Bao Chun felt as if she had just fallen from cloud nine, hitting the ground extra hard. Her mouth was wide open, unable to be closed. A thought flashed across her mind—that sly bandit!
“But you didn’t mention it before!” Bao Chun accused him of his evil deeds.
“You’re the one who didn’t ask.” Huangfu shrugged, he had on his typical “feigning innocence after taking advantage of her” look.
Then he quite willingly picked up a writing brush and wrote down in her account book, “one thousand taels of silver per kiss”.
“Would you like to pay it up front or put it on your tab?” He waved the account book before her eyes quite brashly, his dazzling yet annoying smile hung across his face right there in front of her, making it clear that he’s always going to be in control of the situation in their relationship.
“This time doesn’t count!” Bao Chun reached out and tried to take back the account book, she had never expected Huangfu to get back at her by seducing her! “You big perverted meanie cat!
Being vertically challenged with short limbs was another one of Bao Chun’s weaknesses. Huangfu only needed to raise his hand slightly for her to look at the book and sigh in defeat.
“Or, you could just let me kiss you for five taels of silver each time.” Huangfu looked Bao Chun over in all apparent seriousness, “And if we calculate according to this, you should be able to deduct five hundred taels of silver from the total amount you owe me.” Huangfu had a lecherous look on his face, his evil claws reaching out to grab Bao Chun.
Bao Chun screamed and the two started a game of tag right there in the room.
“Go away!”
“Five taels.” Huangfu succeeded in his pursuit and generously made his first deduction.
“Don’t come over here!”
“Ten taels.”
“Don’t bite my neck—it tickles!”
“Fifteen taels.”
At the same time, two people were standing outside the doors, looking awkwardly at each other.
“It seems … now might not be the best time to go in and disturb them. The Master won’t be pleased to be interrupted.”
Granny Li secretly peeked in through the crack in the door to take a gander at the new tricks that the youngsters were up to, and said to Nineteen, who was standing beside her.
“But this is more important than what The Master’s up to.”
“You tell him then.” Granny Li straight up handed him the hot potato and left Nineteen to deal with the mess, without forgetting to knock on the door on Nineteen’s behalf.
“If you have something to say then say it, if not then get the h.e.l.l out of my face.” From inside the room came Huangfu’s displeased command along with Bao Chun’s cry for help.
The reluctant Nineteen rolled his eyes at Granny Li, then accepted his fate and said, “Master, Miss Chi Shao has returned. ”
✧ ✧ ✧
If it wasn’t for Huangfu’s arm around her waist, Bao Chun would definitely have thought that Huangfu used some sort of witchcraft or sorcery and cloned himself!
Bao Chun stared at the “other Huangfu”, a daintier version of him, dressed in women’s clothing.
She glanced back and forth at the two people. The Huangfu standing to her left, then the Huangfu sitting in front of her, then the Huangfu standing to her left, then again at the Huangfu sitting in front of her ….
“There’s two of you!” Bao Chun tugged at the sleeve of the one true Huangfu and said shockingly.
Just then, the “other Huangfu” opened her mouth to greet them.
“Big Brother, you’re still not dead?” A clear and melodious voice escaped from her ruby lips, different from that of Huangfu’s.
“If I die I’ll pull you down with me to keep me company.” Huangfu snapped at her sarcastically, then took Bao Chun’s hand in his and sat down on the chairs furthest away from everyone.
“She’s your little sister?” Bao Chun knew that she had just asked a stupid question, because the fact that the two of them had identical features were proof enough.
“Corrections, she’s my UNWORTHY sister.” Huangfu was quite insistent on emphasizing her unworthiness.
“And you said she was ugly?!” Bao Chun had never seen a beauty like hers before. Her eyes that bore Huangfu’s likeness sparkled on her exquisite flower-like visage, her thin lips were as tender and delicate as the skin on a fresh apple. The only things that set her apart from Huangfu were her satiny raven strands and inordinately pale skin. If such a beauty could be called ugly then she herself must be some sort of demon lady!
“You don’t think she’s ugly with a face like that? She’s got eyes as big as a cow’s, a huge b.l.o.o.d.y gaping hole for a mouth, not to mention her haggish laughter. You certainly won’t find a woman more grotesque than her in all of the Central Plains area.”[1] It seems that all of her good points were easily being twisted up by Huangfu into some sort of mockery.
“But … you look just like her …. So if you say that about her, you are saying that about yourself as well.”
“I’ve never thought of my outer appearance as particularly good looking.” Huangfu answered Bao Chun quite seriously. The only thing about his own skin that he’s happy about was the thrill it allowed him when he’s seducing Bao Chun.
