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Chapter 29: The Old Wooden Box
Xie Que was a swindler whose mouth was filled with lies. None of his words were worth listening to.
Song Qingshi had absolutely no intention of talking with him at all. The black lotus bloomed in his palm once again and four fragments of poisonous fire encircled Xie Que’s hands and feet, corroding his flesh and bones. Xie Que quickly tore off the jade pendant hanging around his neck. A golden defensive array was deployed underneath him and most of the offensive was blocked. The jade pendant was dyed black and then turned into ash. The power of the remaining poisonous fire was undiminished and numerous black spots of corrosion appeared on his legs, slowly spreading and expanding.
Xie Que’s aptitude as a cultivator was mediocre but he has been trading slaves for many years and he has still managed to obtain a few magical weapons.
He slumped on the ground. Using his hands, he moved ever backwards. His whole body trembled and he continuously begged, “My Lord, please spare me. I- everything I have will be given to you… If the Lord likes Wuhuan… …Then, then this child named Ming Hong looks very similar to Wuhuan when he was a child. You, you can take him back and raise him…”
Ming Hong was stunned, not understanding what this meant.
Xie Que saw Song Qingshi’s thoughts. While slowly moving backwards, he enticed, “Wuhuan also dressed like this when he was this age…He looked obedient but was actually very naughty. My Lord, take a closer look at Ming Hong’s face. Except for the eyes, they look very similar…Does the Lord wish to know what happened to Wuhuan in the past?”
Under the erosion of his poisonous fire, his spiritual power became weaker and weaker.
The weak girl who was secretly hiding to his side, finally broke away from the restraints in her body. She leapt forward and tore off the scroll that was hanging behind Xie Que. Beneath the scroll was an ingenious teleportation rune array; a last resort Xie Que had set up in advance.
Xie Que was so angry that he spit out a mouthful of blood. He roared, “Traitorous disciple!”
Song Qingshi also understood. Xie Que had kept mentioning Yue Wuhuan, because he wanted to divert his attention and take the opportunity to escape.
Surrounded as he was by the Underworld Ghost Fire, Xie Que’s escape would have resulted in his death, regardless. But it would have ruined his plan.
Death was by no means the most terrifying thing in the immortal realm.
The black lotus in Song Qingshi’s hand reopened, completely incinerating Xie Que’s hands and feet, incapacitating him. He then reached out his with his mental probe, invading Xie Que’s sea of consciousness, directly searching for the Acacia Seal’s secret word. Although the sea of consciousness was vast and his cultivation level could only allow him to find out what happened within the past few years, Xie Que has always been a slave trader and often did the branding. Sing Qingshi needed only to find the entire process of the branding of the latest slave.
An image soon appeared in the sea of consciousness.
The young girl overheard that she was being sold off. She wanted to escape but was caught by the spirit dog and locked in an array. With tears in her eyes, she allowed the devil to draw the lavish pattern of the Acacia Seal on her back stroke by stroke. She kept crying but she didn’t receive any mercy. Finally, she was branded with the secret word, the word “Xie Que” modified from ancient runes. Xie Que smiled and looked at her tears, as though looking at livestock now ready for slaughter.
After Song Qingshi found the answer. He withdrew his mental probe and destroyed this disgusting sea of consciousness. He then drew out Xie Que’s soul and put it into a container he had prepared earlier.
He looked up at the girl next to him and asked softly, “You know everything?”
This young girl named Qing Luan was the person he had just seen in Xie Que’s sea of consciousness.
Qing Luan was slumped on the ground. After blanking out for a moment, she finally realized that she was free from the hell that was Xie Que’s control. Her suppressed emotions were suddenly released and she burst into tears from an excess of emotion. Seeing her intense reaction, Song Qingshi reached out his hand, intending to use his spiritual power to ease her emotions.
“You bad man!” Ming Hong rushed up to tackle him. Choked with sobs, he said, “You’ve already killed Shifu, don’t kill Qing Luan Jie!”
Although he felt that his Shifu’s words were somewhat problematic, his feelings would not allow him to believe that the Shifu who picked him up from the pile of beggars, raised him and taught him the immortal ways could ever possibly hurt him, so… Shifu must have been terrified by this wicked man into abandoning him and fleeing.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
Song Qingshi looked helplessly at the stubborn child. He was really was no good at explaining these things.
