Ming Zhu carried Ye Weiai on his back, his feet sinking into the muddy earth with every uneven step as they trudged toward a distant city. As he walked, he grumbled incessantly, "Kid, I must have dug up your ancestral graves in my past life. Why does every bit of bad luck collide into me? Great Ancestor, can I just call you 'Great Ancestor' and be done with it?"
The "Great Ancestor" lay prone on his back, unable to utter a single word. He could only blink his grayish-white eyes, reservedly signaling: *You can call me whatever you like; as long as you don't abandon me, I’ll call you Great Ancestor.*
Ming Zhu didn't find it dull to chatter away at a person who couldn't speak. Finally, before sunset, they reached that frontier city.
Shou’an City bordered the Northern Marches, situated in a "no-man's-land" where the borders of three nations met. The local customs were far from refined. Cultivators with even a modicum of talent looked down on such a remote place, which made it a convenient haven for thugs who hadn't even stepped through the gates of cultivation to brawl and peck at one another like clumsy fledglings.
Shou’an City had no curfew; even in the dead of night, the city gates remained open. Ming Zhu, carrying Ye Weiai, swayed unsteadily as he entered the filthy, chaotic streets.
Just as they entered the city, the loiterers wandering the roads fixed their gazes upon them. However, seeing Ming Zhu’s wretched attire, they likely realized there was nothing worth stealing. They spat one after another, cursing them as "paupers" before dispersing.
Ming Zhu: "..."
To be so destitute that even indiscriminate thugs lost the desire to rob him—Ming Zhu felt that being this poor was, in its own way, a kind of talent.
Still, it saved him a lot of trouble. He carried Ye Weiai to the only inn in the city and kicked the door open. A curvaceous woman approached, swaying her hips to greet them. "Oh my, what a distinguished guest! Our humble shop is truly graced by your presence. Please, come in, come in."
The proprietress had run her shop in this tiger’s den for many years and had seen the world. Even seeing Ming Zhu’s bedraggled state, she showed no hint of disdain. With a smile like a blooming flower, she led him inside, saying as they walked, "Is the young master staying the night? This is the finest inn in all of Shou’an. We have everything you could desire—even if you wanted to eat dragon meat, I could have someone whip it up for you."
Although the inn looked quite exquisite, the vast main hall was unexpectedly empty. Not even the benches had been taken down from the tables. Ming Zhu reached out and brushed a surface, his hand coming away covered in dust.
Ming Zhu’s lips twitched. He glanced around the hall before saying, "Dragon meat won't be necessary. Just give me a place to stay; I don't ask for much."
Hearing this, the smile on the proprietress’s face faded slightly, but she remained pleasant. "Then does the young master want an upper room, a middle room, or a lower room?"
Ming Zhu replied, "The cheapest one. The cheaper the better—ideally, one that costs nothing."
Proprietress: "..."
The smile vanished instantly. Her lovely face wore a cold, mocking smirk. "Is the young master amusing himself at my expense? Since when has there been a rule that one can stay at an inn without money?"
The woman’s change in attitude was lightning-fast. Ming Zhu blinked before saying, "About that... I just climbed out, so I don't have much money on me."
To say "not much" was an exaggeration. His tattered clothes barely covered him; he was essentially penniless.
The proprietress sneered again, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "Stop joking with me. If you have no money, then get the hell out of my shop, you pauper."
Ming Zhu: "..." *Is it a local custom in Shou’an for everyone to call people paupers?*
Just as he was about to speak, Ye Weiai shifted on his back. A flash of inspiration struck Ming Zhu. He immediately sat Ye Weiai down on a nearby stool and began rummaging through the boy's clothes. Finally, he fished out a purse filled with Crystal Jade.
The moment the proprietress saw the pile of Crystal Jade, her eyes widened. Her smile returned in an instant as she giggled, "I knew the young master was joking! Saying you have no money... why, a single piece of your Crystal Jade could pay for ten days in this shop."