Bao Chun rolled her eyes. Does this man’s appreciation for aesthetics differ from that of normal people’s?
“Are you the Guang Chun that wrote to me?” Huangfu Chi Shao stared at the girl whispering to her dear old brother and studied her amusingly. The poor girl, having to deal with being liked by that abominable brother of her’s.
“Guang Chun? Oh no, I’m Bao Chun.” Bao Chun corrected.
Chi Shao removed a thick stack of cotton paper from her bundle, each page was scribbled with only ten crooked characters, messily scrawled across the pages, dotted with ink blobs and wrongly written characters. She pulled out the last page and pointed with her slim finger, “Isn’t this the character for Guang?”
“This is ‘Bao’.”[2] A serious Bao Chun wrote out the strokes once again to show her.
Chi Shao thoughtfully nodded her head and gave Bao Chun an apologetic smile, “Your writing was a little … so it took some effort for me to read it.” She paused and swallowed a few words, so not to hurt Bao Chun’s fragile feelings.
“I know my writing was really ugly, but Huangfu wouldn’t help me write the letter, so I’m really sorry it gave you a hard time.” Bao Chun scratched her head, she almost didn’t recognize her own chicken scratch anymore … and was starting to admire Chi Shao from the bottom of her heart for being able to read and understand all that.
“Oh no, it’s not your fault, it’s definitely not your fault. I know how despicable my brother can be, you are the one that must have had a hard time.” Chi Shao took Bao Chun’s hand in hers sincerely. Although the two women had just met, there seems to be a budding friendship forming between them.
“Stop your nonsensical chit-chat. Take care of proper business here straight away, and then you can get the h.e.l.l out of Huangfu mansion.” An unfriendly sounding Huangfu interrupted the conversation between the two women, his harsh, tyrannical tone was obviously directed at his unworthy sister.
“Hey! It was you who ‘begged’ me to come back. And look at you now! I haven’t even been here for long and you’re already giving me that look again! Do you not want to rid yourself of the poison?” Chi Shao’s equally harsh and she-devil looks completely destroyed the graceful celestial maiden image Bao Chun had formed in her mind.
“Then I won’t! Who cares!” Huangfu was certainly not one to pocket his pride.
“Ah Niu,[3] let’s go!” Without saying anything else, Chi Shao called to the exceptionally tall and muscular man with an honest looking face that stood behind her.
“Chi Shao.” The man she called Ah Niu showed a look of disapproval, then wrapped his large pacifying palms around Chi Shao’s small silken hands, and shook his head at her. “Restraint. Have restraint. You promised me.”
Chi Shao pouted her lips, her flames of arrogance extinguished, and sat herself back down onto the chair.
“Uh, Huangfu Gong Zi[4] … ” Ah Niu attempted to talk some sense into the equally p.i.s.sed off looking man. But just because he was able to calm Chi Shao down doesn’t mean he could do the same with Huangfu.
“And who are you?” Huangfu raised an eyebrow at Ah Niu and interrupted him. Judging by the interaction between Chi Shao and him, it was pretty much just as he had guessed.
And sure enough.
“I am Chi Shao’s husband.” Ah Niu scratched his head, a hint of barely discernible crimson washed over his deeply tanned face.
That arbitrary and willful sister of his just casually married herself off like that, not even bothering to tell her only brother!
“First of all, let’s hear you call me brother-in-law.”[5] Huangfu waved his hand and grinned viciously at Chi Shao.
“Okay, brother-in-law.” The honest Ah Niu did exactly as Huangfu had told him.
“Why are you following his orders? He tells you to call him brother-in-law and you follow his orders, what about me?” Chi Shao angrily pinched Ah Niu, even though she knew that with his thick cow hide, it won’t hurt him one bit. But she’s still really p.i.s.sed off!
“But he really is your brother, so it’s not wrong of me to call him brother-in-law … ” Ah Niu innocently tried to explain himself, not forgetting to pat his beloved wife on the back, easing her anger.
“Your name please?” Huangfu asked casually. How in the world did this down-to-earth guy fall for Chi Shao? He just couldn’t figure it out no matter what, but chances are, Chi Shao probably forced herself onto him.
After a simple glance over, Huangfu found out that this brother-in-law of his “used to be” a martial artist, a deviation in his Qi during practice[6] has caused things to go wrong and obstructed his meridian system[7], the pa.s.sageway in which his Qi[8] pa.s.ses through. To simply put it, he’s lost all his martial art skills.
“Niu-Niu She Bing.”[9]
“Like the ox tongue pastry?[10] Don’t tell me your dad was named Niu Rou Mian[11], like beef noodle soup.” Huangfu asked in a ridiculing tone.
