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Dandan hares off to an old friend’s place…
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Ch. 17 | The Priest’s Manor
Dandan headed very far south. Halfway there, he kept going round in circles because of his appallingly poor sense of direction. Fortunately, he found his intended destination in the end and came to a stop at the foot of a misty mountain. This mist was suffused with spiritual energy and was a deliberate protective screen to keep out most people.
Dandan stood in front of this protective screen and stroked his chin thoughtfully before stretching out a finger and making a knocking motion. After three knocks, the mist diffused and a window appeared. A transparent sprite with feelers and wings stuck its head out and asked, ‘Who’s there?’
‘It’s me,’ Dandan said warmly.
But the sprite looked coldly at him instead and questioned, ‘Who are you?’
‘… Brother Mountain Sprite, don’t you remember me? I’m your master’s friend.’ Dandan batted his eyelashes, trying to entice him. ‘Do let me in.’
‘Well, I had no idea that Master has a friend like you.’ The mountain sprite added testily, ‘It’s late so come back tomorrow.’
‘Hey, don’t go! I’m Dandan! You’ve never heard of my great name? Think carefully.’
The mountain sprite closed his eyes and thought. ‘Never heard of you.’
‘Bah, that’s cos you’re old. Know what Alzheimer’s is? Now let me in!’
‘The few friends Master has all know the secret entry spell. You want to come in, chant the spell yourself!’
‘… It’s been donkey’s years, who can remember that stupid spell?’
‘Then you still had the cheek to say I have Alzheimer’s!’
‘… Ahem… let’s not split hairs, yeah… well erm, Brother Mountain Sprite, how about letting me in based on my pretty face?’ Dandan suggested in a last-ditch attempt.
The mountain sprite gave him a look which said ‘you wish’ and banged the misty door shut.
‘Oi! Wait a minute!’ Dandan rapped on that misty screen again.
‘Now what?’ The mountain sprite asked impatiently through a chink in the door.
‘Tell Bi An to come out. He knows me.’
So it was that ten minutes later, Bi An came strolling out in a sleeping robe and yawning. He gazed at Dandan in some bewilderment. ‘What are you doing here? Aren’t you leading a comfortable life with Second Master Song?’
Everything was fine until Dandan heard this name. Then his eyes smarted and he announced accusingly, ‘He has a dog outside!’
Bi An showed him into his own room and then poured him a cup of tea. ‘Teacher is sleeping next door so keep your voice down.’
‘How’s your teacher’s health?’
Bi An shook his head.
Dandan asked sotto voce, ‘Is he going to die?’
‘Pooh! My teacher can go on fighting for at least another half a century.’
Thinking of the walking corpse’s flower-like face, Dandan conceded that there was such a possibility and thus shut up after that.
‘So what really brought you here in the middle of the night? And what did you mean when you said Song Lin has a dog outside?’
‘Song Lin’s taken a fancy to a little white dog and can’t be bothered with me any more. I don’t have a hope of making a pact with him.’
‘What calibre is this white dog?’
‘Silver.’
Bi An was silent for three seconds before covering his mouth and sniggering, ‘Ha… you actually lost to a Silver? Aren’t you ashamed? Hahahahahaha!’
Dandan: … (;-_-)/
‘Oi… don’t you think you’re enjoying this a bit too much…’
‘Sorry, sorry, it’s just so rare to see you at your wits’ end. After all, you used to be so arrogant, throwing your weight about every day.’
Dandan rolled his eyes and Bi An knew better than to continue.
‘You were saying…’
‘Song Lin made a trip to the Fascinating Forest to obtain a magic weapon for the Guardians’ Tournament. He took the little white dog with him as a guide since that fellow knows his way around the forest. They ran into a little trouble and it was the little white dog who was by his side during the crisis. Theirs is a bond forged during life and death and not easily transcended by anyone… not by me at any rate,’ Dandan concluded tragically.
‘Then…’ Bi An stroked his chin and asked solemnly, ‘where were you when they were depending on each other for survival¹ and forging this friendship of life and death?’
‘Mm…’ Dandan pondered for a while, ‘eating roasted lamb legs.’
‘…’ Bi An’s expression spoke volumes: So whose fault is it?
Dandan’s ears wilted all the way to his shoulders.
¹ 相依為命 xiāngyī-wéimìng. If you’re not reading this chapter at hiding in plain sight, it has been stolen and reproduced by novelscraping sites.
‘I never thought I’d see it though. You, the magnificent Supreme Jade Rabbit, unchallenged throughout your life. Even that one life-and-death battle on Dragon Ridge which left you half-dead didn’t reduce you to the state you’re in now.’
‘What state is that?’
Bi An surveyed him from top to toe and said, ‘Dispirited and listless, like you’ve been jilted.’
‘Jilted?’ Dandan was taken aback and then shook his head immediately. ‘Impossible.’
