Whoever dies first will be the winner!
After a long time, Duan Baiyue withdrew his hand and put the box intact in the cabinet.
Duan Yao lay on the crack of the door and peeked nervously. It was not until he was sure that his brother was actually sleeping and not crying when he went to bed that he quietly slipped out of the small courtyard.
Even though he was in seclusion for three years, there was no reunion banquet after he returned home. Aunt Jin personally made a few dishes that he liked usually, and brought them to the small dining room.
Nan Moxie opened the door with a jar of wine.
Duan Baiyue put down his chopsticks.
Nan Moxie asked, “You don’t even want to see Master?”
“After staying in that dark cave for three years, I feel a little uncomfortable coming out and meeting people.” Duan Baiyue smiled bitterly.
“After some time, you will gradually get used to it.” Nan Moxie sat opposite him, “The Yunguang wine from three years ago is just taken out of the wine cellar.”
“Where’s Feixia?” Duan Baiyue asked.
“I had sent all of it to Wangcheng two years ago.” Nan Moxie said, “Now we don’t have anymore of it.”
Duan Baiyue nodded: “Thank you, Master.”
Nan Moxie poured a bowl of wine for him: “The little emperor is really powerful. In the past three years, he has worked hard to improve laws and reduce taxes. People’s lives are getting better day by day. I think it won’t be long before this Great Chu will be like the nations that are written in the history books, a flourishing country, with the neighbouring nations coming to congratulate us.”
Duan Baiyue burst into laughter: “Master can still understand history books?”
Nan Moxie: “…”
“He doesn’t have to be under my protection all the time. He was just reluctant before.” Duan Baiyue said, “The time is just right for him.”
Nan Moxie said: “After the New Year, your three-year seclusion ends. If you refuse to go to Wangcheng, he will definitely come south in person. Have you thought about how to deal with that situation?”
Duan Baiyue said: “I’ll just avoid him.”
Nan Moxie sighed.
“After all, he is the king of a country. No matter how big the matter is, he can’t live in the southwest forever.” Duan Baiyue said, “Besides, according to his thoughts, there have been fewer and fewer letters exchanged in the past three years. He should have guessed few things a long time ago.” When the day of parting comes, it won’t be too sudden for him.
Nan Moxie said: “If only we had Tianchensha——”
“Master.” Duan Baiyue interrupted him, and whispered, “There’s no need to discuss that.”
“Forget it.” Nan Moxie gave him a toast, “Today, as a teacher, I will accompany you to get drunk.”
Duan Baiyue raised his head and drank it all in one gulp, his heart felt icy cold.
After eating Laba porridge, it will be New Year’s Eve. Compared with the past, Southwest Mansion is much more lively this year. Red lanterns are hung everywhere, and even the purple toad is wrapped with a red ribbon, which looks really festive.
Many servants in the mansion were dismissed in the past two years, leaving only some old buddies. Ying Niang still lives in the mansion, and her son has grown three or four years old. He can run and jump, and adults like to hold him in his arms. As for why the King became so reclusive after coming out of seclusion, and why he had to wear a mask at all times, everyone tacitly agreed not to ask. They just said that the King was back, and that would be better than anything else.
Duan Baiyue sat in the garden for a while. When he got up and wanted to go back to his room, Duan Yao ran over from a distance, followed by Zhao Wu, Hua Tang, and Nan Moxie.
“Brother.” Duan Yao panted.
“What’s wrong?” Duan Baiyue frowned.
No one spoke.
Duan Yao looked into his eyes and said cautiously: “The Emperor is here.”
There was a loud bang in Duan Baiyue’s mind.
Duan Yao stammered and asked: “What, what should I do?” He had thought that the emperor would have to wait at least until the end of the New Year before coming here. It would take a few more months on the road, and he would not arrive until late spring or early summer anyway. But he didn’t expect that he would arrive so early, this…
Duan Baiyue said: “Where is he?”
Duan Yao said: “At the gate of the city. We estimate that he will arrive at the palace in half an hour. There are no officials with him and he only brought a dozen shadow guards.”