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Qing Luan was in tears. She looked at him for a long while and slowly untied her clothes.
Ming Hong exclaimed, “Jiejie, are you crazy? There are men here! Why are you taking off your clothes?!”
Song Qingshi had already looked away. He was not going to be a voyeur.
Qing Luan turned around and raised her long hair, revealing the enchanting Acacia Seal in front of Ming Hong.
Ming Hong asked blankly, “What…what is this?”
“Xie Que told you all that I would be leaving in a few days to go to Miao Yin Sect to study the guqin…” Qing Luan said slowly, “He lied to you all. I had already been sold by Xie Que, sold to Bright Moon Tower. This brand is a mark that turns humans into livestock…Does Ming Hong know what kind of place Bright Moon Tower is?”
Ming Hong shook his head, faintly afraid.
“Bright Moon Tower is the largest brothel in the immortal realm, Qing Luan Jie… was about to become a flower lady who waits on guests and smiles and flirts for money.” Qing Luan laughed mockingly at herself but an endless stream of sorrowful tears streamed from her eyes. “Does Ming Hong know what a flower lady is? It’s a slave who serves men every day and uses her body to please them in bed.”
Ming Hong kept shaking his head, trembling all over, “No, it can’t…”
“Why can’t it be?” Qing Luan put on her clothes again, walked towards him, and asked with a smile, “Stupid boy, do you know? Jiejie had to pretend to behave and be clever just so I could be sold to Bright Moon Tower instead! Bright Moon Tower is a brothel with rules. In their hands, the torture won’t be excessive! Haha… I fawned over that beast, threw myself at his mercy to be a shameless woman! Isn’t it ridiculous? Don’t rush to sympathize with your jiejie. Do you know what your fate would have been?!”
Ming Hong looked at the almost crazed Qing Luan. He was so scared that tears were coming out of his eyes.
“Ming Hong…you look a little like Wuhuan Ge. That’s why that beast placed great importance on you.” Qing Luan gently stroked his beautiful face. Choked with sobs, she said, “Wuhuan Ge is not ungrateful. He was sold to the hell that is the Golden Phoenix Mountain Manor and tortured to the utmost. So, he can’t come back. Golden Phoenix Manor placed an order and specified that they wanted to buy another beauty like Wuhuan Ge and you were chosen for this purpose…”
Ming Hong asked cautiously, “Chosen to do what?”
Qing Luan sneered, “Just like jiejie, you would use your body to serve men.”
Ming Hong couldn’t believe it. “I am a man! How can I serve men?!”
Qing Luan thought for a while, then lowered her head to his ear and told him a little bit…
Ming Hong couldn’t bear it, tears flowed down without restrain. He retched again and again.
Song Qingshi didn’t stop Qing Luan. These beautiful mortal children couldn’t afford to be simple and innocent.
After Qing Luan vented her emotions, she recovered her composure. She dragged over the dispirited and listless Ming Hong and prostrated herself before Song Qingshi, thanking him for saving her life. She then took the initiative to inform him of Xie Que’s mustard seed bag and the location of his hidden treasures.
There were tens of thousands of spirit stones in Xie Que’s mustard bag and two spirit beads, one of which belonged to Qing Luan. In addition, there were several books of accounts and a thick pile of contracts. Each contract was full of tears of blood. Song Qingshi found Bright Moon Tower’s down payment contract and gave it back to Qing Luan along with the spirit bead. Qing Luan was so grateful. Holding these things, she expressed a thousand thanks. She couldn’t control her tears.
Song Qingshi also found Yue Wuhuan’s name on the account books. A mere thirty hu of Mermaid beads ruined his entire life.
He never knew that words could pierce his eyes…
Song Qingshi’s original plan had been to kill Xie Que and leave, but now, looking at Ming Hong and Qing Luan who were kneeling on the ground, he seemed to see Yue Wuhuan from long before. He didn’t have the heart to abandon them. Therefore, he ordered Qing Luan to gather the others and tell them about the bad things and lies that Xie Que had done. She was to tell them that if anyone wanted to return to the mortal world, he would give them a Longevity Pill to bring back and they could completely wash their hands of cultivation and the immortal realm. For those that had nowhere to go, they could choose to go to the Medicine King’s Valley to work as a valley servants, engaging in pharmaceutical and medical work.