A thought struck Bi An and he suddenly leaned towards Dandan. ‘Brat, don’t tell me you’ve fallen for Second Master Song? Come to think of it, he’s handsome, filthy rich, and more importantly, a high-calibre Guardian. The ladies of Ridge City all hold him in high regard. You’ve been single for a few hundred years. What if this is the moment the impossible actually happens² and you’re finally experiencing your first awakening of love?’
Dandan’s expression was cold as he shoved Bi An’s face away. ‘You and your big mouth.’
‘My, oh, my, being able to see you so dispirited for once because of love — I can die without regrets now.’
Dandan shoved his head down on to the table with one move. ‘Then go to hell.’
Bi An, whose face was being hideously squashed, let out an indistinct wail: ‘Ish mai fork.’
² 鐵樹開花 tiěshù-kāihuā: iron tree in blossom. Translation belongs to theresanother(DOT)wordpress(DOT)com.
Dandan let go of him, kicked off his shoes and possessed himself of the latter’s bed. The pathetic successor to the High Priest had to sit on the floor, warming his hands with the tea flask as he asked, ‘How did you escape from the Song Manor? Song Lin let you go just like that?’
‘I took advantage of today when he loses all of his spiritual power.’
‘Loses all of his spiritual power? A Guardian’s spiritual power comes through years of painstaking cultivation — how can it just disappear overnight?’
‘That’s what I haven’t been able to figure out…’ admitted Dandan. ‘You’ve lived for so long but never heard of such a thing?’
‘You’ve lived pretty long yourself. Have you ever heard of such a thing?’
They regarded each other in silence. After an interval: ‘Maybe both of us haven’t lived long enough.’
Bi An suggested, ‘Maybe Teacher has seen such a phenomenon. After all, he’s lived the longest.’
Having lived for so long, he would have seen it all.
Bi An: He’s so amazing.
Dandan: He’s so scary.
After an admiring sigh, Bi An asked, ‘So what brings you here in the middle of the night?’
‘I want to take a look around your teacher’s Chamber of Daoist Treasures.’
‘That place isn’t open to just anybody.’
‘I know. That’s why I came to look for you since you can pull some strings.’
‘Tch, you only remember me when you need something from me. And you call yourself my buddy…’ Bi An grumbled and then asked, ‘Why do you want to go into the Chamber?’
‘I hear that there’s a book in there that talks about the Transmigration Spell in detail. I want to check if it’s really possible to be reincarnated and whether after reincarnation, the person still has memories of his previous life.’
‘Please don’t tell me that you still think Yu Huan did not die and not only that, was actually reincarnated?’ Bi An took a drink of tea. ‘So tell me, whom do you think Yu Huan was reborn as?’
‘Song Lin.’
Bi An spat out his tea in shock: ‘… S-S-Song Lin?!!!’ Startled, he asked, ‘Could it be that since you find Second Master Song attractive, you want to transfer your affections to him like a red plum tree jutting out over the wall³? At the same time, you’re afraid that I’ll laugh at you so you came up with this story about the Transmigration Spell to fool me?’
‘… Transfer my affections? Red plum tree jutting out over the wall? Are you sure that’s how you use these idioms? Does your teacher know how bad your Chinese is?’
‘Don’t worry, my teacher’s Chinese is worse than mine.’
Just then, Feng Chulian, sleeping in the next room, sneezed and rubbed his nose: Mm? It’s cold tonight?
Unbothered, he turned over on his side and carried on sleeping.
³ 紅杏出牆 hóngxìng-chūqiáng: IDIOM (of a woman) unfaithful to one’s husband. Please consider reading from theresanother(DOT)wordpress(DOT)com rather than from novelscraping sites.
At that moment, Dandan had pulled the blanket over his head and was saying moodily, ‘I just want to find out why the magic circle which bonded Yu Huan and me was able to send me to Song Lin’s side.’
‘Bonded magic circle? I’ve heard of it: it’s a magical array which links a spirit beast to its owner and can send them to each other’s side at crucial times, right?’
‘Mm, once I find out why, I can leave with peace of mind.’
‘Wait a second, if Song Lin actually turns out to be Yu Huan’s reincarnation, why would you still want to leave?’
‘What else can I do? He already has his little white dog.’
Bi An gaped for a while before stroking his chin and concluding, ‘Looks like I guessed right.’
‘What did you guess right?’
‘You really have…’ Bi An stood up and got a little closer, ‘been jilted!’
Dandan: ‘… Jilted… my foot!’
And so after a while, Feng Chulian, who had just drifted into sleep, was startled awake by a loud muffled thump, followed by his disciple opening Feng Chulian’s room door and clutching his head as he said tearfully, ‘Teacher! I want to sleep with you tonight!’
Feng Chulian: ‘Get lost.’
Bi An: (T＿T)
(Approx. 1654 words)
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Translated and edited by 12
hiding in plain sight 
Bi An really likes making fun of Dandan doesn’t he. I hope we get to learn more about Feng Chulian now. Thanks for the translation!
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