“Brother.” Xiao Wu also said, “Do you want to… go see the emperor?”
Duan Baiyue shook his head.
Duan Yao wanted to speak, but Nan Moxie pinched him on the back.
“I’ll go to the back mountain first.” Duan Baiyue said, “Just do what I said before.”
Duan Yao said: “Well, I want to go to the back mountain too.” I can’t even think about what will happen in a while. It’s better to stay away.
Watching Duan Baiyue and Duan Yao leave, Hua Tang frowned slightly and looked at Zhao Wu.
“You should also stay away for a while,” Nan Moxie said, “so as not to implicate Shadow Chasing Palace.”
“After traveling thousands of miles to come here from Wangcheng, the emperor is probably thinking of taking eldest brother back from seclusion.” Hua Tang said, “But this time…”
“Otherwise, what else can we do?” Nan Moxie shook his head, “It is better to be ruthless and cut-off a wound quickly. Even if it bleeds, it is better than to continue slicing away it slowly.”
Zhao Wu put his arm around Hua Tang’s shoulder, and sighed deeply in his heart.
During the New Year, the streets are always lively. Chu Yuan turned over and dismounted, looking at the majestic Southwest Mansion in front of him, but for a moment he didn’t even have the courage to climb the steps.
“Young Master, would you like to buy a marriage card?” A salesman smiled and promoted, “It’s a fine sapphire. Give it to your sweetheart to bring good luck, and you will get married in the coming year.”
Chu Yuan smiled and handed him a piece of silver.
“Thank you, Young Master. Thank you very much, Young Master.” The young man happily took out the most beautiful one from the basket and brought it over. “Young Master is a friend of the Southwest King, right? I see you have been standing here.”
Chu Yuan nodded: “Yes.”
“Then hurry up and go in. It’s cold outside, and I’m going home for a reunion dinner too.” The young man was very enthusiastic, “Young Master sounds like a foreigner with his accent. It’s going to be a lot of fun in Dali City for a few days. Although the place is small, there are views you can’t see anywhere else.”
Chu Yuan nodded: “Thank you.”
The young man carried his stuff and hummed folk songs all the way back home. Chu Yuan looked at the marriage card in his hand, stepped forward and gently knocked on the copper ring.
The person who opened the door was Nan Moxie.
“Senior.” Chu Yuan looked at him, “Long time no see.”
“Your Majesty.” Nan Moxie chuckled, “I just thought about coming out of the city to greet my lord, but I didn’t expect that I would His Majesty right here.”
“Master Nan is joking.” Chu Yuan entered the door, “According to the spies set up by the Southwest Mansion in this city, the news may have been reached here an hour ago.”
Nan Moxie coughed twice, then turned and closed the door.
Chu Yuan asked, “Where is he?”
Nan Moxie said, “He is still practicing in the back mountain.”
Chu Yuan said: “When will he leave there?”
Nan Moxie was extremely calm: “Five years later.”
Chu Yuan asked, “Five years?”
“Yes.” Nan Moxie replied fluently, “When he was practicing, he had a small accident. So it may take five years, six years, or even longer.” It was very unlucky when I got to know about it.
“I came here this time just to know about the whole matter.” Chu Yuan was not angry, and even tried to smile, but he couldn’t hide his bitterness. “It’s been three years, it’s time to talk, isn’t it?”
Nan Moxie said sincerely, “It’s true that it will take another five years.”
“Senior, think it over.” Chu Yuan looked up at him. “If it takes five years, then I will go back and wait another five years, and if there is an accident again after five years, I will wait another ten, twenty, or thirty years. If he wants to stay in the ice room for the rest of his life, I will wait for him in Wangcheng for the rest of my life, but does he really have to do this?”
Nan Moxie opened his mouth and said after a long time: “Ah.”
“Okay then.” Chu Yuan said, “Five years is not long. I’ll just keep waiting.”
Nan Moxie: “…”
“Farewell.” Chu Yuan’s tone was calm, and he turned around and walked out.