Though Qing Luan looked weak, she was very competent at handling matters. She summoned everyone to gather in the square and then used her Acacia seal, the account book and contract as evidence. She then used the spirit bead to control another young man who had also been branded with the Acacia Seal. Soon, everyone understood the truth.
The children who cried, cried. Those who vomited, vomited. Everything was a mess.
The servants were also clueless mortals. After hearing this, they were terribly frightened.
Qing Luan took with her a few children who could still keep calm and they comforted the others one by one.
Song Qingshi sat alone in the distant library. He wrote a letter to Night Rain Pavilion, asking Ye Lin to help him hire a magic ship drawn by spirit beasts from the Immortal Beast Sect to transport all these children back to the Medicine King’s Valley. He will handle the rest of the matters from there. The Immortal Beast Sect had a good reputation with regards to transportation in the immortal realm. Although it was a bit expensive, it can be paid with the spirit stones obtained from Xie Que’s place.
He sent out the messenger bird. He won’t get a reply until tomorrow.
Song Qingshi couldn’t help it and wrote another letter to Yue Wuhuan. He held the pen for a long time, but he didn’t know where to start. After writing and changing, writing and changing again, he only wrote that he would be a day late in coming back. He was safe and there was no need to worry.
Qing Luan arranged everything properly. She asked the children to pack their luggage and then personally returned to report back to the master.
Song Qingshi looked at the lamps in Yanshan Sect lighting up one after another. He couldn’t help asking, “Have you ever seen Wuhuan?”
Qing Luan said carefully, “In reply to the Lord’s inquiry, I came to this place… When I was around six years of age, Wuhuan Ge was sent away half a year later.”
Song Qingshi motioned for her to get up and sit down. After hesitating for a long time, he asked, “Can you tell me about Wuhuan from that time?”
Qing Luan thought for a long time and considering her words, replied, “I was too young to understand a lot of things. Wuhuan Ge was a very good person. He often took care of the new children and taught us to write and study…”
Her memories were disjointed and Song Qingshi listened very carefully, re-imagining the original image of the boy and writing it down in the notebook.
“Every time there was something good, Wuhuan Ge let us have it. If we made a mistake, Wuhuan Ge never got angry.”
“Wuhuan Ge was smart and powerful and we all looked up to him. After he left, we were sad for a long time.”
“Everyone liked to sneak peeks at him because he looked so good…”
“Wuhuan Ge liked red. Many of his clothes were red.”
“Wuhuan Ge liked to sit under the phoenix tree and practice music. He played so well that the birds would come down and listen.”
“Wuhuan Ge was most beautiful when he smiled. It was like rays of brilliance from the sky fell on him. He was so dazzling, no one could look away.”
“…”
Song Qingshi took notes one by one and then asked the questions in the notebook. “Do you know what Wuhuan likes to eat?”
“Brother Wuhuan was not picky about food. But he was especially particular about cleanliness,” Qing Luan suddenly recalled an amusing incident from back then and narrated, “He never ate things that had been touched by others or dirtied. Not even if it was a cup of water, he wouldn’t drink it as long as someone has already touched it…but he wouldn’t speak out so as not to cause trouble to others. He would rather go thirsty and hungry. Everyone found out gradually… He didn’t seem to like others touching his things or sitting on his bed. Although he wouldn’t get mad if someone touched him, he would secretly clean…
It turned out that Yue Wuhuan’s mysophobia didn’t start when he studied medicine. His mysophobia must have made it even harder for him to endure those dirty things, right?
Song Qingshi stopped recording, he thought for a moment and suddenly remembered that Yue Wuhuan had drunk his water several times. He had also eaten his leftover food. He never disliked it when he went to his room and slept on his bed. Could it be that Yue Wuhuan’s mysophobia was no longer so serious? Or was he afraid of causing trouble to him? When he goes back, he will need to ask, lest he step on other people’s taboos without knowing it.
