Chapter 69

Parsed with an automated reader. The content accuracy is not guranteed.

Frowning, she murmured, “Then… after her death, since you joined the Restoration Army, why did you remain in the Red King’s Mansion? It is very unsuitable for sharks to bear the climate in the Western Wilderness…”

“When Yao Yi was just passed away, her child was still too young, foreign relatives were eyeing on him, and the four tribes of the Western Wilderness could have plunged into chaos at any time.” Yuan said lightly, “So, I again remained behind to help pacify the civil unrest inside the Red Clan.”

“Huh? It was you who quelled that rebellion of the four tribes?” Zhu Yan froze for a moment and suddenly understood, “This is the reason why the previous Red King gave you the gold medal for exemption of death?”

Yuan nodded without a word, his wrist tightening as the chariot quickly turned a corner and shifted into another road, and he whispered, “After the rebellion was settled, I had to remain for a while longer until the child grew up and became a qualified king – at that time I wanted to leave the Western Wilderness, but the elders did not agree. They wanted me to stay in the Celestial Wind City.”

Zhu Yan was a little perplexed, “Why?”

“What, you don’t understand?” The corners of Yuan’s mouth curved slightly into a thin smile as he turned his head to look at the clueless girl at his side, and spoke one word at a time, “Because, this way, I could continue to stay in the heart of the enemy, and have access to the most confidential information of the Six Kongsang Clans!”

“…” Zhu Yan shuddered, as if she had been stabbed with a dagger, and took in a painful gasp of cold air, staring blankly at the man at her side, unable to utter a word.

“Alas… Ah-Yan,” seeing such a dumb expression on her face, Yuan couldn’t help but lift his hand and rub her cheek, shaking his head with a bitter smile, “You see, you insisted on forcing me to reveal all these things before your death…”

“…” She shuddered warily and couldn’t help but dodge a little backwards to avoid his fingers – the shark’s skin was cold as it always been, but to her at the moment, it felt as if it was cold as ice. She looked at Yuan with unfamiliar stare and remained silent for a moment before saying, “So, you stayed in the Mansion’s hideout all this time only because of this?”

“At first, it was like this,” Yuan withdrew his hand and sighed, making the chariot turn a corner, “but ten years ago, the Left Envoy made Chaosheng die in a battle, and the elders deliberated and wanted me to take his place and return to the Mirror Lake Camp…”

Zhu Yan subconsciously asked, “Then why didn’t you went back?”

Yuan gave her a look and said, “Because you were ill at that time.”

“…” Zhu Yan shuddered and suddenly remembered – yes, that was when her father took her mother to the Imperial Capital for an audience with the Emperor, and it was then that she was struck with what was known as “The fever was so intense that it wouldn’t go away, and she remained in a coma day after day, struggling to survive on the edge between life and death”.

And the only person who held her tiny hand at her bedside was Yuan.

He accompanied the lonely child through the first great calamity of her life, and when she returned from the gates of the ghosts and opened her eyes feebly, she saw those pair of eyes as blue as the sea under the light. On that occasion, she cried and threw her arms around Yuan’s neck, making him swear never to leave her. The shark soothed the child, who was not yet out of danger, and repeated the vow not to leave her over and over again until she settled down and fell into an exhausted sleep at once.

Her eyes suddenly got teary at the memory of it, and sniffling her nose to hold back the sourness, she said nervously, “So… you continuing to stay, was that for me?”

Yuan looked at her, with tender gaze, “Yes, for my little Ah-Yan.”

She muttered, “But then… why have you abandoned me again?”

“It was out of necessity.” Yuan’s eyes grew serious and his tone strained, “I forgot how quickly time passes in the human world, and in a flash my little Ah-Yan grew up and other ideas entered her heart – I considered you as my child, but you would not treat me as your father.”

“A father? Is that a joke?!” Zhu Yan flushed with indignation, and suddenly, unaware of what had occurred to him, she revealed a dumbfounded look, staring at him steadily, her lips opening and closing a few times, “Oh my… oh heavens!”