This… Nan Moxie gritted his teeth in his heart, and then said: “Your Majesty, please forget him.”
“Senior, are you finally willing to speak the truth?” Chu Yuan did not look back, but he was trembling slightly.
“Tianchensha was useless on golden silkworm thread.” Nan Moxie said, “So I had to use the Bodhi Heart Sutra to save his life, and he will never see the sun again in this lifetime. He will not be able to get involved in any romantic affairs anymore, so his only choice is to give up.”
Chu Yuan clenched his fists, as if trying to calm himself down: “Why?”
Nan Moxie said: “After practicing the Bodhi Heart Sutra’s evil skill, a person’s appearance becomes completely distorted, and he is as good as half human and half ghost.”
“So what if his face is ruined?” Chu Yuan turned around, his eyes red. “So what if he is half human and half ghost? Is it important?”
“His blood has become poisonous to get rid of the golden silkworm thread.” Nan Moxie said, “Its fine for people living in the Southwest Mansion, but if ordinary people meet him, they may get affected after some time and not be able to live long. So how could he be willing to harm you?”
Chu Yuan’s voice was hoarse: “I just want to see him once.”
“What will happen if you meet him.” Nan Moxie sighed, “Destinies are determined by God and no one can change them. Your Majesty, you should return to Wangcheng as soon as possible. Don’t wait any longer and forget him to have a clean break. If you forget him, perhaps my silly apprentice may feel little better.”
“Forget?” Chu Yuan wanted to tell that person face to face that during those thousand days and nights of separation, how he had thought about every single moment they had spent together bit by bit, fearing that he would miss to remember even a single moment.
All of it has been engraved into his bones and flesh for a long time. How can he forget? How can he forget?
“Your Majesty.” Nan Moxie said, “Please go back.”
“Please tell him, senior.” Chu Yuan’s eyes were bloodshot, “I can wait for three years, and I can wait for thirty years. If he wants to hide for a lifetime, I will wait for him for the rest of my life. Whoever dies first will be the winner.”
Nan Moxie was dumbfounded: “Your Majesty, why is this necessary?”
“On the way to the Southwest Mansion, I met a team of assassins.” Chu Yuan’s voice was still trembling imperceptibly, “I don’t know who sent them, but their skills are not ordinary. The inner shadow guards retreated steadily, and finally Duan Nian made the move. We tried to save him, but he was injured and is still recuperating in Moonlight City.”
Nan Moxie said nothing.
“For so many years, I have always relied on his protection without any worries when doing things, and even did whatever I wanted.” Chu Yuan said, “Now that things are reversed. He refuses to rely on me, and would rather avoid seeing me.”
Nan Moxie said, “What difference will it make if you meet?”
“At least I can tell him in person that some things are really not that important.” Chu Yuan smiled, “If there is poison in his body, I will not come close to him. But it’s better to look at him from distance. Even if his appearance is ruined, I still like him. Why does he care what others think? I had told him earlier that in next twenty years, I would give up the throne and come back to Dali to see the flowers and the sea here. Several of my uncle’s sons have already entered the palace as emperor’s heir, but now the Southwest Mansion no longer wants me. What sense does this world make now?”
“Your Majesty.” Nan Moxie’s heart ached when he heard that.
“I know it’s hard to think about things when he has just come out of seclusion.” Chu Yuan seemed to be calm as usual, “It doesn’t matter. I just said that there are at least twenty years left, so it doesn’t matter. I’ll just keep waiting.”
Nan Moxie opened his mouth, but he didn’t know what to say.
“Excuse me.” Chu Yuan said, “Farewell.”
Nan Moxie watched him leave, but felt that there was something wrong with his walking posture, as if he was injured.
Thinking of the assassination he just mentioned, Nan Moxie slapped his thigh hard and hurried to the back mountain.
===========================================================
As usual, if there are any mistakes or errors, please contact me and I’ll rectify it. If anyone is willing to help in translation who knows Mandarin, you are more than welcome to assist. In that case as well, please email me.
