A warm welcome to new readers! Thanks for reading from here and your likes ☺️. Hope you enjoy browsing here!
Dandan calls on an old friend…
© 12 and
theresanother.wordpress.com 2017 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of the translation without express and written permission from 12 is strictly prohibited.
Ch. 4.2
On the way there, Styx sat in the front passenger’s seat. From the rear-view mirror, he could see Second Master who had his eyes closed in rest and the bunny-eared youth, who was plastered to the window, glancing this way and that. It was enough to give him a major headache. He didn’t know what was wrong with Second Master. It was bad enough that he hadn’t yet had this dubious gigolo killed but to actually take him along to the Sacrificial Altar as well?
It’s my fault for not being being able to persuade him. If this news ever reaches Eldest Master’s ears, he’ll probably rush over immediately to kill this rabbit… and me in the bargain… Styx silently rubbed his temples, an expression of abject depression on his face.
There was a sea of people¹ just outside the entrance of the Sacrificial Altar and the interior could hardly be seen. When Song Lin’s car arrived at the entrance however, its unique bonnet mascot caused the citizens of Ridge City to give way to him automatically.
After they got out of the car, they were immediately ushered to the front row of the visitors’ stand. Dandan took a quick glance and saw many people he didn’t know seated in the front row. When they saw Song Lin, they stood up immediately to let him have the central seat.
These were most likely the crème de la crème of Ridge City’s society. They could not hide their surprise at seeing Dandan and began speculating uncharitably about his status: Really, what other status can a slender, delicately pretty youth have besides you-know-what. Didn’t expect that Second Master Song’s tastes would actually run to this type.
Their collective gaze took on a rather unsavoury insinuation.
Unnerved by their stares, Dandan quietly informed Song Lin, ‘I need to use the loo.’
Song Lin remarked, ‘You always use peeing as an excuse every time you’re up to no good.’
‘…’ Dandan had no comeback for the moment.
Surprisingly though, Song Lin made no further fuss and merely dismissed him with a wave.
Dandan blinked in surprise for a second before thanking him with a smile, then turning round and running off.
Song Lin shot Styx a glance who nodded and left the viewing stand without a word.
¹ 人山人海 rénshān-rénhǎi. If you’re not reading this chapter at hiding in plain sight, it has been stolen and reproduced by novelscraping sites.
Dandan warily made his way² to the altar’s backstage where he saw a booth screened off by a red curtain. From inside came the sound of bell-like jingling instruments; very likely that was the High Priest getting ready. Outside the booth sat two little disciples dressed in Daoist priests’ robes, hugging incense burners and fast asleep.
Dandan woke one of them up. ‘Hey, brat.’
The disciple looked at him blearily. ‘Who are you?’
‘Where’s Bi An?’
The disciple was terrified the moment he heard this name and pointed at him, ‘You, you, you… how can you…’
While looking at the disciple stammer and stutter, Dandan surmised that he had to know who Bi An was. Bi An was a disciple of the High Priest and Dandan’s old friend of some ten years’ standing. Going by seniority, he ought to be this little fellow’s senior brother.
‘Oi, speak up. I’ve come to see your senior brother on some urgent business.’
But that little disciple only continued to shiver and remain dumb.
² 躡手躡腳 nièshǒu-nièjiǎo: IDIOM walk gingerly. Translation belongs to theresanother(DOT)wordpress(DOT)com.
At this point, the red curtain twitched and was pulled open by a fair, slender hand. They both looked at the owner of the hand and were greeted by the sight of the High Priest standing there, wearing a black shaman’s robe and a red demon mask.
The little disciple rushed over. ‘Cheecher!! He doesn’t respect you, Cheecher! He even said Cheecher’s name!!’
Dandan stared in amazement.
Before he could even react, he saw the High Priest remove his red demon mask to reveal a young and handsome face which smiled dazzlingly at him, ‘It’s been a while, brat!’
It was now Dandan’s turn to be speechless. He pointed at Bi An for some time before stammering, ‘… You… got promoted?’
Bi An: ‘…’
Five minutes later, Dandan was sitting on the sofa reserved for the High Priest alone, legs crossed with one foot poised in the air, and crunching on an apple as he gave a summary, ‘So, your teacher is ill hence you’re filling in for him?’
Bi An nodded.
‘And you even took in two disciples?’
Bi An nodded again.
‘Why haven’t I heard any rumours about the High Priest stepping down?’
‘In recent years, the rogues eyeing our temple’s collection of treasures have been too many to count. But none of them have dared to act rashly because of Teacher’s high repute so when he fell ill this time round, we kept it under wraps.’
‘I say… what will happen if it’s discovered that you’re standing in for the High Priest to pray for rain?’
‘That won’t happen since I’m wearing a red demon mask.’
‘Those half-baked skills of yours are a far cry from the High Priest’s. Can you really get away with it?’
