The resonating cadences of the second round of singing come to an end, and a hush descends over the wall.
The song is closely followed by the sound of a tambura, the strings twanging as though the instrument is being tuned before a low, mellow voice begins to sing.
Duan Ling rises from his seat, pats out the creases in his robe, and goes outside to greet them. This is also one of the rituals in a proposal by serenade; if a girl is ever too shy to come out of her room, an older male relative will respond in her stead. Usually, all the young men in a tribe already know each other, and the one doing the proposing is often a friend of the girl’s family.
At this time, the girl’s brother can answer for her and say, I’m willing to let my sister marry you, so come over with gifts some other day.
Thus, Duan Ling replying for her according to this ritual is something that fits these requirements.
He still remembers the Tangut songs he learned before. Though he only knows a few lines, it’s enough to handle this.
It is now the afternoon. That young man is sitting on the wall with one foot on the top of the wall and one foot hanging off the edge, a tambura cradled in his arms, singing the melody on and off and on again. The afternoon sun happens to be on his back, casting his handsome profile into the courtyard, making a hazy silhouette.
He’s dressed in a set of dark blue Tangut riding clothes with his tribe’s totem of great goose embroidered on his lapel; the four precious lapis lazuli rings on his fingers sparkle in the sunlight as they strum the tambura’s strings. When he finishes singing, Duan Ling immediately follows the melody with the next line of verse.
Duan Ling’s voice is gentle and rich, like the Kherlen River flowing over the steppes.
Wu Du glances into the courtyard and finds himself at once spellbound.
Sunlight spills over Duan Ling, and there’s an indolent smile touching his delicate features that shows his fine, white teeth; he’s full of vitality like a verdant, lush tree with the petals of its blossoms fluttering freely in a spring breeze.
Wu Du decides to simply lie back on the roof tiles, resting one ankle over his knee to bathe in the sun. He closes his eyes to listen to Duan Ling’s singing.
Not long afterwards, also finding the singing pleasant, the young man starts strumming an accompaniment for Duan Ling on the tambura.
As he plays, the young man turns his head, and he too freezes in place, looking stunned.
Duan Ling hasn’t gotten a good look at the young man’s face yet, and he merely finds this all quite fun and thus he continues to sing. Then the young man leaps off the wall right into the courtyard.
Duan Ling hasn’t finished singing yet. What is going on? You can’t come in!
The young man runs at Duan Ling at top speed.
What is happening? Duan Ling is dumbfounded, and still singing he runs inside to hide, but the young man simply chases him into the house.
Outside, all the other young men fly into a frenzy and pour inside.
There’s commotion inside the courtyard house and Duan Ling has run away. Wu Du is rather baffled to hear all the footsteps heading towards the inner hall, and he opens his eyes to look into the courtyard again — no one’s there.
Frowning, Wu Du leaps off the eaves.
“Wait wait wait!” From the main hall, Duan Ling runs through the courtyard into the rear wing.
But the young man is chasing him all the way there, yelling, “Wait! Stop!”
When he hears that voice Duan Ling feels as though a bolt of lightning has struck him! He turns around to find that the young man is actually Helian Bo!
For a moment he simply stares; Helian Bo feels like he’s dreaming still, looking utterly stupefied. Duan Ling cries out and throws himself at Helian Bo, who catches him in a tight hug. Then realising how dangerous this is, Duan Ling backs away at once. Good thing there’s no one around.
“Duan … Ling!” Helian Bo’s lips keep trembling, wishing to step forward so he can hold onto Duan Ling again.
Duan Ling’s eyes are full of tears; he never thought he’d run into Helian Bo here and now, but it takes him only a split second to say, “Don’t ask! I’ll explain later!”
Astonished, Helian Bo grabs onto Duan Ling’s hand and refuses to let go. But Duan Ling is telling him, “Quickly, go now! I’ll come see you!”
Outside the rear wing, those young men already have Yao Jing surrounded, heckling her to sing. Duan Ling plies Helian Bo’s hand off of him. “Helian! Do as I say!”
But Helian Bo is pulling on Duan Ling’s sleeve. “Go … go … over there … talk …”
“No no, we can’t do that right now. I’ll come see you in the evening!”
