gone.”
“Where can he go in such a big snow?” Mo Li is very confident about the mountain’s terrain.
This was a place where the path was difficult to find even when the woods were flourishing, much less in winter, when the snow has collected, and mountain passes are sealed.
“That’s true. I heard that his companions are still within the mountains, don’t know whether they would be able to live after this recent storm.” Constable Qin mumbled to himself.
Mo Li thought, they’re probably all dead.
This year’s snowfall was exceptionally heavy, and after that group of people had fallen down the cliff, there was even more snow. An ordinary person who is buried within the snow and didn’t climb out within a quarter of the time it took for water to drip into the copper pot [4], would be beyond hope of saving. Those who were lucky enough to survive, regardless of whether they managed to make it out of the mountains or not would also find it extremely difficult to live. That’s because that night, there was a blizzard and the mountain paths were constantly changing. Thus, those who were unfamiliar with Qi Mao Mountain wouldn’t be able to go out at all.
“Zhushan county is surrounded by mountains. Even if you don’t take the path through Qi Mao mountain, you would still have to bypass Yang Chang ridge [5] and Ye Lang [6] ridge.”
Constable Qin swallowed, “it isn’t wise to provoke a wolf in winter…… Yang Chang ridge only has a single road running through it. Since it snowed so heavily, if he wants to get across, he’ll first have to clear away the snow.”
Mo Li thought for a moment and said, “It doesn’t matter if he ran. If he remained, it would only be a disaster waiting to happen. If he doesn’t give up and wants to enter the mountains to find his companions and forcefully grabs a local to show him the way but is still unable to find them, then there’ll be trouble.”
Constable Qin sighed, letting out a bitter smile, “You’re right, compared to the Holy Lotus Shrine, that visitor is nothing.”
Mo Li glanced at the group of Holy Lotus Shrine people who were trembling from the cold and frowned, “I have never before heard of the Holy Lotus Shrine, but they actually have a few hundred thousand followers?”
The constable quickly shook his head and replied, “I don’t know much either, I just heard about them from Master Li. It seems that these people created even more chaos in the south, going to the extent of assisting a rebel general and helping that guy who calls himself TianShou Wang [7] with his battles, occupying several cities in the southwest, and are very arrogant.”
“TianShou Wang?” Mo Li is completely unfamiliar with this title.
“Oh, it only surfaced last year.” Constable Qin tried his best to recall and after making sure that he had remembered correctly, he smiled bitterly, “Physician Mo, you’re also aware that there is a lot of chaos in this world. To be able to live in peace like us in Zhushan county, is already a blessing of birth. That bustling Imperial City is surnamed Zhao this year, and then Zhang next year. [8] In the northern side there’s a rebellion, and in the southern side another flag is toppled. Everyone is fighting day in day out, there is not a single day of peace and stability, really unable to blame those people for being bewitched by the Holy Lotus Shrine. Ah, it is not easy to be alive!”
Mo Li couldn’t help but to look at Constable Qin a few moments longer, “These words, did it come from you?”
“No no, it’s what Master Li said.” Constable Qin gave a quick smile. Seeing that there was nothing much left to do in the village, he gestured to the people who had arrested those from the Holy Lotus Shrine to head back to the county town.
Mo Li stopped him, “These villains possess some skills, you won’t be able to cope. When I’m done seeing the patients, I’ll go back together with you.”
Constable Qin couldn’t be happier and quickly agreed.
The people from the Holy Lotus Shrine glared angrily toward Mo Li, especially the hair covered in ice, face stiff, Saintess.
The guards rolled their eyes and proclaimed in a loud voice, “Our Holy Lotus Shrine Lord is assistant to the deity, ZiWei XingJun. A lotus spirit with a pure soul. [9] Those fortunate enough to see his real body will definitely receive a lot of benefits.”
Mo Li, “……”
A lotus spirit?
Calling himself a holy lotus, this lotus spirit really knew how to paste gold on his face, [10] and even borrowed the name of ZiWei XingJun. Master had once said, be it ZiWei or the Emperor, as long as it was a person who wanted to bring chaos, they all like to create an aura for themselves.
“Our Sect Master has commanded us to educate the world. Today the emergence of the dragon god is a sign of the arrival of ZiWei XingJun……”
“What nonsense!” Mo Li interrupted the words of the guard by instinct.
The guard let out a crafty smile and calmly waited for Mo Li to refute his words. He sneered and thought, these people are so ignorant, panicking just because they saw something unusual. Moreover, the Holy Lotus Shrine just happens to be the best at confusing people.
Yet after that one shout, Physician Mo turned away and busied himself, not bothering with the guard anymore.
The guard was astonished. He was just about to say his piece again when his acupuncture point got sealed.
Holy Lotus Shrine guard: “……”
Saintess: “……”
Wait a minute, why did the situation turn out differently from how they thought it would?! Where was the angry rebuttal? Why didn’t he try to argue with them over the truth and attempt to make them see reason Why was their acupuncture points simply blocked just like that? Wasn’t he afraid that the people would be filled with doubts and dissatisfaction toward him?
Then they turned to look at the villagers and became so angry that they flipped backward.
“ZiWei XingJun, who is that? Never heard of it before!”
“That’s right that’s right. Isn’t the dragon god responsible for governing over the clouds and the rain? Since when did it involve reincarnation? Is this not crossing the boundary? Nonsense, it is absolutely nonsense, Physician Mo was right to scold them!”
“I think they want build a temple, but don’t want to pay for it so they used the dragon god as an excuse. When the time comes, then they’ll occupy the dragon god’s temple to worship their whatever it’s called ZiWei XingJun!”
“That’s right that’s right, how preposterous!”
The villagers were all filled with indignation. If they wanted to build a temple, they could do it themselves, how could they snatch it?
As Mo Li listened to their discussion, the anger that had come out of nowhere slowly dissipated, and the corners of his mouth curled up into a smile as he tilted his head toward the skies.
That dragon that appeared in the clouds must also have hoped that this place would be safe and secure.
Translator’s Notes:
[1] To be exact, they are saying things to scold/curse others.
[2] Though I used the word ‘honest’ here, the actual phrase has a similar connotation to ‘self-aware’ (in terms of their attitude toward others)
[3] The phrase is “尽得…真传” which means that he is the true/ head/ personal/ succeeding disciple of Qin Lu. In case you are unfamiliar, usually disciples come in three categories: outer-sect disciples, inner-sect disciples and finally, the personal disciple(s). Usually, only the personal disciple(s) are taught directly by their Master, and receive their full knowledge, but other disciples do not (of course they’re also the most talented/ have the greatest potential).
[4] Not sure if I translated this correctly, but it’s something like an ancient water clock. This is a drawing of it:
(Only it’s with four boxes/levels)
[5] Yang Chang (羊肠) = sheep intestine
[6] Ye Lang (野狼) = wild wolf (lol I love this author’s naming sense XD)
[7] Literally means “king bestowed by heaven”.
[8] Means that the ruling/imperial family is always changing.
[9] This phrase (净灵圣莲 所化) contains a double-meaning: firstly, that the shrine lord was actually a spiritual lotus that had cultivated into a human, and secondly, it is used to express that this person is “as pure/holy as a lotus” (in normal English, it’s “as pure as a lily”, but you get the gist).
[10] To (shamelessly) think too highly of oneself.