Whoever dies first will be the winner!
After a long time, Duan Baiyue withdrew his hand and put the box intact in the cabinet.
Duan Yao lay on the crack of the door and peeked nervously. It was not until he was sure that his brother was actually sleeping and not crying when he went to bed that he quietly slipped out of the small courtyard.
Even though he was in seclusion for three years, there was no reunion banquet after he returned home. Aunt Jin personally made a few dishes that he liked usually, and brought them to the small dining room.
Nan Moxie opened the door with a jar of wine.
Duan Baiyue put down his chopsticks.
Nan Moxie asked, “You don’t even want to see Master?”
“After staying in that dark cave for three years, I feel a little uncomfortable coming out and meeting people.” Duan Baiyue smiled bitterly.
“After some time, you will gradually get used to it.” Nan Moxie sat opposite him, “The Yunguang wine from three years ago is just taken out of the wine cellar.”
“Where’s Feixia?” Duan Baiyue asked.
“I had sent all of it to Wangcheng two years ago.” Nan Moxie said, “Now we don’t have anymore of it.”
Duan Baiyue nodded: “Thank you, Master.”
Nan Moxie poured a bowl of wine for him: “The little emperor is really powerful. In the past three years, he has worked hard to improve laws and reduce taxes. People’s lives are getting better day by day. I think it won’t be long before this Great Chu will be like the nations that are written in the history books, a flourishing country, with the neighbouring nations coming to congratulate us.”
Duan Baiyue burst into laughter: “Master can still understand history books?”
Nan Moxie: “…”
“He doesn’t have to be under my protection all the time. He was just reluctant before.” Duan Baiyue said, “The time is just right for him.”
Nan Moxie said: “After the New Year, your three-year seclusion ends. If you refuse to go to Wangcheng, he will definitely come south in person. Have you thought about how to deal with that situation?”
Duan Baiyue said: “I’ll just avoid him.”
Nan Moxie sighed.
“After all, he is the king of a country. No matter how big the matter is, he can’t live in the southwest forever.” Duan Baiyue said, “Besides, according to his thoughts, there have been fewer and fewer letters exchanged in the past three years. He should have guessed few things a long time ago.” When the day of parting comes, it won’t be too sudden for him.
Nan Moxie said: “If only we had Tianchensha——”
“Master.” Duan Baiyue interrupted him, and whispered, “There’s no need to discuss that.”
“Forget it.” Nan Moxie gave him a toast, “Today, as a teacher, I will accompany you to get drunk.”
Duan Baiyue raised his head and drank it all in one gulp, his heart felt icy cold.
After eating Laba porridge, it will be New Year’s Eve. Compared with the past, Southwest Mansion is much more lively this year. Red lanterns are hung everywhere, and even the purple toad is wrapped with a red ribbon, which looks really festive.
Many servants in the mansion were dismissed in the past two years, leaving only some old buddies. Ying Niang still lives in the mansion, and her son has grown three or four years old. He can run and jump, and adults like to hold him in his arms. As for why the King became so reclusive after coming out of seclusion, and why he had to wear a mask at all times, everyone tacitly agreed not to ask. They just said that the King was back, and that would be better than anything else.
Duan Baiyue sat in the garden for a while. When he got up and wanted to go back to his room, Duan Yao ran over from a distance, followed by Zhao Wu, Hua Tang, and Nan Moxie.
“Brother.” Duan Yao panted.
“What’s wrong?” Duan Baiyue frowned.
No one spoke.
Duan Yao looked into his eyes and said cautiously: “The Emperor is here.”
There was a loud bang in Duan Baiyue’s mind.
Duan Yao stammered and asked: “What, what should I do?” He had thought that the emperor would have to wait at least until the end of the New Year before coming here. It would take a few more months on the road, and he would not arrive until late spring or early summer anyway. But he didn’t expect that he would arrive so early, this…
Duan Baiyue said: “Where is he?”
Duan Yao said: “At the gate of the city. We estimate that he will arrive at the palace in half an hour. There are no officials with him and he only brought a dozen shadow guards.”
