Originally posted on RBKTR Translations.
Author: The One Who Tells Stories Under the Bridge (天桥底下说书的).
Translated by: Yujuan
Those who had taken the lead to return to the Shrine had reported the situation in the south to the higher-ups in time, and soon the reinforcements sent by the Shrine arrived at Linguang City. These government affairs had always been dealt with by the Rising Star Priest, and Ji Mo was too lazy to overstep his authority, so he instructed Qing Ye to find a ship, embarking on his journey to return.
They had just passed rapidly into March, yet there was still a slightly cool breeze over the river. After the events of today, Ji Mo had changed out of his fortune-teller disguise and replaced it with his Morning Star Priest’s white robes.
The Haotian Shrine was headed by the High Priest Su Ge, with the three White Robed Priests Sun, Moon, and Star working under him. Each of the White Robed Priests were assigned many high-level priests according to their various duties, and the high-level priests were in charge of the common priests and divine attendants. Thus, a layered hierarchy formed this management system with the High Priest as its core.
In theory, the Three White Robed Priests had a roughly equal standing amongst each other, but Ji Mo had always let the higher-level priests under him roam freely as he was unwilling to run the affairs. Those in the Shrine wouldn’t have much luck bumping into him on most days, and no one had ever seen his real appearance with the exception of Su Ge – it could even be said that he was the Shrine’s most mysterious White Robed Priest.
Seemingly to highlight his trait of being mysterious, while his priest robes were colored in the main hues of pure white, the sleeves and lower hem of his coat were embroidered with star patterns using black thread, black and white fusing into one, approaching chaos rather than sanctity. The winds along the river had huge gusts, and Ji Mo pulled on the hood which came with his priest robes, concealing his beautiful black hair, the upper half of his face covered by the silver mask, only distinctly divulging in clear and smooth chin, as well as his lips, which were thin to the point of being pitiless. Just from his appearance, he looked noble and mysterious, which was exactly the kind of style Ye Mingjun liked the most.
This was the third time he was evading the curious hand of an immortal trying to uncover his mask, and while Ji Mo was itching to call his subordinates to tie up this guy’s hands and legs, nothing could be done with the fact that his cultivation was unfathomable. He was left with no choice but to warn, “If you take down my mask, I assure you that my favorability will drop to negative five hundred.”
Ye Mingjun hadn’t felt a single trace of fear in the face of the Demonic Army, but actually desisted from this threat; however, nothing could hold this immortal back from his exuberant thirst for knowledge, and said smilingly after slight consideration, “Which means I can take it off after raising your favorability by five hundred?”
What’s the use of looking at a man’s face? Is there really a need for your hands to be this itchy? Five hundred? How ridiculous, you can’t even increase your favorability by fifty points!
Internally grinding his teeth, Ji Mo still maintained that courteous smile of his, and merely spoke softly, “Xianjun has quite the confidence.”
Under the joint perseverance of Ji Mo’s tolerance and Ye Mingjun’s perplexingly amicable attitude, they maintained friendly relations on the surface. To an outsider, the white-clothed immortal and the Shrine’s priest was standing at the ship’s bow, both wearing similarly faint smiles on their faces as they engaged in what was clearly an agreeable conversation.
At least, that was what Qing Ye, who was currently making a status report, read from the situation, inwardly sighing at how quickly the Morning Star Priest had gotten along with an unfamiliar Celestial. He couldn’t help but ask the question that he was the most concerned about, “Morning Star Priest, do you think the High Priest will declare war on the Demonic Continent?”
In Qing Ye’s opinion, many had been engulfed into the stomachs of snakes along Ye Po’s onslaught throughout the southern regions, and surely the Shrine owed it to the citizens. Yet, Ji Mo merely spoke two decisive words when he heard this question, “He won’t.”
“Why?”
The young divine attendant’s expression was stunned, but Ji Mo could only give an inwardly wry smile, why? Because the novel Su Ge had come from had long since been cut off, and his strength would remain forever in its conclusion. In contrast, Ye Junhou had just happened to reach his novel’s climax when he arrived, and he still had immense room for improvement. If they were left with no choice but to confront him head on, there was a greater possibility of them getting defeated.
This was a close analysis Ji Mo had made according to both their circumstances in the recent years. The five rulers were equally matched in the eyes of the world, and not even Ye Junhou could be certain of the actual state of the Shrine. He couldn’t possibly speak the truth for fear of lowering his morale, and answered calmly, “If you wish to live a long and healthy life, you must firstly learn to use more of your brain, and less of your mouth.”
His temper had always been as such, and Qing Ye did not think of it as strange, merely nodding earnestly, “Mm, I’ll do my utmost best to understand!”
“This little guy you have here is quite interesting too.”
