Chapter 20
TN: Unedited. But at least this is ❤ chapter. ^_^
He immediately turned around: “Shizun, are there any other orders?”
Shen Qingqiu said: “The rooms are over there. Why are you walking in the opposite direction?”
Whether it’s the disciples’ dormitory or the woodshed, the exit is to the left. However, Luo Binghe went straight to the right.
Luo Binghe said: “This disciple wants to go to the kitchens and prepare for Shizun’s breakfast tomorrow.”
Shen Qingqiu felt a bit difficult.
He really wanted to eat the breakfast that Luo Binghe made, but letting a child stay up through most of the night without sleeping to make food for him was like Cinderella with her stepmother…… however it was put, it wasn’t humane.
In the end, conscience prevailed over appetite. He coughed once: “Nonsense. What do you mean by making a meal in the middle of the night? Go back and sleep.” [1]
Luo Binghe knew that he was worried that he wouldn’t rest well. He smiled, but didn’t plan to sleep. He was prepared to turn back and secretly go to the kitchens to ponder.
Shen Qingqiu originally wanted to ask him whether he was still sleeping in the woodshed. Young people have some pride and self-respect, so asking directly wouldn’t sound good. On the other hand, even if Luo Binghe was allowed to sleep in the disciples’ dormitory, he would only be excluded by the others under Ming Fan’s command. He felt he was strangely pitiful.
Shen Qingqiu thought for a moment, then said: “Tomorrow, gather your things and come over here.”
Luo Binghe didn’t understand what he meant: “? Shizun?”
Shen Qingqiu said: “Outside my bamboo house is a room to the side. Starting from tomorrow, move over there to live.”
If he lived a bit closer, making breakfast for him and cleaning the rooms would be more convenient…… Shen Qingqiu felt that his own self-adjustment ability broke through the skies a bit. Earlier he faced Luo Binghe with serious trauma, but now he even dared to secretly rub his hands and plot to let the protagonist readily carry tea and serve water for him. Is it really fine like this?!
His imagination went wild in these flights of fancy and he didn’t notice the other person’s reaction. Suddenly, Luo Binghe leapt over and firmly hugged him.
Caught off guard, Shen Qingqiu was first shocked, then his old face turned red.
In the years left to him, he was finally given a bear hug and the result wasn’t a warm and fragrant jade-like sister but a young teenager with an overbearing aura, ahhh —
Luo Binghe was ecstatic, his arms wrapped around his neck and refused to let go, continuously calling by his ear: “Shifu! Shifu!”
Shen Qingqiu held up his hand and didn’t where to put it. Tangled for a while, he laid it on Luo Binghe’s head and rubbed his hair: “All right. Aren’t you embarrassed, you’ve already become so big and aren’t a ten-year-old child anymore, what kind of appearance is this?” [2]
Originally, Luo Binghe wasn’t very aware. But after he said things like this, he was suddenly embarrassed. If he hadn’t been so happy and excited, how would he dare to be like this to the usually high and unattainable Shizun? Quickly but reluctantly, he peeled himself off from Shen Qingqiu’s body, his face completely red: “Yes, this disciple went beyond himself.”
Towards the matter of seeking to be hugged, a child under ten years old doing this kind of thing would be considered adorable. For the fifteen-year-old Luo Binghe to do this…… it was still adorable!
A small handsome boy with a face as tender as a still-growing stalk of young green onion, he would be adorable no matter what he did!
Luo Binghe was nervous and flustered for a while but suddenly realized that the color of Shen Qingqiu’s face wasn’t very good.
Even for an immortal body, having old injuries and strong poison present, followed by his involvement in the Dream Demon’s dream because of him, not resting well, and holding on despite being unable to, it was natural for Shen Qingqiu’s appearance to be somewhat wan and pallid. Luo Binghe didn’t dare to tarry Shen Qingqiu’s rest any longer and withdrew. He still didn’t return to the woodshed and specially went around to the kitchens.
He made up his mind: For a long time, he must pay great attention to Shizun’s recovery through nutritional meals!
Luo Binghe had just stepped out from the room when the system sounded a notice.
【Protagonist’s Coolness level +50! 】
Shen Qingqiu was baffled.
How come another 50 was added? Is the system delayed? Or did the system suddenly discover mercy and feel that it gave me too little earlier?