Now that he had money, Ming Zhu’s confidence surged. He tossed several pieces of Crystal Jade to the proprietress with reckless abandon. "Two upper rooms. Prepare several tubs of hot water and some clothes. I want them immediately."
Beaming with joy, the proprietress repeatedly threw flirtatious glances at Ming Zhu. She immediately called for her staff to prepare his requests and led him to the second floor. Pushing open a lavish room, she introduced, "This is the finest room in our shop. Does the young master need anything else arranged?"
Ming Zhu placed Ye Weiai on the daybed and waved her off dismissively. "No need. Leave us."
Hot water was soon brought up by two men, along with several sets of expensive clothing. Ming Zhu browsed through them casually, hooking a finger around a white robe and hanging it over a carved screen. He stripped off his rags and leaped into the hot water.
***
Ye Weiai had been unable to move his body all day. Once night fell, the blood in his veins began to flow once more. Before long, his stiff, immobile limbs regained their function. Even the deathly pupils of his eyes returned to normal, their shimmering light exceptionally beautiful.
He moved his body slightly in his room before walking toward the adjacent chamber.
The night was deep, yet the candle in Ming Zhu’s room was still lit. Ye Weiai knocked softly on the door, and a cold shout immediately rang out from within: "Who is it?!"
Ye Weiai had never heard Ming Zhu speak with such harshness. He quickly replied, "It’s me."
The interior fell silent for a moment. Then, Ming Zhu’s voice returned to its usual gentle tone. "Oh. Come in."
Ye Weiai pushed the door open. The moment he looked up, he was stunned by the scene before him.
The "wild man" from the daytime—covered in filth, with matted hair and a dirt-streaked face—seemed to have vanished into thin air. In his place sat an elegant man dressed in white.
He sat upon the window ledge, his left leg pulled up carelessly, a pale wrist resting on his knee. He looked so indolent it seemed he might fall asleep at any moment.
The man appeared to be in his early twenties. His face possessed a sickly pallor, and his long lashes drooped as if he were absentmindedly staring at his own hand. A mane of ink-black hair cascaded down his back like a waterfall; because it was so long, it trailed onto the floor, lending him an exquisite, bewitching allure. Combined with the touch of crimson at the corners of his eyes, his beauty was so vivid it bordered on the demonic.
Ye Weiai stood frozen for a long time before he managed to choke out, "Senior?"
Ming Zhu lazily raised his eyes and beckoned to him. "Great Ancestor, come here."
The "Great Ancestor’s" lips twitched. The awe he felt from the man’s transformed appearance settled instantly. He trotted over and stood before Ming Zhu, saying obediently, "Senior."
It was late autumn. While not freezing, the night wind carried a slight chill. Ming Zhu had not closed the window. He pointed casually at the dark night sky outside. "What do you see?"
The sky was thick with clouds; it looked like it might rain. Ye Weiai answered honestly.
Ming Zhu gave a "tsk" of disapproval. "I’m asking what you see in the astrology."
Ye Weiai: "Senior, there are no stars or moon tonight."
Ming Zhu glared at him, exasperated. The crimson at the corners of his eyes seemed to come alive; the look wasn't so much a reproach as it was a helpless, half-smiling sigh. "If I ever meet your brother, I must ask him how he raised you to be such a worldly ignoramus. Look closely. Though there are dark clouds and the streetlights have all been extinguished, there is still a faint, dim white light along the road. This indicates the celestial phenomenon of the Sun and Moon in the Same Sky."
Ye Weiai: "Oh?"
"The Sun and Moon in the Same Sky is an ill omen in itself. And furthest out—there, look." Ming Zhu pointed toward a section of the horizon tinged with a faint, bloody red. "That is the Heart Constellation Triple Alignment. When Yin and Yang collide and the heavens show such anomalies, the world falls into chaos. It is a great misfortune."
Ye Weiai didn't understand much of this, but hearing Ming Zhu call it a "great misfortune" made his expression change. He frowned. "Then what does it mean?"
Ming Zhu leaned back lazily, saying nonchalantly, "It means that in the near future, you will face a Life-and-Death Tribulation. One wrong step and you’ll lose your life."