Duan Ling beckons, and Helian Bo turns and comes closer. Even back when they attended the Illustrious Hall Helian Bo was already tall, and now he’s towering even more as he lowers his head, facing Duan Ling. Duan Ling says quietly by his ear, “My name is Zhao Rong. Right now you can’t call me Duan—”
Wu Du chases into the room, and from his angle it looks like Helian Bo has his arm around Duan Ling and he’s about to lean in to kiss him. Wu Du looks taken aback at first, then his anger flares and he roars, “What are you doing?! Let go of him!”
Helian Bo lets go of Duan Ling and turns around to face Wu Du. He snaps, “Scram!”
Before he knows it, Wu Du has already taken one step forward, and pulling Helian Bo forward by the collar, Wu Du punches him in the face.
The only thought in Duan Ling’s head is: please just kill me now.
Helian Bo cries out in pain, and everyone outside falls silent. Soon, as all the bodyguards rush into the rear courtyard to find Wu Du beating up Helian Bo, they draw their weapons and throw themselves into the fray.
“Stop fighting—!” Duan Ling yells.
Duan Ling gets in front of Wu Du right away, making him back off. Helian Bo cuts a pretty sorry looking figure the way he’s been beaten, but thankfully he has some martial arts foundation and Wu Du was only meaning to teach him a bit of a lesson so he isn’t seriously injured; there’s room to stop this fight.
Duan Ling presses a hand against Wu Du’s chest to keep him off to the side.
Wu Du points haughtily at Helian Bo. “What were you trying to do? What were you putting your hands on him for? Touch him again and I’ll cut you to pieces!”
“That’s the crown prince of Xiliang!” Duan Ling whispers.
“Even if the emperor’s here I’d beat him all the same,” Wu Du smirks as he says this.
Duan Ling is speechless.
Helian Bo staggers to his feet. Duan Ling looks pleadingly at him; Helian Bo seems to understand, and surprisingly he doesn’t get mad at Duan Ling. He just throws Wu Du a look before he gets up and leaves.
The guards are all casting aggressive glares at Wu Du, but Wu Du is turning around to check over Duan Ling instead. “What’d he do to you just now?”
“We’re both men!” Duan Ling doesn’t even know what to say. “What could he have ever done to me?”
Wu Du puts a hand on Duan Ling’s chin and turns his face from one side to the other and doesn’t find anything odd that looks like Helian Bo forced anything on him, so his gaze once more pauses over Duan Ling’s lips. Having just seen Helian Bo, Duan Ling hasn’t calmed down yet, and his eyes are tinged a bit red at the edges.
When their eyes meet, a bright blush comes over Duan Ling’s cheeks and the two of them pull awkwardly apart.
“If he tries to grope you again,” Wu Du says, “Oh I’ll show him.”
Wu Du has appeared so quickly that Duan Ling is only now noticing that with all of Helian Bo’s pulling, a piece of his sleeve has been ripped clean off, and it’s nowhere to be found. When Helian Bo unintentionally tore if off earlier he must have taken it along with him. Duan Ling doesn’t even know if he should laugh or cry.
“Those people from Xiliang are all barbarians.” Wu Du tosses a towel over for Duan Ling to wipe his face with. “They’ll fuck horses, even. You expect them to have any sense of honour?”
While Duan Ling is verbally nodding along, his mind isn’t focusing on what Wu Du is saying to him at all. Does Helian Bo’s appearance signify that someone can verify his identity?! But will anyone take the word of a foreigner at face value? He was only thinking of how he can’t let Bian Lingbai know about it at first in order to avoid getting himself killed, but the situation has become such a mess that it’s gone totally beyond his wildest imaginings. If Bian Lingbai ever finds out his true identity … well that’s a horrifying thought.
What kind of reaction will Helian Bo have when he gets back? That guy has always been blunt and never did have a calculating bone in his body. Things will turn out quite badly if Helian Bo asks about him. Duan Ling isn’t really worried about himself however — he’s just worried that Helian Bo will end up getting dragged into his problems.
“How many people did he bring with him?” Duan Ling asks.