Forget it, he was too sleepy and deprived of strength to consider the reason why points were added. Anyway, it’s impossible that getting a hug caused this old man to be given more points, hahahahahaha……
The next day, Shen Qingqiu hadn’t fully slept until he woke up naturally when he was woken up by the light and delicious smell of fish and rice intermingling. Outside the bamboo house, Luo Binghe had already prepared the food. That fragrance wafted endlessly and drifted over to the Qing Jing Peak disciples who had only eaten plain meals, spying on the other side.
Ming Fan and the others were so angry that they were spying while biting the hems of their robes, especially when they saw Shen Qingqiu sitting to the left and lovingly praising Luo Binghe’s heartfelt handiwork, both of them smiling and their relations joyous and harmonious. Their aggrieved feelings reached the highest point.
Too shameless! So it was through these strange, despicable, and heretically clever schemes that he attracted Shizun’shappiness!
And after waiting till dusk, they saw Luo Binghe move to the shed outside Shen Qingqiu’s bamboo house. It struck like lightning from clear skies, striking the Qing Jing Peak disciples who’d grown used to bullying Luo Binghe into a field of corpses.
It was called “moving,” but only Luo Binghe the person actually moved over. Because he had nothing much to begin with.
Pillow? Bundling up the straw in the woodshed made for a pillow. Blanket? The outer robe he took off was enough to cover him…… and these things, Shen Qingqiu would naturally prepare for him.
Shen Qingqiu always felt that Luo Binghe’s life was filled with too much suffering, all of it a history of child abuse. Cang Qiong Mountain, whether good or bad, was also a large cultivation sect and wouldn’t be so blackhearted or lacking in resources to that degree.
That night was the first time in Luo Binghe’s life lying on a regular bed.
In the past, he had slept in a wood basin floating in the icy river, slept on the damp and cold ground, the loud and noisy streets, and even lain down in a mountain cave in a move of eating the wind and sleeping in the dew. [3] Right now, lying down in a soft and neat and large bed, his body felt buoyant all over and it felt unreal.
Especially when he thought of Shen Qingqiu sleeping just beyond a single wall.
The entire night, it could be that he thought too much. The Dream Demon did not appear in his dream.
Luo Binghe’s expression didn’t change. He patiently sat and waited. After a few days passed, the Dream Demon appeared again.
This time, the Dream Demon didn’t bother with whatever mysterious dream enchantment or concealment. He directly appeared in Luo Binghe’s dream……although he was in the form of a mass of black mist.
In front of Luo Binghe’s eyes, this mass of black mist gathered together, changing, and that old man’s voice came from inside: “Brat, how did you decide after these three days?”
Luo Binghe asked back: “How I’ve decided, can Elder Dream Demon not know?”
The Dream Demon laughed hei hei: “You’ve decided on something you definitely won’t regret. Brat, remember this day well. Today is the beginning of your meteoric rise!”
That young teenager didn’t have the dream of a meteoric rise. No matter how happily he said it, Luo Binghe wasn’t moved and only cupped his fist ceremonially and said: “This younger generation has one more request.”
“What else is there, it’s all been discussed! Quickly finish talking so you can pledge me as master.” The Dream Demon was still urging, but didn’t know that what he imagined was too beautiful……
Luo Binghe said: “What this younger generation requests is indeed regarding the matter of a master. Shizun’s grace to me is heavy as a mountain. I truly cannot disrespect his discipline and acknowledge someone else as a master……”
He hadn’t finished when the Dream Demon immediately spoke, driven beyond the limits of endurance: “Fine, fine, fine! This old man doesn’t want the disciple’s title, will that do?!”
Was there a high and mighty expert who had made more of a loss than him? Going forward to teach someone his own techniques and even letting that person not even call him shifu once. It was just as tragic as not being able to get the daughter-in-law who’d crossed the family threshold! [4]
Luo Binghe was satisfied: “Then many thanks to this Elder.”
He wasn’t in the least willing to call anyone other than Shen Qingqiu his shifu.
The Dream Demon saw his appearance: if he still had his body, he would have been so furious his nose turned crooked.
This Luo Binghe; in front of his Shizun, he was well-behaved and obedient, even more like a small white flower. How come in front of other people, he became so difficult to deal with! Completely two different impressions, just like becoming a different person!
Really going to anger this old man to death!
