Chapter 182 Crystal Pork Shoulder (g)

Translated by Gumihou

Edited by Gumihou

 

Wen Xian entered first, his face automatically brightening at the sight of Shiyu. [1] “Sister Shi!”

Behind him were Xiao Qi and Lao Er. It’s been over a month, but Xiao Qi was still her exuberant self, [1] “Sister!” The cute child ran over and threw her arms around Shiyu’s waist. “Sister is back~” Xiao Qi rubbed her cheek against her sister’s belly in a spoilt manner. “Hehe,”

[1] “Sister,” Lao Er’s greeting was far more sedated. This serious child had gotten a bit taller again. The top of his head nearly reaching Shiyu’s shoulder. The only problem was his abysmal Cultivation level at 2nd Level Condensation Stage.

Nevertheless, the ever-present frown on the child’s face was gone. The desperate sense of frustration had faded and he looked more at peace with himself. She had no idea whether it was due to Lao Er’s experience of training himself without a Spiritual core against true Cultivators, but the child looked much more mature and stable than children his age.

Lao Er’s looks could only be described as ordinary, coupled with his quiet temperament, this child usually became part of the scenery for valiant and beautiful characters. Aside from the occasional few words to Shiyu, Lao Er rarely said anything.

Still, Shiyu liked this child. After all, not everyone was born the same. It’s fine to be a bit more vigilant and careful. People with this kind of attitude are less likely to suffer a loss.

[1] “Sister, sister, are you listening?” Xiao Qi pouted.

[1] “Sister Shi must also want to talk about her journey too!” Wen Xian exclaimed. “Tell us all about it what happened to you. I know brother went to see you earlier-”

[1] Where Lao Er was taciturn, these two twittered away like birds. Wen Xian’s based personality was friendly and personable. [2] He was the first friend that Shiyu made in this College. This was the guy who made friends with that weird chef and was friendly with trees too…

This guy sure is cheerful, ah, thought Shiyu absently. Compared to him, the brother is…

[1] Shiyu blanched. Her sensitivity towards killing intent alerted her to danger within the Villa. A glance around soon revealed the source of the anger.

[1] This Wen Heng…

Suddenly, Shiyu felt a little sorry for Great Lord Wen.

Though he often appeared aloof and regularly complained about Wen Xian being too troublesome for his own good and insisted that he would not involve himself in anything… as long as Wen Xian opened his mouth to appeal, this older brother would give in.

Otherwise, Wen Xian would not be hanging around the villa for even a day, let alone a month or two.

It was clear that he was indulging this brother of his.

[3] Is this the infamous Tsundere attitude? Shiyu mused.

Lips pursing into a smile, Shiyu sat down and listened as the younger ones chattered on. When they reached the part where a lot of people seemed to have come to the Imperial Capital, Shiyu found herself urging them again, “Make sure to stay within the College during this time. If you get separated, you might never come back.”

She had no idea that this Tea of Enlightenment would attract so much attention. To be fair, she must have underestimated the value of the leaves.

Since she has three pieces of Enlightenment Tea hidden in her Saint’s Dwelling, Shiyu had no thoughts about joining in the stampede for something she already has. She was very clear about her own strength. [1] Back at Dawn City, she had been reckless, almost domineering, because she has three Divine Condensation Pandas under her command. However, a 6th Level, Core Condensation Cultivator has no business getting into a competition for a precious item with Cultivators from other realms.

After all, she was neither Lin Fan nor Xuan Yin. Without the MC armour or great luck, she could die. Back at Xuan Chu, she nearly lost her little life over other’s greed for the Spirit Fire. As for this Tea of Enlightenment, even if she did participate in the race, the chances of her not getting her hands on the thing was high. The chances of her losing valuable resources while battling for the thing probably tripled.

To be honest, Shiyu was rather afraid of pain. Although she had suffered many times in the name of gaining strength, she would still prefer to avoid pain whenever possible. Self-love is important, must avoid getting into fights she could not win!

Thankfully, these little brothers and sister of hers were very obedient. Although young, children who grew up in abject poverty would be more mature. Although they would act a little spoilt sometimes, it was mostly something they reserve with the person they trusted most.

The little group had chatted for a little more. A while later, Shiyu went off to rest before making her way to the Feng House, meaning to play host to Xiao Shu and take her around the Imperial Capital. However, when she got to the Feng House, she was informed that Xiao Shu had gone to seek out her father.

When she heard this, Shiyu left a message. Telling Xiao Shu to come and find her at the College’s Villa after she had seen her father.

 

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Three days later.

It was the last day of the Fourth Month.

Beyond the magnificent borders of the Imperial Capital, a carriage rushed quickly towards the city gate. It travelled so fast that the dust kicked up by the horses’ hooves was three times the size of the carriage they draw. At the driver’s seat was a young man dressed in light green. His eyes were sharp as they stared at the city gate. When the carriage got nearer, it slowed down to a more reasonable pace and sedately entered the city gate.

After that carriage, a series of fast horses galloped to the gate, ridden by proud young girls decked out in expensive clothes and accessories. They were clearly not ordinary people.

“So this is the Imperial Capital,” their arrogant eyes scanned over the city walls once before their horses cantered over to the gate.