Ye Weiai was full of confusion. "But didn't you say that was the astrology of the world? How does it involve me?"
Ming Zhu glanced at him sideways. "I never said I calculated your Life-and-Death Tribulation from the heavens. Are you stupid?"
"..." Ye Weiai held his breath for a long time before his face reddened. "Senior, please stop teasing me."
Ming Zhu watched the youth with amusement, finding him increasingly entertaining. He pulled up one leg, resting his bare foot on the daybed. "Speak. Why have you come to find me so late?"
Ye Weiai finally remembered his purpose. "Senior, it’s about my body being unable to move during the day..."
Before he could finish, Ming Zhu smiled faintly. "Young man, it wasn't as simple as your body being unable to move. You had the pulse of a dead man. Even your heart had stopped beating. If I hadn't seen your eyes blinking, I would have dug a hole on the spot and buried you."
Ye Weiai: "..."
He looked at Ming Zhu cautiously and whispered, "My brother said it’s just an illness. Whenever it happens, my brother helps me clear my meridians, and I recover quickly. Senior, that... that really isn't the pulse of a dead man."
"Hearing you say that makes me really want to pay your brother a visit. I wonder what kind of medicine can bring the dead back to life." Ming Zhu reached out and flicked Ye Weiai’s forehead, scolding him with a laugh, "Idiot."
Ye Weiai covered his forehead, muttering after a long pause, "My brother would never lie to me."
Ming Zhu didn't comment on the childish remark. His gaze flickered toward the window as he said tonelessly, "How well have you rested?"
Confused, Ye Weiai asked, "I... I’m fine..."
The moment the words left his mouth, Ming Zhu lunged forward. One hand pressed Ye Weiai’s head into his chest, while the other moved like a gale, snatching a whistling feathered arrow out of the air.
Ye Weiai only felt a faint scent of medicinal herbs wash over him. By the time he reacted, Ming Zhu was already holding him and standing on the window ledge. He turned his head just in time to see a rain of poisoned needles spraying toward them.
The tips of the needles emitted a purple glow. Ye Weiai’s pupils shrank. But in the next instant, Ming Zhu whipped out that battered iron rod from his waist. With a series of metallic clangs, the rod split in two in mid-air. One end rapidly divided into thin iron ribs. With a flash of red light, an iron umbrella snapped into form. The handle spun, blocking every single poisoned needle.
One needle slipped through, only to be lightly parried by Ming Zhu’s finger. The needle hung suspended against his fingertip, shimmering with toxic light.
Ye Weiai was terrified by the sudden turn of events. He trembled, "Senior?!"
Ming Zhu gave two "tsk-tsks" and said unhurriedly, "As expected, you were sent by the heavens to punish me."
As he spoke, he flicked his finger, reversing the needle's direction and sending it flying out the door.
The needle pierced through the paper screen of the door and struck a man outside. A muffled groan followed as the man collapsed, dying quite unluckily by his own poison.
Ming Zhu held Ye Weiai with one arm, his ink-black hair dancing in the wind. His posture was like a demon under the moon—eerie, yet breathtakingly beautiful.
"The Five Continents are getting more pathetic by the day. To think you’d dare take an assassination contract with such meager spiritual power." Ming Zhu’s eyes rippled like water as he spoke coolly toward the hallway. "Who sent you?"
***
| Chinese | English | Notes/Explanation |
| :--- | :--- | :--- |
| 首安城 | Shou’an City | A lawless border town near Northern Xinjiang. |
| 晶玉 | Crystal Jade | A form of currency/spirit stones used by cultivators. |
| 心宿三连 | Heart Constellation Triple Alignment | An ominous astrological sign mentioned by Ming Zhu. |
| 日月同天 | Sun and Moon in the Same Sky | An astrological phenomenon where the sun and moon are visible simultaneously, considered an ill omen. |
| 生死劫 | Life-and-Death Tribulation | A fated moment of extreme danger that determines one's survival. |
| 五洲 | Five Continents | The broader world/setting of the novel. |