“What?” Yuan was already approaching Qunyu Square with the chariot and was distracted from looking the other way when he saw the barricades and soldiers in front of them, not bothering to look at her. Yet Zhu Yan jumped as if she had been stung and stared at him, her lips trembling slightly as if she had discovered some great secret, and said in a faltering voice, “So that’s it! Oh my god… Yuan! Am I, am I… really your descendant?”

This time Yuan finally turned his head to look at her, “What?”

“Am I… your descendant?” The young girl sat on the chariot and looked at the shark who had been living for over two centuries and blushed, “you said my Great Grandmother was your lover! You said she and her husband only maintained a formal marriage! So, was it possible that the child she gave birth to, was yours?”

Yuan didn’t reply, just looked at her, wanting to say something.

Zhu Yan came to a sudden realization and sat back down in dismay, cupping her head as she blurted out, “So, that’s why you treat me like a child? Oh my god! So… you, you’re really my Great Grandfather? Oh my God!”

Her mind was in turmoil, her thoughts confused, and she couldn’t utter a word for a while.

What a joke! How could she have fallen in love with her own Great Grandfather? The one who had watched over and protected the bloodline of the Red Clan for over a hundred years, the one who had grown up with and cared for her more tenderly than her father ever did, was the originator and source of her own bloodline!

This intertwined passage of times and disordered love were simply bewildering.

She drifted lost in thoughts in the chariot, unaware that they were nearing Qunyu Square. This was a busy district of Yecheng, and although it was just barely dawn, there were already pedestrians on the streets. A chariot barging onto the street in such a place would obviously be very inconspicuous and would immediately attract the attention of the patrolling soldiers.

Yuan took the instant decision to stop the horse at the corner and barked in a low voice, “Get off!”

Zhu Yan’s mind went blank as she was yanked off the chariot by him in this manner. Yuan pulled her around to a secluded and deserted street corner, pointed to the intersection ahead, and said, “Alright, here is safe – go back now while there aren’t too many people around!”

“Huh?” She froze for a moment, somewhat delayed in her thoughts.

“Go back to the Red King’s Palace at once, before the sun rises!” Yuan coughed and urged her word by word, “Remember, never make it known that you’ve been out tonight, and don’t cause any more troubles for the Red Clan – forget about me, and don’t get involved with the Sharks or the Restoration Army ever again!”

“But… what about you? My Master is still after you,” her voice trembled slightly, “you can’t beat Master alone!”

“To die on the battlefield is actually the best place to end your life,” Yuan’s voice was calm and grave as he said this to her,” Ah-Yan, your Master and I fought for our respective clans and countries, we never needed to show mercy to each other, nor did we need others to interfere. Even if one day I might kill him or he kills me, it will be the best outcome that a warrior deserves, without any need for concern.”

“…” Zhu Yan was speechless, tears gradually condensing into her eyes.

“Goodbye, my little Ah-Yan,” Yuan lifted his thumb and wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes, his voice suddenly reverting to the gentleness of her childhood, “you have grown up to become such a wonderful person – Promise me that you will become a great leader to your people and will live a good life.”

“Mhm!” She nodded in a daze, tears falling from her eyes one after another, and suddenly stepped forward and tugged at his shirt, choking back a sob, “Yuan! I have one more question!”

Yuan lowered his hand and had already turned with the intention of leaving, but now he couldn’t help but look back at her, “What is it?”

She stared at him in awe, “Are you… really my Great Grandfather?”

Yuan lowered his eyes and seemed to hesitate for a moment before asking rhetorically, “Would you find it a little easier to let go if I said yes?”

Zhu Yan was not sure whether to shake or nod her head, but Yuan shrugged, “No, I am not your Great Grandfather. Yao Yi and I didn’t have any children. The probability of a shark and a human having a child is very small, and even if a child is born, the child will maintain the distinctive features of the shark clan – you are not my descendant. Yao Yi’s child was passed on from a sibling of the Red Clan.”

