CH 65

LFTMPH Chapter 65-He, She, He, She

Translated by Snowfall77

Hearing the crowd cheer for her being named a special disciple, Xia Ge felt muddled.

This new identity was somewhat unusual.

Would it mean that……besides having lessons like everyone else, Xia Ge would also still be responsible for doing the usual Danfeng disciple daily chores?

A few days after Senior Sister’s announcement about ‘special disciple’ Xia Wuyin, Xia Ge was living on the mountain. Although, the residence she was assigned was different from where other regular disciples lived……

Since she was no longer an outer disciple, Xia Ge inevitably had to move. Her old abode would be used by some new outer disciple. She wouldn’t be like Ye Ze, that stupid roe deer, who’d bought his hut with his own money, claiming something about ‘for old times’ sake,’ and had then ran back and forth like a fool.

Although, if she was actually honest, Xia Ge did miss her old hut. Having an extra nest wouldn’t be a bad thing. And, no matter how dilapidated, that hut had been home for several years.

But, after checking the contents of her wallet, Xia Ge had decisively given up on the idea.

Feelings were for the rich. The poor couldn’t afford such indulgence.

She had made sure to meticulously clean up the her hiding places under the old bed frame, carefully packing each little pit with soil. Once she was definite that there was nothing left to implicate her, Xia Ge very happily moved to her new residence.

Her new residence was much bigger than the old, tottering one, and was already decorated. Soft green curtains were pulled open, light streaming in on the pearwood table placed under the window. The bed was large, with a 10 foot long screen beside it. Arranging the quilts, Xia Ge excitedly rolled on the bed, finding it very soft and incredibly roomy. Even after rolling twice, she hadn’t fallen off it. An even nicer surprise was that there was a tub for bathing behind the screen!

She’d used to have to be very sneaky to bathe. One time Ye Ze had told her there was a waterfall in Jianfeng that was practically forsaken. So Xia Ge had tried to secretly go there, only to be chased away like a dog by some truly ferocious Jianfeng girls.

Xia Ge’s {ghost and shadow} had been pushed to its limits that time.

In all likelihood……the Jianfeng disciples had probably thought Xia Ge the equivalent of a pervert sneaking into a girls’ school……sure, it hadn’t gotten as bad as getting caught and beaten, but it had given Xia Ge a psychological shadow nonetheless.

What idiot had told her almost no one went there?

From then on, Xia Ge had limited herself to bathing in the Suxi river during the dead of night.

Luckily, that suffering had now come to an end. She finally had her own tub in which to take a stress-free bath!

How could she not be emotional?!

“Ah……paradise on earth!”

However, no paradise in this world could be completely satisfactory. Once she was done basking in the happiness, Xia Ge crouched on a branch of a tree right by her new home, thoughtfully staring at a familiar abode not far from her own.

Since Xia Ge was now Senior Sister’s ‘special disciple,’ it wasn’t strange that she’d be treated differently……but this place assigned to her……it was a little too close to Senior Sister’s, wasn’t it?

Xia Ge stared at Senior Sister’s domicile for a long time. In front of it were growing clusters of incandescent flowers that Xia Ge didn’t know the name of, bright and beautiful. But there was no sign of the lovely young lady.

Senior Sister was undoubtedly busy every day, so it was probably safe to assume she wouldn’t come by often.

Done collecting her thoughts, Xia Ge jumped out of the tree to take a look at the dan she’d refined. The Sanshangjin dan actually consisted of three pills, two golden and one blood-red. Despite the fact that Xia Ge actually felt a bit of loss at parting with it, she traded one gold pill to the system for 10 points. The other 2 she held onto for the moment, planning on selling them on the black market for silver and puppet-making materials later.

“I think I remember from the book that the black market is at Black Rock cave, right?” Xia Ge scratched her head, “I’ve never been though. Little puppet, could you sell me the map to there?”

The system answered listlessly: [10 Points For A One-Time Use Teleportation Map. A Non-Teleportation Map? Go Down The Mountain And Buy It Yourself.]

Xia Ge: “……”

= =

Lingxi Sect, Hall of Council-

This time there was no white-haired elder sitting in the hall, only Gu Peijiu, Baili Qing, and Chang Lan.

“Recently, there’s been unusual activity from the Demon Sect,” Baili Qing said, “I don’t know what they’re up to.”

Chang Lan, covered head to toe in a brand new blue and white robe, and with a slender jade double-edged sword hung from his waist, furrowed his brow: “ [ Order ] has sent a message, stating that we should be paying more attention to the black market, Baigui cave, Zhumeng House, and any other strongholds the Demon Sect might haunt. They appear to be searching for something……”

The black market was ‘dragons and fishes jumbled together,’ both bad and good people used it. You never knew if your buyer or seller would be a human, a ghost, a skeleton, a puppet, or even a Yimei. While Baigui cave was where information was sold. Most secrets of the world could be hidden from the living, but they couldn’t be hidden from the dead——or spying ghosts and goblins.

As it was a brothel, Zhumeng House was simpler. Yet it had many branches on the mainland and was highly popular, therefore attracting idle people.

“Those are places we should watch,” Wearing his shirt made of myriad beast-skins, and with Chiluan perched on a shoulder, gently pecking at his ear with a red beak, Baili paused before adding: “However, the Thousand Souls Sect has been well-behaved for a long time. Why start making moves now?”

