TVIRAD – Chapter 53

Arc 4
Ten Years Lanterns (11)

A bonus chapter thanks to WillieCoyote!

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38 was silent.

Ye Chen gave a brittle laugh, “Don’t you dare tell me I can’t thrash her yet.”

“Wait for one more hour! Just one more hour!”

“Mn?” Ye Chen was distracted. 38 repeated with sincerity, “Really. Wait for one more hour. Someone will come to fight for you!”

Ye Chen was dissatisfied, “Why must I let that someone snatch my fun time?!”

“Host,” 38 knelt down and adjusted to its “Laughing with Tears” expression, “Don’t make it difficult for me! As a System, I am already this old but I can’t even register on the Blind Date System. Do you know why? ”

“That’s enough, can you stop mentioning that every time?!”

Ye Chen felt her brain would crash whenever it mentioned that.

38 always brooding about its inability to register for the Blind Date System and believed it to be the reason why it was still single. But, Ye Chen pretty much wanted to tell 38 that it was precisely because 38 was like this that 38 was still single. Even if 38 successfully registered for the Blind Date System, it wouldn’t find a partner!

On second thought, 38 hadn’t been upgraded for quite long and Ye Chen felt bad about it. She sighed and promised, “You won’t cheat me on this. So, fine. I won’t thrash her for another hour.”

She behaved herself and did as 38 said. She scanned things she could buy with her points in her mind. 38 informed her that the things she bought in the System’s store could be used in the Resting Space before going to the next world. Thus, Ye Chen and 38 earnestly discussed what kind of holiday they would spend in the transition period of the next world. After a long wait, she heard the noise from outside and someone shouted, “Saintess, Shen Jingfeng is coming here from the foot of the mountain!”

“He still dares to come?” Yue Sheng sneered, “I haven’t settled the previous account with him, and he has delivered himself to my door.  Go, stop him. Let’s see how capable that Shen Jingfeng is!”

Ye Chen blinked twice when she heard Yue Sheng’s words. She confirmed with 38, “He is the person you said will fight people for me?”

“You be good. Wait for him. Oh, right, how about this Soul Duel, do you want to buy it?”

Ye Chen’s mind surged, but she kept her composure. While talking to 38, she took note of the movement outside.

Everyone went outside to fight, save for Yue Sheng who sat on the golden throne. She caressed the armrest and grinned, “Shen Jingfeng, this person, how much do you know about him?”

Ye Chen didn’t reply to her. She had pain shielding on, but that didn’t stop her body from being beaten to a pulp. Yue Sheng glanced down at her dying face and propped up her chin haughtily, “What? You don’t know much about him? He is your former husband ah. Were you proud when you got to marry him? The only son of the Yue Shan Sect’s Sect Leader and the best of the new generation of Wulin. Ha…”

Yue Sheng taunted, “But, do you know him, the real him? How disgusting and mortifying the real him is, do you know it?”

Yue Sheng stepped down from the golden throne step by step and looked at the platform under her feet. Her words were contemptuous, “His mother is right here, right under my feet. And his father, no one knows. Perhaps it’s the former Jiaozhu, or perhaps it’s the former Left Guardian. Who knows? His mother was a cheap bitch that was used by many men. At the end, who could tell whose seeds made her conceive him?”

Ye Chen’s mind was instantly blank. Yue Sheng stopped in front of Ye Chen and picked up her chin with her whip. Her eyes flashed with jealousy. 