One after another, men, women, young and old came on horseback or carriages. Some looked dull and travel-worn, others were proud and arrogant. Some would line up obediently and register their names at the city gate, others would just barge right through without even sparing a glance at the guards.

None of the guards dared to complain. No matter what their background or the level of strength, the guards knew that none of them would be able to do anything if any of these ‘special people’ were provoked.

The status of a Cultivator is practically supernatural. Like a god or goddess, if you attract their ire, their wrath would fall like a curse and harm your whole family.

Quietly watching this parade of people was a young man dressed in moon-white changpao with arrow sleeves [5]. As more people passed him by, the more agitated his heart became.

So, this is the Imperial Capital.

As expected, it was much more developed than Dawn City. Wherever he looked, it was as though all the Cultivators here has higher Cultivation than himself.

This, he thought, is where I should be. Leaving Dawn City is the right thing to do.

The young man’s resolved hardened and he grew eager again. He squeezed the space ring where the letter of introduction was tucked away, before marching forward to the gate to ask the guard, “Excuse me, sir guard, how do I get to the Imperial College?”

[6] The guard, who had been mostly ignored by all these so-called important guests of the Imperial Capital was a little surprised to see such a heroic-looking young man speaking politely to him. Moreover, this young man was inquiring after the Imperial College, ah!

Suddenly gratified, he said amiably, “Once past the city gate, turn left. Walk until you see a large lake. If you walk along the lake, you will eventually see the gates of the College.”

“Thank you very much,” said the young man before taking his leave. As he walked away, [7] Shen Ling Fei’s sharp ears picked up the following conversation.

“That young man is really different from the others. He might be another proud future graduate of the Imperial College.”

“How enviable, ah,”

“Isn’t it?”

The corner of the youth’s mouth curled up, as expected, coming to this place was the right choice.

 

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A carriage stopped at the entrance of the Imperial College.

Qing Chen leapt off the driver seat. The three passengers within the carriage came out and stood next to him as they eyed the large signboards flanking the College gates.

In a low voice, Qing Chen exhaled, “I’m back.”

Then, he stepped forward. The others followed.

 

At the Villa, under the Japanese Rose arch, Shiyu was putting up Xiao Qi’s hair. The two sisters were spending a lot less time together now. Before Xiao Qi inevitably bloom from a young girl to a young woman, Shiyu was determined to spend as much time dressing up this cute little sister of hers. It would not be long before Xiao Qi enter her teenage years and would not want an interfering older sister to mess with her wardrobe…

While she was putting up Xiao Qi’s hair into a small bun, a bell chimed, indicating that there were visitors at the Villa gate. Shiyu walked down the garden path and was a little surprised to see Qing Chen.

To be fair, she had been expecting him to come, but he was a little early. Well, if he was here, surely Xuan Yin…

Shiyu stretched out her neck and blinked, “Qi Chuyun? Why are you here? How are you travelling together? Aren’t you supposed to be in Xuan Chu?”

After Patriarch Qi died, someone from the Qi Clan had to step up as head of the clan. The last she knew, Qi Chuyun had received some martial arts knowledge from Mister Qi and should be concentrating on pushing up her Cultivation.

So why is she here?

Is it for the Tea of Enlightenment?

When Qi Chuyun saw Shiyu, her eyes grew hot for some reason. The pressure which she had been carrying for the past month suddenly vanished and her body swayed.

Alarmed, Shiyu rushed forward to support her and turned to Qing Chen, “What happened? Never mind, just come in first.”

Qing Chen nodded. He stepped through the gate and conscientiously closed the gate properly behind him. Shiyu tilted her head, “Wait, didn’t Xuan Yin come with you?”

“Yes, she was heading here with me when people from the Imperial Palace came and asked them to come to the palace first.”

 

[Gumihou: Ah, as expected.]

 

Gumihou is keeping track so that you don’t have to ~

 

凝氣	Condensation Stage	Stage 1
化丹	Core Transformation	Stage 2
凝丹(46)	Core Condensation	Stage 3
化神(52)	Divine Condensation	Stage 4
成嬰	Nascent Formation	Stage 5
合體	Unification	Stage 6
返墟	Revert Decay	Stage 7
歸真	Original Purity	Stage 8
成仙	Become Immortal	Stage 9

 

[1] Creative Liberties Taken for Dramatic Purpose: Not a single dialogue until the 10th paragraph. For a reunion scene, it’s kind of… Anyway, creative liberties! Gumihou is taking creative liberties! Dialogue! Action phrases!

[2] USMiC – Wen Xian: Give a little reminder of the moment this character appeared as part of Shiyu’s thoughts.

[3] The original text was ‘the mouth says no, but the body was honest’, which is kind of…dirty?

Let’s just go with Tsundere.

[4] Shiyu’s Thought Process: Added a bit more detail here and there as she thought about her position in this life.

[5] Changpao with arrow sleeve: changpao is a men’s long Chinese gown, arrow sleeves is a fashion taken from the Manchurian ethnic group. Since the Manchurians (men and women) enjoyed horse riding and other outdoor activities, their sleeves were rather narrow at the cuffs, unlike the long sweeping sleeves of scholars or merchants.

Kind of like the ones Jet Li would wear as Wong Fei Hong.

[6] USMiC – The Guard: Gave the guard a little more personality, make readers feel a little sorry for his suffering.

 

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