“No. That’s my uncle’s name.” Ah Niu, being the simple and honest person, answered everything truthfully.
Chi Shao glared at her brother, she hates it when people make fun of her hubby’s name, and decided to fight back. “As if your name’s any better sounding! It’s just some minor useless medicinal herb, used especially in the treatment of diarrhea! Don’t you laugh at him when you aren’t any better. What’s wrong with ox tongue pastry? It’s delicious and refreshing!”
“Humph! My name is useless? You think yours sound any better?” Every time a fight breaks out in the Huangfu family, insults are thrown at the medicinal her that is their individual namesake.
Huangfu was just about to start a war of words with Chi Shao, but felt a light tug on his right sleeve. Looking over, he came face to face with Bao Chun’s shimmery worry-filled eyes.
“Don’t be like this, we’re the ones that invited Miss Chi Shao back …. Did you forget about the poison in your body?” Her eyes clearly conveyed the same message.
“This is how it’s always been between Chi Shao and I, this is how we get along with each other. It just doesn’t feel quite right unless we argue a couple of times.” Huangfu’s mischievous smile faded, and he patted Bao Chun on the back of her hand rea.s.suringly.
It’s better to set her mind at ease first.
“Let’s get down to business first.” Huangfu pushed up his left sleeve and demonstrated his willingness to let his sister take his pulse.
Chi Shao twitched her lips in disdain, but followed suit and pushed back her left sleeve as well. The pair focused intently and started their diagnostic process.
“Not bad, you’ve kept yourself in good repair, I guess you’ve proven true the saying that ‘calamity lasts centuries’.”[12] With her eyes gently closed, Chi Shao muttered as she shook her head.
Huangfu on the other hand, suddenly had a scary look on his face and said between gritted teeth, “You did this on purpose didn’t you?!”
“On purpose? What do you mean on purpose?” Her similar and delicate face showed a puzzled expression, it’s too bad that the sinister smirk she had on completely destroyed her feigned innocence.
Huangfu took back the finger he had placed on her wrist, his face stern.
“What’s wrong?” Ah Niu looked worryingly at his brother-in-law’s serious expression, thinking that something must be dreadfully wrong with his wife.
“She’s pregnant! There is a baby inside of her!” Huangfu finally stated the reason as to why he was so p.i.s.sed off.
For a while, Ah Niu was in a daze, when he finally recovered, he burst out in a boisterous laugh, “I’m going to be a father! I’m going to be a father!” He ran about the room excitedly, as if that was the only way he was able to show how ecstatic he was.
“This means they’re both poisoned, I have to spend more effort on curing them both separately. This carries a higher risk of failure, and therefore, more dangerous. What are you so happy about over there?!” Huangfu sneered and interrupted Ah Niu’s joyous celebration, pleased to see his faltering smile. When he’s not in a good mood, absolutely no one else is allowed to be in a good mood.
The colour of Ah Niu’s face turned from red to green then to white, he hurriedly crouched next to his beloved wife and whispered, “Chi Shao … ”
“Don’t worry, my Big Brother is THE ‘G.o.dly Doctor’. He who is of G.o.dly status, be no mortal. Isn’t that right? Big Brother.” Chi Shao glanced over at Huangfu mockingly.
“But mistakes are also pretty common.” Huangfu replied without an ounce of appreciation.
“Brother-in-law … ” Ah Niu’s pale face became all the more ashen.
“It seems our only option is to abort the baby.” Chi Shao rolled her eyes indifferently, her tone was light as air, it was as if she was speaking about how great the weather was outside.
“NO!” Bao Chun and Ah Niu said at the same time. One couldn’t bear the thought of a young child dying before it’s born, while the other did not want to part with the joy of being a father, and bury his child before he even had the chance to hold him in his arms.
“Huangfu, you have to save Miss Chi Shao and her baby!”
“Brother-in-law, you have to save Chi Shao, and your little nephew or niece ….”
“Don’t bother with it, we should just abort the—” Chi Shao lazily interrupted. But was abruptly cut off before she could finish.
“NO YOU CAN’T!” The protesting duo shouted in unison.
The Huangfu siblings watched as their other halves glared at them, arms akimbo, the pair of siblings both stuck out their tongue in unison.
“Fine, I’ll adjust the medicine and try to reduce the dosage, it’s going to take some extra effort, we’ll see if it’s possible to keep the child alive during the detoxication process.” Huangfu reluctantly surrendered, who knew he was going to get set up by his sister like this?
“Thank you!” A giddy Bao Chun happily rewarded Huangfu with a loud kiss, Ah Niu smiled goofily, as if waiting to reward his kind-hearted brother-in-law in the exact same manner.
