It’s not just monsters that lurk beneath the surface…
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Ch. 4.1 | Praying for rain
It was a colossal snake, no, it was slightly thicker than a snake. The two dark purple fins on either side of its head were currently undulating. On closer inspection, one could see countless dark red suckers all over its body, their puckering motions like that of lips.
Dandan felt goose pimples all over as he covered his nose with one hand and asked, ‘What is that?’
‘A tiger-crocodile: the body of a fish with the tail of a snake. And a fondness for human blood.’
Dandan waved disapprovingly. ‘I’ve seen enough.’ He really did… hate these kinds of slimy, slithery species!!
Styx helpfully reminded him, ‘You still have a day to prepare. Looking forward to your performance.’
Dandan: ‘…’ Looking forward, my foot!
When he got home, he tossed and turned in bed, mentally wrestling with the problem. No way no how, I have to pack and run away tonight! To hell with the beast colosseum, I ain’t courting death!!
Assuming he could get away, that is…
After a long time, he sat up dejectedly and leaned against the bedhead.
Ha, how to get away? Song Lin will make mincemeat of me within minutes.
Come to think of it, Ah Si once mentioned that a temple festival to pray for rain will be held before the Guardians’ Tournament… praying for rain is usually led by the High Priest. By my reckoning, it should be held tomorrow. If the High Priest does come, then I might be able to approach an old friend for help on how to clear this obstacle…
Early the next morning, Dandan hailed a random servant and asked her, ‘Hey, is the temple festival to pray for rain being held today?’
‘Yes, why?’
‘Nothing really, just feel like joining in the fun¹.’
‘Umm… Little Rabbit, Second Master already said that you can’t leave the manor unless you have his permission…’
Dandan: ‘…’
¹ 湊熱鬧 còu//rènao. If you’re not reading this chapter at hiding in plain sight, it has been stolen and reproduced by novelscraping sites.
Song Lin was presently reclining in a rattan chair, long legs crossed, one hand pillowing his head while the other hand held up a book. Not a single wrinkle could be seen on the meticulously ironed Western-style coat he had on and one of his shirt buttons was unfastened, revealing his Adam’s apple and a bit of his collarbone. Hearing a faint noise, he turned his head slightly to see a bunny-eared youth with a plaintive expression clinging to the door.
Seeing Dandan’s transformed appearance for the first time made Song Lin’s eyes widen slightly.
A spirit beast’s transformation always bore a degree of resemblance to its original form: if the original form looked nice, so too would its transformation. Over the years, he had seen many spirit beasts’ transformations but it had been obvious that they were magically transformed beasts, with no human-like quality or feeling to them. This Dandan was different though. He had the unripe air of a seventeen or eighteen-year-old and also all the youthful exuberance² of one which compelled any observer to take a second look.
Actually, that night when he had placed Dandan on his knee, he had wondered what his human transformation would look like and had pictured an exceptionally attractive, rather innocent yet lively boy. Seeing him now in the flesh, it was almost the same as what he had imagined. Especially that pair of topaz pink eyes, sparkling with light like magnificent gems.
² 朝氣蓬勃 zhāoqì-péngbó. Translation belongs to theresanother(DOT)wordpress(DOT)com.
Although Song Lin found him exceptionally attractive, he played it cool³. ‘Do they fit?’ he asked, pointing to Dandan’s dungarees.
‘Mm hm,’ Dandan turned this way and that before asking, ‘Are they nice?’
The dungarees were of excellent cut, almost hugging the youth’s perfectly round behind and straight legs. Song Lin’s eyes lingered there for a moment before he looked away and commented, ‘Passable.’
Not receiving any praise caused Dandan’s ears to flop slightly.
³ 不動聲色 bùdòng-shēngsè. Please consider reading from theresanother(DOT)wordpress(DOT)com rather than from novelscraping sites.
‘Styx took you to the beast colosseum?’
‘Yes… and you people are really too much… why didn’t you warn me beforehand that there was something so disgusting there?!’
‘Oh? Meaning that you want to give up? Since you’re giving up, then take yourself quietly off to Styx and ask him for a quick end.’
‘… Who says I’m giving up?’
‘Then why are you here?’
‘… I hear there’ll be a ceremony to pray for rain at the Sacrificial Altar. I want to join in the fun… may I?’
Song Lin chuckled. ‘How do I know you won’t take the chance to run away?’
‘Do you think I would get away? The whole of Ridge City is your Song clan’s territory. Even if I burrowed three feet underground, you’d still be able to find me!’
Song Lin leisurely switched to his other hand to pillow his head and remarked, ‘Strictly speaking, three feet might be a bit of a challenge. Two feet is definitely possible though.’
‘So… let me go out?’ Dandan looked at him with a pleading expression.
After a long interval, Song Lin beckoned to him with a finger and said, ‘Come here and help me pick out a tie.’
‘… Why?’
‘Letting you go alone is out of the question. If you really are keen on going, then I’ll take you there.’
Dandan ran over immediately and paced up and down before the cupboard before finally selecting a dark brown tie.
Song Lin: ‘Dark brown??’
‘You don’t like it? I think it’s quite nice and matches my dungarees,’ Dandan said matter-of-factly.
‘You picked this out for me because it matches your clothes?’
‘Since we’re going out together, our clothes should match well, shouldn’t they?’
Song Lin said nothing after hearing this and only gazed at him.
Dandan suddenly realised that there was something rather inappropriate about what he had said — what did he mean by ‘our clothes should match well’!
Now why did that sound so weird?
Matching… matching nonsense! I must be going soft in the head!
After a long pause, Song Lin finally said, ‘Help me put it on.’
‘Huh? … I don’t know how to.’
‘Oh? You never did such things for your former owner?’
‘Western garb wasn’t in vogue during his time. He always wore a comfy, loose-fitting gown…’ Dandan said in a reminiscent tone.
There was a meditative light in Song Lin’s eyes when he heard this but it soon vanished and he did not ask any more questions about the former owner. He merely handed the tie to a servant girl and asked her to help him wear it.
Dandan, watching from the side, discovered that when a man tipped his head back while wearing a tie, his Adam’s apple and neck were extremely sexy and he couldn’t help staring in awe.
‘What are you looking at?’
‘I’m looking… at how she’s tying it so that when you become my owner next time, I can at least do something for you.’
‘You seem confident that you’ll become my spirit beast?’
‘… That, that… depends on my luck…’ Dandan scratched his head and laughed hollowly.
‘Let’s go then,’ Song Lin adjusted his tie slightly before striding towards the room door.
‘Eh?… Okay!’ Dandan only stared for half a second before following eagerly.
Song Lin stopped after a few steps, looking Dandan up and down before saying, ‘Put on a hat to cover your ears. Don’t attract too much attention.’
‘… Okay…’
(Approx. 1203 words)
12’s notes:
1/3/2020: Edited paragraphs for clarity.
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Translated and edited by 12
hiding in plain sight 
Wasn’t there a flood dragon under Dandan’s old master? I guess this is a different thing. Dandan is afraid Song Lin is going to kill him, but still wants his praise lol. It’s their first date! I half suspect it will end up a disaster, though. Thanks for the translation!
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Different! 😆 Haha! Good point!
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