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[Chapter 17 - Setting out!] Starting on a new journey!
"Ling-er." Just as he finished packing, Shen Qian Feng walked in.
"Big brother." Shen Qian Ling yawned.
Shen Qian Feng laughed, "Haven"t woken up yet?"
"Didn"t sleep well last night." Shen Qian Ling poured him a cup of tea, "Does big brother need me for something?"
"I heard from father, he"s letting you go to the southern seas together with Sha Yu as soon as possible." Shen Qian Feng said, "There will be people protecting you secretly along the trip, but in case you run into an emergency, you can"t always rely on others."
Shen Qian Ling hesitated, "Going to teach me martial arts again?"
"No need." Shen Qian Feng shook his head, "You"re too stupid, and can"t learn."
Shen Qian Ling: "......."
Must you be this blunt?
"I"m giving you this." Shen Qian Feng handed him a wooden box.
"What?" Shen Qian Ling moved to open it upon receiving it, but was stopped.
"You can"t use it now."
"A concealed weapon?" Shen Qian Ling instantly gained some interest.
"Yes." Shen Qian Feng rubbed his head, "I made it myself, so if there"s danger, open the box towards the enemy, and it can buy you some time."
"It will be this dangerous on the road?" Shen Qian Ling felt a little guilty.
"No, Ling-er will be safe throughout the whole journey." Shen Qian Feng rubbed his cheeks, "I can"t protect you all the way; all I want is for you to stay safe."
"Thank you, big brother." Shen Qian Ling looked at him with grat.i.tude.
"Why do you still have to be so courteous to me?" Shen Qian Feng smiled, "Remember to be careful on the road."
Shen Qian Ling nodded, thought for a while and said, "After I leave, can big brother do me a favor?"
"What is it?" Shen Qian Feng asked.
"Father won’t allow me to bring Bao Dou along, so he must remain at home." Shen Qian Ling said, "Riyue sect is so big. When I"m not around, I"m afraid that he will be bullied."
"No need to worry about that." Shen Qian Feng said, "If he"s willing, he can stay at my residence for the time being."
"That would be best." Shen Qian Ling relaxed. Before this he did consider letting Bao Dou go out and live a free life, but after thinking through it, he"s just a small kid, and doesn"t have any special skills; it would be hard for him to avoid being taken advantage of if he left. Staying in the sect would be the best choice instead.
After Shen Qian Feng left, Bao Dou said somberly, "When is young master setting out?"
"In about two days." Shen Qian Ling said, "Don"t worry, big brother is a good person, you won"t have any trouble."
"Yes." Bao Dou is very reluctant, "Then when is young master returning?"
Shen Qian Ling sighed faintly. I don’t know either.
Going far away for the first time to an unknown land.
He had the desire to feel for himself the harsh winds and the cold waters of Yi, much like the hero of that ancient tale. (1)
Because they won’t be setting out with fanfare, they didn"t have to prepare much either. A few days later, Qin Shao Yu brought Shen Qian Ling along, and together they left the Riyue sect.
The horse carriage is rather large. At first Shen Qian Ling still felt curious, but started feeling bored within an hour; two hours later, he laid on the cushions, more dead than alive.
The ride is shaky, and very slow.
"What happened to you?" Qin Shao Yu peeked through the window randomly, a bit surprised.
"My waist is sore." Shen Qian Ling is lying on the cushions in a wretched pose, "It"s so low I can"t stand up, I’ve sat so long my b.u.t.t hurts, and on top of all that there"s nothing to do."
It"s awfully tragic.
Qin Shao Yu can"t help but laugh, "Want to come out and ride the horse with me?"
"Yes." Shen Qian Ling agreed immediately.
A subordinate of Zhui Yin sect brought over a medium sized horse very quickly; Shen Qian Ling stepped on the stirrup and got up the horse, his movements especially suave. Luckily he’s acted in martial arts films before. Shen Qian Ling celebrated in his heart, rubbing the horse"s curly mane.
"We’ll travel for another four hours, and then we will arrive at Luo Xia town." Qin Shao Yu rode shoulder to shoulder with him, "We will have lunch there."
"Yes." It had been a long while since Shen Qian Ling last rode a horse, so he was glad to do so again.
