Chapter 156 - Evil Karma Mirror Platform
TL-Checked by Sa.s.systrawberry; Edited by Animeart
The moon was beautiful to look at, it was bright and radiant.
But Lin Shu felt somewhat detached from his surroundings. When he looked around, since his eyes were blurred by moisture, he had to pause for quite a while, before his vision cleared up.
Then he saw the crescent moon, seemingly hanging from the eaves of the small pavilion in the middle of the lake.
The first moon on the Pavilion.
The first moon in the lake.
The red lotus swayed gently in the breeze.
Xiao Shao slowed down his movements, and asked, “Immortal Lord, is it beautiful?”
Lin Shu breathed out weakly, resting on his shoulder, panted, and wasn’t able to form words.
Xiao Shao pressed him down again.
When it was finally over, Xiao Shao embraced him from behind.
Lin Shu looked outside the window at the lake, the pavilion, and the moon.
The room was filled with a gentle smell of fragrant incense, and white smoke continuously emerged in wisps from the mouth of the incense burner, floating upwards in a sentimental, lingering manner.
The cloud of white smoke also bore a resemblance to the moonlight.
It was as if the vast and infinite world had shrunk to here and now.
All that was left was the red candle that illuminated the wedding chambers, a curtain fluttering slowly in the breeze, the lake full of unwithering red lotus flowers, and an infinitely splendid crescent moon.
Xiao Shao began to tidy up his hair, as if he was fixing a pet’s fur.
Afterwards, he kissed him gently again.
“Baby.” He heard Xiao Shao say.
Lin Shu, “Hmm?”
He found that his voice was soft and hoa.r.s.e, very feeble.
Xiao Shao continued, “Baby.”
Lin Shu, “…Hmm.”
While they were dual-cultivating Xiao Shao addressed him as “Immortal Lord”, and when they weren’t, it was “Baby”, he discovered.
Xiao Shao asked, “How are you doing at the Sword Pavilion?”
Lin Shu, “Alright.”
Xiao Shao asked, “Everyday you cultivate unceasingly?”
Lin Shu replied, “Yeah.”
Xiao Shao continued to ask, “Is there anyone who doesn’t treat you well?”
Lin Shu, “There isn’t.”
Xiao Shao tightened his arms. “Ok.”
Lin Shu asked, “How about you?”
“I…am also alright,” said Xiao Shao. “Yingying was born in the second year.”
Lin Shu thought about Yingying.
He knew that the last three years would have been hard on Xiao Shao.
The emperor was unconscious, and Xiao Lingyang didn’t bother with official matters. The ministers in the court were divided into different factions, constantly quarreling amongst themselves. The responsibility for the homeland, all fell on his shoulders.
… Fortunately, there was Yingying.
Such a lovely little girl, whoever saw her, would feel happy.
Xiao Shao suddenly said, “I didn’t dare let Yingying wear white clothes.”
Lin Shu, “Huh?”
Xiao Shao said softly, “She looks a lot like you.”
Lin Shu tilted his head to one side.
Xiao Shao said, “If she wore white, the resemblance would be even stronger, and I would think of you.”
Lin Shu suddenly remembered the night when he was hiding behind the eaves of the palace to watch the banquet. After the banquet was over, several fat middle-aged men in court attire had asked Xiao Lingyang why her Royal Highness was so angry.
Xiao Lingyang said, “She can’t bear to see people wearing white clothes, nor does she tolerate people playing the zither, let alone people dressed in white clothes playing the zither. All of you must bear this in mind.”
He felt somewhat at a loss.
Xiao Shao continued, “When I was young, I raised a cat.”
The topic changed so quickly that Lin Shu was unable to respond immediately.
He only heard Xiao Shao say, “Little black cat, a very small ball of fur. Later, it wandered off.”
“I searched for a long time, but was unable to find it. For many days after that, I was thinking that the world outside was so big and it was so small and wasn’t able to care for itself, how much hardship it would suffer, whether it could survive, and whether it was living well.”
Xiao Shao’s fingers gently stroked his cheek, and his voice was slightly low and hoa.r.s.e, “Later, my baby was lost too and went outside. I feared that he was so gullible, so reticent, even if he was bullied, he wouldn’t resist, in this manner… I watched him leave.”
Lin Shu lowered his eyes.
Xiao Shao’s fingers swept over his eyelashes, which tickled a little. It was a very beautiful hand.
