Dandan’s in for a bit of a disappointment…
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Ch. 7.2
A strange silence descended upon the grandstand for a few seconds before a babel of admiring gasps erupted.
‘The tiger-crocodile died?’
‘This bunny-eared youth won?’
‘For real?’
‘Incredible¹…’
Dandan gazed at his seared palm before painfully releasing his grip on the sword. His entire body then went slack like it was made of cotton wool; he would have fallen right into the rotting water in a moment but Song Lin flashed-stepped from the grandstand, caught him in mid-air and they both descended slowly to the ground.
Dandan didn’t remember how he got back to the Song Manor at all. He only remembered that the last thing he saw before losing consciousness was Song Lin’s face.
¹ 難以置信 nányǐzhìxìn. If you’re not reading this chapter at hiding in plain sight, it has been stolen and reproduced by novelscraping sites.
At present, he was lying down in bed in his room. A row of servant girls was standing by his bed and when they saw he was awake, one exclaimed in pleasant surprise, ‘I’ll go inform Second Master!’
Inform Second Master? Dandan was momentarily taken aback. Wait, I seem to have… killed the tiger-crocodile that the House of Song uses to test the spiritual calibre of a spirit beast…
Killed it… Was Second Master coming here to interrogate him about that?
Not long after that, Song Lin showed up and dismissed the servant girls who were waiting in two lines. Dandan felt his small heart quaking with every approaching step Song Lin took.
When the latter finally sat down on the edge of the bed, Dandan immediately put his palms together Buddhist-style and said apologetically, ‘It’s my fault! I accidentally killed the tiger-crocodile…’
Song Lin looked slightly taken aback and his lips parted but before he could say anything, Dandan rushed to add, ‘Don’t be angry though, worst comes to worst I’ll just catch another one for you…’
Song Lin listened in silence then scrutinised him all over before asking, ‘How do you feel? Any discomfort anywhere?’
‘Huh?’ Dandan had not expected him to be concerned about this of all things and he stared blankly at him for a while before saying, ‘I’m all right.’
Song Lin took hold of his hand and turned it over to look at the palm where the burn scar was still fresh. ‘Being able to hold my Blood Weapon while being this badly injured took a frightening amount of perseverance,’ Song Lin stated softly.
Dandan scratched his head and laughed. ‘I told you, I’m pretty strong.’
Hearing this, Song Lin looked up and found himself bumping noses with Dandan. Dandan’s existence had always exerted a magnetic pull on him: when the former had been a rabbit, Song Lin had been unable to tear himself away from stroking that soft and spotlessly white fur. Now that Dandan was in human form, his delicately pretty facial features and porcelain skin were especially alluring. Moreover, it was even harder to take one’s eyes off him now that he was in bed, dressed in loose nightclothes and looking slightly fragile after the fight. Gazing into those pink irises, Song Lin thought they looked at once so unclouded and innocent, yet also appeared to be hiding some secret while feigning ignorance².
A dangerous being.
Pretty things were always dangerous.
He leaned away slightly.
² 裝傻充愣 zhuāngshǎ-chōnglèng. Translation belongs to theresanother(DOT)wordpress(DOT)com.
Dandan asked, ‘Will I have to replace the tiger-crocodile for you?’
‘No need.’
‘Then, are you going to make a pact with me?’
Was that an expectant light in the youth’s eyes?
Why are you looking forward to it so much? What makes me different in your heart?
He gazed at the youth and suddenly recalled the latter saying, “Because you’re the ultimate meal ticket³ and being with you means being set for life”.
His eyes darkened for a moment — really, what’s wrong with me? I’m actually the one with all the unrealistic expectations.
The relationship that a spirit beast had with a Guardian was strictly a subordinate one. There was no way other feelings could exist outside of this hierarchy.
As a result, Song Lin rubbed the space between his brows, leaned back and then stated, ‘No, I won’t.’
‘Eh? Why not? You said before that if I make it out of the beast colosseum alive, you’ll make a pact with me. How can you go back on your word?!’
‘What I said was — I would consider making a pact with you. Now, having considered it, I’ve decided not to.’
Dandan: ‘…’ If I had my strength now, I would definitely bite you to death!!
Song Lin stroked his head briefly and said, ‘Get some rest. We’ll call you for dinner.’
Dandan was speechless with chagrin.
³ 吃穿不愁 chīchuānbùchóu. Please consider reading from theresanother(DOT)wordpress(DOT)com rather than from novelscraping sites.
Song Lin got up and had just walked to the door when he heard Dandan say from behind him, ‘Since you’re not going to make a pact with me, then let me leave.’
‘Let you leave?’ Song Lin gave a ghost of a laugh. ‘I don’t intend to for now.’
‘… You’re not going to make a pact with me but you won’t let me leave either. What exactly do you want with me?’
‘No idea, I’ll just keep you for now.’ Song Lin’s tone was extremely casual as he added, ‘After all, I’ve never had a rabbit for a pet so I don’t mind seeing what the experience is like.’
‘…’ Dandan gnashed his teeth inwardly. Goddamnit, you want to see what’s it like, do you? Fine, I’ll let you lord it for a while but wait till I recover that two thirds of my power. I’ll show you then what it’s really like to keep a rabbit for a pet!
(Approx. 915 words)
12’s notes:
Edited on 29th April 2020.
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Translated and edited by 12
hiding in plain sight 
“Pretty things were always dangerous.” Now I wonder if that comes from experience. It’s interesting to see how Song Lin sees Dandan and his “unrealistic expectations” for him. Really what happened with the first spirit beast that died? Thanks for the translation!
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