“Speaking of which, she was surprisingly similar to you. Back then, Shen Qiushuang, the World’s First Beauty and the younger sister of Yue Shan Sect’s Sect Leader, entered the former Jiaozhu’s eyes.  The former Jiaozhu took advantage of Wulin’s convening of the Seven Sects Conference to besiege all the Leaders of the Seven Sects. He then proposed an exchange, Shen Qiushuang for their lives. And, frankly, the Jiaozhu had never thought about killing those Wulin people. It was only a diversion. The true objective was to destroy the Heng Shan Sect. He just casually mentioned it. Who would have thought those Wulin people actually agreed to that. “

“For their own lives, they sent Shen Qiushuang to the Demon Sect, and thus, she became a concubine of the Demon Sect’s Jiaozhu. Do you know what a concubine is?” Yue Sheng slapped Ye Chen’s face and resumed her cold words, “When the Jiaozhu likes her, a concubine is a dog. When the Jiaozhu doesn’t like her, a concubine isn’t even as good as a dog. Shen Qiushuang’s only merit was her face. It wasn’t long before the Jiaozhu got tired of her. He rewarded her to the people in the Sect. When Shen Qiushuang was pregnant with Shen Jingfeng, there was almost no difference between her and a prostitute. She acted gullibly and lay dormant for five years just to protect her son. Then, she ran away with her son. They got caught in the end, but Shen Jingfeng successfully escaped. The former Jiaozhu was furious at that stupid woman who couldn’t discern what was good for her. Therefore, he killed her and threw her under this platform. And that Shen Jingfeng became the son of Yue Shan Sect’s Sect Leader, ha… “

Yue Sheng snickered, “Shen Qiuhe can’t even impregnate anyone.  Don’t you people in Wulin know about this? In order to save his younger sister, he was abolished by the former Jiaozhu. ”

“What?” Ye Chen’s shocked expression made Yue Sheng raise her eyebrow, “Oh, you really don’t know about it? Do you feel scared now?”

Yue Sheng gripped Ye Chen’s face and whispered in an enchanting voice, “Think about it. Your face, how long will Xingcheng like it? To be pushed into hell by those who say that they love you, that feeling, how much agony and despair is it?”

“Yue Sheng…” Ye Chen opened her lips. She verified slowly, “Your words. Is it true?”

“What use is it for me to lie to you?” Yue Sheng snorted, “You thought I said that only to scare you?”

Ye Chen shut her mouth.

She… remembered many things.

At the Yulan Festival, the man stood by the river. He watched the river lantern drift away. His figure was lonely and desolate.

On the day they parted, he looked in the direction of Demon Sect. He told her that at the golden throne in the Demon Sect’s Main Hall, there were corpses placed under. They could not reincarnate forever.

Every time, he seemed to want to get closer to her, but at the same time, afraid to get closer to her. When they held hands, his hand shook and his eyelashes quivered. His Favorability was 15 for a while and then 92 for another while.

Sharp pain emerged in her heart. Ye Chen felt she had never felt so distressed over anyone like this. 

Gu Jianan’s life was miserable, but he could cry and express it. She could hug him and comfort him when he cries.

But, Shen Jingfeng was always so quiet, so calm, so sober… He swallowed all the bitterness and wrenched it into a smile. Like the warm sun and the spring breeze. Everything he did, he did it all without disturbing others.

He wandered in this world all alone, even though he was surrounded by a lot of people.

He had always been alone. 

His mother’s hatred had not been avenged. His mother’s remains were stuffed in the place where she had been humiliated, in the place where she couldn’t reincarnate forever. 

In a situation like that, how could he let himself love someone? He stood at the point of no return. He was doomed to live in exile. Even if he loved someone to the marrow, he could only forget her without causing a fuss. And if someone dared to hurt or humiliate the person he loved, he would draw his sword to fight them. 

Ye Chen didn’t know whether it was because her brain filled the blank story by herself or what, but, by the time she was aware of it, the tears had flowed from her eyes. 

38 cautiously probed, “Host, what are you thinking?”

“Ah,” Ye Chen responded, “I just… hurt, a little.”

“No way?” 38 exclaimed, “I have activated the pain shielding, haven’t I? Am I broken again?”

Ye Chen sniffed, “38, go find your 03-ge to fix yourself.”