"Shall we run together for a while?" Qin Shao Yu asked.
"Run?" That sounds somewhat difficult. As Shen Qian Ling was checking the condition of the road, Qin Shao Yu had already used his sword hilt to prod the horse"s b.u.t.t, and thus the best actor was forced to fly along with it.
"Ah!" Shen Qian Ling shouted in shock, instinctively grabbing the reins; he swayed about for a while before he could gain his balance.
"Scared?" Qin Shao Yu caught up to him and asked with a smile.
Scared your sister! Shen Qian Ling is reluctant to admit his fear, "You"re the scared one."
"Your face has already turned pale." Qin Shao Yu can"t help but laugh.
Shen Qian Ling"s eyes were full of complaint, "I am pale to begin with....ah."
Before he could finish even one sentence, he was pulled by Qin Shao Yu into his arms, sitting sideways in front of him.
"Put me back." Shen Qian Ling is shocked and irate, I absolutely don"t want to ride the same horse with you.
"That small horse is too slow, this one is fast." Qin Shao Yu"s tone was mocking.
"What are you going to do?" Shen Qian Ling became alert.
Before he could even respond, Qin Shao Yu had raised the whip; the great white horse, like an arrow leaving its bow, instantly flew forward.
"Slow down a little." Shen Qian Ling buried his head into his chest, grumbling, because it"s the only place he can hide from the wind.
Qin Shao Yu held on to him tightly with one hand. Not only did he not stop, he sped up instead. How cruel.
The sound of wind rushed past his ears; when he opened his eyes, he only saw trees sweep past them on both sides. Cowardly, Shen Qian Ling was scared till his legs turned weak, and even felt like peeing.
The great white horse ran all the way to the top of the hill, snorted with incomparable enthusiasm, and finally stopped.
Shen Qian Ling had the will but not the strength. He raised his head up from between Qin Shao Yu"s arms and said, "Is something wrong with your head?" His voice is soft and weak, with no semblance of threat; along with his listless eyes, he makes one want to laugh instead.
And so as expected, sect leader Qin laughed.
"What are you laughing for." Shen Qian Ling jumped down from the horse, wanting to vomit in peace.
"Scared?" Qin Shao Yu followed him and leapt off the horse.
Shen Qian Ling was hugging a tree, retching.
Qin Shao Yu: ".........."
"If you dare to make me ride this horse again in the future," Shen Qian Ling panted, "Then I will take it down with me."
"Ta Xue Bai(2) is a treasured horse that"s rarely seen; there"s many who want to ride it but can"t." Qin Shao Yu said.
Then I"m just another who can’t. Shen Qian Ling sat on a rock and drank water.
"Angry?" Qin Shao Yu crouched in front of him.
He isn"t angry, but he can’t possibly be delightful, alright. Shen Qian Ling glared at him. Luckily this person wasn’t born in modern times, or else he would be a member of the deranged and dangerous who speed cars in the deep of night.
"Let"s go down the hill?" Qin Shao Yu suggested after seeing the color of his face gradually recover.
"No." Shen Qian Ling instantly rejected, "We will wait here for the others to come up." Even if he has to be paralyzed in the carriage, he will never ride the horse ever again.
"Why should the others come up?" Qin Shao Yu is astonished.
Shen Qian Ling: ".........."
Seeing his dumbfounded expression, Qin Shao Yu explained: "This road isn"t part of our journey; the others have long since gone around the bottom of the hill."
"Then why did it come up?" Shen Qian Ling"s voice trembled, pointing at the great white horse beside him.
"The scenery on the top of this hill is nice, I wanted to bring you up for a look." Qin Shao Yu said.
Shen Qian Ling suddenly really wanted to throw a rock into his face.
"Since you don"t like it, then we can just not go up the mountains in the future." Qin Shao Yu reached out a hand towards him, "But no matter what, we must go down."
Shen Qian Ling spoke with tears flowing down his face, "Then you must let it run slower."
"Alright." Qin Shao Yu nodded.
"Run slower."
"Alright."
"If it runs fast, I will definitely vomit all over you."
".....Alright."
