Chapter 9: A n.o.ble Gentleman – Part 1
Translated by: A sick Ritpoppy
Edited by: Ren
The Lin"an waterways, the Clear Sky Mountains, white walls and ink-colored roof tiles accompanied by the lush green willow trees. Large pavilions with l.u.s.trous pearls dangling by the doorway with wine and tea shops were close by while shipping boats drifted back and forth. It was a flourishing town with a peaceful atmosphere surrounding it.
There were corridors that swirled around the coastal area of the Yanbo river* where tall, ivory buildings gazed down at the river below. Upstairs, there were guests bustling and lively, with buildings around three to five stories high. Downstairs, the guests made sounds similar to a horse"s cry, overflowing the lobby and filling the roads while several slammed their hands on their tables all as a crowd gathered to watch the scene. The storyteller"s spittle splattered around using his hands and mouth to convey emotion all while still eating and drinking. Just when he was getting to the climax, something very disgraceful appeared, making the people around them look on in dissonance.
(*TN: Honesty, I had no idea how to properly translate this into English so that you guys could properly get a mental image, so here"s a picture. Please note that the town looked much grander than this image is showing! )
It was a woman, a very insane woman appeared.
To be precise, it wasn"t an insane woman, but an insane man. Saying this isn"t because of other factors, but because everyone could plainly see that this person was a young man. He was nevertheless wearing a dress made of tulle, his face covered in makeup, parading himself across town, attracting the shocked gazes of the people around him.
If a disciple from TianQing sect had pa.s.sed by, they would"ve recognized that this "crazy woman" wasn"t just a somebody, but precisely the world"s most powerful cultivator, whose prestige is unmatched by anyone, an idol in everyone"s hearts, TianQing sect"s head disciple, the n.o.ble Gentleman Ming ChangYan, Ming ShaoXia.
While Ming ShaoXia was captivating the women, he giggled continuously while putting on air, completely and utterly shameless. But in his heart, he fiercely cursed: LiMing-Jun that old son of a b*tch, when this shaoxia returns to TianQing, you better believe that I"m going to pull out all your hair!
A month ago, Ming ChangYan had made a bet with a younger disciple, LiMing-Jun. Once he won by competing with the other party at a drinking game. He thought of a mischievous idea and ordered LiMing-Jun to cross-dress as a woman. Wearing the cheongsam of his junior female disciple, he went to TianQing sect"s training grounds and danced for the senior male and female disciple"s enjoyment.
Who would"ve imagined that LiMing-Jun was so open-minded—this event had nothing to do with the fact that he was responsible for overlooking the money in TianQing sect. People who love money usually fuss over the smallest affairs. After a month pa.s.sed, the two once again played the drinking game, but this time, it was Ming ChangYan who lost. LiMing-Jun saw this as a time for revenge and immediately threw a dress towards Ming ShaoXia, ordering him to go down the mountain and bring a man back with him. If he couldn"t find one, then it would be because Ming ChangYan didn"t have the ability to do so.
When remembering this, Ming ChangYan regretfully gritted his teeth, reached out and grabbed a weak-looking scholar. The scholar has never seen such a tall* woman before, but even though Ming ShaoXia was born with a good-looking face, the scholar repeatedly tried to pry open the strong grip that was tightly bound on his hand. His whole body trembled as he continuously uttered: "This young lady please spare my life"!
(*TN: Alright. In the raws, it described Ming ChangYan to be 8 chi tall. Chi being equivalent to ⅓ of a meter. So I went on google and searched up how much ⅓ of a meter was [which is 33.3 centimeters] and I multiplied that by 8 right? ….266.4 centimeters. THERE IS NO WAY IN THIS WORLD THAT MING CHANGYAN IS 8.7 FEET TALL. That"s like G.o.dly. He should be in the Guinness Book of World Records. This could possibly just be a typo but to save you from the shock, I think the word "tall" will suffice.)