“Save your spit, you don’t need to thank me.” Huangfu interrupted and rejected any ideas his brother-in-law might be forming. He’s not at all interested in this burly, bear-like man.
Ah Niu scratched his head with a blank expression, a simple yet genuine smile rippled across his face.
“Chi Shao, brother-in-law is a really good person, not at all like how you’ve described him to be.” Ah Niu turned to face his beloved wife.
“Oh? Is that so? How did she describe me?” Huangfu asked curiously, even though he knew she probably didn’t have anything too good to say about him.
“She said you had a fierce-looking green face with ferocious fangs, and that you were a terrible brother with an ugly face to match an even uglier heart.” Ah Niu didn’t know how to read other people’s faces, and had no idea that in certain situations, he shouldn’t be telling the whole truth.
“Oh?” Huangfu made a nasally sound.
“But you will always help a family member in need.” Ah Niu smiled and added the most important last thing. “Am I right, Chi Shao?”
Chi Shao’s cheeks were red, she looked away, trying to hide her obviously upward-turned lips and lightly scolded him, “You talk too much!”
Huangfu’s face looked awkwardly surprised, he and Chi Shao’s personality were similar in so many ways, both were stubborn, both were proud, both were reluctant to speak their minds, and both weren’t used to complimenting the other in front of other people.
But they both have confidence in the other’s abilities, and are willing to put their own life in the other’s hands. Otherwise, based on he and Chi Shao’s knowledge and mastery of medicine, curing themselves of the poison was an easy task. But both would rather endure the pain than to take away the other person’s right to treat the poison.
“We’ve waited for five years now, it’s finally time to rid ourselves of this burden.” Huangfu Chi Shao and her brother glanced over at each other in unison, as if in some sort of secret agreement, and slowly revealed their most sincere concern for the other.
“Yeah, it’s been five long years.”
✧ ✧ ✧
The poison was deeply rooted in their bodies for many years, and not something that could be completely cleared out in one or two days, the fastest it will take would still be up to six months. Aside from using guiding herbs[13], they still need internal Qi energy[14] to force out the poison.
After their daily supper, Nineteen exercised his Qi[15] and helped Huangfu and Chi Shao with treatment.
Bao Chun and Ah Niu were each crouched in the bathroom, drawing medicinal herb baths for the Huangfu siblings.
While making small talk, Bao Chun heard the full version of Chi Shao’s love story, and couldn’t help but chuckle, “The story really fits Miss Chi Shao’s personality. ”
“Yeah, it was the first time in my life that I’ve met such a bold and fierce woman, and we ended up becoming husband and wife, it was unexpected.” Although Ah Niu says so, the look of happiness on his face was enough to prove how satisfied he was.
“Huangfu’s whole family is strange, but strange in a very cute way.” At the thought of this, Bao Chun couldn’t help but to cover her mouth and laugh.
“Yeah, Chi Shao repeatedly declared that she will never again step into her house, but once she received your letter, she rushed back all the way from thousands of miles away.” It was a whole month’s worth of travelling, but they were able to make it back to the Huangfu mansion quite a few days ahead of schedule, it wasn’t hard to imagine how tired their horses must have been.
“Huangfu’s like that too, the two of them fight like little kids, but deep down they still care and worry about each other.”
Bao Chun picked up a few medicinal herbs and put them into the hot water, then continued chatting, “I’ve heard from granny before that the reason they were fighting was because they were arguing over who gets the last piece of pastry!” And the two of them actually fought over such trifling matter for five years, Bao Chun secretly rolled her eyes at this.
“Chi Shao had never mentioned of this, so who got it in the end?” Ah Niu scratched his head, he only knew that Chi Shao had a falling out with her brother, but he never found out why.
“I think neither of them would back off and let the other person have it, so Huangfu ended up lacing the pastry with poison.” Bao Chun laughed wryly.
“It does seem like something brother-in-law would do.” Ah Niu remarked pertinently.
“And Miss Chi Shao poisoned the pastry with venom toxin.”[16]
The poor pastry! Falling victim to the war between the Huangfu siblings.
“Uh … yeah, that sounds like Chi Shao alright.” Ah Niu scratched his head again, he almost forgot that his beloved wife’s personality was also pretty extreme.
Two knocks came at the door and a sweat covered Nineteen came in through the doors, “Miss Chi Shao’s session just came to an end, you can go ahead and wipe off the poisonous sweat she expelled from her body.”
“Oh, thank you.” Ah Niu thanked him sincerely and hurried out with the hot medicinal herb water.
An attentive Bao Chun handed Nineteen a wet towel, “You’ve worked hard.”
