Shixiong, Why Are You Like This? [Chapter 51]

It’s Better To Practice Than To Play Around // Stand At The Front

As if he felt it wasn’t enough, Xie Yunming told him twice more to stop crying.

Chu Yan really didn’t want to cry.

He had just woken up from a nightmare and seeing that both he and Xie Yunming were in one piece, he was a little touched. Not to mention that his tear threshold had always been a little low.

Chu Yan raised a hand to wipe the corners of his eyes hastily, and he was barely able to hold back his tears.

When he looked up again, the top of his head felt empty, as if something was missing.

Chu Yan sorted out his thoughts and put aside the dream. He still had to worry about the strange symptoms he had before he fell unconscious. He was having convulsions and vomiting blood, but Xie Yunming directly fed him his own blood without any surprise.

Thinking of this, Chu Yan hesitantly glanced at Xie Yunming’s expression. Meeting those calm eyes that showed nothing unusual, he couldn’t help but ask, “Shixiong, do you know why I got sick before I passed out?”

“You weren’t sick.” Xie Yunming said.

Chu Yan was stunned. If he wasn’t sick, then what happened?

He had always unconsciously had few defenses against Xie Yunming, so he said these words as soon as they came to his mind, and waited for Xie Yunming’s answer.

Now that the little sick man had discovered it himself, Xie Yunming wouldn’t go out of his way to cover up the truth, “The life-substitution Gu in your body is poisonous. It needs the blood and qi of the child Gu. Without it, it will eat away at the host’s vitality.”

Previously, Chu Yan had lost consciousness when the mother Gu attacked him. Later, Xie Yunming made sure to feed him his blood in time, so the life-substitution Gu didn’t attack Chu Yan to the point where his vitality was damaged.

Therefore, Chu Yan only vaguely felt that there might be something abnormal in his body. He didn’t know exactly what it was, so he could only investigate it slowly.

Unexpectedly, Xie Yunming found out the truth first.

“Is there an antidote?” Chu Yan asked hesitantly.

If they couldn’t find an antidote, both he and Xie Yunming would be consumed by the poison.

“It’s not clear yet, but I’ve found some clues. The pastry you ate earlier is made with White Nine-Petaled Flowers, and it seems like this may be a key part of the antidote.”

“The White Nine-Petaled Flower?” Chu Yan was stunned. Wasn’t this the same flower he’d read about in the story books? Probably not, ba. There must be flowers and plants with the same name in the cultivation world.

“En. But you can’t eat the rest of those pastries until we’ve figured it out.” Xie Yunming said.

“I can’t eat them? They taste very good… They shouldn’t be poisonous, right?” Chu Yan felt it was a pity.

“It’s not poisonous for others.”

The implication in Xie Yunming’s words was obvious.

Chu Yan was depressed, “Then I won’t eat them.”

Seeing the little sick man’s depressed mood, Xie Yunming unconsciously softened his tone, “There are plenty of other things to try if you can’t eat these pastries. There are a lot of restaurants in the Summit of Dongjing, and there are still a few days before the competition starts.”

I can take you out to wander around and eat.

Before Xie Yunming could say the last half of his sentence, the listless young man in front of him suddenly lit up with a look of expectation.

Xie Yunming didn’t say anything. He preferred to hear this little sick man himself bring it up—

“That’s great! That means we still have time to practice these days! Right, Shixiong?” Chu Yan said this without noticing Xie Yunming’s thoughts.

Xie Yunming: “…”

In a rare moment, Xie Yunming began to reflect on himself. He wondered if he had paid too much attention to his shidi’s training while they were in the Sword Sect, making it so that when he finally had time to go out and play like Yan Rujin and the others, that his shidi was still only thinking about cultivation.

“Don’t you want to go out and play?” Xie Yunming asked.

“I don’t.” Chu Yan shook his head, “I’m not as talented as the other shixiongs and shijies, and my cultivation is also the worst. I have to work harder.”

What happened in his dream made him feel a little uneasy. In the world of cultivation, one’s own strength was the most important. He had been too relaxed before.

Chu Yan firmly believed this.

Xie Yunming lowered his eyes, his gaze slightly calculating, but if you looked closely, he still showed his usual nonchalant expression, “Then we’ll practice.”

—

Because Chu Yan was very motivated to practice, Xie Yunming maintained the attitude of letting it develop.

So much so that after Yan Rujin came back from drinking with the dishes, wine, and the Summit of Dongjing’s famous specialty ‘Summit of Dongjing – XXX’ series— before he even had the chance to deliver them to Xiao-shidi and First Shixiong, he was told that the two of them were cultivating in seclusion.

Yan Rujin: ???

It was one thing for First Shixiong to cultivate, after all, First Shixiong wasn’t an ordinary person. He hadn’t seen him have any hobbies other than cultivation.