Ye Mingjun hadn’t been originally interested in anyone else, yet he discovered as he overheard their conversation, the people that surrounded Ji Mo were somewhat intriguing as well. After scrutinizing Qing Ye, with his childish features, then looking at Ji Mo by his side, who seemed to have undergone many experiences in his life, he thought inwardly of what a difference they both made even as their ages did not differ by much. As expected, humans were really a mystical bunch.
The common people held immense reverence for the Celestials, and in the past, Qing Ye’s impression of Celestials had been of an existence as noble and detached as the Priests. He was momentarily amazed by how amiable this powerful Celestial who had forced the Demon Prince to retreat without a fight was. However, he did not forget his gratitude of being saved, and summoned his courage to bow to Ye Mingjun, “Qing Ye has yet to thank this lord for his rescue.”
Qing Ye had always been an enthusiastic person, and Ye Mingjun could be regarded as someone capable, at least on the surface. While Ji Mo wasn’t shocked by this development, what he hadn’t expected was the System, who had been silent all the while, to suddenly act up as Qing Ye proactively conversed with Ye Mingjun, “Xianjun, this person has quite a high favorability towards you, would you like to unlock this route?”
Qing Ye couldn’t understand a single thing he was hearing, and only widened his eyes at the scroll hanging from the immortal’s waist, thinking with amazement, a talking scroll? A Celestial’s possession was as unique as he had expected!
The System could bind as many targets as he liked before establishing a romantic relationship. Ye Mingjun wasn’t surprised by the good impression this boy had of him – after all, there weren’t many humans who wouldn’t like him… mm, except Ji Mo, this infidel who gave him a wide berth no matter what he did.
In the past, while it couldn’t be said that there hadn’t been anyone who simply wanted to use him, what Ji Mo was afraid of being liked by him, unwilling to give the slightest display of hypocritical friendship as if he was scared of him getting the wrong idea. And yet, the more he acted in this way, the more he grew curious of how Ji Mo would look like if he opened up his heart to someone.
To Ye Mingjun’s knowledge, humans were the sort of species which had a strong sense of possessiveness, and Ji Mo would surely refuse sharing him with someone else, so he asked tentatively, “If I complete my missions with someone else, will your favorability go down?”
Did this count as being openly cheated on?
Such a terrifying thought instantly flashed through his mind, and Ji Mo gazed at a certain Xianjun’s face, which had ‘come on, use your favorability to threaten me if you dare’ written all over it, a gentle smile surfacing in his expression once more,
Sure, he loved this shade of green[1]. Spring had come, please let the green grasslands on his head grow long and abundant, or better yet, immediately cast him away like an old shoe, banish him to the cold palace[2].
“If that is the case, my favorability towards Xianjun will surely increase by five hundred.”
Alright then, it seemed that his current favorability of 0 still had a long way to go before reaching the goal.
This genuine and sincere reply seemed to momentarily frustrate Ye Mingjun for once, and he only answered the System with a, “No.”
The spring breeze had yet to blow out a new patch of green before they died prematurely, and Ji Mo’s smile froze, “Why?”
“You’ve never spoken a word of truth to me, so I’m taking everything you say as the opposite.”
As if he had yet to recover from the frustration of being given the cold shoulder, Ji Mo could actually read a trace of pitifulness wafting over from the guy’s expression.
So, was he wrong for being a straight man who refused to accept the role of a homosexual’s romance capture target? Why did these words make him out to be some sort of scummy man? There was something completely wrong with how this person viewed the world!
“Xianjun, please follow me everywhere from now on.”
Sullenly delivering his innermost refusal using this person’s mode of understanding, Ji Mo used his actions to express: he would rather become a scumbag than bend.
Yet, Ye Mingjun’s expression instantly became cheerful against his expectations, and answered right off the bat, “Okay.”
“You’re not going to turn my words around this time?”
Tilting his head to look at him, Ji Mo realized he absolutely could not guess this immortal’s line of thought. As for Ye Mingjun, he just replied with his usual smile filled with enigmatic confidence, “I’ve always been someone who does things a little spontaneously.”
Which means that everything you don’t want to hear is the opposite, and everything you want to hear is the truth. Alright then, I give you full marks for this idealism.
Forcefully keeping his outwardly amicable smile from collapsing, Ji Mo chose to praise sincerely, “As expected, Xianjun is a man of strong emotions.”
Mm, a man of strong emotions on text, a psycho in reading.
“Morning Star Priest and this lord has such a close relationship.”
These two were used to interacting like this on a daily basis, but for Qing Ye, this was his first time seeing people conversing like this. They weren’t speaking a foreign language, but he couldn’t understand a single word they uttered, and for a short while, could only sigh in his heart,
So this was how Celestials communicated with each other! That explained why he wasn’t able to converse with the Rising Sun Priest each time they saw each other, he ought to take notes and strive to learn the Celestials’ manner of speaking!