“Not even ten. I’ll go teach them a lesson tonight.”
“Don’t!” Duan Ling says immediately, “It’s not what you think.”
“Then what is it really? Explain?”
Duan Ling stares at him wordlessly. How am I supposed to explain?! Duan Ling snarls furiously in his head.
Meanwhile, Helian Bo is pacing back and forth in his room, ecstatic beyond measure, a half finished portrait sitting on his table. Shang Leguan knocks and comes in, and so Helian Bo leaves with him to see Bian Lingbai.
Duan Ling’s mind is in a state of disquiet; he wants to go see Helian Bo so he can explain everything in private, but he can’t get away from Wu Du. As he’s fretting about what he can ever do, he suddenly thinks of one person who can save him.
“I’m going to go see Master Fei Hongde,” Duan Ling says.
Wu Du has been sitting down fuming this whole time, and when he hears this, he gets up, changes his clothes, and with his sword in hand he heads out with Duan Ling.
“There’s no need for that, is there?” Duan Ling sounds resigned.
“Stop nagging. Move it.”
Duan Ling can only go see Fei Hongde, clarifying that Yao Jing only knows she’s marrying Shang Leguan. When Duan Ling is finished, Fei Hongde gives him a nod and explains, “You should spend more time with her, and try to find out if there’s anything about what happened with those mounted bandits. General Bian has recovered the bandits’ loot, so tell them to send someone to see if they can identify any of the items. If they find any evidence they can pass them along to Shang Leguan so he can handle things on his return to Xiliang.”
Duan Ling thinks this over and nods; he cannot help but hand it to Fei Hongde for his ability to think so many moves ahead. Since those opposing Helian Bo is attempting to obstruct this engagement, then handing him the evidence will be the best course of action to take.
And it just so happens that right at that moment, Bian Lingbai arrives.
“What are you doing here?” Bian Lingbai asks.
Duan Ling looks a little uncomfortable, unsure if Bian Lingbai got wind that Wu Du and Helian Bo got into a fight with each other.
Bian Lingbai sweeps his gaze over Duan Ling, then turns his attention to Wu Du. He’s clearly been informed.
“Wu Du, I show you courtesy because you’re a guest, and because you’re always protecting Zhao Rong. Don’t cause a disturbance in my house,” Bian Lingbai threatens.
Wu Du laughs. “Not only am I going to cause a disturbance in your house, I’m going to kill your whole family — what are you going to do about it? Going to ask that assassin of yours that doesn’t even have a hand give me a flying kick?”
Duan Ling is speechless.
“Wu Du!” Bian Lingbai howls with fury, “There’s a limit to how far you can push me!”
“That’s enough!” Duan Ling says.
“What was that all about today?!” Bian Lingbai demands.
“I was in the rear courtyard … singing.” Duan Ling thinks to himself, what an undeserved catastrophe, and he explains, “He just suddenly came over to me, and then he …”
“And then he what?” Bian Lingbai’s eyes go right wide.
Duan Ling falls quiet.
“Bian Lingbai,” Wu Du says.
Duan Ling signals to Wu Du immediately that he should not act on impulse, and he says to Bian Lingbai, “Xiliang people are passionate and bold, um … uh, he just wanted to be friends.”
Bian Lingbai adds, “He came by earlier to request your presence, said he wants you to keep him company. I don’t know what’s going on so I came over to see what you think.”
Wu Du goes dangerously quiet; the way he’is looking at Bian Lingbai makes it seem like he’s just about to murder him outright.
Bian Lingbai changes his tune right away. “Well, I’m here to ask you what you two want, aren’t I?”
“He’s not going,” Wu Du answers frostily.
“I want to go,” Duan Ling says, “it’ll give me a chance to make some inquiries for Master Fei … is that alright?”
Wu Du immediately gets up to leave. Duan Ling chases after him, thinking, why don’t I simply tell him the truth?
I do not monetise my hobby translations, but if you’d like to support my work generally or support my light novel habit, you can either buy me a coffee or commission me. This is also to note that if you see this message anywhere else than on tumblr, do come to my tumblr. It’s ad-free. ↩︎
The resonating cadences of the second round of singing come to an end, and a hush descends over the wall.