“I’m only doing my duty.” Nineteen wiped away the sweat from his face and stabilized the excessively consumed internal Qi energy in his body. He still has to exercise his Qi and help The Master detoxicate later.
“If only I knew martial arts, you wouldn’t have to be so exhausted.” Bao Chun swung her fists and kicked her legs about in all apparent seriousness. Is it too late now to be learning martial arts?
Nineteen saw the wondering expression on Bao Chun’s face and didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, so he rushed to tell her, “I’m pretty weak right now from exercising my chi, I don’t have any energy to take you in as a disciple. Just give me a break.”
“But I really really mean it! You don’t even have to be my Shifu,[17] you could become my sworn brother.”[18]
“I’ve got so many siblings at home that I can’t even tell them apart, so I’m not interested in taking in a sworn sister.” Nineteen pursed his lips, his tone was quite cold when he was talking about the situation at home.
“You’re not really the nineteenth child in your family are you?” It was difficult enough for her family to raise four kids, Bao Chun couldn’t imagine how Nineteen’s family could possibly raise more than a dozen.
“My father is the emperor, it’s normal for him to have dozens of children.” Nineteen said lightly, then amusingly discovered a wide-eyed Bao Chun staring back at him, as if he had just told her some terribly strange thing.
“Nine-Nineteen … you-you’re joking, right?” Bao Chun gulped, not noticing her own head wobbling from side to side.
“Is it really that surprising?” Nineteen reached out to steady Bao Chun’s head, making sure that she won’t cause injuries to her skull from all the excitement.
“You’re a prince ….” She couldn’t believe that she was weeding the garden and sweeping the floors with a prince!
“Used to be. ”
“Bu-but, before, when Cheng w.a.n.g Ye[19] came to seek treatment, how come he didn’t recognize you?”
“The imperial palace houses a bunch of princes and princesses, it’s obvious to everyone who is, and who isn’t well liked by the emperor, I think that’s why he didn’t recognize me.”
“Bu-but, how did you end up becoming a servant at the Huangfu mansion?” This sure looks good for Huangfu’s reputation, having a n.o.ble prince working to attend to his every need. Very prestigious.
“Oh? I guess I haven’t told you this before, but when I was nineteen, I was suffering from some sort of strange disease, but it’s a good thing The Master was willing to save me. Ever since I recovered, I’ve been following by The Master’s side to repay my debt of grat.i.tude. That’s also how I got the name Nineteen, didn’t you know? ”
Although back then, The Master’s condition for curing me was for me to become a servant at the Huangfu mansion, in which also involved a whole lot of other complications, but Nineteen’s grateful for the kindness that The Master had shown me, not to mention, living in the Huangfu mansion was a lot more freeing than the unnecessary and overelaborate formalities at the palace. Status and n.o.bility had long lost their importance.
“Oh ….” Bao Chun sighed quietly in disappointment. After learning of Nineteen’s ident.i.ty, she no longer had the courage to ask Nineteen to become her sworn brother, she’s only a simple commoner ….
“I don’t understand.” Nineteen suddenly changed the subject.
Bao Chun was confused and asked him, “What don’t you understand?”
“You.” Nineteen pointed to Bao Chun’s nose, “You’re obviously younger than me, based on seniority, you should be calling me older brother. But now, I have to call you sister-in-law.”[20] He deliberately pretended to be unhappy, but a trace of a smile at the corner of his mouth gave away his true feelings.
“What are you talking about?” Nineteen’s starting to confuse her again.
“What I’m saying is, sister-in-law, that The Master and I had just become sworn brothers.” Nineteen winked at her, a rare moment of mischief snapped Bao Chun out of her depressed state and put a smile on her face.
“That wasn’t very smart of you, if you took me in as your sworn sister, then Huangfu would have been the husband of your younger sister, but you ended up picking the scenario that made you the lowest ranked in terms of seniority. ”
Nineteen laughed at her and replied, “And you think The Master would agree to that?” He believed that The Master had countless ways of forcing him into giving in and become the lowest ranked member of the Huangfu family.
“It’s ok, I’m happy as long as we can be family, even if you’re my younger brother, big sister Bao Chun will give you lots of love.” Bao Chun extended her arms generously towards him, obviously trying to pull Nineteen into an embrace.
“Oh no you don’t!” Having seen through her intentions, Nineteen rapidly retreated by taking two steps away from her. He’s not a little kid!
Not to mention, he’s actually older than Bao Chun by a few years, he will not stand for such humiliation!