The heartfelt lament coming from an onlooker almost caused Ji Mo’s smile to disintegrate. He did not want the Shrine to be rife with rumors of the Morning Star Priest cutting his sleeves, and coolly said at once, “You speak too much, aren’t you going to patrol?”
“Alright, we’ll reach the Shrine by night, both of you may rest for a short period of time.”
Qing Ye had always obeyed a White Robed Priest’s every word, and as he became dazzled by his subordinate’s brilliant smile which bore no grudges, once more did Ji Mo compare him with himself, who was constantly swathed in hypocrisy, and concluded,
To push away such an obedient and clingy little pug, and instead attached himself to a mutt who only knew to dig out another’s personal information, Ye Mingjun’s tastes were truly very low.
Ji Mo intended to return to his cabin to rest after Qing Ye had left, however, the System always knew how to stir things up at an unexpected time. This time wasn’t an exception, and it issued a new mission before he could take his leave,
“Xianjun, the duration of your punishment for reduced favorability has passed, once again issuing a primary-stage mission to determine the capture route— Through a conversation, please gain insight into your capture target’s true impression of you.”
Familiarize, converse, first impression, this System really did go through a step-by-step procedure.
Inwardly pursing his lips, Ji Mo now knew that there was no use struggling, and to quickly shake himself free of Ye Mingjun’s entanglement, he simply took the initiative to say, “Xianjun has an unfathomable strength, a much more forthright and sincere temperament which differs from an average person, this one has never met such an astounding man.”
Ye Mingjun seemed to be quite satisfied with this answer, and looked at the scroll on his waist, “So he says.”
And yet, the upright System merely gave him a reply, “The System cannot detect a degree of truth in this statement, please redo the mission.”
Hearing this, Ye Mingjun lifted his eyes in dissatisfaction, and only said, “Even I could tell that he was cursing me for hiding my abilities and having a weird temperament, you’re so stupid.”
Stop flirting with me then, if you can tell! Can’t you switch to another capture target, the one who worships you like an idol? I think Qing Ye’s IQ is a perfect match for you!
“Based on the System’s decision criteria, please allow your capture target to mercilessly hurl insults at you.”
What sort of humiliation play was this? Never in his life had he heard of such a perverted romance mission!
Outwardly pretending to calmly enjoy the scenery, but in truth, as he mentally followed the ups and downs of this person-system duo, Ji Mo was soundlessly carrying out his own abundant mental activity. On the other hand, Ye Mingjun, once again, pulled another stifling gambit – he thought deeply for a mere three seconds before deciding he didn’t want to be insulted, and casually tossed the scroll he always had on his person into the quiet waters of the river with a ‘plop’.
Throwing the System away just because he doesn’t want to do the mission? There’s this gambit? Can a big shot be this unbridled?
Silently looking on as it all happened, Ji Mo started to doubt his life, “Xianjun…”
“It’ll return on its own, probably.”
Ye Mingjun’s expression was incredibly composed, as if the thing he had thrown away was just a piece of cabbage, yet Ji Mo couldn’t ignore the hidden truth, and immediately reminded him, “Xianjun, if memory serves me right, you need the System to unseal your powers.”
There wasn’t a single moment this evilly scheming cannon fodder who wished to use the protagonist didn’t worry about his lack of cultivation, yet the protagonist himself was so unruffled he didn’t seem to care at all. Ji Mo swore, never had he ever read such a strange story line. However, the truth was that Ye Mingjun truly did not care about his sealed-off cultivation, and instead, a new idea flashed in his mind, then smiled, “Don’t sweat the small stuff! You seem to be quite concerned about my cultivation, how about this? If you say something you truly like about me, I’ll tell you my actual level of cultivation.”
No, this isn’t ‘small stuff’! Do you really want to be praised that much? You’re no better than an elementary school student who wants a hibiscus stamp from his teacher!
Looking at this guy who absolutely did not have his priorities straight, he was unable to stop the corners of his mouth from twitching. At last giving in to Ye Mingjun’s weird persistence, he finally opened his mouth to say something genuine, “Xianjun’s temperament and oddities are beyond my understanding, however, I like your eyes very much; it feels like the world brightens up whenever we make eye contact.”
His tone was incredibly dull as he said this, a complete lack of his usual deliberate friendliness. It was exactly the reason why Ye Mingjun could determine the sincerity of his words, and after completing his mission, became perfectly content and did not cause any more ruckus. All he did was say eagerly, “I’m actually much more beautiful at night, do you want to take a look at me tonight?”
Finally understanding the terrifying reality that this guy would definitely keep on causing trouble if he didn’t go along with his wishes, Ji Mo began to worry about his own future, but this did not influence his refusal of a man of unknown sexual orientation climbing into his room at night, “Xianjun must be quite exhausted after the journey today, Ji Mo does not dare trespass upon you.”