The song is closely followed by the sound of a tambura, the strings twanging as though the instrument is being tuned before a low, mellow voice begins to sing.
Duan Ling rises from his seat, pats out the creases in his robe, and goes outside to greet them. This is also one of the rituals in a proposal by serenade; if a girl is ever too shy to come out of her room, an older male relative will respond in her stead. Usually, all the young men in a tribe already know each other, and the one doing the proposing is often a friend of the girl’s family.
At this time, the girl’s brother can answer for her and say, I’m willing to let my sister marry you, so come over with gifts some other day.
Thus, Duan Ling replying for her according to this ritual is something that fits these requirements.
He still remembers the Tangut songs he learned before. Though he only knows a few lines, it’s enough to handle this.
It is now the afternoon. That young man is sitting on the wall with one foot on the top of the wall and one foot hanging off the edge, a tambura cradled in his arms, singing the melody on and off and on again. The afternoon sun happens to be on his back, casting his handsome profile into the courtyard, making a hazy silhouette.
He’s dressed in a set of dark blue Tangut riding clothes with his tribe’s totem of great goose embroidered on his lapel; the four precious lapis lazuli rings on his fingers sparkle in the sunlight as they strum the tambura’s strings. When he finishes singing, Duan Ling immediately follows the melody with the next line of verse.
Duan Ling’s voice is gentle and rich, like the Kherlen River flowing over the steppes.
Wu Du glances into the courtyard and finds himself at once spellbound.
Sunlight spills over Duan Ling, and there’s an indolent smile touching his delicate features that shows his fine, white teeth; he’s full of vitality like a verdant, lush tree with the petals of its blossoms fluttering freely in a spring breeze.
Wu Du decides to simply lie back on the roof tiles, resting one ankle over his knee to bathe in the sun. He closes his eyes to listen to Duan Ling’s singing.
Not long afterwards, also finding the singing pleasant, the young man starts strumming an accompaniment for Duan Ling on the tambura.
As he plays, the young man turns his head, and he too freezes in place, looking stunned.
Duan Ling hasn’t gotten a good look at the young man’s face yet, and he merely finds this all quite fun and thus he continues to sing. Then the young man leaps off the wall right into the courtyard.
Duan Ling hasn’t finished singing yet. What is going on? You can’t come in!
The young man runs at Duan Ling at top speed.
What is happening? Duan Ling is dumbfounded, and still singing he runs inside to hide, but the young man simply chases him into the house.
Outside, all the other young men fly into a frenzy and pour inside.
There’s commotion inside the courtyard house and Duan Ling has run away. Wu Du is rather baffled to hear all the footsteps heading towards the inner hall, and he opens his eyes to look into the courtyard again — no one’s there.
Frowning, Wu Du leaps off the eaves.
“Wait wait wait!” From the main hall, Duan Ling runs through the courtyard into the rear wing.
But the young man is chasing him all the way there, yelling, “Wait! Stop!”
When he hears that voice Duan Ling feels as though a bolt of lightning has struck him! He turns around to find that the young man is actually Helian Bo!
For a moment he simply stares; Helian Bo feels like he’s dreaming still, looking utterly stupefied. Duan Ling cries out and throws himself at Helian Bo, who catches him in a tight hug. Then realising how dangerous this is, Duan Ling backs away at once. Good thing there’s no one around.
“Duan … Ling!” Helian Bo’s lips keep trembling, wishing to step forward so he can hold onto Duan Ling again.
Duan Ling’s eyes are full of tears; he never thought he’d run into Helian Bo here and now, but it takes him only a split second to say, “Don’t ask! I’ll explain later!”
Astonished, Helian Bo grabs onto Duan Ling’s hand and refuses to let go. But Duan Ling is telling him, “Quickly, go now! I’ll come see you!”
Outside the rear wing, those young men already have Yao Jing surrounded, heckling her to sing. Duan Ling plies Helian Bo’s hand off of him. “Helian! Do as I say!”
But Helian Bo is pulling on Duan Ling’s sleeve. “Go … go … over there … talk …”
“No no, we can’t do that right now. I’ll come see you in the evening!”
