Chapter 11: A n.o.ble Gentleman – Part 3
Translated by: Ritpoppy
Edited by: Ren
"Good boy!" Ming ChangYan shouted as he clapped his hands.
Huai Yu twirled his wrist as he walked down from the shooting platform. Along the way hearing the exaggerated boasts and flattery coming from the audience. The stall owner kept to his words, he promptly went to report to the master of the Zhao family, to tell them that this building is now owned under Huai Yu"s name.
Ming ChangYan ran up to him, extending his hand and he proceeded to grab the other"s left hand. Huai Yu glared at him, asking, "What are you doing!"
""What am I doing?" I"m taking a look at your hand." Ming ChangYan then proceeded to tear open his wrist brace, and as expected, there was a bloch of deep red on the other"s hand.
Huai Yu argued, "This is nothing."
Ming ChangYan raised his eyebrows, "Such a brat, what are you flaunting over, let me see how serious it is. Your hands were clearly shaking during those last few arrows, did you think that this shaoxia wouldn"t be able to tell?"
He reached into his chest and took out a jar of ointment, twisting the lid open and smearing the contents onto Huai Yu"s wrist. Even though Huai Yu wore a face full of discontent, he didn"t decline the offer.
Ming ChangYan ma.s.saged his wrist for him while saying, "You half-sized boy, you just love to act stubborn don"t you?"
Even though Ming ChangYan says these things, in his heart he secretly thought: Even though this mischievous child appears to be 17 to 18 years old, he wears such expensive robes; no matter how I look at it, he just looks like some n.o.ble family"s young master that snuck out. Who would"ve expected that he wasn"t lacking in ability? He properly calculated the distance between the shooting platform and the building. It"s evident that he"s a master at the martial art techniques of the Central Plains and has the capability of being able to hit each target with his 49 arrows with precision and accuracy.
"Ai! You have impeccable archery skills, you"re even stronger than me! You actually managed to win the Sky Mansion! How about you teach me your archery techniques later on in the future?"
After hearing this, Huai Yu"s expression eased up a lot. Ming ChangYan looked calm and collected, trying to restrain himself from laughing: He really is a child!
After the application, he put away the ointment. He patted Huai Yu"s back and couldn"t help but pull on his hair, "Let"s go, after letting you play for a while, the sky is already darkened. LiMin-Jun and the others must"ve already arrived at the mountain stream and are waiting for us."
Huai Yu s.n.a.t.c.hed his hair back, saying, "Don"t play with my hair."
Ming ChangYan, "Alright, alright, alright. I won"t play with it. I just saw that your hair was long, and just touched it for a bit, so stingy."
The two walked around for a while when Ming ChangYan smiled, "We"ve arrived."
They arrived at the end of the Flowing Mountain Stream, the stream trickling into a vast clearing, with brooks from all four directions converging together to form a big lake. This lake is precisely the Tan River.
On the sh.o.r.e of the ship dock, Qin YuBao yelled, "Shi-xiong!!"
Ming ChangYan replied, "Coming!"
Qin YuBao couldn"t wait any longer, striking a posture of wanting to slip away from the boat but was grabbed by the back of his collar by LiMin-Jun, "What are you running for, it"s not like your Shi-xiong is gonna get eaten!"
Ming ChangYan hopped onto the boat, after gaining a firm stance, he turned around to lend his hand out to Huai Yu but to his surprise, Huai Yu had already jumped on the boat. He took back his hand, giving the colored lantern to Qin YuBao, "Hold it!"
After receiving the colored lantern, Qin YuBao"s joy was enough to reach the heavens.
Ming Yue saw this, and he lowered his gaze to Ming ChangYan"s waist, only after seeing a jade pendant dangling from his waist did he open his mouth, "Shi-xiong."
At this moment, from afar came a wild figure dressed in black. As he grew closer, it turned out to be a youngster, a male that had the appearance of a woman, with soft, feminine features making him extremely attractive. When he saw Ming ChangYan, he immediately shouted, "Da Shi-xiong, I want a colored lantern too!"