Ming ShaoXia asked, "Does this young lady look pretty?"
The scholar replied, "Yes…"
Ming ShaoXia continued, "Since I"m so good-looking, then you should come back home with me."
The scholar"s eyes widened, screaking, "Good…Good person, please spare my life!!!"
Ming ChangYan c.o.c.ked his eyebrows, releasing his grip, the scholar ran away like he"d just seen a ghost. He thought: This shaoxia is so charming and handsome, what"s there to be scared of?
Thinking of this, he once again cursed at his Li shi-di: I"ve never treated him badly before, yet he has the guts to hold a grudge for so long, capable of treating his head disciple this way. If I don"t seek my revenge, then I"m not worthy of the n.o.ble Gentleman t.i.tle!
Luckily, in the many years that Ming ChangYan has been in Jianghu, if he wasn"t wearing a bamboo hat, then he"d be wrapped in a black veil, his appearance nothing but a mystery no one can attain. It"s because of this that he dares to strut around, dressed up in woman"s clothes, and flamboyantly stride across the bottom of TianQing sect"s XianYue Mountain.
Ming ChangYan thought that he was exceedingly handsome, so even if he were to disguise himself as a woman, he would be the world"s most beautiful woman. So to have no one recognize this fact, seemingly uninterested in him, he could only practice the art of narcissism.
As a result, Ming ShaoXia was very annoying.
As he strode forwards in wide steps, pa.s.serbys would all move aside to let him pa.s.s. As the sun began to set west, Ming ChangYan still hasn"t been successful in finding a man, his heart began to pent up with frustrations.
Naturally, if he were to go back to TianQing empty-handed, no one would have the guts to scold him. It"s just that Ming ChangYan was somewhat arrogant. If he claimed that he was going to become the number 1 cultivator in the world, he must never admit defeat and always push himself forwards. Even if he were to make a bet, he cannot lose to other people. He was at wit"s end when he let out an "Ai" and blamed the G.o.ds. Just as he was cursing his younger disciple, from Lin"an"s city gate walked out a young man. He was riding a horse in an extravagant attire, his sleeves tucked inside his wrist cuffs with long boots on his legs. His hair was up in a high ponytail with a very elegant aura surrounding him.
Suddenly, thunder erupted in the sky. Ming ChangYan lifted his eyes to take a quick look, his heart felt a sudden and devastating encounter happening and reached his hand out and grabbed an umbrella from a street vendor, saying: "Charge the money to TianQing"s LiMing-Jun, go demand for the money later."
After finishing his sentence, heavy rain suddenly began to pour down, Ming ChangYan walked forwards in the direction of the young man.
This person was precisely Huai Yu.
Ming ShaoXia supported his umbrella as he walked over to offer him a good time.
"It"s raining outside so why isn"t this young government official heading back home?"
Huai Yu gave him a cold glance. Ming ChangYan could only rely on his shameless face as he edged his way up to the other"s face, saying in a childish manner, "Could it be that you don"t have a home to go to? How about you come to my place to drink some tea?"
The s.p.a.ce beneath the umbrella was relatively small so no matter how much Huai Yu turned around, he would be drenched in the rain. Ming ChangYan"s height was similar to his, wrapping his arm around the other"s shoulders, he had a tone that was similar to talking to someone he was familiar with, saying, "Based on your clothing I can tell that you"re not native to Lin"an. Are you from elsewhere?"
Huai Yu did not say a single word, but this didn"t affect Ming ChangYan"s mood to talk.
"Visiting relatives? Friends? Viewing the scenery? Or just pa.s.sing by?"
Huai Yu opened his mouth, the loud echo of raindrops. .h.i.t the bamboo leaves as he said, "I"m looking for a person."
Ming ChangYan cheerfully smiled, "Who are you looking for? I"ll help you look for them. There"s no one in Lin"an that I don"t recognize!"