Duan Ling beckons, and Helian Bo turns and comes closer. Even back when they attended the Illustrious Hall Helian Bo was already tall, and now he’s towering even more as he lowers his head, facing Duan Ling. Duan Ling says quietly by his ear, “My name is Zhao Rong. Right now you can’t call me Duan—”
Wu Du chases into the room, and from his angle it looks like Helian Bo has his arm around Duan Ling and he’s about to lean in to kiss him. Wu Du looks taken aback at first, then his anger flares and he roars, “What are you doing?! Let go of him!”
Helian Bo lets go of Duan Ling and turns around to face Wu Du. He snaps, “Scram!”
Before he knows it, Wu Du has already taken one step forward, and pulling Helian Bo forward by the collar, Wu Du punches him in the face.
The only thought in Duan Ling’s head is: please just kill me now.
Helian Bo cries out in pain, and everyone outside falls silent. Soon, as all the bodyguards rush into the rear courtyard to find Wu Du beating up Helian Bo, they draw their weapons and throw themselves into the fray.
“Stop fighting—!” Duan Ling yells.
Duan Ling gets in front of Wu Du right away, making him back off. Helian Bo cuts a pretty sorry looking figure the way he’s been beaten, but thankfully he has some martial arts foundation and Wu Du was only meaning to teach him a bit of a lesson so he isn’t seriously injured; there’s room to stop this fight.
Duan Ling presses a hand against Wu Du’s chest to keep him off to the side.
Wu Du points haughtily at Helian Bo. “What were you trying to do? What were you putting your hands on him for? Touch him again and I’ll cut you to pieces!”
“That’s the crown prince of Xiliang!” Duan Ling whispers.
“Even if the emperor’s here I’d beat him all the same,” Wu Du smirks as he says this.
Duan Ling is speechless.
Helian Bo staggers to his feet. Duan Ling looks pleadingly at him; Helian Bo seems to understand, and surprisingly he doesn’t get mad at Duan Ling. He just throws Wu Du a look before he gets up and leaves.
The guards are all casting aggressive glares at Wu Du, but Wu Du is turning around to check over Duan Ling instead. “What’d he do to you just now?”
“We’re both men!” Duan Ling doesn’t even know what to say. “What could he have ever done to me?”
Wu Du puts a hand on Duan Ling’s chin and turns his face from one side to the other and doesn’t find anything odd that looks like Helian Bo forced anything on him, so his gaze once more pauses over Duan Ling’s lips. Having just seen Helian Bo, Duan Ling hasn’t calmed down yet, and his eyes are tinged a bit red at the edges.
When their eyes meet, a bright blush comes over Duan Ling’s cheeks and the two of them pull awkwardly apart.
“If he tries to grope you again,” Wu Du says, “Oh I’ll show him.”
Wu Du has appeared so quickly that Duan Ling is only now noticing that with all of Helian Bo’s pulling, a piece of his sleeve has been ripped clean off, and it’s nowhere to be found. When Helian Bo unintentionally tore if off earlier he must have taken it along with him. Duan Ling doesn’t even know if he should laugh or cry.
“Those people from Xiliang are all barbarians.” Wu Du tosses a towel over for Duan Ling to wipe his face with. “They’ll fuck horses, even. You expect them to have any sense of honour?”
While Duan Ling is verbally nodding along, his mind isn’t focusing on what Wu Du is saying to him at all. Does Helian Bo’s appearance signify that someone can verify his identity?! But will anyone take the word of a foreigner at face value? He was only thinking of how he can’t let Bian Lingbai know about it at first in order to avoid getting himself killed, but the situation has become such a mess that it’s gone totally beyond his wildest imaginings. If Bian Lingbai ever finds out his true identity … well that’s a horrifying thought.
What kind of reaction will Helian Bo have when he gets back? That guy has always been blunt and never did have a calculating bone in his body. Things will turn out quite badly if Helian Bo asks about him. Duan Ling isn’t really worried about himself however — he’s just worried that Helian Bo will end up getting dragged into his problems.
“How many people did he bring with him?” Duan Ling asks.