As if it had detected a certain immortal’s intent at breaking through the defensive line of purity, just when Ye Mingjun was about to speak up, a picture scroll flew out of the river along with a few big and meaty fish, shaking off the aquatic plants on it before cautiously and conscientiously continuing its task, “Xianjun, congratulations for completing your mission, also, you may not enter your capture target’s bedroom before entering the intermediate stages.”
The plan of night raid he had cooked up on a whim had been dashed by the System, but Ye Mingjun was not at all rattled, pointing out the System to Ji Mo, “See? It’s really durable.”
He swore that he had never seen such a pitiful system in his life!
Silently gazing at the few fishes flopping around such a dedicated system, Ji Mo instantly grasped the sad world of the workplace, and became deeply aware of the difficulties of being an obedient subordinate. Then, with his own awakened conscience, he threw those fishes over to the patrolling Qing Ye, “Qing Ye, take these, stew them to invigorate your body.”
Qing Ye was so moved by the White Robed Priest’s sudden show of concern his eyes started to brim with tears. Ye Mingjun did not forget their promise either, ignoring the picture scroll that was cleaning itself, and told him the truth, “It has been almost five-thousand years since I gained spiritual wisdom, and my unsealed cultivation, according to the number of years, equals to an ordinary cultivator’s hundred and fifty years of cultivation. But I’ve always had the ability to restrain all the nefarious beings in the world – demons and ghosts can only unleash 30% of their power in front of me.”
So that was how it was, in terms of the number of years, his cultivation was much higher than any of the Celestials, it was no wonder he had such indiscernible depths even under a sealed-off state. While it was still hard to say if he could compete with the five strongest Celestials, such a harmless temper made him an individual worth soliciting with.
After rationally judging Ye Mingjun’s worth, Ji Mo also recalled his actual mission, and discarded his personal grudges to offer an invitation, “Would Xianjun be willing to become the Shrine’s guest[3]? I believe the Godly Continent would be more suitable for a longer stay than the four other continents.”
A guest, this was a position which Ji Mo thought fit Ye Mingjun the best, as he was uninterested in power and influence and would not listen to another’s commands, but would be in high spirits if he was liked by someone. In the sole terms of attractiveness, this had the lowest difficulty.
“I will stay by your side.”
Ji Mo always gave his requests serious consideration before suggesting it to Ye Mingjun, and was certain he would not refuse, yet the reason for agreeing to this caused him to fall silent, and finally could not help but ask the question in his heart, “Because it’s interesting to watch me resist?”
From what Ji Mo could guess, the source of Ye Mingjun’s interest in him came from the novelty of being rejected, however, at this moment, the immortal gave an answer he would never have expected,
“You always seem so lonely, and only become a little livelier when you talk to me. That’s why I want to stay behind to accompany the little guy I like, it’s just that simple.”
At that moment, Ye Mingjun suddenly cast off that indecorous exterior of his, the slightly cool breeze sweeping his snow-white hair and cloud-like clothes, so wispy it seemed they would be gone with the wind in the next second. But this person did not leave to the end, instead, he descended into the mortal realm from the clouds belonging to immortals, and stood before Ji Mo, saying to him, I want to accompany you.
Ji Mo became a little regretful in that instant – he would rather Ye Mingjun keep on teasing him with that playful tone of his, this way he could still be able to keep his cool, not with the current state they were in. He could only resolutely dig his fingernails into his palm, use this pain to keep a clear head; he could feel the distinctly rising temperature of his heart, yet it was quickly cooled anew by reason.
He told himself, this immortal was just playing around, and if he whole-heartedly associated with this one, he would surely fall into a wretched state a hundred times worse than he currently was, when Ye Mingjun left.
The immortal’s radiance was quite alluring indeed, with its bright warmth, but he absolutely would not become the moth that sought its own doom by flying into the fire.
Ye Mingjun: Will you be unhappy if I teamed up with someone else?
Ji Mo: Great, this Jungler who doesn’t gank, only relies on limited skins to act flashy, and hits on me all day long has finally decided to piss off!
Ye Mingjun: I’ve decided to duo queue with you until the server shuts down.
Ji Mo *detached*: This must be the most malicious curse I have ever heard.
Qing Ye: respectfully-seeking-guidance-from-these-high-end-players.jpg
TL Notes
[1]
‘Shade of green’/’Green grasslands growing over his head’ – These are all phrases to describe someone who is cheated on; the most common saying would be ‘被綠’, which literally translates to ‘being greened’.[2]
‘Cold palace’ – The palace where a wife or concubine of an Emperor moves into if he loses interest in her.[3]
‘Guest’ – Ji Mo refers to this as a 客卿, which is a person from one feudal state serving in the court of another.