“Ah really? Is the truth? I’m really not your child?” She let out a long sigh of relief and the corners of her mouth twitched, not knowing whether to cry or laugh. Yuan looked at her complicated expression and sighed, patting her shoulder, “However, I have watched you grow up, and my feelings for you are the same as for my own child.”

She only felt a sense of confusion, her heart filled with joy and sorrow for a while, unable to come up with a reply.

Yuan patted her gently with a sigh coughing weakly, “All is said and done… Goodbye, my little Ah-Yan.”

His eyes were as gentle as they had been in her childhood, but with his military uniform splattered with blood, the stinging red reminded her that nothing would be the same again. He leaned down to hug her one last time, then braced himself to leave, nearly exhausted from the fight.

She wanted to stop him, but realized that there was no longer any reason for him to stay.

Yuan let go of her hand and turned to vanish around the corner.

In that moment, she suddenly had a strong premonition that this might be the last time she would ever see him for the rest of her life – this gentle man who she had grown up with, was about to disappear from her life forever, like a fish that had returned to the sea, and would never come back.

“Yuan!” She gushed, unable to resist going after him.

Yes, he had turned back from the battlefield and rode his horse through the siege just to get her home. Then what was he going to do with himself? They had just broken out of the siege and were both exhausted, so how would he get out if he happened to encountered a primus raid?

Uneasy, she chased after him, but Yuan already disappeared into the depths of the Star Ocean Cloud Pavilion.

The most flourishing of such establishments had been closed down by order of the authorities after the disturbances of the past, even despite the pleading of Mistress Hua Luo, who was a close friend of the governor. At the moment, in the early morning light, this magnificent building with its seals was silent like a graveyard.

Zhu Yan ran into the Star Ocean Cloud Pavilion, but couldn’t find Yuan anywhere.

The wind blew from outside, and the seals all over the courtyard rustled and moved. For a moment, Zhu Yan stood somewhat bewildered and looked around – in that moment, she felt suddenly enlightened and remembered the secret passage in the underground chamber: yes, the reason why Yuan had returned here was not to throw himself into the net, but to get out through that secret passage altogether.

Zhu Yan stood still for a moment, her heart gradually calming down, and after lowering her head and thinking for a long time, she sighed and gave up, not continuing to chase after him, just simply turning around in the light of the early morning sky. Yes, Yuan had already left, and there was no way to catch up with him. And, even if she did, what was she supposed to say anyway?

The fate between them had been long written off, and by this day it should have already come to an end.

What disappeared along with it may have been the teenage years of her ignorant and unrequited love.

The chill early morning breeze skimmed gently across her head, ruffling her long hair and making her feel like she was waking up from a dream. She thought she should remember this day, because even if she recalled it in the future, it would be a meaningful turning point in her life – at the age of nineteen, she had finally let go of something she could not let go off for so many years, and finally cut free from someone she had been longing about for so long.

However, as she was just leaping up the wall, exhausted and full of sorrow, she suddenly caught a glimpse of something moving in the distance out of the corner of her eye: Zhu Yan stood still on the wall and could not help but look back.

There was nothing but a small songbird foraging for food flying by. The entire Ocean Cloud Pavilion was empty, as silent as if it was dead.

It was just an illusion, wasn’t it? She shook her head and prepared to leap off the high wall and walk away in peace. Suddenly she felt that something was wrong, as if a cold bolt of lightning had struck her, and she turned back to look at the bird. It was still in the same place where she had seen it a few moments before, in the same position of flying with its wings spread in the air, not moving at all!

That was an illusion! What she saw was just a mirage?

The wind was blowing, but the flying birds on the surroundings did not move, and even the flowers and trees in the courtyard did not sway a bit. There was a faint layer of mist over the entire Star Ocean Cloud Pavilion, almost invisible to the naked eye. Zhu Yan was shocked, so with a click of her toes, she turned around in the air on top of the wall and darted towards the depths of the Cloud Garden.

NOTE: This translation belongs to me. It is prohibited to copy / Re-translate / Re-distribute my translations without my prior permission. Thank you.

Loved my translation? Buy me a coffee! Scan on Click the image.

Thank you for your generosity!💖

Like this:Like Loading...

Related