‘You don’t have to worry about that. I’m no longer that incompetent good-for-nothing of before.’ Bi An smiled and poured out a cup of tea for him. ‘What brings you here?’
‘I came specially to look for you.’
‘Oh, I’m surprised that you still think of a centenarian like me.’ Coming from that youthful face Bi An had, such a statement did leave one’s hair rather standing on end³. Actually, Bi An was considered young for a shaman. His teacher was really the one who could be considered a centuries-old zombie.
Among humans, there were two types of Daoist practitioners cultivating two different skill sets. One type was the shaman, the other a Guardian. The latter cultivated spiritual power and relied on it to prolong their lifespans: they could live twice as long as the average human. Shamans practised sorcery which could prolong their lifespans five to six times that of the average human. When Dandan had first met Bi An, the latter had had the appearance of a youth which had not changed one bit after so many years.
³ 毛骨悚然 máogǔ-sǒngrán. Please consider reading from theresanother(DOT)wordpress(DOT)com rather than from novelscraping sites.
‘Brother, do you know anything about the tiger-crocodile?’ Dandan asked, legs still crossed in the same position.
Bi An gave a little shudder upon hearing that and asked, ‘Why bring up that evil spirit out of the blue? Isn’t it locked up in the beast colosseum, magically sealed away by the Song clan?’
‘Hurry up and tell me what kind of evil spirit it is.’
‘It’s an ancient evil creature which has the body of a snake but possesses fins, lives in rotting water and loves the smell of blood. It has the ability to take over a human soul and if you allow your mind to fall under its control, you’ll be trapped forever in memories of the past and never wake up, after which it’ll suck you dry and crunch your bones.’
Dandan frowned and muttered, ‘Birds and beasts⁴ would be okay but why does it have to be a snake of all things… there’s nothing I hate more than slimy things.’
‘Why are you asking about this evil spirit all of a sudden?’
‘… Due to some lucky coincidence and a strange twist of fate, I ended up at the Song Manor and Second Master is forcing me to fight the tiger-crocodile in the beast colosseum…’
‘Do you get any reward if you win?’
‘Yeah, he said that if I make it out of the colosseum alive, he’ll make a pact with me.’
‘Your taste in Guardians is positively singular. If it’s not the Arch-Guardian, then it’s a candidate for the position and no less than Second Master Song from the leading family among the Five Great Houses. What, an ordinary person isn’t good enough for you?’
‘…’ Dandan took a bite of his apple but said nothing.
‘Why? Did I hit a nerve?’
‘No.’
‘Truth be told, I’m really happy to hear that you’re planning to look for a new owner. That proves at least that you’ve put it behind you.’
Dandan still said nothing.
Bi An was silent for a while before he suddenly asked softly, ‘You still haven’t given up on your search for Yu Huan?’
‘…’
‘Dear heaven, surely not? Yu Huan is dead — he died in a fire. The whole world knows this. You can’t keep clinging to the belief that he’s still alive just because you couldn’t find his body.’
‘…’
‘Silly rabbit, let me ask you then, if Yu Huan is still alive, why has he never come looking for you?’
(Approx. 1427 words)
12’s notes:
⁴ 飛禽走獸 fēiqínzǒushòu: 2. the beasts of the field and the birds of the air
10th Nov 2019: Replaced the word ‘apprentice’ with ‘disciple’.
1st Mar 2010: Edited paragraphs for clarity and deleted several footnotes.
☆ Please show moral support by reading the original and free translations from hiding in plain sight. © 12 and theresanother.wordpress.com 2017. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of the above material without express and written permission from 12 is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to 12 and theresanother(DOT)wordpress(DOT)com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content. Example here.
©
Translated and edited by 12
hiding in plain sight 
Ok. I’m calling it. Yu Huan is definitely alive. Is this one of those soul shards thing? Yu Huan is Song Lin? Or maybe he’s really dead and some evil fiend that wants to destroy the world is controlling his corpse???
Both are cliché. I hope really isn’t any of those overused plots-
LikeLiked by 1 person
Welcome to the blog, osmyo and thanks for leaving a comment! Happy dance!
I don’t know about soul shards cos I’ve read very little xianxia 😅, but it wouldn’t surprise me if the author borrowed the concept. Dandan believes Song Lin is Yu Huan’s reincarnation.
The plot is a ragbag of genres and clichés so do be prepared for that, but the build-up to the reveal is still quite decent reading and there’s not too much filler, to me at least. 😁
LikeLike
‘You always use peeing as an excuse every time you’re up to no good.’ Yeah…nothing you can really say to that. Dandan really makes himself at home wherever. Also, the memories thing is going to come up, isn’t it? Oh, things got serious at the end there. I feel bad for Dandan. I’m really curious what Song Lin will think of all this when he hears about it later. Thanks for the translation!
LikeLiked by 1 person