Ming ChangYan said, "YuLou! What are you running so fast for, don"t worry, I"ve brought you guys a bunch of other stuff."
He felt around his bosom for a period of time and with a ding-ling, items scattered around the boat. LiMin-Jun picked one up to examine and saw they were just a few small rubbish play-things, nothing special about them. It was just some things that little children would like. He crouched down together with Ming ChangYan, bending his back to a.n.a.lyze the use of these items.
LiMin-Jun said, "Zhong YuLou, weren"t you still outside, how did you suddenly come back?"
Zhong YuLou suddenly jumped on the boat, panting, "I finished my task in advance so I came back. But n.o.body was on the mountain, so I a.s.sumed that you guys had gone down the mountain to celebrate the Flower Festival! Sure enough, I found you guys here!"
He picked up a monocular from the ground, closing one of his eyes and excitedly looked around.
"Da Shi-xiong, why is it that the other boats have flowers on them while ours don"t?"
Ming ChangYan picked up an intricate perfume bag, giving it to Ming Yue.
He answered, "We don"t have it? Then it must be because Er Shi-xiong forgot it."
LiMin-Jun, "The other boats are partic.i.p.ating in tonight"s Colored Lantern Pet.i.tion, do you guys plan on partic.i.p.ating?"
Huai Yu asked, "What"s the "Colored Lantern Pet.i.tion?""
After Ming ChangYan handed out the little trinkets out to everyone, he stood up and said, "Now this is going to be hard to explain."
The Colored Lantern Pet.i.tion is one of Lin"an"s local traditions. Every year in April, all the flowers would bloom, which resulted in the formation of a holiday: The Flower Festival.
The Flower Festival, Flower Viewing Banquet, and Colored Lantern Pet.i.tion. Among them, the Colored Lantern Pet.i.tion is an evening celebration full of dancing and singing, something that the Lin"an officials arranged together with the wealthy merchants. On the surface of the Tan River stood a large platform, blooming with tens of thousands of flower candles, the light from the candles illuminating the crystalline waters, making the scene look gorgeous and splendid.
Ming ChangYan said, "Who"s hosting the Colored Lantern Pet.i.tions this year?"
Qin YuBao lifted his lantern and replied, "I like that Shangguan family"s young lady, her performance as the flower fairy last year was fantastic."
LiMin-Jun, "The Zhao family"s young master is very fond of that Miss deemed the Queen of Blossoms, so his older sister threw out thousands of gold pieces in order to get her to come from Kyoto to Lin"an. As a result, tonight"s Colored Lantern Pet.i.tion will be hosted by Lady Li Li."
Ming ChangYan laughed out loud, "No wonder there are more people this year in the Colored Lantern Pet.i.tion than last year, so it turns out that this is the reason!" Pausing, he thoughtfully continued, "I"ve haven"t yet seen what this legendary most beautiful woman in the world looks like."
LiMin-Jun said, "Of course they"re going to be beautiful, we"ll get to see later on."
Qin YuBao said, "Then our boat should get a flower, I want to partic.i.p.ate in the Colored Lantern Pet.i.tion too. Er Shi-xiong, how do we partic.i.p.ate in the Colored Lantern Pet.i.tion?"
LiMin-Jun paddled the boat a few times, handing the oar over to Ming ChangYan, letting the small boat drift on the surface of the water. He answered, "Do you see that body of water over there bordered with red silk? All the boats that want to take part in the Colored Lantern Pet.i.tion arrive here. When flower fairy brings out the glazed colored lantern, it doesn"t matter if the people aboard jump down to swim, or row their boats, in short, whoever"s able to get to the heart of the lake first and retrieve the glazed, colored lantern, whoever"s tonight"s victor."
Huai Yu commented, "Is the glazed colored lantern a valuable object? What happens when you manage to s.n.a.t.c.h it?"
Ming ChangYan answered, "Nothing happens, it"s just like receiving a token of good luck. It"s similar to hanging colored lanterns, who said that hanging the lanterns high was the only way to get a good husband?"
