Author: Angelina
Translator: xallisonjanex, chiangyushien
Proofreader: Zeraphiel25
It had been a while since school started. Ke Bu spent a lot of time adjusting his daily routine. It was a little uncomfortable to end his lazy life and suddenly return to school. He was holding his books as he ran to school. Unknowingly, Ke Bu ran through a restricted area and lost his way in the maze-like route. Ke Bu was anxious, solely preoccupied with running, and was not paying attention to the ground. When he took a step and didnt feel anything under his feet, it was already too late to call out for help—Ke Bu had fallen into a well. That glimmer of light was getting farther and farther away from him. Ke Bu tried reaching out, but he could not grasp anything.
Unknowingly, when Ke Bu opened his eyes, he felt some pain at the back of his head. When he stood up…what appeared before him was a completely strange scene. For a moment, he thought he was dreaming. There were no signs of a modern city here. An age-old town of antiquity, people dressed similar to those in historical dramas…which filming studio did he fall into?
“Let me go, help! Someone save me!” A familiar voice came through from afar. Ke Bu looked back and saw a beautiful woman wearing a purple dress. Her hair was tied up into a bun with a flower hairpin. She was held in the arms of a man. The man was wearing a green robe, with the front portion of his robe opened wide. From their laidback and licentious nature that came fully into light, how could Ke Bu not recognize these two—aren"t they Chu Haoyu and Gong Zhu?
“Young lady, don"t be shy. Obediently follow this Uncle and he"ll give you glory, splendor, wealth and rank that you can enjoy endlessly.”
“I don"t want to, please don"t do this to me!"
Chu Haoyu put his hand on Gong Zhu"s chest and all of a sudden, his complexion changed. He retreated several times and said, “Nothing, why is there nothing?”
“Of course, there"s nothing! I"m a dignified five-chi [1] tall man.”
([1] a traditonal unit of length, equivalent to 0.333 metre or 1.094 feet)
“Which man would dress up like you!? How dare you tease this Uncle!" Chu Haoyu pulled out a sword from his waist. Ke Bu, who was in a daze at the side, finally spoke, "What exactly are you guys doing?”
Chu Haoyu turned around and said: “Is this who I think it is, isn"t it Ke Bu? It"s so ridiculous for you to dress up like that.”
“The way you talk is even more ridiculous, what are you two playing?”
“Playing?” Chu Haoyu streaked across swiftly the sword in his hand. Ke Bu immediately felt a burning pain on his cheek and blood started to drip. He covered his face and looked at Chu Haoyu in disbelief. He was furious, “What are you doing?” Gong Zhu ran to Ke Bu and worriedly asked, “Are you all right?”
“Don"t you recognize me? Gong Zhu?” Ke Bu asked.
“You know my name? You are…”
“I"m Ke Bu, you don"t know me? Tell me, what"s with this place?” Ke Bu realized something was wrong so he hurriedly asked.
“Hey, have we met before? This town isn"t far from the capital.” Answered Gong Zhu.
“The capital?” Ke Bu looked around again. He opened his mouth wide and the pain in his cheek made him realize that this was not a dream. So, in other words, did he travel back in time? Why did this antiquated story happen to him? He took a step forward and grabbed Chu Haoyu"s robe: "You know me, right? Tell me, how can I go back? I don"t want to stay in this d.a.m.n place. I want to go back.” Chu Haoyu pushed Ke Bu away. Ke Bu lost his footing and fell to the ground. Chu Haoyu pulled on to his clothes. “I don"t understand what you"re saying. Of course, I know you. You"re Ke Bu—the cursed man.”
“Cursed?”
“Don"t play dumb. You dare to hinder this Uncle. You"ve mistaken good for bad. Let me show you how fierce this uncle is.” Chu Haoyu pointed his sword at Ke Bu.
“Yu Tai, if you have something to say, let"s talk about it nicely, no need to use sword and strength.” Ke Bu realized that Chu Haoyu was not joking, so he wanted to ease his anger. Ke Bu did not even have the time to close his eyes when Chu Haoyu raised his hand and swung the sword; however, the sword was deflected by another sword, and it fell to and bounced on the ground. Chu Haoyu seized his shaking hands that was somewhat numbed. A handsome man appeared before him, wearing a light blue robe that was gently fluttering in the wind. Ke Bu only saw the side profile of his face, which revealed his innate n.o.ble traits. After a few petals fell on the sword, the man then took his sword back to the scabbard on his waist.
“Your Excellency Zhi Li, did you come to rescue me?” Gong Zhu asked happily.
Chu Haoyu looked at Zhi Li and gritted his teeth: “d.a.m.n, Zhi Li, this is none of your business, right? Why did you stop me?”