But Xiao-shidi was so young. Did he really not have any worldly desires and could just focus on cultivating without any distractions?

While Yan Rujin was slandering them in his heart, he couldn’t help but whisper the last part out loud.

A Sword Sect disciple standing next to him scratched his head in confusion, “Why did Yan-shixiong say that? Isn’t it common in our Sword Sect to have no worldly desires? After all, there are at least ten disciples practicing the Ruthless Dao.”

Yan Rujin: “…”

Yan Rujin couldn’t find the right words for a while.

The shidi who reminded him of the ‘Ruthless Dao disciples’ also became interested in gossip, “Besides, isn’t Chen Liu’an-shixiong the same?”

“Liu’an-shidi is different!” Yan Rujin retorted without thinking.

“Huh? Why? He’s also practicing the Ruthless Dao, so how is he any different?”

Yan Rujin’s thoughts were stuck for a moment, ‘Why was Liu’an-shidi different?’

Maybe it was because his shidi didn’t have any mood swings, and only liked to bask in the sun occasionally?

Or maybe it was because of his shidi’s life experience…

Thinking of his shizun’s instructions, Yan Rujin sighed, “Liu’an-shidi is more inclined to relax at this time rather than practice—”

At this time, at the entrance of the stairs between the second and third floors, a group of inner disciples were carrying their swords and walking down quickly. In their hurry, one of them spoke up in an urging voice, “Quick, quick, quick! Liu’an-shixiong is practicing his swordsmanship! Let’s hurry over and watch from the side!”

Yan Rujin: “..”

A gust of wind whizzed past his face like a slap, and his cheek felt a little painful.

Yan Rujin began to repent at this time, “It seems like we should learn from the attitudes of Xiao-shidi, First Shixiong, and Liu’an-shidi, and practice hard!”

“Yan-shixiong is right!” The Sword Sect disciple beside him nodded in agreement.

As a result, throughout the entire building, except for Mi Xuzi, who lived on the top floor, the other Sword Sect disciples were filled with a passion and fervor to ‘study hard in the last few days before the competition begins’.

Even when the other two top sects arrived next door, they didn’t join in on the fun.

In the Sword Sect’s building, the disciples on the first, second, and third floors were very focused on cultivating.

Only the people on the fourth floor were doing things completely unrelated to cultivation.

After the Sect Master, Mi Xuzi, put up a soundproof barrier, he raised his hand and formed a seal. The tea cups in front of him began to brew tea spontaneously under the guidance of the spiritual technique.

He made three cups of tea in total.

One was sent to the white-browed master in cassocks and plain clothes sitting to his left.

And the other was delivered to the old man in dark robes on his right.

The last one was picked up by Mi Xuzi himself, “I invited the two of you to come over here today to discuss things. If I’ve disturbed you too much, I’ll use this tea as an apology.”

“The Sect Master of the Sword Sect is being too polite. It should be the two of us coming to bother you.” Master Baimei said warmly, “I have to say that the disciples of your sect are still so diligent. They can maintain their composure and endure their temper. It’s a pity that none of them joined our Buddhist Sect back then.”

“Not at all, they’re still very impetuous sometimes.” When he heard the disciples of his sect being praised, Mi Xuzi’s solemn face showed a rare smile, but he still spoke of his disciples’ shortcomings very modestly.

“When it comes to hard work, there is no better place for them than in our Shadow Sect. Traversing through mountains of swords and seas of fire, no matter what.” The old man in dark robes also said.

“They’re usually rather lazy.” Mi Xuzi still exposed their shortcomings, but added, “So, it is more suitable for them to stay in our Sword Sect.”

“We haven’t seen each other for many years, and the Sword Sect still protects their shortcomings openly and secretly. Enough, I’m not here to steal your sect’s disciples today. We have important matters to discuss.”

“However, our Buddhist sect hasn’t been around for too long, and our disciples are accustomed to living in seclusion, so some news arrives later than it does for other sects. This time I came to see the Sect Master of the Sword Sect to discuss the demon corpses, but I’m afraid that I don’t have any clues.”

“We, the Shadow Sect, also haven’t noticed any signs of demon activity before the incident in Yancheng, so we also wanted to verify with the Sect Master of the Sword Sect whether it was true or not.” The old man in dark robes added.

Mi Xuzi replied, “Those two corpses indeed belonged to demons. I used the runes passed down through the Sword Sect from ancient times to eliminate them. Now, our Sword Sect is on guard. I hope that the two of you will be careful on your way back.”

“Thanking the Sword Sect for the reminder, but according to our sect’s records, demons have always been fond of killing. If there are signs that they have invaded Yunxiao Realm, trouble will soon arise.”

“I’m only worried that after they infiltrate, they can control their nature and avoid causing trouble for the time being.”

“That’s really tricky then. One should be prepared for unexpected situations. Our Buddhist Sect will also arrange for disciples to enter the secular world to gain experience after the Sixteen Sects Competition.”