Song Qingshi asked another question, “Do you know what Yue Wuhuan likes?”
Qing Luan suddenly stopped talking. After a long time, she couldn’t help but smile. “Beautiful stones…”
Song Qingshi was surprised. “Stones?”
“My Lord, please come with me.” Qing Luan got up and brought Song Qingshi to a dusty sundries room. There were all kinds of unwanted things in it, including broken balls, broken swings, even some stuffed toy tigers, practice books and other small items. It seems that they were all things left behind by previous children. Qing Luan rummaged in the pile of junk for a long time. She finally found an old wooden box and handed it to Song Qingshi.
The wooden box was handmade, very simple and crude with clumsy bird patterns engraved on it. Inside were a few beautiful stones of no value. There was a pebble covered with golden grits, an emerald green glass bead, a black rock with an exceptional landscape painting…
“Originally there were many more, even some gems.” Qing Luan’s voice was sad. “After Wuhuan Ge left, the precious stones disappeared and these were the only ones left. I was afraid Wuhuan Ge wouldn’t be able to find it once he comes back and so I hid the box here. Now, it can be returned to its original owner…”
Song Qingshi held the light box. “This belongs to him?”
Qing Luan nodded, “I have seen Wuhuan Ge secretly picking up rocks by the river. He picked them one by one, picking up thousands, tens of thousands, until he found the best ones and placed them in the box. The box had been filled with bright and colorful stones, they were very beautiful. When he saw me, he was a little embarrassed. He gave me a lot of candies and asked me not to say anything…”
“Wuhuan Ge treasured this box. He usually kept it next to his pillow and wouldn’t let anyone look at it.” Qing Luan recalled the past and became sadder and sadder. “After he left, I found this box in Xie Que’s room. He gave away the worthless stones in the box to the children to play with. I didn’t believe that Wuhuan Ge would leave such an important thing behind. I began to grow suspicious so I secretly searched for Wuhuan Ge’s whereabouts until I found out the truth about him being sold as a slave… …”
Song Qingshi suddenly felt that the box in his hand was heavy, so heavy that it made his heart feel sad.
He slowly turned around to leave…
“Honorable Lord,” Qing Luan suddenly called out, making him stop in his tracks. She wiped away the tears on her face, showed a smile and bowed low. “Thank you. Thank you for saving Wuhuan Ge. I’m really happy Wuhuan Ge is still alive…He’s such a good person and deserves to be treated well by the entire world. Lord, you must like him very much, right?”
Song Qingshi asked blankly, “Like him?”
Qing Luan said expectantly, “Only if you like someone would you be able to do all these things for him.”
Song Qingshi’s heart was a little confused by her answer.
He came to this world for Professor System’s mission. However, he didn’t know when it started but he already seemed to be unable to regard the people in this world as just virtual existences. Being good to Yue Wuhuan was like an instinct carved in his bones. He couldn’t wait to offer him everything in the world, to let him forget the pain and regain happiness.
The ‘like’ in Qing Luan’s eyes was different from the ‘like’ he had understood before.
He didn’t quite understand the feeling of this ‘like’. Was it a rise in phenylethylamine? The medical books say that phenylethylamine is a mental stimulant, which can cause rapid heartbeat, blushing and high temperatures. The side effect is that it can cause bias and attachment, making one lose the ability to think objectively…
He did not feel that there was any problem with his analytical judgment.
Wasn’t he just healing and saving people?
Doctors should not have other intentions towards a patient. This was against professional ethics.
Lost in thought, Song Qingshi walked to the riverbank. He stared at the rocks that covered the ground. He bent down and picked them up one by one, a thousand stones, ten thousand stones. He picked through them for a long time but couldn’t find one worthy of Wuhuan. Regardless, he had time. He can take him time searching…
The author has something to say:
Song Qingshi (extremely serious): Of course, Wuhuan can’t kill Xie Que, this kind of thing. He’s so kind and gentle. What if he can’t bring himself to harden his heart and makes this bastard’s death too easy? And… how can I dirty his hands with this disgusting thing?
Yue Wuhuan (wrapped tightly in sheepskin): En, killing people is scary.