“Brother.” Xiao Wu also said, “Do you want to… go see the emperor?”
Duan Baiyue shook his head.
Duan Yao wanted to speak, but Nan Moxie pinched him on the back.
“I’ll go to the back mountain first.” Duan Baiyue said, “Just do what I said before.”
Duan Yao said: “Well, I want to go to the back mountain too.” I can’t even think about what will happen in a while. It’s better to stay away.
Watching Duan Baiyue and Duan Yao leave, Hua Tang frowned slightly and looked at Zhao Wu.
“You should also stay away for a while,” Nan Moxie said, “so as not to implicate Shadow Chasing Palace.”
“After traveling thousands of miles to come here from Wangcheng, the emperor is probably thinking of taking eldest brother back from seclusion.” Hua Tang said, “But this time…”
“Otherwise, what else can we do?” Nan Moxie shook his head, “It is better to be ruthless and cut-off a wound quickly. Even if it bleeds, it is better than to continue slicing away it slowly.”
Zhao Wu put his arm around Hua Tang’s shoulder, and sighed deeply in his heart.
During the New Year, the streets are always lively. Chu Yuan turned over and dismounted, looking at the majestic Southwest Mansion in front of him, but for a moment he didn’t even have the courage to climb the steps.
“Young Master, would you like to buy a marriage card?” A salesman smiled and promoted, “It’s a fine sapphire. Give it to your sweetheart to bring good luck, and you will get married in the coming year.”
Chu Yuan smiled and handed him a piece of silver.
“Thank you, Young Master. Thank you very much, Young Master.” The young man happily took out the most beautiful one from the basket and brought it over. “Young Master is a friend of the Southwest King, right? I see you have been standing here.”
Chu Yuan nodded: “Yes.”
“Then hurry up and go in. It’s cold outside, and I’m going home for a reunion dinner too.” The young man was very enthusiastic, “Young Master sounds like a foreigner with his accent. It’s going to be a lot of fun in Dali City for a few days. Although the place is small, there are views you can’t see anywhere else.”
Chu Yuan nodded: “Thank you.”
The young man carried his stuff and hummed folk songs all the way back home. Chu Yuan looked at the marriage card in his hand, stepped forward and gently knocked on the copper ring.
The person who opened the door was Nan Moxie.
“Senior.” Chu Yuan looked at him, “Long time no see.”
“Your Majesty.” Nan Moxie chuckled, “I just thought about coming out of the city to greet my lord, but I didn’t expect that I would His Majesty right here.”
“Master Nan is joking.” Chu Yuan entered the door, “According to the spies set up by the Southwest Mansion in this city, the news may have been reached here an hour ago.”
Nan Moxie coughed twice, then turned and closed the door.
Chu Yuan asked, “Where is he?”
Nan Moxie said, “He is still practicing in the back mountain.”
Chu Yuan said: “When will he leave there?”
Nan Moxie was extremely calm: “Five years later.”
Chu Yuan asked, “Five years?”
“Yes.” Nan Moxie replied fluently, “When he was practicing, he had a small accident. So it may take five years, six years, or even longer.” It was very unlucky when I got to know about it.
“I came here this time just to know about the whole matter.” Chu Yuan was not angry, and even tried to smile, but he couldn’t hide his bitterness. “It’s been three years, it’s time to talk, isn’t it?”
Nan Moxie said sincerely, “It’s true that it will take another five years.”
“Senior, think it over.” Chu Yuan looked up at him. “If it takes five years, then I will go back and wait another five years, and if there is an accident again after five years, I will wait another ten, twenty, or thirty years. If he wants to stay in the ice room for the rest of his life, I will wait for him in Wangcheng for the rest of my life, but does he really have to do this?”
Nan Moxie opened his mouth and said after a long time: “Ah.”
“Okay then.” Chu Yuan said, “Five years is not long. I’ll just keep waiting.”
Nan Moxie: “…”
“Farewell.” Chu Yuan’s tone was calm, and he turned around and walked out.