Originally posted on RBKTR Translations.
Author: The One Who Tells Stories Under the Bridge (天桥底下说书的).
Translated by: Yujuan
Those who had taken the lead to return to the Shrine had reported the situation in the south to the higher-ups in time, and soon the reinforcements sent by the Shrine arrived at Linguang City. These government affairs had always been dealt with by the Rising Star Priest, and Ji Mo was too lazy to overstep his authority, so he instructed Qing Ye to find a ship, embarking on his journey to return.
They had just passed rapidly into March, yet there was still a slightly cool breeze over the river. After the events of today, Ji Mo had changed out of his fortune-teller disguise and replaced it with his Morning Star Priest’s white robes.
The Haotian Shrine was headed by the High Priest Su Ge, with the three White Robed Priests Sun, Moon, and Star working under him. Each of the White Robed Priests were assigned many high-level priests according to their various duties, and the high-level priests were in charge of the common priests and divine attendants. Thus, a layered hierarchy formed this management system with the High Priest as its core.
In theory, the Three White Robed Priests had a roughly equal standing amongst each other, but Ji Mo had always let the higher-level priests under him roam freely as he was unwilling to run the affairs. Those in the Shrine wouldn’t have much luck bumping into him on most days, and no one had ever seen his real appearance with the exception of Su Ge – it could even be said that he was the Shrine’s most mysterious White Robed Priest.
Seemingly to highlight his trait of being mysterious, while his priest robes were colored in the main hues of pure white, the sleeves and lower hem of his coat were embroidered with star patterns using black thread, black and white fusing into one, approaching chaos rather than sanctity. The winds along the river had huge gusts, and Ji Mo pulled on the hood which came with his priest robes, concealing his beautiful black hair, the upper half of his face covered by the silver mask, only distinctly divulging in clear and smooth chin, as well as his lips, which were thin to the point of being pitiless. Just from his appearance, he looked noble and mysterious, which was exactly the kind of style Ye Mingjun liked the most.
This was the third time he was evading the curious hand of an immortal trying to uncover his mask, and while Ji Mo was itching to call his subordinates to tie up this guy’s hands and legs, nothing could be done with the fact that his cultivation was unfathomable. He was left with no choice but to warn, “If you take down my mask, I assure you that my favorability will drop to negative five hundred.”
Ye Mingjun hadn’t felt a single trace of fear in the face of the Demonic Army, but actually desisted from this threat; however, nothing could hold this immortal back from his exuberant thirst for knowledge, and said smilingly after slight consideration, “Which means I can take it off after raising your favorability by five hundred?”
What’s the use of looking at a man’s face? Is there really a need for your hands to be this itchy? Five hundred? How ridiculous, you can’t even increase your favorability by fifty points!
Internally grinding his teeth, Ji Mo still maintained that courteous smile of his, and merely spoke softly, “Xianjun has quite the confidence.”
Under the joint perseverance of Ji Mo’s tolerance and Ye Mingjun’s perplexingly amicable attitude, they maintained friendly relations on the surface. To an outsider, the white-clothed immortal and the Shrine’s priest was standing at the ship’s bow, both wearing similarly faint smiles on their faces as they engaged in what was clearly an agreeable conversation.
At least, that was what Qing Ye, who was currently making a status report, read from the situation, inwardly sighing at how quickly the Morning Star Priest had gotten along with an unfamiliar Celestial. He couldn’t help but ask the question that he was the most concerned about, “Morning Star Priest, do you think the High Priest will declare war on the Demonic Continent?”
In Qing Ye’s opinion, many had been engulfed into the stomachs of snakes along Ye Po’s onslaught throughout the southern regions, and surely the Shrine owed it to the citizens. Yet, Ji Mo merely spoke two decisive words when he heard this question, “He won’t.”
“Why?”
The young divine attendant’s expression was stunned, but Ji Mo could only give an inwardly wry smile, why? Because the novel Su Ge had come from had long since been cut off, and his strength would remain forever in its conclusion. In contrast, Ye Junhou had just happened to reach his novel’s climax when he arrived, and he still had immense room for improvement. If they were left with no choice but to confront him head on, there was a greater possibility of them getting defeated.
This was a close analysis Ji Mo had made according to both their circumstances in the recent years. The five rulers were equally matched in the eyes of the world, and not even Ye Junhou could be certain of the actual state of the Shrine. He couldn’t possibly speak the truth for fear of lowering his morale, and answered calmly, “If you wish to live a long and healthy life, you must firstly learn to use more of your brain, and less of your mouth.”
His temper had always been as such, and Qing Ye did not think of it as strange, merely nodding earnestly, “Mm, I’ll do my utmost best to understand!”
“This little guy you have here is quite interesting too.”