After a while, Huai Yu suddenly asked, "Does the glazed colored lantern have the same meaning?"
Ming ChangYan actually didn"t know the meaning behind the glazed colored lantern, opening his mouth, he spout out a bunch of nonsense, "Of course! By the way it"s hung up so high, it most likely means that the person who"s able to pluck the lantern away will marry into a faraway family!"
Qin YuBao puzzled, "What if a man gets it?"
Ming ChangYan pondered for a bit then declared, "Then they"ll probably marry someone from this country."
Two hours pa.s.sed, and the sun had begun to disappear into the western horizon. A curtain of darkness was beginning shroud the sky while the Tan River was brightly lit, bustling with noise. On the west side of the lake, someone shouted, "It"s the Zhao family"s ship!"
Everyone looked up in unison and saw a fleet of grand ships slowly drifting their way. They were all two-storied and hundreds of feet tall. Aboard the ship was decorated with lanterns and colored banners, exhibiting a splendid banquet. Within the banquet, the people were drinking and gambling, emitting joyful cries while celebrating the happiness with songs and dances. On the exterior of the boat, servants were hurriedly scrambling around while pampered n.o.blewomen were huddled in groups, chatting amongst themselves. By the railings, the full moon shone down on the boat, making the ship glimmer in the rays of light.
This was translated by , any other repost of this is stolen and if you steal my hard work, I"m going to use the TianQing six sword techniques on you.
"Such an imposing ship!"
"Zhao family is ranked chief among the top three most influential aristocratic families and is the richest family in the Central Plains. If they"re not imposing, then who would be?"
"They have powerful connections, that Zhao family"s youngest master is deeply favored by the empress, they might as well be in a mother and son relationship!"
"Alright, alright, stop chit-chatting. There"s still a flower performance coming up."
After LiMin-Jun heard this, he turned his head to face Ming ChangYan and said, "I remember that Zhao family"s young master really likes you."
Ming ChangYan was sitting at the prow of the ship, teaching Qin YuBao how to properly bind colored lanterns and without much thought, said, "Really? There are too many people that like this shaoxia, I can"t remember anymore."
LiMin-Jun, "Yup, I have a bit of an impression on him. When the child was about as tall as my waist, every year he would come to TianQing sect to register his name in order to learn martial arts. Every time he would be knocked out in the first round, often sitting at Xian Yue Mountain"s doorsteps and crying. Years after years of failure and years after years of tears, the Zhao family even tried to bribe me with money."
Ming ChangYan smiled, "This child"s willpower isn"t bad."
Hearing this, Ming Yue coldly stated, "It"s a pity that he was nothing but a worthless piece of trash. Even if he has willpower, in the end, it"d still be a waste of energy. Innate skill is more important than hard work."
Yet Ming ChangYan warned, "Ming Yue, you mustn"t talk like this."
Ming Yue outraged, "I"m not wrong!"
Zhong YuLou disdainfully snorted, "So you do know that talent is more important than hard work. Your innate skill is the same as him, if one person can get accepted into a sect, then the other person can automatically get ridiculed by someone who has inferior talent?"
Ming Yue"s face flushed red, grinding his teeth, "YOU!"
He tensiously stared at Zhong YuLou, the latter showing a face full of contempt. With both his hands crossed around his arms, he had an air of arrogance. However, this person was the capital at being arrogant. Within the inner disciples, Zhong YuLou possessed the highest talent and intelligence. Ming Yue enlisted late, plus his innate gift was weaker than him, so he couldn"t refute when being satirized by him.
Ming ChangYan grabbed a glutinous rice cake, using it to block Ming Yue"s mouth, "Alright, your mouth loves to talk the most, quickly eat."
Zhong YuLou felt wronged, "Da shi-xiong, you"re only nice to him! You"re too biased!"
After being yelled at, Ming ChangYan immediately replied, "Hey, you little brat, how would I dare." He extended his hand and grabbed another glutinous rice cake, stuffing it into Zhong YuLou"s mouth, "YuLou has a beautiful face and a bevelont heart, forgive this Da shi-xiong."