“If there is an accident, our Shadow Sect will naturally oblige.”

The three sects quickly reached a consensus, which was an old rule established between the top four sects. Due to the calamity of the ancient demons, the alliance oaths between the top four sects in Dongjing have been passed down from ancient times. Each sect leader would take an oath before assuming their position, swearing that they wouldn’t allow any disaster to overturn Yunxiao Realm in the future. No matter what grudges the top four sects have between them at that time, they must prioritize the joint defense of Yunxiao Realm and deal with the trouble as a united front.

“It’s a pity that the Yue Sect exhausted its strength and split into the Jiuyue Sect and the Qingyue Sect six hundred years ago. The Qingyue Sect was wiped out after only a hundred years and since the Jiuyue Sect can’t be considered the Yue Sect anymore, the ancient oath is invalid for them.” Master Baimei sighed.

“Yes, it’s indeed a pity to have a ten-thousand-year-old foundation destroyed.” Mi Xuzi nodded.

This was also the reason why he only consulted with the other two top four sects, but not the Jiuyue Sect.

Without the constraints of the oath, people’s hearts were unreliable. If something went wrong, it would be troublesome.

Furthermore, Mi Xuzi couldn’t stand the behavior of Fu Ming-daoren from the Jiuyue Sect. They hated each other personally, so there was no need to invite him and deliberately cause trouble.

—

Time passed like flowing water.

The Sword Sect also slowly pulled themselves out of the state of ‘studying hard in the last few days before the competition begins’. Everyone packed up and followed the Sect Master to the central square in the Summit of Dongjing.

As early as three days ago, all the sects big and small in Dongjing that were going to participate in the competition had arrived, and there were approximately two thousand disciples who had signed up.

Chu Yan followed his Sect Master-shishu towards the central square while listening to Yan Rujin-shixiong beside him whispering about the sect competition.

Xie Yunming didn’t stand at the front this time. Instead, he went to the group with Bai Shu-shixiong to guard the rear.

Without his shixiong around, Chu Yan’s gaze habitually looked towards the place where Xie Yunming often stood at his side. Unfortunately, every time he looked up, he only saw the cloudless sky.

“Xiao-shidi, Xiao-shidi, are you listening?” Yan Rujin saw that Chu Yan was a little distracted, so he called out to him several times.

“Yes, Rujin-shixiong, I’m listening.”

Chu Yan responded, but his tone was a bit elongated, with a slightly soulless feeling. Coupled with his thin figure, he looked a bit fragile.

Yan Rujin sighed, “Why do I feel that without First Shixiong at your side, that your body looks even weaker? Xiao-shidi, are you okay?”

“I’m fine! I’m fine!” Chu Yan’s voice rose slightly, “I’m not that delicate.”

He had made a lot of progress in his cultivation these days. When he finished cultivating, his shixiong even praised him.

“Oh, then what about what I just asked you? How were those things I brought back for you when I wandered around the Summit of Dongjing last time?”

Because Chu Yan and Xie Yunming had gone into seclusion before Yan Rujin returned last time, he didn’t have a chance to ask this question until today.

“Ah, I almost forgot. The dishes and refreshments were very delicious, but the wine is harmful to the body, so Shixiong confiscated it. Thank you, Rujin-shixiong.”

Chu Yan responded to Yan Rujin with sincere thanks.

“No need to thank me, it was all paid for by First Shixiong.” Yan Rujin laughed twice, but honestly admitted that the spiritual stones weren’t his own money.

“So that’s how it is, ah. Then, should I buy something for my shixiong?” Chu Yan suddenly fell into deep thought about ‘reciprocal gifts’.

After Yan Rujin finished laughing, he suddenly felt that Xiao-shidi’s words were missing something.

Did he only buy dishes, wine, and refreshments?

But he had the feeling that he had bought something else.

Yan Rujin was very hesitant.

However, he didn’t think about it for too long. In front of them, Sect Master Mi Xuzi coughed softly and said, “Our Sword Sect will stand here.”

The long line of Sword Sect disciples immediately stopped in unison.

Naturally, Mi Xuzi didn’t need to stand with the disciples participating in the competition. He would sit in the viewing platform later. However, each sect needed to have a disciple standing at the front of the group, who was considered an iconic figure.

If it were in the past, Mi Xuzi would have definitely assigned this position to Xie Yunming.

But today was different. Today, Xie Yunming was guarding the rear, and the direct disciples at the front were Yan Rujin, Chen Liu’an, and Chu Yan, who was dressed in his conspicuous dark uniform.Mi Xuzi’s eyes fell gently on his shixiong’s youngest disciple, “Xiao-shizhi, stand over here.”

—

The translator has something to say:

It’s officially been one year since I’ve started translating! Thank you all for reading!

🎉🎉🎉