Ye Mingjun hadn’t been originally interested in anyone else, yet he discovered as he overheard their conversation, the people that surrounded Ji Mo were somewhat intriguing as well. After scrutinizing Qing Ye, with his childish features, then looking at Ji Mo by his side, who seemed to have undergone many experiences in his life, he thought inwardly of what a difference they both made even as their ages did not differ by much. As expected, humans were really a mystical bunch.
The common people held immense reverence for the Celestials, and in the past, Qing Ye’s impression of Celestials had been of an existence as noble and detached as the Priests. He was momentarily amazed by how amiable this powerful Celestial who had forced the Demon Prince to retreat without a fight was. However, he did not forget his gratitude of being saved, and summoned his courage to bow to Ye Mingjun, “Qing Ye has yet to thank this lord for his rescue.”
Qing Ye had always been an enthusiastic person, and Ye Mingjun could be regarded as someone capable, at least on the surface. While Ji Mo wasn’t shocked by this development, what he hadn’t expected was the System, who had been silent all the while, to suddenly act up as Qing Ye proactively conversed with Ye Mingjun, “Xianjun, this person has quite a high favorability towards you, would you like to unlock this route?”
Qing Ye couldn’t understand a single thing he was hearing, and only widened his eyes at the scroll hanging from the immortal’s waist, thinking with amazement, a talking scroll? A Celestial’s possession was as unique as he had expected!
The System could bind as many targets as he liked before establishing a romantic relationship. Ye Mingjun wasn’t surprised by the good impression this boy had of him – after all, there weren’t many humans who wouldn’t like him… mm, except Ji Mo, this infidel who gave him a wide berth no matter what he did.
In the past, while it couldn’t be said that there hadn’t been anyone who simply wanted to use him, what Ji Mo was afraid of being liked by him, unwilling to give the slightest display of hypocritical friendship as if he was scared of him getting the wrong idea. And yet, the more he acted in this way, the more he grew curious of how Ji Mo would look like if he opened up his heart to someone.
To Ye Mingjun’s knowledge, humans were the sort of species which had a strong sense of possessiveness, and Ji Mo would surely refuse sharing him with someone else, so he asked tentatively, “If I complete my missions with someone else, will your favorability go down?”
Did this count as being openly cheated on?
Such a terrifying thought instantly flashed through his mind, and Ji Mo gazed at a certain Xianjun’s face, which had ‘come on, use your favorability to threaten me if you dare’ written all over it, a gentle smile surfacing in his expression once more,
Sure, he loved this shade of green[1]. Spring had come, please let the green grasslands on his head grow long and abundant, or better yet, immediately cast him away like an old shoe, banish him to the cold palace[2].
“If that is the case, my favorability towards Xianjun will surely increase by five hundred.”
Alright then, it seemed that his current favorability of 0 still had a long way to go before reaching the goal.
This genuine and sincere reply seemed to momentarily frustrate Ye Mingjun for once, and he only answered the System with a, “No.”
The spring breeze had yet to blow out a new patch of green before they died prematurely, and Ji Mo’s smile froze, “Why?”
“You’ve never spoken a word of truth to me, so I’m taking everything you say as the opposite.”
As if he had yet to recover from the frustration of being given the cold shoulder, Ji Mo could actually read a trace of pitifulness wafting over from the guy’s expression.
So, was he wrong for being a straight man who refused to accept the role of a homosexual’s romance capture target? Why did these words make him out to be some sort of scummy man? There was something completely wrong with how this person viewed the world!
“Xianjun, please follow me everywhere from now on.”
Sullenly delivering his innermost refusal using this person’s mode of understanding, Ji Mo used his actions to express: he would rather become a scumbag than bend.
Yet, Ye Mingjun’s expression instantly became cheerful against his expectations, and answered right off the bat, “Okay.”
“You’re not going to turn my words around this time?”
Tilting his head to look at him, Ji Mo realized he absolutely could not guess this immortal’s line of thought. As for Ye Mingjun, he just replied with his usual smile filled with enigmatic confidence, “I’ve always been someone who does things a little spontaneously.”
Which means that everything you don’t want to hear is the opposite, and everything you want to hear is the truth. Alright then, I give you full marks for this idealism.
Forcefully keeping his outwardly amicable smile from collapsing, Ji Mo chose to praise sincerely, “As expected, Xianjun is a man of strong emotions.”
Mm, a man of strong emotions on text, a psycho in reading.
“Morning Star Priest and this lord has such a close relationship.”
These two were used to interacting like this on a daily basis, but for Qing Ye, this was his first time seeing people conversing like this. They weren’t speaking a foreign language, but he couldn’t understand a single word they uttered, and for a short while, could only sigh in his heart,
So this was how Celestials communicated with each other! That explained why he wasn’t able to converse with the Rising Sun Priest each time they saw each other, he ought to take notes and strive to learn the Celestials’ manner of speaking!
