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The effect of the unwelcome visits is…?
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Ch. 9.1 | Cohabitation
Dandan’s head was swimming from being shaken so hard.
Song Lin said soberly, ‘That’s enough, Styx. Come with me.’
Only then did Styx release him. Song Lin proceeded to lead the way out.
Dandan sat on the bed, staring blankly at Song Lin’s retreating back. This big, handsome but cold man — what exactly was he thinking? He really was an utter mystery.
When the two of them reached the corridor, Styx commented, ‘That sly old fox Wanyan Fu, one moment saying he wants to buy yet getting ready¹ to snatch him at the same time. Young Master, is it really worth offending the House of Wanyan for the sake of this rabbit?’
‘I’m not offending the Wanyan clan for his sake. You must know, my Blood Weapon can’t be controlled by just any spirit beast. Dandan was not only able to freely manipulate my Blood Weapon to kill the tiger-crocodile, he was able to recover internally in a short amount of time. He’s definitely not your typical spirit beast. Regardless of what his identity is, letting him fall into the hands of the other four clans would constitute a great threat to the House of Song.’
Styx stood staring for a moment before it dawned on him: Second Master was still bearing the weight of the whole clan on his shoulders.
Song Lin gazed up at the sky. ‘Going by my calculations, it’ll soon be the Guardians’ Tournament.’
‘Yes, I hear that the other young masters of the Four Houses have all acquired their spirit beasts and a magic weapon. If I may say so, since we’ve yet to find a suitable spirit beast for bonding, why not bring forward the search for a magic weapon?’
There were two prerequisites for any Guardian taking part in the eponymous tournament: one was a powerful bonded spirit beast and the other, a powerful magic weapon. Only with these two things in their possession could Guardians hope for victory in the tournament.
‘… What good suggestions do you have?’
‘Second Master, there are three places where magic weapons can be obtained. One is the Reincarnation Pagoda, another the Cliff of Sorrowful Souls and the other is the Fascinating Forest. The Fascinating Forest is the nearest to Ridge City so why not go there to look for magic weapons? It’ll soon be the first day of the fifth lunar month so Young Master had best return before that day, otherwise…’
‘All right, I know what my limits are.’
‘… Yes.’
‘By the way, arrange for Dandan to sleep in my room tonight.’
‘What?’ Styx was taken aback.
‘Right now, the safest thing to do is to keep him beside me.’
‘… Un-understood.’ Loath as he was, Styx still nodded and went to make the arrangements.
¹ 上手 shàng//shǒu. If you’re not reading this chapter at hiding in plain sight, it has been stolen and reproduced by novelscraping sites.
At night, Dandan discovered that a great many servant girls had come over and were in the process of moving the pillows and blankets out of his room. ‘Hey, where are you moving me to?’
‘Why, to Second Master’s bedroom.’
‘… What?’ Dandan’s expression turned rigid. ‘To… where?’
‘Second Master’s bedroom.’ The servant girls laid especial stress on the word ‘bedroom’.
Dandan thought: I know all the words, but why don’t I understand what they’re saying?
And so on the fifth night after his arrival at the Song Manor, Dandan inexplicably found himself sharing Song Lin’s room. He was baffled and even after seeing two pillows being placed on Song Lin’s big bed, remained so.
‘Second Master will be here shortly. Please wait for him on the bed,’ the servant girls informed him amiably.
Dandan was thrown into confusion. Hang on, why do I have to sit on the bed and wait for Second Master? Why not on the chair? Or on the table? Or on the floor? Huh? You ladies aren’t making any sense at all!
He stroked his chin thoughtfully.
Speaking of which, Song Lin must be plotting something if he’s arranging for me to sleep with him. He’s probably come up with some new way of torturing me… He won’t let me leave, but he won’t make a pact with me either. He must be up to something — maybe I have something else of value that he can exploit? While he was muttering thusly to himself, Song Lin came in.
Dandan discovered then that he had really ended up sitting on the bed to wait…
Eh? When did I sit down on the bed? Damn… Song Lin’s already come in. If I stand up now, won’t it be more awkward? But to keep sitting here is equally awkward… Talk about being on the horns of a dilemma²…
Song Lin had also obviously noticed his unease and as he loosened his tie, remarked, ‘Anyone who didn’t know better would think you were a little wife waiting for her husband.’
Dandan: ‘…’ Hogwash! How dare you use such a girly word to describe a magnificent Supreme spirit beast like me?! Also, stop undoing your tie while talking… it’s too sexy for me!
² 騎虎難下 qíhǔ-nánxià: if you ride a tiger, it’s hard to get off (idiom); fig. impossible to stop halfway. Translation belongs to theresanother(DOT)wordpress(DOT)com.
Song Lin sat down beside him. ‘Weren’t you trying to sleep with me the first night you arrived? Now you’ve been invited to my bed, just as you wanted. Why so shy all of a sudden?’
‘…’ Dandan recollected the abysmal failure that had been his plan to sleep with Song Lin and laughed derisively. ‘The last time was… a mishap…’
‘Come a bit closer,’ Song Lin patted the mattress. ‘Let’s have a little chat.’ His voice had always possessed a silky, seductive quality and as long as he wanted to, he could always cause his listeners to lose themselves in the sound of it. So when his voice deepened while saying these words, it had a uniquely inviting effect.
Dandan hesitated for a while before inching a little closer but he still kept a gap of about ten centimetres between them. ‘To be honest, Second Master, when you talk to me in this calm³ manner, it makes my hair stand. How about this: just tell me straight what you want and relieve my mind?’
³ 心平氣和 xīnpíng-qìhé. Please consider reading from theresanother(DOT)wordpress(DOT)com rather than from novelscraping sites.
An attractive smile was playing on Song Lin’s refined, handsome face as his piercing pale blue eyes lit up with laughter. With an upward curve of his fine lips, he said, ‘You think too much. Since you plan on becoming my bonded spirit beast one day, we should understand more about each other, shouldn’t we? Since we need to understand each other, we should start by setting aside any ill feeling before we converse. Don’t you think so?’
‘…’ Confound it, the honeytrap ploy… Dandan placed a hand over his heart. And to think, I can’t say no…
‘Second Master, what do you want to talk about? Just ask!’
‘What was your former owner like?’
‘Ah?’ Dandan’s chest tightened and he weighed his words before saying, ‘My former owner… is… very hard to describe.’
‘Try to do it in simple terms.’
(Approx. 1143 words)
12’s notes:
24/9/2019: Substituted the word ‘magic’ for ‘rare’.
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Translated and edited by 12
hiding in plain sight 
‘It’ll soon be the first day of the fifth lunar month so Young Master had best return before that day, otherwise…’ Otherwise what? This chapter it feels like Dandan has a very romantic vision of Song Lin. Thanks for the translation!
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