“Not even ten. I’ll go teach them a lesson tonight.”
“Don’t!” Duan Ling says immediately, “It’s not what you think.”
“Then what is it really? Explain?”
Duan Ling stares at him wordlessly. How am I supposed to explain?! Duan Ling snarls furiously in his head.
Meanwhile, Helian Bo is pacing back and forth in his room, ecstatic beyond measure, a half finished portrait sitting on his table. Shang Leguan knocks and comes in, and so Helian Bo leaves with him to see Bian Lingbai.
Duan Ling’s mind is in a state of disquiet; he wants to go see Helian Bo so he can explain everything in private, but he can’t get away from Wu Du. As he’s fretting about what he can ever do, he suddenly thinks of one person who can save him.
“I’m going to go see Master Fei Hongde,” Duan Ling says.
Wu Du has been sitting down fuming this whole time, and when he hears this, he gets up, changes his clothes, and with his sword in hand he heads out with Duan Ling.
“There’s no need for that, is there?” Duan Ling sounds resigned.
“Stop nagging. Move it.”
Duan Ling can only go see Fei Hongde, clarifying that Yao Jing only knows she’s marrying Shang Leguan. When Duan Ling is finished, Fei Hongde gives him a nod and explains, “You should spend more time with her, and try to find out if there’s anything about what happened with those mounted bandits. General Bian has recovered the bandits’ loot, so tell them to send someone to see if they can identify any of the items. If they find any evidence they can pass them along to Shang Leguan so he can handle things on his return to Xiliang.”
Duan Ling thinks this over and nods; he cannot help but hand it to Fei Hongde for his ability to think so many moves ahead. Since those opposing Helian Bo is attempting to obstruct this engagement, then handing him the evidence will be the best course of action to take.
And it just so happens that right at that moment, Bian Lingbai arrives.
“What are you doing here?” Bian Lingbai asks.
Duan Ling looks a little uncomfortable, unsure if Bian Lingbai got wind that Wu Du and Helian Bo got into a fight with each other.
Bian Lingbai sweeps his gaze over Duan Ling, then turns his attention to Wu Du. He’s clearly been informed.
“Wu Du, I show you courtesy because you’re a guest, and because you’re always protecting Zhao Rong. Don’t cause a disturbance in my house,” Bian Lingbai threatens.
Wu Du laughs. “Not only am I going to cause a disturbance in your house, I’m going to kill your whole family — what are you going to do about it? Going to ask that assassin of yours that doesn’t even have a hand give me a flying kick?”
Duan Ling is speechless.
“Wu Du!” Bian Lingbai howls with fury, “There’s a limit to how far you can push me!”
“That’s enough!” Duan Ling says.
“What was that all about today?!” Bian Lingbai demands.
“I was in the rear courtyard … singing.” Duan Ling thinks to himself, what an undeserved catastrophe, and he explains, “He just suddenly came over to me, and then he …”
“And then he what?” Bian Lingbai’s eyes go right wide.
Duan Ling falls quiet.
“Bian Lingbai,” Wu Du says.
Duan Ling signals to Wu Du immediately that he should not act on impulse, and he says to Bian Lingbai, “Xiliang people are passionate and bold, um … uh, he just wanted to be friends.”
Bian Lingbai adds, “He came by earlier to request your presence, said he wants you to keep him company. I don’t know what’s going on so I came over to see what you think.”
Wu Du goes dangerously quiet; the way he’is looking at Bian Lingbai makes it seem like he’s just about to murder him outright.
Bian Lingbai changes his tune right away. “Well, I’m here to ask you what you two want, aren’t I?”
“He’s not going,” Wu Du answers frostily.
“I want to go,” Duan Ling says, “it’ll give me a chance to make some inquiries for Master Fei … is that alright?”
Wu Du immediately gets up to leave. Duan Ling chases after him, thinking, why don’t I simply tell him the truth?
I do not monetise my hobby translations, but if you’d like to support my work generally or support my light novel habit, you can either buy me a coffee or commission me. This is also to note that if you see this message anywhere else than on tumblr, do come to my tumblr. It’s ad-free. ↩︎