This… Nan Moxie gritted his teeth in his heart, and then said: “Your Majesty, please forget him.”
“Senior, are you finally willing to speak the truth?” Chu Yuan did not look back, but he was trembling slightly.
“Tianchensha was useless on golden silkworm thread.” Nan Moxie said, “So I had to use the Bodhi Heart Sutra to save his life, and he will never see the sun again in this lifetime. He will not be able to get involved in any romantic affairs anymore, so his only choice is to give up.”
Chu Yuan clenched his fists, as if trying to calm himself down: “Why?”
Nan Moxie said: “After practicing the Bodhi Heart Sutra’s evil skill, a person’s appearance becomes completely distorted, and he is as good as half human and half ghost.”
“So what if his face is ruined?” Chu Yuan turned around, his eyes red. “So what if he is half human and half ghost? Is it important?”
“His blood has become poisonous to get rid of the golden silkworm thread.” Nan Moxie said, “Its fine for people living in the Southwest Mansion, but if ordinary people meet him, they may get affected after some time and not be able to live long. So how could he be willing to harm you?”
Chu Yuan’s voice was hoarse: “I just want to see him once.”
“What will happen if you meet him.” Nan Moxie sighed, “Destinies are determined by God and no one can change them. Your Majesty, you should return to Wangcheng as soon as possible. Don’t wait any longer and forget him to have a clean break. If you forget him, perhaps my silly apprentice may feel little better.”
“Forget?” Chu Yuan wanted to tell that person face to face that during those thousand days and nights of separation, how he had thought about every single moment they had spent together bit by bit, fearing that he would miss to remember even a single moment.
All of it has been engraved into his bones and flesh for a long time. How can he forget? How can he forget?
“Your Majesty.” Nan Moxie said, “Please go back.”
“Please tell him, senior.” Chu Yuan’s eyes were bloodshot, “I can wait for three years, and I can wait for thirty years. If he wants to hide for a lifetime, I will wait for him for the rest of my life. Whoever dies first will be the winner.”
Nan Moxie was dumbfounded: “Your Majesty, why is this necessary?”
“On the way to the Southwest Mansion, I met a team of assassins.” Chu Yuan’s voice was still trembling imperceptibly, “I don’t know who sent them, but their skills are not ordinary. The inner shadow guards retreated steadily, and finally Duan Nian made the move. We tried to save him, but he was injured and is still recuperating in Moonlight City.”
Nan Moxie said nothing.
“For so many years, I have always relied on his protection without any worries when doing things, and even did whatever I wanted.” Chu Yuan said, “Now that things are reversed. He refuses to rely on me, and would rather avoid seeing me.”
Nan Moxie said, “What difference will it make if you meet?”
“At least I can tell him in person that some things are really not that important.” Chu Yuan smiled, “If there is poison in his body, I will not come close to him. But it’s better to look at him from distance. Even if his appearance is ruined, I still like him. Why does he care what others think? I had told him earlier that in next twenty years, I would give up the throne and come back to Dali to see the flowers and the sea here. Several of my uncle’s sons have already entered the palace as emperor’s heir, but now the Southwest Mansion no longer wants me. What sense does this world make now?”
“Your Majesty.” Nan Moxie’s heart ached when he heard that.
“I know it’s hard to think about things when he has just come out of seclusion.” Chu Yuan seemed to be calm as usual, “It doesn’t matter. I just said that there are at least twenty years left, so it doesn’t matter. I’ll just keep waiting.”
Nan Moxie opened his mouth, but he didn’t know what to say.
“Excuse me.” Chu Yuan said, “Farewell.”
Nan Moxie watched him leave, but felt that there was something wrong with his walking posture, as if he was injured.
Thinking of the assassination he just mentioned, Nan Moxie slapped his thigh hard and hurried to the back mountain.
===========================================================
As usual, if there are any mistakes or errors, please contact me and I’ll rectify it. If anyone is willing to help in translation who knows Mandarin, you are more than welcome to assist. In that case as well, please email me.