Zhong YuLou offensively chewed on the rice cake. Ming ChangYan coaxed him a few more times and before long, this little child was beaming with happiness, holding the colored lantern and going to the side of the boat to play with the water.
Huai Yu was currently leaning by the hold of the ship, lost in thought, so Ming ChangYan went from the back and extended his hand, patting him once, "What are you looking at that"s making you so fascinated?"
Huai Yu replied, "Nothing to be seen."
Ming ChangYan grasped a handful of pastries, shoving them into the other"s hands, "Eat, I got this specifically for you, no sugar."
Huai Yu held it in his hand, hesitating for a while, as he slowly gave it a whiff, seemingly to be pondering on whether or not the pastry in his hand could be eaten. After seeing this, Ming ChangYan let out a restrained laugh, "Are you a little dog!"
Huai Yu glazed at him coldly, once again letting out a soft grunt. Ming ChangYan paused for a second, all of a sudden saying, "Huai Yu, tell me the truth, did you come to Lin"an to find me because you admire this shaoxia? I won"t laugh at you, we"re already so close, you can say it."
Huai Yu, "Wishful thinking, I was merely curious, nothing more."
Ming ChangYan was pleased with himself, "Quit trying to cover up the truth. Which little boys nowadays don"t adore me? I know it all, now do you know what the number one in the world is like?"
Huai Yu grunted, "Just so-so."
Ming ChangYan raised his eyebrows, "If this shaoxia doesn"t teach you a lesson, it seems that you wouldn"t understand how powerful number one in the world is."
He suddenly made a move, making the boat shake left and right. LiMin-Jun stood by the back end of the ship, shouting, "Ming ChangYan! You"re about to die!!"
Ming ChangYan let out a hearty laugh, Huai Yu pushed him away, taking this opportunity to go out and sit on the boat.
Zhong YuLou finished playing with the water, running from the prow of the boat towards the back end of the boat looking for him, yelling, "Da shi-xiong, the Colored Lantern Pet.i.tion is about to begin, do you want to see?"
Huai Yu looked towards the lakeside and sure enough, by the lake stood a stage. On the stage, they sang the story about the Central Plain"s Pearl Princess and her marriage.
Zhong YuLou was sitting beside him and after looking at the play for a while, he complained, "Why is it the Pearl Princesses marriage again, they"ve already sung this for so many years! I recall that she"s already dead. Besides, do you think that the person playing the role resembles the princess?"
Huai Yu said, "I"ve never seen the princess, I wouldn"t know."
Ming ChangYan poured himself a bowl of tea, eating a few pastries along with it, stating, "They don"t resemble her at all."
Zhong YuLou propped his chin up, "I heard that the Pearl Princess was the daughter of the former emperor from the Qin Dynasty and studied under a very gifted scholar, Old Teacher Ji. She had a brother and sister relationship with the previous dynasty"s crown prince and was a widely renowned beauty with refined talent plus a high official position."
Ming ChangYan said, "Even if she was a beauty, it"s all just matter from the previous dynasty. After the play will begin the Colored Lantern Pet.i.tion, YuLou, go find a flower for me!"
Zhong YuLou questioned, "Why does Da shi-xiong need a flower?"
Ming ChangYan grinned, "Of course it to join the compet.i.tion, to steal the colored lantern! To avoid a certain little brat that said that the world"s number one was "just so-so.""
After hearing that he was going to join in the Colored Lantern Pet.i.tion, Zhong YuLou immediately went to go find a flower. LiMin-Jun turned his head and said, "You want to partake in the Colored Lantern Pet.i.tion? Do you still want your face, Ming ChangYan?"
Ming ChangYan"s finger twirled around a lock of his hair, smiling, "It"s a fair compet.i.tion. The Colored Lantern Pet.i.tion never said that the n.o.ble Gentleman couldn"t partic.i.p.ate in the compet.i.tion."