Time flew like an arrow, the sun and moon shuttling back and forth.
……Shen Qingqiu truly didn’t want to use such a terrible and widely known common saying, but other than these words, he really couldn’t find a more suitable phrase.
Every day at Qing Jing Peak, he played the qin, read books, wrote calligraphy, painted paintings, practiced martial arts, was picky about Luo Binghe not making a meal delicious enough, and even more occasionally bickered with Liu Qingge. Whether he went to Yue Qingyuan’s place to report for work, the days flew by and were very much in line with his life goal to ‘while away life and wait for death.’
Until the time came for the Immortal Alliance Conference.
This day finally came. His days were too leisurely to the point that Shen Qingqiu almost forgot this first great climax in the novel.
Left hanging as Luo Binghe climbed to the apex of life, married (countless) white beauties, also the first step towards the unremovable blackening…… he was actually able to forget it!
Therefore, upon receiving the bronze invitation, Shen Qingqiu was startled for a good while.
The Immortal Alliance Conference was the first climax and resolution in “Proud Immortal Demon Way.” At the same time, it was also a turning point in the book.
For four years, the Immortal Alliance Conference was a rookie selection offering great opportunities for fame and fortune. The form differed every year according to the major sect heads’ discussions, but there would definitely be a gold list.
Regardless of originating from which sect or from the Jianghu [5], as long as you performed well in the Conference, your name would be on the gold list and made famous throughout the world.
Previously, “Proud Immortal Demon Way” didn’t have a warm or hot reception. But with the Immortal Alliance Conference installment, the book’s reviews and subscriptions increased greatly, immediately soaring!
The reason for the rise didn’t just start from here. Great God Airplane Towards the Sky abandoned what original moral integrity he had left and sent up like a surging tide to readers a steel-wrought protagonist and sisters as graceful as water, great segments of presentable writing and all kinds of descriptions that let your face turn red in excitement, and also one important reason. It was also the important reason why Shen Qingqiu stuck through reading to the end.
That was the confusing setting!
Great God Airplane Towards the Sky, as a person who hadn’t even researched how to set up a cultivation world properly and who frequently couldn’t even get the Qi Refining or Nascent Soul periods straight, truly didn’t get a tsukkomi from most people for this because that wasn’t his novel’s selling point.
“Proud Immortal Demon Way” was a book that could be called a ‘cultivation’ novel, but would be better called a ‘supernatural’ novel. Most of the supernatural contents completely steamrolled over the ‘cultivation’ parts. As a cultivation text, it is a model novel to the letter, but it was also quite interesting as a supernatural novel.
That is to say, very soon, Shen Qingqiu would have to face all the different kinds of extremely fierce and cruel supernatural creatures described in the book.
More importantly, very soon, it would be time for him to personally handle the Luo Binghe who revealed his demonic heritage and cruelly strike him down into the Endless Abyss.
The wheel of fate (plot) had already started to slowly turn……
—End Chapter 20—
[1] Making a meal in the middle of the night…: I translated san geng (三更) as ‘middle of the night,’ but it’s an old phrasing for referring to the time between 11:00 PM and 1:00 AM. Before the invention of electric lights, people generally went to sleep at sundown and rose at sunrise… meaning 5:00-6:00 AM. Luo Binghe wouldn’t be getting much sleep (if he even got any) by staying up to prepare food.
[2] “All right. Aren’t you embarrassed…”: I can’t translate all the Chinese implications well to English, but Shen Qingqiu’s tone is actually very warm to Luo Binghe despite the meaning. It’s the sort of thing you’d expect your parents to say to you when they’re scolding you but being very fluffy about it. It’s like: ‘Look at you, you’re so big already but you’re still clinging onto me like this, how do you think this looks?’
[3] Eating the wind and sleeping in the dew: A saying meaning to ‘endure the hardships of an arduous journey.’ Or basically someone who just went through a lot of suffering.
[4] Daughter-in-law who’d entered the family gate…: Not sure if I translated this quite right. Original sentence is: 簡直和進了門還得不到名分的小媳婦一樣慘！
[5] Jianghu: Literally ‘rivers and lakes,’ but refers to the martial arts world. Note that there is a difference between the cultivation world (with immortals and such) and the martial arts world. Cultivators are considered an entire cut above regular martial artists and often look down on regular Jianghu people.