Hearing that, 38 was quiet. After a beat, it slowly expressed, “Nevermind, you don’t know this, but Jinjiang’s Server crashed when he touched it. If he comes to fix me, I’m afraid I’ll turn into a scrap.”

Ye Chen hung her head, deep in thought. 38 began to inspect whether there was something wrong with the pain shielding. Yue Sheng saw Ye Chen curled up on the ground with her arms hugging herself, eyes shut tight. She judged Ye Chen was afraid of the incoming despair. She rose to her feet and mocked, “To be the Jiaozhu‘s concubine, even if you consider it a good turn of event, do you think it will be your turn? Our Xingchen, not everyone can touch him!”

Ye Chen was not interested in replying to her.

By this time, there was a total uproar outside.

Shen Jingfeng arrived at the temple with his sword in hand. He was injured all over. His usual white clothes had been stained with blood, but he walked forward unwaveringly, like someone who determined to kill even God.

Yue Shan’s swordsmanship was brought into full play in his hands. The sword had the grace of a dragon, cutting all the willow leaves and flying flowers.

He had to deal with layers of people every step he took. It was extremely tough, but he persistently moved forward.

The dark gate in front of him appeared in his vision, and the appearance of Ye Chen flickered in his mind. 

He hadn’t actually seen her a lot. Regardless, in his world, her voice, her temperature, and her smell, all were always vivid and distinct.

But, at this point, he had a lot of her in his mind. Some were not even her, but he could recognize it at a glance. Those people were still her.

He gasped low and recited her name repeatedly, as if Ye Chen was his obsession, an obsession that made him unable to let her go or turn around, as if she was carved into his bones and his blood. As the blood flowed in every part of his body, his whole world was loaded with this girl.

“Ye Chen… Ye Chen…”

He eventually came to the gate and set his bloody hands on the gate. Then, he pushed it violently and barged in.

He glanced around and noticed a girl lying in a pool of blood. Her body was coated with patterns painted in blood. She curled up on the ground without any thread of clothes on her, hiding herself to her best

His mind buzzed. The scene in front of him mingled with the scene of his mother being pierced by an arrow when he was four years old.

Fear and madness rushed into his heart. He gripped his sword. He opened his lips, but no words exited. 

Beneath the pear blossom tree, he could smell her fragrance. 

On the Yulan Festival, she softly told him, “Your mother must be a gentle person.”

When they parted, she smiled radiantly and told him, “I am waiting for you.”

Something burst in his heart. 

His tears slipped. He stumbled over with his sword and held the naked girl in his arms. He was visibly shaking.

How he wanted to call her name; How afraid he was that this person would not respond.

He quivered and parted his lips again and again, but he couldn’t form a word.

One tear rained after another. He embraced her closely and buried his head in the nest of her neck.

Ye Chen watched all this. She attempted to move her hand and hug him back with all her strength.

Shen Jingfeng held his breath. He listened to the other party’s faint voice whispering, “You… are back… I’ve been… Waiting for you…”

Her words were like a hammer, smashing open his frozen heart. Along with the loud crash of the cracking snowfield, Shen Jingfeng replied, “Yes. Guniang,  I am back.”

“You are back,” Ye Chen’s pale lips curved up, “Will you leave again?”

“I am back,” Shen Jingfeng also smiled through tears, “I won’t leave again.”

Shen Jingfeng removed his robe and wrapped Ye Chen in it. He held Ye Chen in his arms and declared in a raspy tone, “Guniang, I’ll take you away. ”

“You can come if you say come, you can leave if you say leave,” Yue Sheng sat on the golden throne, flicking her nails, “Does Shen-gongzi think our Sect is that welcoming? Last time, he lied that he loved me, following me all the way back to the Demon Sect just to steal his mother’s bones. Heh. The bones are still here!” Yue Sheng stomped her foot on the platform and scoffed, “Shen-gongzi, come and get it yourself!”