“While he was by my side, even with just a chilly breeze I’d be afraid that he would catch a cold, but he was going to live on the snow-capped mountain. The world was so big, perhaps I would never see him again in my life.” Xiao Shao’s hand slid to his waist and hugged him closely. “Initially during that first year, I often dreamt of him, but it became more and more seldom.”
After speaking to this point, Xiao Shao smiled and said, “During the Spring Festival, there was a New Year’s play staged in the palace. It was so lively that I had to leave to go for a walk. I didn’t expect that there were also many plays being staged in the street stalls. I would occasionally hear something like ‘Since ancient times, the G.o.ddess of Wushan was in the dreams of King Xiang, but why was it that I was unable to dream of you?’ At that moment, I couldn’t help but want to order the death of the whole theatrical troupe.”
Lin Shu asked, “Did you order them killed in the end?”
Xiao Shao said, “No, they sang pretty well, and I rewarded them with some money.”
Lin Shu thought that while he had been away, this man’s temper had been still so bad.
Then he heard Xiao Shao lower his voice, “Baby, don’t leave me anymore, it’s very difficult to endure.”
Lin Shu said, “I won’t leave.”
Xiao Shao began to speak nonsense, “But if I die, and am no longer in the mortal world, what would you do?”
Lin Shu thought for a while, and proposed a feasible solution, “…I will die too?”
Xiao Shao said, “You can’t die.”
Lin Shu, “Then you also can’t die.”
Xiao Shao, “Then both of us won’t die.”
Lin Shu, “Ok.”
An agreement was reached.
However, later when Lin Shu thought about it, he felt that the conversation was very childish, like a conversation between children in kindergarten.
He turned towards Xiao Shao, and caressed his face to pacify him.
Xiao Shao said, “You’re not allowed to look at me.”
Lin Shu looked at him, tilted his head in confusion. “?”
Xiao Shao pinched his ears, laughed gently. “Don’t you want to sleep?”
Okay.
Sleep.
Lin Shu closed his eyes, and Xiao Shao hugged him closely.
He leaned against Xiao Shao’s chest, listening to his heartbeat.
Thump, thump.
Thump, thump…
After which he very quickly lost consciousness.
The second before he lost consciousness, he was still surprised at how quickly he fell asleep.
Xiao Shao tired him out too much.
When he woke up the next day, it was almost noon.
The body of an immortal cultivator, its speed of recovery was very quick, and when he woke up he felt normal with nothing amiss, but within his bones, there was a thread of laziness, which made him a little reluctant to leave the bed.
He also didn’t know when Xiao Shao had awoken, loosely draping his clothes over himself, sitting at the bedside looking at him.
——Then it was the difficult process of getting out of bed. Xiao Shao wanted to prevent him, but Lin Shu wouldn’t allow himself to develop a habit of lazing in bed.
This would be totally out of character for someone of the Sword Pavilion.
When he finally got up, Xiao Shao said, “I will change my clothes and will bring you to meet my Mother later.”
Then he went to the back of the screen to shrink his bone structure, change his appearance, and apply makeup.
Lin Shu had nothing else to do, so he took out the mirror from the silk brocade bag.
He felt a little unsettled about this mirror now, so he borrowed it from Fruit.
The scene in the mirror was unchanged.
It was still that same bed, the half-burnt red candle, the him who had been pierced through the heart.
Moreover, he now could confirm that the room was indeed the wedding chamber that he was currently in.
——No, it was not right when he thought that the scene was unchanged.
When he first saw this scene, the whole room was blurry and he couldn’t see the details clearly. Now, these details were crystal clear, and entirely resembling the scene in the wedding chamber.
Lin Shu felt that it was not right.
He entered the Qingming Cave.
Senior Martial Brother was floating around boredly in the cave.
“Junior Martial Brother, it’s been a while!” Senior Martial Brother floated over in surprise. “Your cultivation has advanced again. Wonderful news! Wonderful news! Congratulations Junior Martial Brother!”
——Senior Martial Brother had been swatted to death by the Qingming Demon Lord in the past for his habit of announcing auspicious news, but it seems that this penchant for congratulatory news had still not changed.
But Lin Shu didn’t come here to listen to Senior Martial’s well-wishes.
“Senior Brother.” He took out the mirror. “What sort of item is this? Do you recognize it?”
The mirror came from Qingming Cave, and the Senior Martial Brother might recognize it.
“Of course I would recognize it!” Senior Martial Brother said with a wretched face. “This unlucky dog item!”