Huai Yu muttered to himself for a bit, and then proceeded to say a single name, "The n.o.ble Gentleman, Ming ChangYan."
Hearing this, Ming ChangYan suddenly burst out laughing. After he had finished laughing, he said, "Then you"ve found the right person! I know where Ming ChangYan is, come with me."
Huai Yu replied, "If you lie to me, I"ll kill you."
Ming ChangYan stared back, raising his eyebrows, he abruptly reached out his hand and flicked his forehead but Huai Yu slanted his head away before he could do so. He said, "How old are you? You don"t even seem 17 yet, but here you are talking about murder."
He asked, "What do you want with Ming ChangYan?"
Huai Yu let out a light snort, "Isn"t he number 1 in the entire world? I ought to see what number 1 in the entire world looks like."
Since Ming ChangYan never shows his true appearance, this type of person that comes here to try to get a glance at his face isn"t uncommon in Lin"an, so he saw no abnormalities in the other"s response. Ming ChangYan touched his nose and shamelessly boasted, "What kind of face should he have? Of course, he"d look like any other human being. But if you want to talk about something distinct about him, then, in that case, he"s extremely handsome!"
He looked at Huai Yu with wholehearted fascination, "What do you want to do with Ming ChangYan? Are you here to challenge him? Pardon my bluntness, but there is a constant flow of people who come to Jianghu to challenge him and I"ve never heard of a single person winning."
The two shared an umbrella and went in the direction of XianYue Mountain.
On the road, Huai Yu held it in, but finally couldn"t keep holding it in any longer, asking, "Why are you wearing a dress?"
Ming ChangYan replied, "Hm? Dress? Ah, yes, yes, yes, dress. I like wearing dresses, is there anything wrong with that?"
Huai Yu pursed his lips and subtly turned his head to one side.
Ming ChangYan paid no mind to his dress, walking with the wind on his foot, they arrived at TianQing sect in the it took to burn an incense stick.
Just as they reached the stone steps, a white figure flew in their direction, b.u.mping against Ming ChangYan"s bosom.
"Da shi-xiong*! You"re back!"
(*TN: Shi-xiong is the term of address when talking to a senior who"s in the same sect as you. Qin YuBao said, "Da shi-xiong" which means that Ming ChangYan is the head disciple of the sect, not technically the oldest, but has the highest power. Later on, he says "Er shi-xiong" which means second elder brother.)
This was translated by , please don"t repost this anywhere else but here or you might catch tuberculosis.
Ming ChangYan picked him up with an "Ai!", flicking the other"s forehead, "Qin YuBao, did you finish your cla.s.swork yet?"
Qin YuBao replied, "Finished, Da shi-xiong, who is he?"
Ming ChangYan, "Him? He is…"
Huai Yu indifferently responded, "Huai Yu."
Ming ChangYan went along with the other, saying, "Huai Yu. A good friend of mine."
Qin YuBao"s age was no more than 8 to 9 but he was born with impeccable smarts. His face looked as if it was carved out of jade and he was extremely adorable.
Suddenly, from within TianQing sect"s gateway came bright laughter, a man clad in grey hurriedly walked out. While walking, he yelled, "Has Ming ChangYan come back! Did he bring his man back with him! Hahahahahaha! With his getup, I reckon someone used a stick to beat him back here!"
Qin YuBao delightfully shouted back, "Er shi-xiong."
LiMin-Jun took this opportunity to reply, "YuBao, why are you stuck to his body again. Ming ChangYan, I advise you to properly admit defeat. If there"s a single man in this world that saw your face and agreed to come home with you, then today I will go down the mountain…and-"
He suddenly paused, alarmed, he stared wide-eyed at Huai Yu, "Who is he!?"
Ming ChangYan laughed till his stomach hurt. After finishing, he raised the corner of his eyes giving himself a look of accomplishment, "As you can see, he"s my man!"
