Ostentatious Zhao Yao

T/N: Happy Chinese New Year! It’s a little belated; this chapter was a bit of a nightmare to translate. I’m currently going through a bit of a busy period, so next update might be a little late as well, but it shouldn’t go beyond a month, hopefully.

As Mo Qing was about to turn the corner, he finally turned his head back slightly, glancing at me with an indifferent expression. I caught his gaze, and immediately ran forward. “Sect Leader, are you allowing me to leave with you?”

“No one that stays here is allowed to live.”

I grovelingly chased after him. He stood, unmoving, waiting for me to catch up. Seeing him display such an attitude, I understood that there would be no consequences for today

But…

He may have no more issues with it, but I have an issue – that is, to tattle on some people.

“Sect Leader, there is still one more thing I have to tell you about.” I said, “Even though I am now your direct disciple…”

“Who said that?” His footsteps came to a halt as he interrupted me, his expression chilly. Again he turned his head to fix his gaze on me.

I met his gaze straight-on. “The last time we met, I spoke to you about being your disciple ah.”

“Did I agree?”

“You didn’t disagree.”

“……”

He fell silent again, and so I simply took it for tacit agreement. I confidently returned to my earlier topic, “As I was saying, even though I am now your direct disciple…” I deliberately paused here, giving him a glance, and seeing that he no longer objected, I nodded my head in satisfaction, and continued, “But I am still someone who joined the Sect later, so I have the utmost respect for all my brothers and sisters in Xi Yue Peak…”

Zhi Yan was unable to catch up to me, but I could hear her make a “Pu!” sound, as if she had vomited up a mouthful of blood at my words.

(Translated by jillaimee at Silent Moon Translations)

I ignored her and continued saying, “Even when they were extremely strict towards me, I only treated it as if they were training me. But who would have thought that some of these brothers would begin to act dishonorably, even taking advantage of me; it was truly going overboard. I had planned to burn some paper offerings today, but after being chased by them, I lost all of my paper offerings, you see…”

Mo Qing’s footsteps did not falter, nor did he bother to turn his head back as he said, “No one asked you to respect them; in Wan Lu Sect, we speak with our strength.”

Meaning, he is not going to interfere.

I nodded. That is fine, the body now belongs to me anyway. In front of me, if you little demons on Xi Yue Peak even dare to smile, I can only respect you for being such stupid bastards!” (1)

I followed behind Mo Qing. Before we even left the valley, I could hear the sound of arguing coming from ahead. On one side of the argument was little Flat-nose’s voice, he said, “I must report this matter to Sect Leader first, before we can go inside and capture the intruder.”

The other side was the demonic cultivators’ voices, talking over each other vigorously. “There is no need to bother the Sect Leader, we might not be able to enter this divine valley, but you can enter ah. You can go in and bring that little ** from the celestial sect out then kill her directly. That way, neither of us would have to be troubled over this matter. If Sect Leader asks, just say that she was so determined to barge into the valley that you couldn’t stop her, and had to resort to killing her. Then everything would be settled.”

From their words, I understood that even though Zhi Yan had intruded upon the forbidden grounds for such a long time, they had yet to report it to the Sect Leader.

I raised my eyebrows, coming to a conclusion about the nature of this matter – it is basically the stereotypical behavior of bullying the ones below you and hoodwinking your superiors, and colluding with other people to plot and kill someone.

In my opinion, doing bad things is not a crime. For us people of the Demonic Path, things like murdering to practice our skills, stealing divine treasures, viciously killing and fighting within our own sect, being two-faced and betraying each other – all these are the inherent qualities we should possess, otherwise what was the point of being a demonic cultivator? If you want to scrupulously abide by the rules of those prestigious and righteous sects, then you might as well cultivate to be a celestial. Those who chose to cultivate the Demon Path – we are all basically looking to cultivate in a convenient and self-satisfying way.

Therefore, in view of this, my method of handling people and their affairs have always been very simple. Two principles.

One, it depends on my mood.

When someone does something wrong : if my mood is good, I don’t care; if my mood is bad, I’ll break his legs and throw him out of the Sect doors.

The other principle is: if the wrong he commits has brought harm to me, then regardless of my mood, I’ll beat him to death, whip his corpse, then drag him out publicly as an example to the rest.

Hence, regarding these demonic cultivators who brought up the suggestion of deceiving the Sect Leader, if this had occurred in the past, then before dawn, their corpses would have already been hung on the “Corpse-Hanging Pillars” in front of the Sect doors to feed the vultures.

What a pity that I am not the Sect Leader now. I turned my head to glance at the composed Mo Qing. I’ll wait to see what tactics he would use to discipline these people.