“Let the blame fall on their master who took control a few years ago.” Chang Lan seemed to have a bit of a headache. “Before this new master, the Demon Sect had followed their high priest……and with the high priest imprisoned, I thought the sect leaderless. Who would have expected some up-and-coming newbie to come along and lead the sect? Whatever they’re up to now, it must be something that one wants to accomplish.”

“You still don’t know her origins?” Baili Qing frowned.

“We don’t know,” Chang Lan shook his head, “She seeming appeared out of nowhere a couple years back, possessing {blood-stained spring and autumn}. She provoked an [ Order ] base in the north, overthrew them single-handedly, and after occupying that territory, declared herself master of the Demon Sect. Nothing else is known.”

As the two men conversed, Gu Peijiu stared out at the clouds in sky outside the council hall, saying nothing.

“Senior Sister, do you have anything to add?” Chang Lan stopped and asked in a soft voice.

Posture upright, black hair tied back with red ribbon, and her entire appearance beautiful like a painting, Gu Peijiu didn’t move her gaze from the horizon, answering: “We should keep an eye on the high priest.”

The senior disciples of Lingxi’s previous generation had all gone on to serve [ Order ] , and the 3 now in the council hall were the only ones left. And of the 3 of them, Gu Peijiu’s tenure was the shortest. So, given her already reticent nature, when the 3 did meet to discuss matters, she rarely spoke.

Chang Lan nodded: “Yes, you’re right, that would be good.”

He asked her no further questions.

The Thousand Souls Sect’s former high priest was held in Jianfeng’s prison. At first, multitudes of demons had come, attempting to rescue the high priest, but they hadn’t been able to breach Jianfeng’s defenses. But now that there was a new master, the importance of the high priest had seemingly dwindled to nothing. There were fewer and fewer efforts by the Demon Sect to retrieve their old leader, so the high priest remained Jianfeng’s unreconciled captive.

“Anyways, as [ Order ] has said, we should pay those places a visit,” Chang Lan said.

“Mmm.”

When neither Baili Qing or Gu Peijiu voiced an objection, Chang Lan looked at Gu Peijiu: “Senior Sister, please go to the black market. Brother Baili and I will be responsible for the two other places.”

Even though the black market was not a good area, Baigui cave and a brothel were even more unsuitable places for a young lady to inspect.

“Mmm.”

Gu Peijiu didn’t care what location Chang Lan assigned her to.

She was too busy watching the clouds float across the sky, remembering the Yundu city from her dreams, and the girl who had sat on its wall, wearing straw shoes that exposed her little round toes.

And Xia Wuyin. Gu Peijiu was also thinking about her special disciple.

The uncomplicated meeting over, Gu Peijiu left the council hall and looked down at her hand.

Considering it carefully——

She’d had the first nightmare the night she’d found Xia Wuyin on the back mountain.

And after that, the nightmares had come every night.

Except for one time. The night Gu Peijiu had fallen asleep holding a seriously injured Xia Wuyin’s hand……that night Gu Peijiu had been able to sleep calm and undisturbed.

Closing her eyes, Gu Peijiu’s delicate eyelashes slightly fluttered as she recalled what the boy had said to her upon waking up.

Practically the same words as the girl in the dream.

“Eyes……like……Wuyin.”

Yet it’d been that dream girl who’d had the same face as Xia Wuyin.

Everything from that dream of that city in the clouds had felt false and true at the same time. Gu Peijiu had to be overthinking it. She’d simply been too busy and stressed, and thus her mind had conjured up a preposterous dream.

Clenching her hands, Gu Peijiu slowly opened her eyes again.

Even when making clumsy lies that were easily seen through, Xia Wuyin always said them as if they were a matter of course.

Was Xia Wuyin a chess piece from the Demon Sect, sent to infiltrate Lingxi? No……if Xia Wuyin were a Demon Sect pawn, every possible effort to become an inner disciple would have been made, the sooner to start stealing secrets. Xia Wuyin’s behavior had been the complete opposite of that. And even further, if stealing and spying was the goal, Xia Wuyin should have gone to rich, thriving Jianfeng, not declining Danfeng.

Really, the most suspicious thing about Xia Wuyin was the constant going to the back mountain.

Why……

A diversionary tactic? A way to gain trust? Or?

Furthermore……

There was Xia Wuyin’s short, skinny body, the somewhat ridiculous binding around the upper chest, the face that was a little too delicate and those big, dark eyes. On the other hand, there’d been those flirty, frivolous words spoken to the barmaid in Mojia village.

——Perhaps Xia Wuyin’s natural disposition was that of a romantic?

True is false when false is true. Even though that dream had been absurd, that didn’t mean that some things within it, when carefully considered, wouldn’t reveal some doubtful points.

Xia Wuyin’s mouth full of lies might be a maze turned protective barrier, and the romantic nature a concealing mask. All because Xia Wuyin was hiding a deeper, never-to-be-spoken secret.

And what would that secret be?

Gazing up at the gradually darkening sky above her head, the expression in Gu Peijiu’s eyes slowly grew more profound.

So……

Was it he……or she?

傻狍子

stupid Siberian roe deer

It means lack of heart~~~ Simply put, it is a fool.

Northeast dialect. But generally it is not used much.

https://zhidao.baidu.com/question/2675904.html

Baigui cave

百bǎi hundred / numerous / all kinds of

鬼guǐ ghost / demon / terrible / damnable / clever / sly / crafty /one of the 28 constellations

Zhumeng House

逐 zhú (bound form) to pursue / to chase away / individually / one by one

梦mèng dream / CL: 場｜场, 個｜个 / (bound form) to dream