A murderous aura. A strong murderous aura.
Mister Shi Er could only feel a cold chill running up his back and a dazzling gleam of a knife all over his body. "Chu Changge, I came to deliver a message to you with my good intentions. But somehow, you look like you want to swallow me raw and in whole. What is the meaning of this?" Mister Shi Er asked as he straightened his back.
"You know very well that I can't open your mechanism!" Chu Changge said with a gloomy face.
"Uh.......this......your woman can open it. Try knocking from outside......"
Without waiting for Mister Shi Er to finish talking, Chu Changge baulked, "No."
Mister Shi Er: "Why?"
"No means no."
"......" Mister Shi Er couldn't figure out how all the young people nowadays were so twisted. Especially this one in front of him, squirming for no reason. [T/N]
Chu Changge thought for a moment and said, "Give me the drawing of the dungeon."
"No." This time it was Mister Shi Er's turn to baulk.
"Your life or your drawing, take your pick."
"......" Mister Shi Er rolled his eyes and pointed out, "I am now a member of the Murong Mansion. You can't just kill me."
Chu Changge's long and narrow eyelashes that looked like feathers lifted slightly as his eyes glared coldly at Mister Shi Er. He then said, "Don't worry, I won't just kill you. I will kill you very earnestly."
Hearing the word 'earnestly' together with the sound of Chu Changge gritting his teeth, words like 'death by a thousand cuts' and 'tear the body to thousands of pieces' immediately came to Mister Shi Er's mind….... "You'd better make yourself at home." Mister Shi Er said with his heart pounding.
Chu Changge gave him a blank look and repeated, "The drawing."
"No. In our line of work, there are also rules. Just as you teach the devils, when killing someone, never leave a witness alive. We don't leave any plans behind when we've built a mechanism. Let alone pass them on."
"One more nagging word, believe it or not, I can make you change your profession immediately." Chu Changge warned in his aggravated tone.
"....... I've already changed my line once, from the master of mechanism to bricklayer. The blow is already heavy enough. Can't you Chu family members be merciful? Doing too many sins is going to make you die without sons." Mister Shi Er sighed.
Chu Changge smiled inexplicably at his words and responded, "Don't worry, I already have a descendant. I won't die without sons."
"Not yet one full year of life, right? Children under one year old are the easiest to die."
In a moment, Chu Changge's pretty eyes narrowed into a line as he repeated Mister Shi Er's words grimly, "A child under a year old is the easiest to die?"
Seeing this, Mister Shi Er immediately took two steps back. He spoke in a particularly flattering manner, "That's for ordinary children, ordinary children. Your child must have a body that no swords and spears can pierce, be unpenetrated by hundreds of poison types and has a very strong, lucky life. Your child cannot be generalised."
"I can't believe you've learned to flatter people too." Chu Changge teased.
"Uh......." Mister Shi Er froze. He suddenly realised that since he had changed his profession to a bricklayer of the Murong Mansion, he had become even more fluent in speaking flattering words. What happened? Could it be that.......his ears had been soaked, and his eyes had been dyed by them? Yes, it must be. He was influenced by the fact that he was exposed to all the flatterers around him.
Chu Changge added, "But I love to hear what you said. My son, naturally, will live a long life." At the thought of Little Murong, a look of pride immediately appeared in Chu Changge's eyes. "When he was three months old, he was able to unblock the acupuncture points that I had sealed. When he grows up, I don't know how powerful he will be."
Mister Shi Er, whose sanity had just returned to normal, stiffened again. Although his surname was Shi, he was not of the same ancestry as Shi, after all, so he couldn't help being scared! "Are you threatening me?" Mister Shi Er asked. [T/N]
"Don't worry. By the time he grows into a man, you will be dead already, and that scourge will not harm you." Chu Changge smiled brightly.
Handlebar Moustache is on the top right.