Ming Yue asked, "Shi-xiong, you"ve never wanted the colored lantern in the previous years, why do you want to attend this year?"
Ming ChangYan replied without thinking, "Oh, I"m picking it for Huai Yu."
Ming Yue"s complexion became rigid, LiMin-Jun suddenly said, "They"re starting to steal the lanterns!"
As he finished his sentence, from the lake came the glow of thousands of colored lanterns, the tearful sounds of the zither, followed by the sounds of flowing water coming from the lute. The sweet melodies of traditional music mixed with the jingling of bells were like listening to heavenly music. From the flower terrace located at the heart of the Tan River arose a fair maiden, her appearance had a tactful charm to them, with a graceful body posture, her hips swaying. When she lifted her sleeves, it had the image of as if she was about to take off and fly, the ribbons around her whirling around the flower bed. This scenery and pa.s.sion were like a paradise.
The dancer was precisely the most beautiful woman in the world, Maiden LiLi.
When LiLi finished her dance, she bent down and asked for the colored lantern. The glazed, colored lantern emerged from the center of the lake, she cheerfully held the lantern in both hands, hanging it on the laurel tree.
After suspending the lantern, from the lakesh.o.r.e came drummers rapped on their drums three times: Dong! Dong! Dong! On the Tan River, all the boats decorated with flowers began to advance, momentarily the water made sounds of boiling, the cheers from the audience loud enough to break the horizon.
Among the contestants, there was only Ming ChangYan who didn"t row a boat, and didn"t jump down to swim, he merely stood on the boat unmoving, just like a stone statue.
LiMin-Jun laughed out loud, jeering, "Aren"t you going to go steal the glazed lantern, why aren"t you moving?! Do you not know how to row a boat? Or is it that you don"t know how to swim?"
When stealing the colored lantern, the distance between the partic.i.p.ants and the platform located in the middle of the lake was about 100 feet, with no ground between them that could be stepped on. Recklessly trying to cross over would end in vain, unless you strap on a pair of wings and fly over. Therefore, in these past years, there arose the methods of rowing a boat or swimming.
Ming ChangYan replied, "I don"t need your methods to be able to s.n.a.t.c.h the glazed, colored lantern."
LiMin-Jun smirked, "What kind of heinous deed are you up too, let me inform you, with so many people here, besides the common people, there are also some disciples of Jianghu sects mixed in. When you show your face, more likely than not someone will recognize you!"
Ming ChangYan retorted, "If they recognize me, then they"ll recognize me. This shaoxia is handsome, why would I be scared of being seen!"
Even though he said this, he nevertheless put on the fox mask. The corners of Ming ChangYan"s mouth jerked up as he happily grinned, "My admirable little brother Min-Jun, remember pay back the boss lady for the umbrellas!"
LiMin-Jun suddenly looked frightened, his eyes hastily sweeping around him. On his right-hand side, a lone parasol store sat by the lake sh.o.r.e. When his gaze had landed on it, the shop was was still full of paper umbrellas, in an instant, all the umbrellas had begun vibrating from Ming ChangYan"s spiritual energy, rising up and flying towards the direction of the lake.
LiMin-Jun felt that something bad was about to happen, opening his mouth and cursing, "Ming ChangYan! What are you doing!"
Ming ChangYan condensed his inner spiritual energy onto the palm of his hand until the yang energy was firm, its power unmatchable, resolutely launching the energy down. In a split second, all the umbrellas that had been suspended in the air were planted on the surface of the lake water by a bizarre force. With the vibration from the launch earlier, several parasols were scattered around, all of them had been opened by the tremor!
Ming ChangYan smiled, "Of course it"s to steal the colored lanterns!"
He jumped on the tips of his toes with a hand behind his back, his sleeves flying in the wind while his body rapidly flew forwards, like a spirit swaying in the air. The silhouette of the figure flashed and Ming ChangYan had already arrived at the first green parasol. The full moon was hung up in the sky while flowers fluttered down to the mortal realm, he alone was like a piece of jade, standing between the moonlight and the rippling waters. While he was busy, Ming ShaoXia found the time to turn his head around and wink at the Huai Yu who was sitting aboard.
