After Sheng Jun Chapter 23 (Part 2)
Translated by Sylver (ko-fi)
Chapter 23 Half-Revealed Heavenly Secret (part 2)
Halfway through the banquet, a small mountain of peanut shells and melon seed husks had accumulated by Jiang Xingzhi's hand, with some scattered on the ground.
He took out Jiang Langhou, who had been watching the festivities from his sleeve. "Come, watch while you sweep."
Jiang Langhou, not finding anything strange about a spirit brush sweeping the floor, obediently began cleaning up the peanut shells.
Zhong Ming watched from the side, his mouth twitching slightly. "It's quite busy."
Jiang Xingzhi poured some chicken soup, saying, "People can realize their self-worth by creating value. Although Langhou is just a spirit brush, its life can have multiple choices. Don't just see it as sweeping—its essence has already been elevated."
Jiang Langhou looked up in surprise. "So that's it!"
The atmosphere suddenly became harmonious and pleasant. Looking at Jiang Xingzhi's kind and gentle profile, Zhong Ming thought to himself that Jiang Langhou still hadn't seen through the treachery of human hearts.
The hardworking and kind Jiang Langhou finished sweeping the floor just as Jiang Xingzhi finished two plates of melon seeds and peanuts.
He brushed his sleeves and stood up. "I'll go for a walk to help with digestion."
Zhong Ming made to rise. "I'll join you."
Jiang Xingzhi stopped him. "I want to walk alone and contemplate life."
After his gaze lingered on him for a moment, Zhong Ming smiled. "Go ahead then, but come back soon."
Leaving the lively banquet, the surroundings gradually became quiet.
Not knowing any other paths, Jiang Xingzhi followed the way they had come, heading toward the Library Pavilion and Jinghua Garden. Jiang Langhou poked its head out from his sleeve. "The grand-disciple didn't follow us~"
Jiang Xingzhi gave a sound of acknowledgment. He had also thought Bai Mu would follow him.
After all, since their first meeting, the other had followed him wherever he went. At the time, he didn't understand why but, unable to shake him off, simply acquiesced.
Thinking about it now, could it have been love at first sight?
That wasn't right either. Bai Mu already had someone in his heart. Besides, facing his own resemblance to an enemy, how could he have fallen in love at first sight?
Growing fond over time made more sense, since he typically won people over with his inner qualities.
After a long while, he exhaled: Bai Mu really had too many secrets.
The flower trees along the path rustled their branches and leaves. The afternoon sunlight fell through the gaps, casting flickering shadows on Jiang Xingzhi's eyelids.
Seeing him sigh, the attentive Jiang Langhou crawled out from his sleeve and brushed his face with its soft bristles. "Ancestor~"
As the soft wolf hair brush touched his cheek, Jiang Xingzhi felt something stir in his heart.
He caught the brush and said, "Langhou."
"Mm~"
"Haven't you been using your bristles for sweeping lately?"
"...Ying."
The two continued on their way. With no one around now, Jiang Xingzhi let it float and drift in the air.
After turning down a small path, they returned to the previously visited Library Pavilion.
As they walked, Jiang Xingzhi's divine consciousness stirred. Whoosh—he sidestepped a spell that came whistling through the air, turning to face a long-robed man at the corner who was forming a spell with his raised hand.
His eyebrows arched slightly: ...he recovered quite quickly.
Qin You had slipped out of his quarters.
He hadn't expected that as soon as he regained mobility, the disciples at the door would ask him to leave.
He could only feign confusion to fool them and ran out when no one was looking—what did a little face matter if he could seize an artifact spirit?
Fortunately, by retracing his steps, he actually spotted that artifact spirit again. With no one around, there was only an unarmed young man.
Having learned from his previous lesson, Qin You launched a sneak attack this time. As for the young man beside the artifact spirit, whoever he was, it was his bad luck to be standing next to the artifact spirit!
…..
After dodging the sneak attack, Jiang Xingzhi's eyes met Qin You's. The latter seemed somewhat surprised, unable to understand how a person "without cultivation" could detect his attack.
Another Gu curse formed in his palm. "Who are you?"
Jiang Xingzhi said, "An invited guest at the banquet."
Qin You remained cautious. "Some kind of expert?"
"Hmm, with ears that hear the wind."
