Chapter 297 – Untitled

Translated by Gumihou

Edited by Gumihou

 

While Shiyu was speaking with the Dean and the elders about ways to track down Li Tian’s remnant soul, Dong-Fang Zhen had returned to the East Palace. A little exhausted from his travelling, [1] he stepped through the gates of his palace to see Xuan Yin standing in the middle of the courtyard. Waiting for him.

Xuan Yin appeared to love the colour black most. She stood in the middle of the yard with a long sword in her arms. Her long black hair was tied back into a tall ponytail, making her look neat, imposing and handsome.

Dong-Fang Zhen stopped.

He knew that this moment would eventually come. The fact that Xuan Yin had not left immediately already showed how much this matter weighs her heart.

Xuan Yin looked up and stared straight at him.

“I am here to ask you one last time. Are you going to marry someone else?”

Dong-Fang Zhen stared back at her, then said casually, “That’s right. Sorry about not being able to keep my promise.”

Xuan Yin’s whole body went rigid. Her eyes clenched shut to prevent tears from flowing out.

When she finally opened her eyes, her gaze was frigid.

“Very well, if you insist on being merciless we’re through!” she snatched a bracelet off her wrist. “You gave me this thing. I shall return it to you. From now on, you and I will never cross paths again!”

With that, she threw the bracelet at Dong-Fang Zhen’s feet. The string broke and pearls scattered all over the place.

Dong-Fang Zhen’s eyes followed a pearl as it bounced across the courtyard and rolled to a stop at his feet.

[1] When he looked up again, Xuan Yin had disappeared. He bent down and picked up the pearl, placed it in the middle of his palm and studied it carefully.

Xuan Yin did not like it when he gave her fancy trinkets or expensive accessories. He had collected the pearls, bore the holes himself and strung the pearls together. He thought that she would disdain this plain gift but never thought that she would wear it on her wrist all this time.

What a pity, it’s all broken now.

He held the pearl in his hand and staggered his way slowly towards his room.

“Your highness,” a palace maid rushed forward to support him. Her eyes were red-rimmed with emotion, “Please don’t blame the Imperial Concubine… for a long time now she had been plagued by the same nightmare. You are her flesh and blood, she doesn’t want something to happen to you…”

Dong-Fang Zhen said nothing. He stubbornly held onto the pearl in his hand, his teeth clenched as he did his best not to give in to the desire to turn around and chase after her…

“You leave first,” said someone. “I shall enlighten your master,”

When the palace maid saw who had spoken, she greeted him respectfully. “Then, I shall trouble Young Master Liu.”

Liu Suifeng waved a hand at her. Once the palace maid left, he threw one arm around Dong-Fang Zhen and pulled him close. “You, ah, serve you right! Isn’t it better to be more like me? To see a perfectly fine man like you fall like this, how tragic, ah!

Well, now that you’ve fallen, you’ve fallen. But as a man, you should have courage! If you dare to fall you should dare to take command! Go and chase her down and marry her and keep her by your side. Why are you twisting about like a trapped moth here?”

When Dong-Fang Zhen did not react, Liu Suifeng stretched out his foot and kicked him. “Don’t keep silent, ah! If you’re that reluctant to part with her you should chase after, ah! Look, there’s still time. If you don’t chase her down now, you’ll probably never find her again.”

“No need,” Dong-Fang Zhen sat down on the floor. The dust settled on his clothes as he raised his face to the sky. The expression on his face was so grief-stricken that anyone looking at him feel bitterness in their heart. “I can’t leave the palace. My fate is tied to this place. My father only has one son and it’s time for me to bear some of the burdens of this position.”

“But, surely you can leave for a bit and come back when his majesty can no longer…” after all, the emperor is still relatively young… “Wait, are you saying his majesty…”

“He’s tired…” said Dong-Fang Zhen. “I don’t want him to suffer anymore. Ah Yin is incredibly talented. In the future, she would definitely reach heights beyond me. If she were to stay with me, I will only become an obstacle to her.

Everyone has their own responsibilities. With the world facing great turmoil soon, I want to do my best and keep this country safe. Perhaps we could come to a compromise now. However, time is the great equalizer, who could say that we would never regret our original actions?”

The person before him was on the verge of soaring to the sky, so, surely there’s no need to keep that person tied to him?

When Liu Suifeng heard this, he could only sigh heavily.

Love is a nearly incomprehensible word.

 

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After Xuan Yin left the palace, she did not stick around long.

Instead, she went to look for Shiyu and found her in the middle of packing up too.

The two young women looked at each other. Shiyu’s heart constricted at her friend’s expression.

“I’m here to say goodbye, and to thank you for your care all this time,” when she first came into this world, life had been… difficult. [2] It was not as depressing or life-threatening as her previous world but she could say with certainty her life here got better after she met Shiyu. From that first meeting onwards, she met all her other friends, one after another.

It was something she was very grateful for.

Shiyu fell silent for a moment, “You have made up your mind?”

“People can live without love. I have never considered it as a necessity. Before I met him, I lived very well. I can still live quite well without him.”

Seeing how Xuan Yin’s heart was a grey as death, Shiyu decided against persuading her.

When it came to matters of the heart, she could advise as a friend. However, she could not make the decisions for them.

No matter what, this was something that they had to decide between themselves. Nevertheless, she believed they could come to an ideal conclusion in the end.

“That’s good, you should take care while on the road. That’s right, while you’re on the road, do keep an eye out for anything that could repair souls. Also, see if you can find out any information that would help Qing Chen breakthrough.” For someone who had just gone through a heartbreak, the best remedy was to give them something to do. It’s a good way to divert their emotions.

“Very well, you take care,” Xuan Yin nodded. She gave Shiyu a final tight hug before turning to leave.

This time, they are all really going in their separate ways.

As her straight and heroic figure stepped away, Shiyu suddenly shouted, “That’s right, we should all return to the College once every 10 years. You must remember to come back.”

Xuan Yin turned and smiled through moist eyes, “Alright, I will remember.”

Once Xuan Yin left, a strange sensation was left inside Shiyu’s heart.

For a moment, she stared at all the things she had set aside to pack. Was this it?

Shaking herself, she packed her things with renewed vigour.

As for everyone else, they already knew that Xuan Yin will be leaving them. However, when they saw Shiyu packing her things, they could not help but ask, “You’re leaving so soon?”

“It’s better to go early rather than late,” said Shiyu.

Suddenly, everyone felt a little melancholic.

“We’re really going our separate ways?”

Shiyu stopped and looked at her friends. She sighed, “I guess, now that we have all entered Divine Transformation Realm we will be going our separate ways now. I know that Chuyun will be returning to Xuan Chu, Qing Chen and Dong-Fang will most likely remain here. Xuan Yin has already left. As for Lin Fan and Feng Luo, where will you be heading?”

Lin Fan’s jaw tightened, “Can’t we travel with you?”

“You could, but if possible I’d like to set a mission for you.”

“What is the mission?”

“To become stronger,” Shiyu held up three fingers. “Three years, Tan-Tai Chu will leave her close Cultivation after three years. I don’t want her to corner us again after three years. So, Lin Fan, work hard and become even more powerful, alright? Become so powerful that the entire Tan-Tai Clan dare not even think about messing with us.”

 

[Gumihou: Very stirring speech, except Gumi is snickering from the hilarity of all these people sitting around waiting for Shiyu’s orders like well-behaved ducklings]

 

We now have Glossaries for Character, Cultivation Terms, Clan Names, Restaurants & Places

[1] Small adjustments made.

[2] Xuan Yin came from a post-apocalypse world. Might as well remind everyone about it.

 

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