As we turned the corner, I could see that there was a large stone standing in front of the path, inscribed with the words “Forbidden Grounds”. In front of the large stone was a flat area of land, where the demonic cultivators and Little Flat-nose were arguing.

There were around seven or eight low-ranked demonic cultivators from Xi Yue Peak, with a mix of females and males. The one arguing the most passionately with Little Flat-nose was the one acting as the leader of the group – a short-furred(2) male demonic cultivator. They did not detect our approach.

It was the Little Flat-nose facing our direction who abruptly snapped his mouth shut. This prompted a few of the other demonic cultivators to turn their heads to glance at us, but the implications had yet to sink in, when Little Flat-nose called out, “Sect Leader”. Immediately every one’s faces was like a face-changing opera performance(3), turning pasty white in the blink of an eye. When they saw me standing beside Mo Qing, still alive and well, some of them were so petrified even their necks turned white.

En, looking at this scene, it seems that Mo Qing’s ability in establishing his dominance in the Sect was still pretty good.

“The Forbidden Grounds were intruded upon, yet why had no one stopped the intruder? Why had no one reported this?” Mo Qing asked, even though he already knew the answer.

The demonic cultivators fell to their knees immediately, not even daring to raise their heads.

(Translated by jillaimee at Silent Moon Translations)

Little Flat-nose awkwardly looked at me, then at Mo Qing, and said, “Sect Leader……I really…didn’t know if I should kill….” His face displayed clearly his embarrassment; this matter was obviously past the limits of his brainpower.

If I think about this matter from his perspective, I could actually somewhat empathise with him. But he was seriously a little too stupid, and I couldn’t help but add, “The question was why you didn’t stop me and report it, not why you didn’t kill me.” I turned my head to glance at Mo Qing, an adorable smile on my face. “That was what you meant, right? Master.”

My words made the expressions of the demonic disciples on the floor turn even more exciting; their faces circled through a variety of colours, like a lantern with a rotating carousel of paper horses(4). Little Flat-nose clenched his fists, an expression of “I’ve finally understood” all over his face. (5)

Mo Qing shot a glance at me, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.

He walked in front of the demonic disciples, speaking slowly and lightly in an indifferent tone, “It has been a long time since I’ve paid attention to the matter of taking in new disciples. I was not aware that the disciples taken into my Wan Lu Sect could be so audacious – internal strife aside, they are also capable of inciting others, concealing the truth from their superiors, and acting impudently around the Forbidden Grounds.” As he paused, the surrounding pressure abruptly became heavier; even I, standing at the back, could feel my chest tighten.

For those demonic disciples kneeling on the floor, those with slightly weaker internal strength coughed out a mouthful of blood.

“Who gave you such guts?”(6)

When he asked them as such, all of the kneeling disciples shouted in trembling voices, “Sect Leader have mercy, Sect Leader have mercy.”

Yet despite their pleads for mercy, the enormous crushing pressure did not let up.

I thought to myself inwardly that Mo Qing was going to start a massacre tonight. Come to think of it, his way of handling such matters is similar to mine in the past. After this, these disciples would meet their ends by the Corpse Whipping Stage and Corpse Hanging Pillar.

Hmmph. My heart filled with condescension. How unoriginal.

I had been looking forward to showing off my skills – I haven’t had the chance to sort someone out in ages and I’m itching to do it – yet in the end everything was settled by Mo Qing in such an old-fashioned way. This time, when I return to Xi Yue Peak, there would no longer be the need for me to assert my dominance; once the story of what happened today spreads by gossip, it would be enough to terrify the rest of the demonic cultivators to death.

After all, Mo Qing allowed me to live despite my intrusion into the Forbidden Grounds, he quietly accepted my address of “Master”, and then he goes on to kill the demonic cultivators who offended “me”. Regardless of the actual cause-and-effect and specific details of this matter, it was enough to trick the eyes of the outsiders.

Yet it was at this moment, as the leader Short-Fur vomited up a mouthful of blood and his entire body slumped weakly to the ground, Mo Qing’s power slowly dissipated.

Huh?

I was a little taken aback – this guy is not dead yet, right? You are not going to continue pressuring him?

I turned my head to glance at Mo Qing; his eyes were cold and unapproachable as he looked at these demonic cultivators, who seemed at though they had taken a walk around Death’s door. Their tragic state today, is even worse off than that of a second-rate dog(7).

He ordered, “You are exiled to Shun An Town to farm, for ten years you’re not allowed to return.”

What?

Wait, wait….

Did I hear wrongly?