“Let big sister give you a hug!” A determined Bao Chun carried the hem of her dress in one hand while she chased Nineteen around in the bathroom. Having just finished exercising his Qi, Nineteen was no match for the overly energetic Bao Chun, so it wasn’t long before Bao Chun succeeded and got what she wanted.
“Let me go!”
The sound of Nineteen’s woeful cries echoed in the narrow bathroom, sounding exceptionally dreary.
And this was exactly the spectacle that greeted Huangfu when he walked into the bathroom. Nineteen, who has never had more than two types of facial expressions, was looking awfully pitiful being held in an embrace by Bao Chun. His face showed his desire to break free, as well as the failure to do so.
“Are you trying to strangle Nineteen? If you really hate him that much, no big deal, I’ll throw him out tomorrow. Killing him seems a little immoral Little Bao Chun.” Huangfu finally couldn’t stand it anymore, and stepped in to save the poor Nineteen.
“Master.” As soon as Nineteen escaped and adjusted, he was about to bow to Huangfu out of habit.
“Hum?” Huangfu disdainfully interrupted Nineteen’s words, “What Master? Change it.” He waved his right hand at Nineteen, waiting for him to start over.
“Big Brother.”[21] Nineteen was quite unaccustomed to this new t.i.tle, although he had already repeated it to himself hundreds of times, he’s still a little shy when it’s time to actually say it.
Huangfu nodded with satisfaction and took out a Zheng Xin Pill, used for regulation of breathing, from his sleeve. “Take this, I still have to trouble you a while later.”
Upon hearing this, Bao Chun put down the basin of medicinal herbs, dried her hands and tugged at Huangfu’s sleeve, looked up at him and asked, “Do you think I could stay on the side and watch when Nineteen’s helping you and exercising his Qi?”
“What are you going to do on the side? Cheer and applaud?” Huangfu laughed out loud, he doesn’t have the energy to tend to a woman who’s fainted from seeing the disgustingness of detoxication through Qi exercising.
“I can learn on the side, maybe I’ll even be of some help later on.” Although she’s not able to do much, but she believes that if she watches them carefully enough and learn, she’ll surely become a great helper to Huangfu one day.
“No you can’t. I won’t be ‘properly dressed’ later when we are exercising our Qi and detoxicating, I don’t want you to bleed too much out of your nose.” He’ll never forget the time when Bao Chun accidentally walked in on him bathing, two explosive streams of blood shot out of her nose, wildly spraying mist-like blood everywhere. She suffered severe blood loss due to this, and was bedridden for three whole days.
“That’s not going to happen, my body’s very healthy now, I definitely won’t be spraying blood out of my nose again. Let me do it! Let me do it! If I could learn a few things about medicine, then later on when people come to you for treatment … I’ll be able to help and share some of your workload!” Bao Chun tried to show off some of the new words and idioms she had recently learned, once again emphasizing her usefulness.
Unfortunately, Huangfu wasn’t buying any of it, he pushed Bao Chun straight out the doors, and left her with a piece of advice, “If you’re really that bored, go and find something to eat in the kitchen.”
And with that, he slammed the door in her face, disregarding Bao Chun’s further attempts to convince him.
“Nineteen.” Huangfu pulled Nineteen over by the shoulders and said in an extremely small voice, “Lately, if there are anyone kneeling outside seeking treatment, get rid of all of them.” He’s decided to start enjoying a life of happiness, and first things first, he must eradicate all people, events, and things around them that could evoke sympathetic feelings in Bao Chun.
Yeah right! As if he’s going to let a couple of treatment seekers outside divide up Bao Chun’s attention!
“And another thing, that stone tablet outside with the rules for seeking treatment, get rid of it when you’ve got time. Blow it up to smithereens, I won’t allow any traces of it being left over.” The second thing he’s going to do was to get rid of that eyesore of a stone tablet, the thing that has enslaved him for all those years.
Back when the elders of the Huangfu clan erected the stone tablet, it was supposed to be instructions for the family to practice medicine and save people. But after Huangfu’s deliberate alterations, whether or not he’s going to save or treat someone all depended on his mood. Since the virtues of the Huangfu clan were lost on him, he might as well be more thorough and lay that stone tablet to rest.
“And finally, seal off the front doors.” A wicked grin ran across his lips.
The last step in his plan was to have everyone believe the Huangfu mansion to be a ghost house, this way, no one will dare to disturb his quiet happiness.
“Mas … Big Brother, if we seal off the front doors, how will we walk in and out of the mansion?”
“Have you ever seen ghosts ‘walk’ in through doors? We’ll just leap onto roofs and vault over walls.” Huangfu really admire himself for coming up with such a wonderful plan, so much so that he even started to clap his hands.