Lin Shu, “What do you mean?”
Senior Martial Brother said, “In the past, it was due to this that our Venerable Master and Immortal Lord Yuehua had a big fight resulting in his meridians being abolished by that sc.u.m Yuehua.
Lin Shu, “How did this happen?”
The Senior Martial Brother filled with righteous rage spoke on.
Said that this object is called “Evil Karma Platform“.
And the source of this thing was very extraordinary. It was obtained by the Demon Lord from Huandang Mountain.
With an arrogant look on his face, Senior Martial Brother said, “Our Venerable Master’s abilities were unrestricted by heaven or earth – nothing can hold him back, and Huandang mountain was miraculous. Legend has it that there was great fortune there. What imposing fortune? After the “Good Fortune Platform” was destroyed by unknown people, only a pile of slag remained. Master thought it was a reckless waste of heaven sent resources, so he brought his refining tools and finally refined this item.”
Having said this, Senior Martial Brother’s emotions changed from pride to anger. He said that he didn’t know how the thief Yuehua had gotten wind of the news. He had already been prejudiced against and held a grudge against their Venerable Master, and now he used this as an excuse to criticize their Venerable Master for acting against Heaven’s Will, and that he would make this right and execute Heaven’s justice. It was in this manner, he and our Venerable Master started fighting.
Senior Martial Brother shrugged his shoulders and said, “Later they fought one another to death, crying and laughing, and there were some resurrection play-acting scenes going on, and then they didn’t fight anymore. I don’t know what happened either. In short, the thief Yuehua s.n.a.t.c.hed the Evil Karma Mirror Platform from Master’s hand. However, this person’s conscience wasn’t entirely missing, and after sealing one of the two sides of the mirror, he returned it to our Venerable master.”
Lin Shu listened to his Senior Martial Brother blathering on about this mess of things, and couldn’t make head or tail of what was actually going on, and continued to ask, “What is the function of that mirror?”
Senior Martial Brother said, “Master said, everything in the world was tied to cause and effect. The Evil Karma Mirror Platform records the Karma of everything in the world. It has two sides, one can trace the cause (the past), and the other can peer into the effect (the future). It is a unique treasure..”
Lin Shu felt his chest starting to hurt a little.
He asked, “Is it accurate?”
Senior Martial Brother said, “I don’t know, anyway, Master said that it wasn’t, the thief Yuehua said it was. When I looked at it myself, I also felt that it should be more or less.”
Lin Shu left Qingming Cave with the feeling that his heart was hurting slightly.
But then he thought, although the mirror reflection of him had been stabbed, he didn’t die, and his gaze was very gentle, so he probably wouldn’t die..
Not dying was good.
Even if it was Xiao Shao who had stabbed him—— he could stab him however he pleased.
Everything went on as usual. The beautiful and alluring Big Miss also walked out from behind the screen and it was time to greet the head of the household.
When they were about to push the door open, something suddenly crashed onto the door.
Then the thing fell to the ground with a loud noise.
Ling Fengxiao opened the door and saw a blue exotic bird lying in front of the threshold with a bamboo tube tied to its leg.
The bamboo tube on the bird’s feet was generally used to deliver letters, and this one was no exception.
They took out a rice paper from the bamboo tube that was stuffed badly and extremely creased, and then unfolded it.
‘Dan Zhu, Yu Su’ was written on the top of the letter.
Lin Shu, ???
Dan Zhu and Yu Su. These were the pseudonyms that they had used whilst in Northern Xia.
He continued to read and saw two very large words.
‘Save me.’
Then there was a line of messy scribbled little words.
‘I’m dying.
Southern Xia would not survive either.
Within three days, there will be an opportunity.
Find me, I intend to kill the Great Wizard.’
Flipping the letter over to the back, there was drawn an extremely ugly map, evidently hastily painted with several locations marked.
According to Lin Shu’s understanding of Northern Xia, these locations were within the heart of the Great City of Northern Xia.
Ling Fengxiao was silent.
Lin Shu was also silent.
They flipped to the front of the letter again.
‘Signed, Xiao Xuan’.
The Crown Prince of Northern Xia?
In the beginning, they masqueraded as two beauties in order to infiltrate Northern Xia, fortunately, it had been this person who purchased them, allowing them to repay him in the manner of indebted beauties.
But how could Xiao Xuan find their location?
Could it be the Great Wizard baiting them?
To believe, or not to believe?