Under Qin Shao Yu"s three-time guarantee, Shen Qian Ling finally accepted Ta Xue Bai again. But because both the horse and sect leader Qin are afraid of getting vomit all over themselves, the speed this time is very slow; with a light breeze flowing past his cheeks, it"s even a little comfortable.
"Not scared this time?" Qin Shao Yu asked by his ear.
"I"m not scared." Shen Qian Ling"s tiny ego was prodded.
"Yes, not scared." Qin Shao Yu smiled, "Then shall we run again?"
"You wouldn’t dare." Shen Qian Ling immediately turned his head and glared at him.
"I won’t dare, just teasing you." Qin Shao Yu touched his forehead with his, smiling slightly.
Their close gazes met with one another. Shen Qian Ling instantly became wary. "I, I have already said I have no interest in men." So don"t get all tender like this.
Qin Shao Yu didn"t comment, continuing to leisurely bring him down the mountain.
Since they were delayed on the road, and because Shen Qian Ling also stringently restricted Ta Bai Xue"s speed, when the two of them arrived at Luo Xia town, the subordinates of Zhui Yin sect had already started drinking tea and resting for the afternoon in twos and threes; it"s evident that they have been here for a while.
"What do you want to eat?" Qin Shao Yu asked Shen Qian Ling.
"Pickled radish with plain noodles in broth." His dizziness still hasn"t pa.s.sed, so Shen Xiao Shou really wanted to eat something sour.
The restaurant owner stood to one side, his hands shaking; he"s thrilled.
This is someone he has only heard of from the storyteller.
Even his painting costs one silver tael each.
Extremely expensive.
And here is the actual, real person.
"Are you...unwell?" Shen Qian Ling looked at him doubtfully. If you"re sick then don"t come out, or else it"s not good for you or for me.
"You are mister Shen?" The owner"s pitch has even changed, clearly elated.
Shen Qian Ling hiccupped.
"And one jin(2) of stewed beef." Qin Shao Yu said coldly.
"Alright, alright." The owner nodded again and again, saying with a tone of an admirer, "What else does mister Shen want?"
"A jar of shaoxing wine." Qin Shao Yu is very unhappy with being ignored; his voice is full of irritation, and he stabbed one chopstick into the table.
Owner: "........."
"You best go prepare it quickly." Shen Qian Ling"s eyes are full of worry. The person opposite me is violent, and very fierce; if he wants to destroy your shop I definitely can"t stop him.
The owner turned and ran like the wind.
"Why are you so aggressive?" Probably because he was in the entertainment circle in his past life, Shen Qian Ling is protective of every fan of his.
"His eyes are still intact. This is hardly aggressive." Qin Shao Yu yanked out the chopstick.
Are you going to be so barbaric! Shen Qian Ling is full of conflicted feelings, still wanting to eat; the violent image that appeared in his mind as a result was rather appalling.
A moment later, a waiter placed a big golden plate on the table.
Shen Qian Ling sucked in a cold breath. "What is this?"
The waiter took out a small book and recited, "Sea cuc.u.mber abalone bird"s nest goose feet beef tripe pork ribs quail breast pigeon shiitake broth."
Shen Qian Ling: "......."
"And pickled radish and noodles." The owner ran up to him with a tray, talking without end. "This mister can have the soup with the noodles, and have the pickled radish as accompaniment. All have been carefully selected and are tender; it"s crispy and yet not too sour, I think this mister will definitely like ---"
Before he could finish, Qin Shao Yu’s other chopstick had already penetrated the table with a ‘pa’.
"Where is my beef?!"
(1) “the harsh winds and the cold waters of Yi” and “Hero of that ancient tale”: This is a line from “The song of river Yi” (易水歌) from “Source of ancient poems” (古诗源) collected during Han dynasty, but stems from the warring period (pre-Qin).
The full line is “The wind is wailing and the waters of river Yi are cold; the hero leaves, never to return.” (风萧萧兮易水寒，壮士一去兮不复还). Context is that Jing Ke, a retainer of Prince Dan of state of Yan, tried to a.s.sa.s.sinate the person who would become the first emperor of China but failed.
(2)Ta Xue Bai: 踏雪白 - lit. step snow white. Qin Shao Yu’s horse.
(3) jin: 斤 - chinese unit of measurement for weight that is still in use, depending on the region it can vary from 500g to roughly 600g.