Shen Jingfeng didn’t respond to her. He set Ye Chen aside with tenderness and instructed in a warm tone, “Guniang, I have something to deal with. You just sleep first.”

Shen Jingfeng turned around with his sword in his hands. Yue Sheng narrowed her eyes at him coldly.

Any arrogant woman wouldn’t have a good expression facing a spare tire^[1] that betrayed them.

Ye Chen eyed Shen Jingfeng go with anxiety, “38, Shen Jingfeng can’t defeat them, right?”

“30 points and I’ll make your blood turn into poisonous blood.”

Ye Chen, “……”

“Can’t you just give me normal medicine or poison…” Ye Chen gritted her teeth, “The setting of poisonous blood, isn’t that too flashy?”

“No can do,” 38 replied, “You are naked, it’s illogical if you can take out poison. A person with superb medical skills turns her own blood into poisonous blood that can paralyze the enemy and poison them at the same time. This can be done because it is still in line with your character set.”

“…Fine.” Ye Chen agreed after careful consideration. Using her internal force, she could turn her blood poisonous. People could die from the poison. It’s quite… acceptable.

The sound of deducting points rang in Ye Chen’s mind and she felt her blood heated up.

She accumulated her strength and darted in the direction where Shen Jingfeng was fighting with Yue Sheng and the people from Demon Sect. When Yue Sheng was restrained by Shen Jingfeng, she swung her palm hard on Yue Sheng’s face.

Ye Chen’s hand was covered in her blood, the moment it hit Yue Sheng on the face, Yue Sheng’s face seemed to be corroded by something and quickly rotted away. Yue Sheng screamed at once. 

Ye Chen panted and stood in front of Shen Jingfeng. She shouted to everyone in warning,  “Stay where you at! I’ll kill whoever dares to come here!”

“The antidote is in your mouth.” 38 prompted, “Only one.”

Ye Chen spun around and kissed Shen Jingfeng on the lips without delay. Shen Jingfeng opened his eyes wide and sensed a pill was thrust over by her tongue. Her tongue tasted sweet.

An electric current passed on his spine and made Shen Jingfeng feel numb on his scalp. After a short while, their lips separated and she retreated. She squeezed her clothes in one hand and Shen Jingfeng’s hand in the other. Her body swayed from exhaustion. She leaned on Shen Jingfeng and repeated, “Whoever blocks me will die. Yue Sheng is your lesson!”

“Bitch…” Yue Sheng rolled over in pain, “Hand over the antidote, you bitch! “

“Let us go.” With Shen Jingfeng’s hand secured on hers, Ye Chen glared down at Yue Sheng. Shen Jingfeng saw her act like a little leopard in front of him and his heart softened. Yue Sheng clenched her teeth in pain. Her skin was starting to fester. 

At this time, someone announced from the outside “Jiaozhu is back!”

Ye Chen and Shen Jingfeng increased their vigilance and spun their heads.

The rumors circulating in the Wulin said that the Demon Sect’s Sect Leader was the number one in the world. A vicious figure who never cried since he was a child. 

Yet, when the Demon Sect’s Sect Leader, Mo Xingchen, who was wearing a black cloak, stepped into the main hall, everyone was stunned.

Ye Chen stared at Mo Ming, or now Mo Xingchen, blankly.

Soon afterward, she produced a wry smile, “So, it’s you.”

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Footnotes

1. 備胎 – bèi tāi; Spare tire. A fallback guy/girl. Someone kept in the ambiguos zone as a “backup” partner.↵

Ry’s Corner

Nothing interesting happened in this chapter. Please enjoy your day :>

Bonus Chapters:

6 out of 10 done.

4 more to go!!!

And 3 more Chapters until Arc 4 ends. Hoorah.

Please consider checking ‘The Memory Lost in Space‘ in case you like a good read(feels)! I’m gonna always put this here because I’m obsessed with it! No thanks needed.

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Words count (excluding title, footnotes, TL’s corner): 2815

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