“That"s none of your business, too.”
Ke Bu"s chest was inexplicably painful, and there was a voice inside him that seemed to want to rush out of his body, but it could only be blocked in the throat. It felt warm in the midst of all the nostalgia, but it was also wonderful.
“Zhi Li?” Ke Bu gently called out Zhi Li"s name, but he did not even turn to look back. He indifferently let Ke Bu stay from a distance. Chu Haoyu picked up his sword and said, “Consider yourself lucky. I"ll temporarily let you go today. I really don"t understand you Zhi Li. I was trying to help you.” Chu Haoyu unexpectedly smiled. “Isn"t it you who really wanted Ke Bu to die?” His words were like a heavy blow, piercing through Ke Bu"s train of thoughts. Why? What the h.e.l.l is going on? This is Zhi Li, right? He"s Zhi li, right? As Chu Haoyu clearly said, did Zhi Li want him dead? Ke Bu wanted to grab Zhi Li"s hand to stand up: “Zhi Li?”
Zhi Li drove him away: “Don"t touch me.” After that, he left and Ke Bu stood still in a daze. Gong Zhu pushed him and asked: "Are you all right, Ke Bu?”
“Thanks, I"m okay. Then, I"ll go first.” Ke Bu chased after Zhi Li. He wanted to ask him why. He wanted to know what happened to him in this era. The desire to know the truth was stronger than his desire to go back to his own time. The surroundings became dark. It was as if he was walking in a tunnel, then it became bright again. The scenery of a town appeared right before Ke Bu"s eyes. He saw that Zhi Li stopped in front of a loft with a wooden plaque hanging above that says "Winter Jasmine Brothel." Is Zhi Li going to this kind of place? No way. A woman came out from inside, wearing a bright-red kimono-style dress that was embellished with blooming flowers. Her long hair scattered on her shoulders. A slit on the lower hem of her dress revealed her slender white thighs. With her slanted collar, half of her shoulders were faintly discernible within her hair. She looked like a prost.i.tute and was rather enchanting. The woman also held a long tobacco pipe. She raised her eyelids and said, "I"ve been waiting for you.”
Zhi Li went in and Ke Bu went after him. Su Youyan looked at Ke Bu, "Isn"t this Ke Bu? I haven"t seen you come and patronize this business for a long time." What?! This was like a shock out of the blue.
“I, I"ve been to this kind of shop before?”
“That"s really rude. What do you mean this kind of shop? You"re a regular customer.” Another shock out of the blue. Ke Bu swallowed the saliva in his mouth and entered the shop. He was shocked, rendering him speechless by the convoluted scene in front of him. Zhou Xinhe was holding her sleeves as she greeted the guests. With dumplings and soy milk in her hand, she said, "Honorable guest, do you need something else?”
“Another set of fritters,” said a pa.s.serby.
Ke Bu could not help but become frantic. “A breakfast shop is a breakfast shop. Don"t use this misleading name and wear these misleading clothes.”
“You really don"t give up on following Zhi Li, do you." Su Youyan ignored Ke Bu"s criticism.
“I often followed Zhi Li?”
Su Youyan placed her fingers on Ke Bu"s shoulder: “Give it up. It"s for your own sake, or else you"ll die, Ke Bu.” He heard this sentence again. Why would he die? He did not understand. He did not understand it even for a bit. Ying Xuijie descended from the sky and Ke Bu seemed to be able to see the wires hanging from behind him, "You finally showed up, Ke Bu. Come on, Zhi Li. Kill him. You know there"s not much time left.”
With a cold expression on his face, Zhi Li looked at Ying Xiujie and did not say anything.
“What are you guys talking about?”
“Ah, hahaha! Provided that Zhi Li kills you, the devil will seize his innermost being, and when that moment comes, I"ll use that power to rule the world.” It felt like this route to school was getting stranger and stranger.
“I don"t understand what you"re talking about. Stop dreaming. Zhi Li won"t kill me, right Zhi Li? Right?” Ke Bu looked at Zhi Li with yearning. Zhi Li did not answer nor did he look at Ke Bu. Because of this, Ke Bu could not help but feel cold for a moment.
“Don"t be naive. He"s got a reason to kill you. I sealed his beloved Shangguan Wan"er in your body. The only way to save her is to kill you within six years.” What Ying Xiujie said made Ke Bu understand a lot of things. His mind began to become cloudy and some memories slowly came back to him. It was like in his previous incarnation. Six years? This was exactly the time when he first met Zhi Li. In his confusion, he vaguely saw the scene where he was accompanying Zhi Li, with his sad and lonely face. Truly cruel, yes he was. It was obvious that Ke Bu was not the person who Zhi Li loves and staying with him would only make it more painful for Ke Bu, but he succ.u.mbed to his heart that wanted to accompany Zhi Li. Ke Bu had been confused, whether these feelings were made because Shangguan Wan"er was in his body or were these the real thought in his own heart.