LiMin-Jun had an emaciated look on his face, with a deflated look he grunted, "Nonsense!" He cupped his hands in front of Huai Yu and bowed, blushing with shame, "Gong-zi please forgive me, today was cause me and my fellow cla.s.smates were joking around with each other. He didn"t mean it, you shouldn"t lower yourself to argue with him."
Ming ChangYan threw a bag of medicine on to the other"s bosom, "What are you doing here speaking some kind of rubbish, I got the medicine for you, go deliver it later to the young lady Hua. Qin YuBao, where are you running off to, find your younger shi-xiong"s and go practice your swords techniques!" He turned and met face to face with Huai Yu, "This, this good friend Huai Yu, didn"t you want to find Ming ChangYan? Here I am."
He went to the pond within the courtyard and cupped some water up, wiping off the rouge that was on his face, revealing two eyes filled with pa.s.sionate, pure facial features that seemed to brighten every autumn.
LiMin-Jun, "Quickly go take off your dress. You"re a complete disgrace. Yu Nan! Help your Da shi-xiong by bringing him some clothes!"
In a flash, Ming ChangYan changed into a black attire with a thick cloak embroidered with dark threads hanging around his shoulders. He tied his hair with a rope, looping it three times. It was half tied, half loose, allowing it to dangle down to his waist.
Huai Yu asked in curiosity, "Where"s your bamboo hat?"
Ming ChangYan replied, "Why should I wear a hat at home, that be terribly bothersome."
Huai Yu was somewhat astonished, "Aren"t you afraid that I might reveal your true appearance out to the world?"
Ming ChangYan sat down, pouring himself a bowl of tea, he grinned, "Then that would be great. Since I"m so handsome, I look forward to the day that the entire world learns of my appearance. So to avoid all those disgraceful, old b.a.s.t.a.r.ds that play dress up as this shaoxia, thinking they can put on a black veil and use their ugly mucks to try to deceive people by exploiting my name."
Huai Yu couldn"t believe that the world"s number 1 had such poor conduct, knitting his eyebrows together and asking, "Are you really The n.o.ble Gentleman?"
Ming ChangYan peeled a peanut and threw it into his mouth, "The one and only."
Huai Yu was young and a bit arrogant. He opened his mouth and questioned, "Someone like you, how did you become number 1 in the entire world?"
Ming ChangYan responded, "Naturally if someone comes to fight me, I"ll fight them. If two people come to fight me, then I"ll fight them too."
While talking, that rain outside began to gradually quiet down.
Outside in the mountains, a youth dressed in white holding an umbrella arrived. In the room, Qin YuBao said, "Ming Yue shi-xiong has come back."
Ming ChangYan teased him, "What? Aren"t you going to go out and welcome him in?"
Qin YuBao replied, "Ming Yue shi-xiong is always really gloomy and doesn"t talk to me, I don"t like him."
As Ming ChangYan laughed, Ming Yue shi-xiong had already arrived at the entrance. The first thing he did when he arrived was politely greet Ming ChangYan. After exchanging greetings, he hesitated for a short period of time before taking a quick glance at Huai Yu.
Huai Yu was eating refreshments and drinking tea, unconcerned at the hostile gaze that was aimed in his direction.
Ming Yue pulled out a delicate jade pendant from his bosom and place it on the table. Ming ChangYan put down the peanuts, asking, "Such a nice fragrance. Since the flowers have begun to bloom, the Lin"an Flower Viewing Festival should begin soon, right?"
Ming Yue nodded his head, "It begins tomorrow afternoon."
Qin YuBao exclaimed, "Da shi-xiong, I want to go to the Flower Viewing Festival, I"ve already mastered TianQing sect"s six major sword techniques, please bring me along with you!"
Ming ChangYan patted his hands, "Sure, I just happen to have some free time these days, I"ll bring you all down the mountain to have some fun."
Ming Yue turned around and began to walk out the door, Ming ChangYan called him back, "Ming Yue, where are you going? Come along with us tomorrow!"