Nineteen was about to talk, but stopped himself on second thought. Huangfu saw this and gestured to him, “Say what you have to say, we’re family. ”
“It’s not a problem for me, but how will Bao Chun and Granny Li leap onto roofs and vault over walls?” Big Brother probably forgot that they’re the only ones in the mansion capable of flying and leaping everywhere.
Huangfu agreed with the problem Nineteen proposed, and gently stroked his chin, “Little Bao Chun won’t be a problem either, I’ll just hold her in my arms. As for Granny Li … ” He looked Nineteen up and down, the clear message in his eyes sent a chill up Nineteen’s spine.
“I understand, I’ll take care of Granny Li ….” Nineteen sighed quietly, accepting his fate. As the older brother, Huangfu gets to hold the beauty in his arms. While being the younger brother, Nineteen could only respect his elders. He should have known this when he came on board and became sworn brothers with him.
Huangfu gave a hearty laugh, he could hear it now, the birds calling and the flowers laughing.
“I can feel it more and more, my days of happiness aren’t far now ….”
Translator’s Notes:
Finally! The new chapter is out! New characters revealed now? I know right?! xD
After careful deliberation I’ve decided on how to translate a few of the terms that’s given me quite the headache. If you read the footnotes you’ll see that it has reached a record high of 21 footnotes. This took me forever as well. Since certain Chinese terms simply can’t avoid the awkward translations simply because we don’t say those things in English.
But anyway, epilogue is on its way I shan’t be long this time! After all, I’m hoping to finish this book before school starts again. And I’ll probably be really busy and slow. By the way, Haunting Spectre Road has been sitting there unedited for quite a while now so that should be coming out next, either that or the epilogue. Once again, I do update the translation status quite frequently so check them out if you are anxious about when the next chapters are being released.
Thank you to everyone who has waited for me and supported me, I appreciate all of my readers for their kindness and patience. I hope you enjoy this chapter!
Oh wow, I updated just in time for Shusheng Bar’s 3rd birthday! Happy birthday! Go and check it out here—>LINK if you don’t already know the wonderful site that hosts links to translated Chinese novels and recommendations.
As always, please like, comment, and follow if you’ve enjoyed reading!~ Ciao! <>
1 The Central Plains or 中原 in Chinese, is a geographical term used in ancient China to refer to regions that aren’t ruled by outside tribes. Compared to present day China, Central Plains was only a small portion of China. Click here for more details—>LINK.
2 Chi Shao confused the character for “廣” “Guang” and the character for “寶” “Bao”, if you look at the traditional version of these two characters they do look a little similar.
3 阿牛 this is a nickname, generally the character “阿” is used as the first character for many nicknames, it makes a name sound more endearing. Using “阿” in nicknames is more common in Cantonese speaking areas (like Guangdong and Hong Kong) and areas that speak the Min Nan dialect (like Fujian and Taiwan). “牛” is the Chinese character for ox and other bovine animals, in this case his personality is very similar to that of an ox, simple and down-to-earth.
4 Gong Zi or 公子 in Chinese, used to be a way of addressing the sons of dukes or princes. It is later used to address the sons or n.o.ble families and a general term to address other people’s sons, but more commonly, it’s a way to address young men politely.
5 The Chinese like to refer to their relatives by their familial status instead of their name out of respect, which is why a lot of the times translations sound weird. Although the English translation says brother-in-law but in Chinese there are different names for your brother-in-law depending on both people’s status in the family and speaker’s gender. In the story, Ah Niu calls Huangfu 大舅子 which is what one calls their wife’s older brother, while 小舅子 is what one calls their wife’s younger brother. 大伯 is what one calls their husband’s older brother, while 小叔 is what one calls their husband’s younger brother. 姐夫 is what one calls their older sister’s husband, while 妹夫 is what one calls their younger sister’s husband. You see now why I despise sorting out Chinese kinship relationships, I never know what to call anyone.
6 The phrase in Chinese is 走火入魔, which literally translates to “walking fire entering demon”. You see this a lot in Wuxia and Xianxia stories, it simply means something went wrong while a person was practising the internal Qi portion of their martial arts and now they’ve either gone crazy or is dying or has lost all their martial arts skills. Click here for more details—>LINK.
7 Meridian system or 经络/经脉 in Chinese is still used today in Traditional Chinese Medicine. It is not just a martial art thing. Click here for more details—>LINK.
8 Qi or sometimes spelled Chi, are both words for the Chinese term “气”, which is a form of energy or circulating life force. Click here for more details—>LINK.
9 The name 牛舍秉 niú shě bǐng has very similar p.r.o.nunciations to 牛舌饼 niú shé bǐng, see below. “牛” is the Chinese character for ox and other bovine animals, in this case his personality is very similar to that of an ox, simple and down-to-earth.