So he had supernatural hearing—that explained how he detected his movements. Qin You lowered his guard slightly and threatened, "If you don't want to be crippled by my curse, step aside. I only want that artifact spirit beside you!"
Jiang Langhou scoffed disdainfully: Hmph, as if my ancestor would hand me over.
Jiang Xingzhi stepped back. "Please, go ahead."
Jiang Langhou: ???
It whirled toward Jiang Xingzhi but met a pair of eyes filled with deep meaning. The other's voice sounded in its sea of consciousness: "Now's your chance—I'm going to teach you my unique ultimate technique."
****
Back at the banquet.
The honorary elder's seat was already empty. At the lower tables, Wu Jie watched as the man sat down in front of him, seemingly understanding why he had come. "What business does Elder Bai have with this poor Daoist?"
Zhong Ming rested one hand on the table, his fingertips tapping lightly. "What did he ask you to divine?"
Wu Jie replied, "This poor Daoist adheres to professional ethics and cannot divulge that information."
Zhong Ming looked up, staring at him for a few breaths. "Was it truly about wealth?"
Wu Jie responded mysteriously, "What you think it is, that's what it is."
The conversation came full circle, back to where it started. The other seemed to have revealed something, yet not completely. After pondering for a moment, Zhong Ming spoke, "How about divining for me?"
"Of course..."
Before he could finish, a sudden commotion erupted outside the banquet hall. Everyone turned their heads, and Chu Yun stood up. "What's happening?"
The disciple who came to deliver the message had a difficult expression. "Sect Master, you'd better see for yourself."
Wu Jie rose with interest, his gauze robes fluttering. "This poor Daoist will also take a look."
Zhong Ming, abruptly interrupted, pinched the bridge of his nose. He wanted to see what was going on this time!
A group of guests followed Chu Yun out of the banquet hall, led by disciples toward the mountain gate.
Before they even arrived, they could hear chaotic noises from afar.
Walking alongside, Zhong Ming had an ominous feeling: this scene...
In a few steps, they arrived at the scene and stopped, finally understanding why that disciple had such a difficult expression—
Five or six Haosheng Sect disciples were blocking the mountain gate, while a man in a long robe was trying to break through their barrier. A Gu curse shot through the air, only to be deflected back by one of the disciples using Tai Chi.
The rebounding spell curved around Qin You's side and with a "boom" struck an ancient towering tree behind him! The massive trunk looked as if it would come crashing down directly on his head.
Qin You heard the noise and turned around, his heart suddenly alarmed. His limbs, having just recovered mobility, seemed borrowed and unresponsive. In his panic, he missed his footing and rolled down the stone steps—
Pluck, bang! Two loud sounds erupted almost simultaneously.
Qin You was pinned beneath the heavy tree trunk at the bottom of the steps, feeling as if several of his bones had been broken.
To make matters worse, the young man not far away was still talking coolly, "One mistake leads to many more. Better to do nothing at all."
Qin You was furious with embarrassment. "Shut up!"
As he spoke, he smashed the tree trunk on top of him with a palm strike. Crack—splinters flew everywhere, and a sharp fragment pierced deeply into his palm. "Aaaahh!"
Jiang Xingzhi continued his cool commentary, "See? Just as I said."
The onlookers: "..."
Zhong Ming stood at the back of the crowd, remembering Jiang Xingzhi's slightly bashful face from a quarter-hour ago: "I'm not that powerful."
Looking at this spectacularly disastrous scene, he thought: Don't underestimate yourself.
Finally, Chu Yun, unable to bear watching this farce at his mountain gate any longer, waved for disciples to pull the man up.
Two disciples moved the tree trunk aside. Just as they lifted Qin You, somehow both their hands and feet slipped, and they let go, causing him to roll down the stone steps again with a "thud."
Even the two disciples nearly went down with him.
Just before they fell, a gentle force supported them. Jiang Xingzhi stood nearby, slowly withdrawing his hand. "Don't get close—you'll become unfortunate."
The crowd: ...
Qin You at the bottom of the stairs: ....
Whispers of discussion arose:
"How can someone be so unlucky?"
"Truly visibly unfortunate."
Before Qin You could rage, the crowd suddenly went silent, their eyes staring strangely at something above his head.
He hesitated, turning to look.
A huge shadowy figure slowly rose behind him. From its shape, it appeared to be the artifact spirit he had stolen.