The heartfelt lament coming from an onlooker almost caused Ji Mo’s smile to disintegrate. He did not want the Shrine to be rife with rumors of the Morning Star Priest cutting his sleeves, and coolly said at once, “You speak too much, aren’t you going to patrol?”
“Alright, we’ll reach the Shrine by night, both of you may rest for a short period of time.”
Qing Ye had always obeyed a White Robed Priest’s every word, and as he became dazzled by his subordinate’s brilliant smile which bore no grudges, once more did Ji Mo compare him with himself, who was constantly swathed in hypocrisy, and concluded,
To push away such an obedient and clingy little pug, and instead attached himself to a mutt who only knew to dig out another’s personal information, Ye Mingjun’s tastes were truly very low.
Ji Mo intended to return to his cabin to rest after Qing Ye had left, however, the System always knew how to stir things up at an unexpected time. This time wasn’t an exception, and it issued a new mission before he could take his leave,
“Xianjun, the duration of your punishment for reduced favorability has passed, once again issuing a primary-stage mission to determine the capture route— Through a conversation, please gain insight into your capture target’s true impression of you.”
Familiarize, converse, first impression, this System really did go through a step-by-step procedure.
Inwardly pursing his lips, Ji Mo now knew that there was no use struggling, and to quickly shake himself free of Ye Mingjun’s entanglement, he simply took the initiative to say, “Xianjun has an unfathomable strength, a much more forthright and sincere temperament which differs from an average person, this one has never met such an astounding man.”
Ye Mingjun seemed to be quite satisfied with this answer, and looked at the scroll on his waist, “So he says.”
And yet, the upright System merely gave him a reply, “The System cannot detect a degree of truth in this statement, please redo the mission.”
Hearing this, Ye Mingjun lifted his eyes in dissatisfaction, and only said, “Even I could tell that he was cursing me for hiding my abilities and having a weird temperament, you’re so stupid.”
Stop flirting with me then, if you can tell! Can’t you switch to another capture target, the one who worships you like an idol? I think Qing Ye’s IQ is a perfect match for you!
“Based on the System’s decision criteria, please allow your capture target to mercilessly hurl insults at you.”
What sort of humiliation play was this? Never in his life had he heard of such a perverted romance mission!
Outwardly pretending to calmly enjoy the scenery, but in truth, as he mentally followed the ups and downs of this person-system duo, Ji Mo was soundlessly carrying out his own abundant mental activity. On the other hand, Ye Mingjun, once again, pulled another stifling gambit – he thought deeply for a mere three seconds before deciding he didn’t want to be insulted, and casually tossed the scroll he always had on his person into the quiet waters of the river with a ‘plop’.
Throwing the System away just because he doesn’t want to do the mission? There’s this gambit? Can a big shot be this unbridled?
Silently looking on as it all happened, Ji Mo started to doubt his life, “Xianjun…”
“It’ll return on its own, probably.”
Ye Mingjun’s expression was incredibly composed, as if the thing he had thrown away was just a piece of cabbage, yet Ji Mo couldn’t ignore the hidden truth, and immediately reminded him, “Xianjun, if memory serves me right, you need the System to unseal your powers.”
There wasn’t a single moment this evilly scheming cannon fodder who wished to use the protagonist didn’t worry about his lack of cultivation, yet the protagonist himself was so unruffled he didn’t seem to care at all. Ji Mo swore, never had he ever read such a strange story line. However, the truth was that Ye Mingjun truly did not care about his sealed-off cultivation, and instead, a new idea flashed in his mind, then smiled, “Don’t sweat the small stuff! You seem to be quite concerned about my cultivation, how about this? If you say something you truly like about me, I’ll tell you my actual level of cultivation.”
No, this isn’t ‘small stuff’! Do you really want to be praised that much? You’re no better than an elementary school student who wants a hibiscus stamp from his teacher!
Looking at this guy who absolutely did not have his priorities straight, he was unable to stop the corners of his mouth from twitching. At last giving in to Ye Mingjun’s weird persistence, he finally opened his mouth to say something genuine, “Xianjun’s temperament and oddities are beyond my understanding, however, I like your eyes very much; it feels like the world brightens up whenever we make eye contact.”
His tone was incredibly dull as he said this, a complete lack of his usual deliberate friendliness. It was exactly the reason why Ye Mingjun could determine the sincerity of his words, and after completing his mission, became perfectly content and did not cause any more ruckus. All he did was say eagerly, “I’m actually much more beautiful at night, do you want to take a look at me tonight?”
Finally understanding the terrifying reality that this guy would definitely keep on causing trouble if he didn’t go along with his wishes, Ji Mo began to worry about his own future, but this did not influence his refusal of a man of unknown sexual orientation climbing into his room at night, “Xianjun must be quite exhausted after the journey today, Ji Mo does not dare trespass upon you.”