Image Credit| Vinnie - Barber (What Is and How To Grow a Perfect Handlebar Mustache, Apr 21, 2021)
Image Credit| Vinnie - Barber (What Is and How To Grow a Perfect Handlebar Mustache, Apr 21, 2021)
"But I think you only have twenty seconds to live." Chu Changge's face sank again. "Drawing." He almost changed the subject because of Mister Shi Er.
How can he still remember this! With an incomparably frustrated sigh, Mister Shi Er said, "I really don't have the drawing. But I can teach you how to crack the mechanism."
"Tell me."
".......we will have to be there for me to teach you."
*
At the same time that Mister Shi Er went quietly to report to Chu Changge, Murong Yunshu was 'receiving' a visit from Hua Yeli.
Before walking into the stone dungeon, Hua Yeli had thought of many kinds of opening lines. However, when he walked through the door and saw Murong Yunshu, all the lines he had prepared beforehand were forgotten. In his mind, there was only her clear, beautiful face and her ever-salty, indifferent expression when facing him.
It had been more than a year since he had last seen her in Shu Province. During this year, there was not a single night when he did not toss and turn, unable to sleep amid bitter longing. Knowing full well that her heart had long since been given to Chu Changge, he still preferred to be obsessed, imprinting his love in his bones and engraving it in his heart.
Today, he would end this endless purgatory himself.
Hua Yeli lowered his eyes, hiding all his deep feelings. When he looked up again, his eyes were already calm. He sauntered forward and sat down opposite her.
Hua Yeli was still thinking about what he should say first for their reunion after being apart for so long when he heard her indifferent voice. "I didn't expect you to be so stupid."
Stupid.......yes, stupid. If he wasn't stupid, how could he be infatuated with a woman who couldn't possibly fall in love with him? Hua Yeli laughed bitterly in his heart, but his face was unperturbed as he said nonchalantly, "I said I want to keep you, no matter what method I use."
Murong Yunshu did not respond immediately but looked down at the tea inside the cup in her hands for a while before raising her eyes to look at him. She said, "I have thought about this along the way for a long time, but I have never figured out why, as smart as you are, you would make the same mistakes over and over again. I think there must have been many sober people around you who warned you not to follow this old path, and you must not have taken their advice. You are clearly a wise, good man, but why do you insist on your own views on this matter?"
Can't figure it out? You are so smart. How can you not figure it out? If you were willing to take a serious look at me, even just a glance, you would have realised how justified my one-sided stubbornness is. Hua Yeli's dark eyes moved lightly. He was silent for a long time before he murmured, "Perhaps, it's because, in this matter, only by constantly making mistakes does one's heart can be happy."
Murong Yunshu's heart trembled at his words. A few moments of surprise flashed in her eyes as she suddenly understood why Hua Yeli had done what he did. In her feelings for Chu Changge, she too had deliberately violated the law. All because she was obsessed with him, and she had no regret for it. The difference was, her feelings had a way out, while Hua Yeli's......was destined to go nowhere.
When she raised her eyes again, Murong Yunshu could see for the first time the deep feelings Hua Yeli had for her in his eyes. Even though they were hidden so deep in complete darkness. "You......do not have to do that." Murong Yunshu's tone sounded much warmer.
She knows? Hua Yeli was slightly startled. Then he lowered his head again, feeling very self-conscious. "I know. You don't have to feel troubled anymore. I've already figured it out."
Figured it out? Murong Yunshu was glad to hear him say that as she listened respectfully to his following words.
Only after a long time did Hua Yeli reopen his mouth. As if he had made a great determination, his cold face exuded a pain that made people's hearts ache. "Between country and beauty, I choose country." It was because he could not obtain the beauty he wished for the rest of his lifetime.
"So, are you going to let me go?" Although she could leave here whenever she wanted, she was willing to give Hua Yeli a way out, though. As long as he personally delivered her to Chu Changge, she would forget her grudge with him with a smile. [+]
In fact, after going through so many thicks and thins, Murong Yunshu had already taken mortal grudges lightly. When one lived, one must know what the most important thing in one's life was. What was most significant to Hua Yeli was the country. While what was most valuable to her was that their family of three would never be separated. As long as there was no more separation, everything was worth forgiving.