Not far away, on the Zhao family"s decorated ship, a certain youngster"s face was blushing red, his expression full of excitement, his hands and feet moving around energetically as he shouted, "ZHU-XIONG!! ZHU-XIONG!! COME LOOK! MING SHAOXIA!!! IT"S MING SHAOXIA!!!!" When he uttered these words, the common people standing by the coastal area and the people aboard their ships finally reacted, yelling things like "The n.o.ble Gentleman", "Ming ChangYan, "Ming ShaoXia". In an instant, the Colored Lantern Pet.i.tion had become a pet.i.tion of who could yell the loudest. Everyone crowded sh.o.r.es of the Tan River, in a short while, the whole town had arrived.
Borrowing some energy, Ming ChangYan picked up an umbrella. Needless to say, in a short period of time, he had arrived at the flower platform. Maiden LiLi softly lifted herself up, smiling, "I"ve heard of this n.o.ble Gentleman"s fame, after seeing it today, sure enough, you"re fit for this t.i.tle as number one and as the world"s most admired individual."
Ming ChangYan walked forward in large strides, grabbing the glazed, colored lantern, cupping his hands, he said, "Modest, modest. I"ll be taking this colored lantern with me."
LiLi responded, "Please."
The colored lantern had been stolen from the laurel tree, marking the end of the Colored Lantern Pet.i.tion. LiLi walked together with him through a secret pa.s.sage, arriving at a small boat, and climbed onto the sh.o.r.e of the Tan River. Ming ChangYan took off his mask, putting on a cloak strutting towards the small mountain stream.
Along the way, the common people discussed enthusiastically:
"Of course it"s Ming ChangYan, other than him, who else would accomplish a task so easily!"
"In my opinion, you"re correct! You all saw earlier right, balancing all seventy to eighty umbrellas in the sky, beside him, who would have a powerful enough spiritual energy!"
"A n.o.ble Gentleman! Such power cultivation! I"ve really seen enough for my eyes to handle! But, why is he taking the colored lantern?"
"Who knows! Maybe, he, he likes it!"
After walking the distance of three arrows, Ming ChangYan saw LiMin-Jun and the rest of the crew from the boat waiting for him by the little mountain stream. This place was directly facing the Tan River, the horizon opened up, revealing a magnificent scenery.
LiMin-Jun said, "So you came back, look at what you"ve done!"
Ming ChangYan cheerfully smiled but didn"t reply to LiMin-Jun. He took the colored lantern from his bosom, it"s light overflowing with bright colors, sparkling and translucent. It really was a peerless piece of art.
He tossed it to Huai Yu, "How is it, is it still "just so-so"?"
Huai Yu clenched onto the glazed, colored lantern, and only after quite a while did he finally reply, "Stop with the melodramatic act."
Suddenly, Qin YuBao yelled, "Da shi-xiong, they"re about to start the fireworks!"
As his voice fell, on the surface of the Tan River a countless number of fireworks erupted in the night sky, the loud noise almost unbearable. The two turned around and looked up at the night sky in unison. Huai Yu"s looked up then moved his gaze downward, falling on the side of Ming ChangYan"s face. The latter bent down and scooped up Qin YuBao, hugging him, resulting in YuBao making trouble and struggling in his embrace. Ming ChangYan turned his head around, saw that Huai Yu was staring at him, and smiled.
Who knew that the other didn"t appreciate his kind gesture, turning his head the other way.
This was translated by , any other repost of this is stolen and if you steal my hard work, I"m going to use the TianQing six sword techniques on you.
Gosh this chapter took forever.
Aaahhh…young love. Did you guys like this chapter?
If you see any translation/grammatical error, please comment down below. We love reading your comments!
I"m going to try and find some more fanart for this novel on Weibo later so that when a scene pops up, I"ve got juicy fanart to accompany it (*ﾟ∀ﾟ*)
Have a week full of good test results~ ✨