As if it had detected a certain immortal’s intent at breaking through the defensive line of purity, just when Ye Mingjun was about to speak up, a picture scroll flew out of the river along with a few big and meaty fish, shaking off the aquatic plants on it before cautiously and conscientiously continuing its task, “Xianjun, congratulations for completing your mission, also, you may not enter your capture target’s bedroom before entering the intermediate stages.”
The plan of night raid he had cooked up on a whim had been dashed by the System, but Ye Mingjun was not at all rattled, pointing out the System to Ji Mo, “See? It’s really durable.”
He swore that he had never seen such a pitiful system in his life!
Silently gazing at the few fishes flopping around such a dedicated system, Ji Mo instantly grasped the sad world of the workplace, and became deeply aware of the difficulties of being an obedient subordinate. Then, with his own awakened conscience, he threw those fishes over to the patrolling Qing Ye, “Qing Ye, take these, stew them to invigorate your body.”
Qing Ye was so moved by the White Robed Priest’s sudden show of concern his eyes started to brim with tears. Ye Mingjun did not forget their promise either, ignoring the picture scroll that was cleaning itself, and told him the truth, “It has been almost five-thousand years since I gained spiritual wisdom, and my unsealed cultivation, according to the number of years, equals to an ordinary cultivator’s hundred and fifty years of cultivation. But I’ve always had the ability to restrain all the nefarious beings in the world – demons and ghosts can only unleash 30% of their power in front of me.”
So that was how it was, in terms of the number of years, his cultivation was much higher than any of the Celestials, it was no wonder he had such indiscernible depths even under a sealed-off state. While it was still hard to say if he could compete with the five strongest Celestials, such a harmless temper made him an individual worth soliciting with.
After rationally judging Ye Mingjun’s worth, Ji Mo also recalled his actual mission, and discarded his personal grudges to offer an invitation, “Would Xianjun be willing to become the Shrine’s guest[3]? I believe the Godly Continent would be more suitable for a longer stay than the four other continents.”
A guest, this was a position which Ji Mo thought fit Ye Mingjun the best, as he was uninterested in power and influence and would not listen to another’s commands, but would be in high spirits if he was liked by someone. In the sole terms of attractiveness, this had the lowest difficulty.
“I will stay by your side.”
Ji Mo always gave his requests serious consideration before suggesting it to Ye Mingjun, and was certain he would not refuse, yet the reason for agreeing to this caused him to fall silent, and finally could not help but ask the question in his heart, “Because it’s interesting to watch me resist?”
From what Ji Mo could guess, the source of Ye Mingjun’s interest in him came from the novelty of being rejected, however, at this moment, the immortal gave an answer he would never have expected,
“You always seem so lonely, and only become a little livelier when you talk to me. That’s why I want to stay behind to accompany the little guy I like, it’s just that simple.”
At that moment, Ye Mingjun suddenly cast off that indecorous exterior of his, the slightly cool breeze sweeping his snow-white hair and cloud-like clothes, so wispy it seemed they would be gone with the wind in the next second. But this person did not leave to the end, instead, he descended into the mortal realm from the clouds belonging to immortals, and stood before Ji Mo, saying to him, I want to accompany you.
Ji Mo became a little regretful in that instant – he would rather Ye Mingjun keep on teasing him with that playful tone of his, this way he could still be able to keep his cool, not with the current state they were in. He could only resolutely dig his fingernails into his palm, use this pain to keep a clear head; he could feel the distinctly rising temperature of his heart, yet it was quickly cooled anew by reason.
He told himself, this immortal was just playing around, and if he whole-heartedly associated with this one, he would surely fall into a wretched state a hundred times worse than he currently was, when Ye Mingjun left.
The immortal’s radiance was quite alluring indeed, with its bright warmth, but he absolutely would not become the moth that sought its own doom by flying into the fire.
Ye Mingjun: Will you be unhappy if I teamed up with someone else?
Ji Mo: Great, this Jungler who doesn’t gank, only relies on limited skins to act flashy, and hits on me all day long has finally decided to piss off!
Ye Mingjun: I’ve decided to duo queue with you until the server shuts down.
Ji Mo *detached*: This must be the most malicious curse I have ever heard.
Qing Ye: respectfully-seeking-guidance-from-these-high-end-players.jpg
TL Notes
[1]
‘Shade of green’/’Green grasslands growing over his head’ – These are all phrases to describe someone who is cheated on; the most common saying would be ‘被綠’, which literally translates to ‘being greened’.[2]
‘Cold palace’ – The palace where a wife or concubine of an Emperor moves into if he loses interest in her.[3]
‘Guest’ – Ji Mo refers to this as a 客卿, which is a person from one feudal state serving in the court of another.