Ming Yue solemnly answered, "I"m fine, I"m too slow-witted, not at all like the gifted YuBao who"s already mastered the six major sword techniques of TianQing sect. Asking me to go have fun interferes with me learning my cultivation. In the future, I won"t even be able to stand at the same level as disciples younger than me, wouldn"t that cause me to lose face for TianQing sect."
If discussing disciples under TianQing sect that have the most innate talent, apart from another disciple that was currently out at this moment, then there was only youngest one here, Qin YuBao. However, since Ming Yue was accepted to enter this sect, his talent likely isn"t lacking either. Compared to the pile of mediocre cultivators from other cultivation sects, he was already a whole lot better. Ming ChangYan knows that Ming Yue has high ambitions, along with the fact that he"s utterly unsociable. Thus, in the group of children within the sect, he had the most patience with Ming Yue and attentively looked after him.
Ming ChangYan stood up, moved to the other party"s side, and flicked his forehead. Ming Yue hissed in pain, rubbing his forehead.
Ming ChangYan, "That"s right! How old are you, why are you pretending to be so sophisticated? Everyone"s going out to have fun yet only you don"t want to go, how senseless is that!"
Ming Yue mumbled, "I don"t like it."
"How would you know that you don"t like it if you"ve never seen it before." Ming ChangYan patted his back, "Go back and rest, heighten your spirits. You"re not allowed to practice your cultivation, I grant you the permission to be lazy today."
Huai Yu asked, "What is this "flower viewing"."
LiMin-Jun said, "You"re not from here so you don"t know of Lin"an"s Flower Viewing Festival held during April, it"s conducted at the Peach Blossom Hut and Guanyin Temple down below by the river. Besides admiring flowers, there"s also a temple fair, with vendor stalls that have lots of good food. Ask Ming ChangYan to bring you, he loves these kinds of lively events."
Ming ChangYan fiddled with his hair, saying, "I"ll go if I want to go."
LiMin-Jun picked the jade pendant up from the table and threw it at Ming ChangYan, "When you leave, put this on. If you don"t, then I"m afraid that your good Ming Yue shi-di will get touchy again."
Ming ChangYan happily hanged the jade pendant on his waist, "What, are you jealous? Since he didn"t give it to you, you"ve become unhappy?"
LiMin-Jun sneered, "What am I supposed to be unhappy about, I"m not your man."
Ming ChangYan took a quick glance at Huai Yu, recalled the bet he had made with LiMin-Jun, rubbed his nose and said, "Oh, sorry, I forgot. When we go down the mountain tomorrow I"ll buy one and give it to my little friend, Huai Yu."
LiMin-Jun said, "Since you brought this guy here, you should set up arrangements that you see fit."
Ming ChangYan, "You"re always the one to set up arrangements, why should I plan it this time!"
LiMin-Jun argued to back up his convictions, yelling, "He"s your man, not my man!"
Ming ChangYan was fuming with hatred at the other"s remarks. After a while, he clicked his tongue, saying, "If I"m setting up arrangements, then I"ll set up the arrangements, just look at your stingy face. Ah, I heard that people who deal with money are all petty people, does that mean that as time goes on you"ll become more and more petty?"
LiMin-Jun, "Not saying a few words would choke you to death."
Ming ChangYan burst out in a hearty laugh, swinging his arm Huai Yu"s shoulder, "Do you like flowers? I like them quite a lot, what"s this translucent stone around your neck? It looks rather pretty…"
This was translated by , please don"t repost this anywhere else but here or you might catch tuberculosis.
Sorry fellas, I was sick and couldn"t post this on Wednesday. I"m still coughing a whole bunch, but overall okay.
Did you enjoy this chapter? I couldn"t stop laughing while translating x)
If you see any grammatical/translation errors, please comment down below! We love reading your comments~
Anyway, I hope you have a lazy day (As instructed by Ming ChangYan)~ (ᴗ˳ᴗ)