Dandan discovers that he’s not the only one trying to put his best paw forward…
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Ch. 2.1 | Sleeping with him
Ah Si stood fretting. Darn it, what on earth made me mistake it for a Supreme? Going by the scorn in Second Master’s eyes… I guess I’m going to get the boot…
Dandan winked at him as if to implore: Quick, kiddo, introduce me…
Unable to resist that ardent gaze, Ah Si braced himself¹ and explained, ‘This… uh… this is uh, a spirit beast that we caught on Dragon Ridge. We’re not too sure yet what type it is but its calibre is… Bronze…’ The last word was said with a very guilty feeling.
Styx laughed sarcastically and observed, ‘And you dared to bring it back without even knowing what kind of beast it is.’
Ah Si shivered and didn’t dare speak again. Dandan cast a look over at the fellow with long grey hair and waxen complexion. It didn’t look like the colour a living, breathing person would have and coupled with his glassy eyes and cloudy pupils, calling him Ol’ Fish Eyes seemed fitting.
¹ 硬著頭皮 yìngzhe tóupí. If you’re not reading this chapter at hiding in plain sight, it has been stolen and reproduced by novelscraping sites.
Song Lin spoke just then. ‘As I recall… historically, there have been very few mentions of spirit beasts which take the original form of a rabbit.’
Ah Si responded hastily, ‘That’s right, Second Master. To date, there are only two kinds that are known.’
Song Lin indicated that he was to continue.
‘One type is known as the qiú yú which has a rabbit’s body and a bird’s beak. The ancient books mention that its appearance portends a plague of locusts. The other type is known as the jade rabbit which is exceedingly rare and has never been captured by any beast trapper. The only one that we know of is the spirit beast that had a pact with the previous Arch-Guardian, Yu Huan. After Yu Huan’s death however, this one and only jade rabbit of his vanished completely.’
At this point, all three looked over at Dandan in silence.
Dandan: Eeek, now I feel shy…
Styx spoke, ‘I feel that this rabbit is more likely to be a qiú yú.’
‘Why so?’
‘The jade rabbit which the previous Arch-Guardian, Yu Huan, took in was rated a Supreme and was said to be capable of exterminating an entire tribe by itself. It should have been a very powerful beast whereas this one…’
Holding Dandan by his ears, Song Lin spun him sideways left and right before concluding, ‘… is too weak.’ After which, he unapologetically put the latter back down on the ground.
Dandan: ‘…!’
’scuse me?! Believe me, my bite can kill you!’ … … No, this won’t do. If Second Master doesn’t take a shine to me, I’m going to end up at the Exchange…
The itinerant Guardians at the Exchange were a mixed lot² with most being incorrigible louts who enjoyed brutalising spirit beasts. Besides, the House of Song was the leading family among the Five Great Houses and being with this Second Master Song beat being sold to an itinerant Guardian any time.
He thought fast: generally speaking, these lofty³ Young Master types who are idolised by the masses tend to fall for the delicate and charming damsel in distress routine. I’m no damsel but — I sure can do distressed ~
Dandan raised his head and fixed Song Lin with a pair of soft eyes brimming with tenderness — Look at me, Second Master! Look at my big eyes sparkling with sincerity; look at my soft, fluffy ears; feel my earnest desire to seek refuge with you with every beat of my madly thrumming heart!
Styx: … The deuce, this rabbit… definitely has a problem!
Ah Si: … Calm down, Brother…
Song Lin: … What… is this dead loss? He then turned round and left without a backward glance. The door closed and the storehouse was plunged into darkness again.
³ 高高在上 gāogāo-zàishàng: hold oneself aloft. Translation belongs to theresanother(DOT)wordpress(DOT)com.
W-w… wait a minute, hey… Why didn’t you fall for that routine? Dandan lay on the ground, deep resentment written all over his face.
Ah Si loosed his hold on Dandan and suggested, ‘You had best give up. It would actually be more fishy if Second Master had really taken a liking to you.’
Dandan said listlessly, ‘The knot you tied feels too tight all of a sudden. Help me loosen it, quick.’
Ah Si squatted down and untied the rope. ‘That’s all I can do for you. I have to go now — I’m going beast trapping with Uncle later this afternoon. Don’t take it too hard. There are many powerful itinerant Guardians at the Exchange and you never know, you might just meet a good owner.’
Dandan thought, That’s no comfort to me at all…!
He lay there until the next night when the moonlight shone in through the casement window, leaving a square of light on the floor.
Dandan had always found his own name sadly lacking. The two beasts of the same calibre as him — an ugly flood dragon called Phantom and an idiotic taotie called Scythe — had fairly impressive names. Their former owner had never been much of a scholar but had appeared to be more conscientious when naming those two. For some reason however, he had gone with a meaningless repetition of a syllable for Dandan.
Dandan.
It conjured up associations of a solitary shadow⁴, feebleness and disaster, much like his present predicament.
⁴ 形單影隻 xíngdān-yǐngzhī: a solitary form, a single shadow. Please consider reading from theresanother(DOT)wordpress(DOT)com rather than from novelscraping sites.
At this point, he heard the sound of a woman sobbing her heart out coming from somewhere.
What was that? Was the Song Manor haunted? After a whole day’s rest, Dandan was much recovered so with one bound, he leapt up to the casement sill two metres above and peered down into the courtyard where he saw a little sister in red sitting in a pavilion.
With one leap Dandan landed beside the little sister, asking, ‘What’s the matter?’
The little sister turned her head abruptly upon hearing this, a scarlet forked tongue issuing from her mouth.
Startled, Dandan froze and then discovered that there was a green snake’s tail wriggling under the fluttering red dress.
Red and green, huh…
Really a colour combination that defied description…
Seeing that it was just a small white rabbit, the little sister patted her heart and remarked, ‘What a fright you gave me.’
Dandan: Heck, more like you scared me instead!
Evidently, this Sister Snake’s spiritual power wasn’t enough to enable a full transformation since she couldn’t manage a pair of legs. She looked Dandan up and down before asking, ‘You’re the new spirit beast Second Master took in?’
Dandan nodded. ‘Yup.’
Sister Snake frowned slightly. ‘Second Master’s taste is getting weirder by the day.’
Dandan was not about to take that lying down. ‘Second Master likes white fluffy things. Your colour coordination is so vulgar, not even I can stand it.’
‘I don’t know why but I don’t care for what you just said!’ complained Sister Snake, her forked tongue flicking out in agitation.
This caused Dandan to say hastily, ‘There now, talk properly and don’t go sticking out your tongue.’
‘Everyone here is weird: Second Master is weird and so are the spirit beasts he chooses.’
‘What’s weird about Second Master?’ Dandan moved closer to ask.
‘A beautiful snake like me throws myself into his arms late at night but he kicks me out instead.’
Dandan sighed. Head of a woman but the body of a snake. I would send you packing too.
‘So why were you throwing yourself at him at this late hour, Little Sister?’
‘It’s not just me. Every living thing in this manor wants to get into bed with Second Master — ten fingers aren’t enough to count them.’
‘Get into bed with him and do what?’
(Approx. 1258 words)
12’s notes:
² 良莠不齊 liángyǒu-bùqí: There are weeds among seedlings — The good and the bad are intermingled.
1/3/2020: Edited paragraphs for clarity.
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Translated and edited by 12
hiding in plain sight 
Who hears someone crying and automatically assumes it’s a ghost??? Also, Sister Snake literally has no legs to stand on when it comes to talking about other people’s taste. I guess Song Lin must be very powerful and handsome to be so popular. Thanks for the translation!
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