To Murong Yunshu's disappointment, Hua Yeli turned down her motion.
"I can't let you go just yet." Hua Yeli said.
Murong Yunshu lowered her eyes and stopped talking.
"I need to meet with Chu Changge. After I've met and talked to him, I'll let him pick you up."
"Many thanks."
The corner of Hua Yeli's mouth twitched as he turned to leave. The moment he walked out of the dungeon, he muttered four words in his heart——an Emperor doesn't need any love.
*
That night, in the deep of the night, Chu Changge quietly sneaked into the dungeon under Hua Yeli's tent, where Mister Shi Er had been waiting for a long time.
Mister Shi Er: "May I ask you……."
"Keep your voice down!" Chu Changge scolded in a low voice.
Mister Shi Er froze and said, "I can't hear any sound from up there."
"I know. I was afraid she would hear." Chu Changge said, pointing to a stone wall in front of him.
"You were supposed to pick her up, so what if she heard you?"
"Who says I'm here to pick her up?" Chu Changge raised an eyebrow and continued saying, "I've come to familiarise myself with the mechanism today."
"……"
"I'll come back tomorrow to pick her up."
"......may I ask why you need to make such an unnecessary move?"
"No."
"......." Mister Shi Er rolled his eyes and stated, "Actually, even if you don't say it, I already know it. A person like you who strives to amaze the world no matter what you do naturally wants to show off your talent in front of your son whom you haven't seen for a long time."
Chu Changge raised his jaw and eyebrows without saying a word.
Sure enough. Mister Shi Er shook his head speechlessly and said, "He's only eight or nine months old. Even if you crawl to meet him, he won't look down on you. Do you have to be like this?"
Chu Changge simply ignored his words and urged, "Hurry up."
Mister Shi Er could do nothing about it and was just about to tell him the location of the first mechanism when a ghostly, cold, emotionless voice suddenly came from behind him——
"Let's talk."
Without waiting for Chu Changge's response, Mister Shi Er immediately raised his hands to show his innocence. "I didn't know he was here!"
Chu Changge glared at Mister Shi Er in displeasure, then turned to face Hua Yeli. He raised his chin expressionlessly and said, "You can't stop me."
Hua Yili said, "I don't want to stop you. After we talk, I will personally open the stone door for you and send you away."
"If you have anything to say, let's meet on the battlefield."
"It has to be talked about now. Right now, this very moment." Hua Yeli said emphatically.
"Chu Changge, you should just talk to him. It won't hurt if you speak to him for a few words anyway." Mister Shi Er advised.
Chu Changge pondered for a while. He also felt that there was indeed a need for closure between him and Hua Yeli. So he looked at Mister Shi Er and said, "There is nothing more for you to do here."
"......." Can't this kid talk properly? Mister Shi Er sighed helplessly and lifted his legs to leave.
Inside the tent, only Chu Changge and Hua Yeli were left. On the other side of the wall, Murong Yunshu held Little Murong and listened with her ears. In fact, Murong Yunshu was very reluctant to do this kind of thing, but there was no other way. She didn't know what was wrong with Little Murong, who had suddenly refused to sleep that night. When he heard Chu Changge's voice from outside, he was even more excited. His hand kept on tilting towards the stone door, just like beckoning a soul.
In all the time she had brought him along with her, she had never seen him so enthusiastic. While he was still dead set on Chu Changge even after being 'abused' by him for months.
Indeed, such a white-eyed wolf!
Noob Translator's Musing
for Hua Yeli in this chapter. I know how it feels like, but you have to move on. She's not the only girl in this world. Hope you can find someone who loves you as much as you love her.
When I was re-editing Chapter 74.2, I've found North Guardian's real name. It's Gu Beichuan! Yay, me! High five! 🖐️
Tags:
Black Belly Wife