Where is the Corpse Whipping Stage? The Corpse Hanging Pillar? Are we not letting the vultures Tu Tu Tu peck them all, and just chasing them off the mountain like this? And ten years? They’re still allowed to come back? What kind of torture method is this, this farming? How is it that I’ve never heard of such a thing!

I stared at the demonic cultivators with a face full of astonishment, as they received their orders and helped each other off the floor, before limping away.

Everyone actually left with all their limbs intact!

Mo Qing, ah, Mo Qing, you really are an ugly monster that I can’t understand!

In the past, when I killed, it was always unexpected and caught people off guard. Now, this method of disciplining the subordinates is also indeed unexpected, catching people off guard.

I furrowed my brows, watching him with a measuring gaze. Once he had settled the matter of those demonic cultivators, he did not waste any more time, only turning his head briefly to instruct, “In the future if she enters your dreams again, report to me.” Following that, his figure disappeared into the dark night.

I stood in the darkness of the evening for a while, and Little Flat-nose came forward. “Miss.” He was very courteous this time. “I’ll call for a palanquin to send you back?” He was practically half-bowing as he spoke.

I turned my head to glance at him. “Little Flat-nose. Let me ask you.” I furrowed my brows, my expression stern. “This farming, what does it mean, explain it to me.”

Little Flat-nose, hearing the way I addressed him, silently pinched his nose a few times, and said, “It means to go to the farmland at the foot of the mountain to work the land ah.”

This perplexed me even more completely. Putting aside the whole matter of using “farming” as a form of punishment, the main issue was…..

“Where is there even a place at the foot of the mountain to farm?”

When I had been the Sect Leader, in order to display how especially formidable our Wan Lu Sect was, I had drawn up numerous dangerous barriers at the main entrance of Chen Li Shan.

Spear array, Arrow array, Demonic Burning Flame Array, Ruthless Frozen Tundra Array; any intruders would be doomed to death, or be condemned to a fate worse than death. All of the land within 30 li of the entrance of the mountain, without the permission of my Wan Lu Sect, even a fly could only dream of getting in. In the eyes of the righteous sects, my Chen Li Shan entrance was essentially the perfect embodiment of hell on earth!

Yet now someone is actually telling me…to send them to the foot of the mountain to..…to farm?

Ah, I understand now, so Mo Qing actually has such a preference. To give them a completely impossible task and force them to farm within a killing array, hence torturing them ah, right….

“En, there wasn’t such a place originally.” Little Flat-nose earnestly explained to me. “After the Sect Leader took over Wan Lu Sect, he erased the previous arrays, returned the land to the people, and allowed them to farm and grow crops there.”

I almost spat out a mouthful of blood all over Little Flat-nose’s face. “What did you say? What did he erase?”

Little Flat-nose leaned closer to my ear and softly said, “The arrays of the previous Sect Leader. Sect Leader erased all of those. In the first year, the land was still infertile and there weren’t much of a harvest, but in the recent two years the harvest has been very bountiful, anything that we plant would reap a good harvest. Right now it is spring, the land in front of Chen Li Shan’s entrance is full of life. Yi, Miss, when you came before, didn’t you see it?”

I…….

If I had seen it, I would probably have been enraged to the point of gouging my own eyeballs out, blinding myself on the spot……

Glossary:

(1): 二狗子: literally translates to “number two dog”. It can be interpreted in many different ways, depending on context and region. I chose to translate it into “stupid bastard” because 二 (two) is commonly used to call someone stupid, and 狗 (dog) often has a negative connotation/meaning of bastard.

(2): 短毛: literally translates to “short fur”. Zhao Yao is low-key referring to him as an animal.

Screen Shot 2018-02-19 at 8.48.38 PM.png(3): 唱戏变脸: face-changing opera show. In Sichuan opera, the performer can change their facial make-up in the snap of a finger, right on stage – this is known as the famous face changing skill.

Screen Shot 2018-02-19 at 8.52.54 PM.png

(4): 走马灯: A lantern with a carousel of paper horses, rotating under convection, used at the Lantern Festival, which is celebrated on the 15th day of the first lunar month.

Screen Shot 2018-02-19 at 8.46.12 PM.png

(5): Little Flat-nose’s expression: He finally understands. Finally.

(6): 谁给你们的狗胆？: Translates to “who gave you such guts?” but it is meant rhetorically. It is basically saying “How dare you!”

(7): 二狗子: again as (1). This time translated into “second-rate dog” because it fit the context better. If anyone who has a better grasp of Chinese internet slang could clarify the exact definition of this phrase, I would be grateful.

T/N: And Mo Qing descends even deeper into Zhao Yao’s bad side…

Goodbye killing arrays. Now we have a nice little farmland sitting at the entrance to Wan Lu Sect lol.