10 牛舌饼 niú shé bǐng or ox tongue pastry is the name of a Taiwanese pastry. It is a long, oval, ox-tongue-shaped flat pastry that is hard and crispy. There is no filling on the inside and are usually sweet. Click here for more details—>LINK or click here to see pictures of it—>LINK. Its name in English can easily be mistaken for 牛脷酥 another type of pastry similar in its nature. This pastry is more popular in Cantonese speaking parts of the world. Click here for more details—>LINK.
11 牛肉面 niú ròu miàn or beef noodle soup is a noodle dish popular in all parts of China, it is also a famous food item in Taiwan. Click here for more details—>LINK or click here to see pictures of it—>LINK. Ah Niu’s uncle has a name that sounds exactly like this food item because his last name is “牛”, which happens to be the first character of this food item. It’s a name pun/gag.
12 The whole sentence in Chinese is 好人不长命,祸害遗千年, which translates to “good people don’t live for long, while calamity lasts centuries”.
13 药引 or guiding herb/ingredient, sometimes you will see it being translated as conducting herb/ingredient, is a term in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). The 引 in 药引 means to guide, and to lead out, these are herbs or medicinal ingredients that are able to guide the other medicinal ingredients to the part of the body that needs treatment.
14 内力 or internal Qi energy is what allows people to practice martial arts in the martial arts world, different kinds of martial arts requires the Qi to be utilized differently. Present day people practice something called Qigong, which also utilizes this form of energy, click here for more details—>LINK.
15 Exercising one’s Qi or 运功 in Chinese, means to guide and circulate one’s Qi, usually used in 运功疗伤, which means exercising one’s Qi to heal wounds. If you’ve watched any Wuxia or Xianxia shows/movies you will recognize this. Click here to see pictures of it—>LINK1—>LINK2—>LINK3.
16 蛊 p.r.o.nounced gǔ in Chinese is a venom based poison popularly used by the Miao ethnic group in China. Its preparation involves sealing several venomous creatures such as centipede, snake, scorpion, spider and etc. inside a closed container, where they devoured one another and allegedly concentrated their toxins into a single survivor. This type of toxin is used in black magic for various purposes, one of them is for Miao girls to punish unfaithful men or to make someone fall in love with the spell caster. The Chinese Paladin game series uses this as one of the magic/skill its characters are capable of using. Click here to read more about 蛊—>LINK. WARNING! DO NOT GOOGLE IMAGE SEARCH THIS! If you want to see a SAFE simulated picture of how 蛊 is prepared, click here—>LINK.
17 If you know what sensei is then this is the Chinese version of it. Shifu 师傅 is how apprentices and disciples refer to their masters. Sometimes the master’s surname or ident.i.ty is placed in front of Shifu to distinguish them from others. In modern Chinese, you can also refer to someone experienced in certain areas (usually labour work) as 师傅. For example, a taxi driver or a plumber. If you’ve seen Kung Fu Panda you’ll also know this.
18 结拜 is the process in which people become sworn brothers or sisters. Sometimes there are simple rituals like in Romance of the Three Kingdoms. This is done mostly in ancient China, and is uncommon today. 义兄 means sworn older brother, you can replace “兄” meaning older brother with “弟” meaning younger brother, “姐” meaning older sister, or “妹” meaning younger sister. “义” means adopted or adoptive, you can add “子” or “女” after this to mean adoptive son or daughter. Click here to learn more about sworn brothers—>LINK.
19 In Chinese it says 王爷 wáng ye, is the t.i.tle used to address the Emperor’s brothers, or certain other men in the ranks of n.o.bility.
20 The Chinese like to refer to their relatives by their familial status instead of their name out of respect, which is why a lot of the times translations sound weird. Although the English translation says sister-in-law but in Chinese there are different names for your sister-in-law depending on both people’s status in the family and the speaker’s gender. In the story, Nineteen calls Bao Chun 嫂子 is what a younger sibling calls their older brother’s wife. 大姑子 which is what one calls their husband’s older sister, while 小姑子 is what one calls their husband’s younger sister. 大姨子 is what one calls their wife’s older sister, while 小姨子 is what one calls their wife’s younger sister. Once again, I hate Chinese kinship relationships.
21 Big brother in Chinese is 大哥, which is literally the characters for “big” “大” and “brother” “哥”. For other brothers, replace the character in front of brother “哥” for numbers, such as “二” Er meaning two/second, “三” San meaning three/third, “四” Si meaning four/fourth, “五” Wu meaning five/fifth and etc.