Ying Xiujie rushed to Ke Bu and Zhi Li stayed in front to block him. “You, you should shut up.”
“Why won"t you kill him?”
“I don"t have to tell you why.”
“You b.a.s.t.a.r.d, do you want to disobey me? Don"t ever think that I"ll tolerate you. I can also destroy you.” Ying Xiujie pulled out his sword and slashed it toward Zhi Li. All of a sudden, Gong Zhu swooped in and got stabbed in his chest. As blood gushed out, he said: "No, you"re not allowed to hurt His Excellency Zhi Li!" After he said this, he fell to the ground. Ke Bu turned pale and shouted, "Gong Zhu!!"
"You"re in the way!" Ying Xiujie attempted to stab Zhi Li with his sword once again, but Zhou Xinhe suddenly swooped in and was stabbed in his stead. The blood flowed out from her chest. "I won"t let you succeed," after saying these words, she fell to the ground. Now, Chu Haoyu swooped in next and got stabbed with the sword. His blood gushed out. "So will I," After saying that, Chu Haoyu fell to the ground as well. What"s with this b.l.o.o.d.y scene? “Youyan, don"t!" Ke Bu yelled then stretched his hand out. Su Youyan nonchalantly took out a long tobacco pipe, puffed a mouthful of smoke, and stood there indifferently, “Why?”
"It turns out you"re not prepared to sacrifice yourself!!!"
Zhi Li looked at the three, who fell to the ground, and pulled out the sword from the scabbard on his waist. Ke Bu dragged Zhi Li and cried, "That"s enough, Zhi Li! Thank you for giving me all these six years. I"m truly grateful. It"s time for me to give Wan"er back to you. You were willing to stay with me, only because you wanted to be with her. I"m fully aware of this. Though I"m really unwilling to say this, I have to…goodbye, Zhi Li. Goodbye.”
Ke Bu grabbed the sword in Zhi Li"s hands and stabbed his own heart. It turned out that it was not that painful, really. Ke Bu became weak and limp and when he was on the verge of collapsing to the ground, Zhi Li held on to him. Blood filled and gushed out from his mouth, staining Zhi Li"s fingers. Zhi Li looked at his fingers and said: "You"re really foolish, Ke Bu. I gave you six years, didn"t you understand why?” Ke Bu smiled and grabbed the clothes on Zhi Li"s chest. “It"s weird. I always felt that as long as I have you, it doesn"t matter where I go.” Ke Bu"s hand hung down and in the end, he stopped breathing.
“What an enviable friendship. I"m so in the mood to kill someone. Come on, Zhi Li. Join me.” Isn"t it too far fetched to pa.s.s on friendship sentiments now? Su Youyan finally found a mysterious item in a box. When she took it out, its black and red colors emitted a strange and sacred light. Ying Xiujie was shocked, “Oh no, it"s the notebook!” After saying that, he tried to escape. While he was about to escape, Su Youyan opened the notebook, and in a flash of the strange light, Ying Xiujie disappeared. The curtains were pulled up, Zhi Li looked at his finger dyed with red paint and rubbed it on a piece of cloth, and the dead Ke Bu suddenly sat up: “What are you doing?” Ke Bu stared at Zhi Li, who stood up and shrugged, as if preparing to take a shower. Ke Bu took a towel and wiped his face with it, then looked at Zhang Luo and said: “Despite your boring script and narration, the stage effect"s not bad. Even so, I really don"t understand why I have to play this boring stage play.”
Chu Haoyu also got up from the ground and said, "What to do, the school anniversary stipulates that each club must have a program.”
“We also don"t look like a club.”
“If you won"t join a club, you can"t stay in this school.”
“It"s really troublesome. I have spent a year of my life for this," Ke Bu said as he left with Su Youyan, and did not even partic.i.p.ate in the curtain call. Both Ke Bu and Su Youyan placed their change of clothes in the club room. The most important thing now was to wash off the blood on their own bodies.
When they opened the door to the club room, it was very quiet inside. At this time, the sound of footsteps gradually approaching them could be heard. “Hey, is Elder Brother Zhi Li not in?” Ke Bu looked back and saw the smiling face of a young girl. He subconsciously touched his legs, and eventually felt a dull pain there. He stuttered: "Duo…Duo La?"
Usagi notes: Trouble is coming…