In the quiet crowd, someone first exclaimed in shock, "Broom star!"
(TL: "掃把星" literally translates to "broom star," but it’s a colloquial expression used to refer to someone who brings bad luck or causes trouble, similar to calling someone a "troublemaker" or saying they’re "bad luck.")
Like a stone causing thousands of ripples, the crowd burst into exclamations. "So it's a broom star! No wonder he's so unfortunate!"
"Quick, quick, expel this person from the mountain gate..."
"And carve his portrait, so more people can avoid him!"
Qin You's mind buzzed, not understanding how things had turned out this way. He lay frozen on the ground, unable to make a sound for a long time.
Where had things gone wrong? It seemed to have started when he picked up this artifact spirit...
Above Qin You, Jiang Langhou was trying its best to form the shape of a broom. In its heart, it recited:
People can realize their self-worth by creating value.
Life can have multiple choices.
Don't just see it as pretending to be supernatural—its essence has already been elevated.
...
****
The collapsed Qin You was quickly removed from the mountain gate.
The crowd dispersed and returned to the banquet. They had no objections to Haosheng Sect's "ungraceful" behavior, instead calling out "bad luck" toward Qin You.
The mountain gate was soon deserted, with only a few disciples cleaning up the mess.
Jiang Xingzhi stood nearby as Jiang Langhou, taking advantage of no one watching, secretly slipped back into his sleeve.
After securing Jiang Langhou, he turned and met the gaze of a figure who hadn't left—across half the courtyard and the fallen tree, Zhong Ming seemed to have been standing there all along, waiting for him to look back.
Jiang Xingzhi was momentarily stunned, stepped over the tree trunk, and walked over. "Bai Mu."
The corner of the other's mouth seemed to curl slightly. "I knew you couldn't stay out of trouble for a moment." His tone was light, as if he had long understood Jiang Xingzhi's nature, yet indulged his mischief.
Jiang Xingzhi felt a lump in his throat and averted his gaze: What understanding? It's an illusion, just an illusion...
As he turned away, he suddenly froze.
He looked toward Wu Jie, who stood several steps away like a floating willow. After a pause, he asked, "Why is the Master standing there?"
Zhong Ming also turned, his expression shifting.
Wu Jie walked down the steps. "Elder Bai was just asking this poor Daoist for a divination, but we were unfortunately interrupted. Now we continue."
Jiang Xingzhi looked suspiciously at Zhong Ming. "You want a divination?"
"Yes, didn't you say you'd introduce me as his next client?"
"..."
Wu Jie had already begun his eager business. "What does Elder Bai want to know about?"
A gaze fell on Jiang Xingzhi. "Marriage fate."
Jiang Xingzhi unconsciously swallowed, his heart anxious yet eager to know the answer.
If his result didn't match with Bai Mu's, then it would prove they weren't meant to be.
Wu Jie responded, "Good."
After speaking, he closed his eyes and made finger calculations while facing Zhong Ming. The thin gold under his eyelids flickered layer by layer in the sunlight, his eyelashes lightly covering his eyes.
As he calculated, a strange expression suddenly appeared on Wu Jie's calm face. His brows twitched, and the way he looked at Zhong Ming seemed quite indescribable.
After a while, Wu Jie couldn't hold back. "Pft."
This sound seemed to open a floodgate, and laughter erupted like a burst dam. "Hahaha...ha ha ha~hahaha!!!" He laughed so violently that his ethereal pupils flickered in and out of view through his shaking eyelids, appearing quite terrifying.
Jiang Xingzhi was so startled he stood motionless.
Even Zhong Ming, with his steady temperament, felt unnerved by the laughter. "What did you divine?"
Wu Jie recovered his breath, straightened up, looked at Zhong Ming, and shook his head, leaving a puzzling remark:
"Only because I am in this mountain."
TN:
The phrase "只緣身在此山中" comes from Su Shi's (蘇轼) poem "On the West Lin Wall" (題西林壁).
"Only because I am in this mountain."
In the context of the poem, Su Shi is contemplating the different perspectives one might have when seeing a mountain. The phrase suggests that one’s view or understanding is shaped by their position or perspective. When you're "in the mountain," you may not see the whole picture, which is a metaphor for how perspective affects one's understanding of life or a situation.