Ink Blade Chapter 40 (Part 1)
Translated by Sylver
Delicate Fragrance (part 1)
Bai Hua naturally heard the voice of Mo Ren, and then he smiled softly, “Oh, does Guard Mo have something to say to Big Brother Chu? Then Bai Hua will retreat first.”
The tone of the young man was full of sincerity and humility, as if he was not the culprit who had severely punished Mo Ren in the Punishment Hall last time.
“…” Chu Yan took a deep breath, and a wrinkle was locked in his brow.
Mo Ren… Ah Ren’s matter, he still couldn’t figure it out.
The palace master slowly paced to the door, but his mood was unusually irritable. The scene just now flashed in front of him, Mo Ren and Qiu Jin… and that “private matter”, he was ultimately the one who could not participate in Mo Ren’s private affairs.
Just now dealing with Bai Hua, it forced him to distract his attention. Now this person ran directly to the door, but it caused that tormenting dull pain to come back.
Chu Yan only felt a throbbing pain in his temples, various noises lingering in his ears, reminding him of his unattainable desires—
Perhaps one day, he would have to watch the guard who once belonged only to him, have someone in his heart, marry and have children, and leave him. He also knew that he had a bad temper, arrogant and willful, and sometimes he couldn’t control himself when he got angry. When that time came, Chu Yan didn’t know if he could still maintain his composure.
Chu Yan pushed open the door, and the corridor was shrouded in night. The guard was standing there quietly, waiting with his head down.
The palace master’s throat moved slightly, and he said hoarsely, “......What’s the matter?”
Mo Ren said in a low voice, “This subordinate has come to confess his crime.”
Chu Yan looked at him deeply, with an unmistakable entanglement in his eyes. He sighed, “This Master don’t blame you, you can go back.”
Bai Hua walked over and took Chu Yan’s arm, smiling gently at the side, “Guard Mo, Big Brother Chu said he doesn’t blame you anymore, you should go back and rest early.”
But Mo Ren raised his face, a cold light flashed between his eyebrows for a moment, and then quietly disappeared. He turned to Chu Yan and insisted, “It’s late at night. Please allow this subordinate to serve Master to rest.”
Chu Yan’s eyes dodged for a moment. He didn’t dare to look at Mo Ren’s expression now. He turned around with Bai Hua and said, “No need, this Master will sleep with Hua’er tonight. If there is anything else, let’s talk about it tomorrow.”
Forget it, forget it. Let him first settle his mind and think clearly. Either let go or directly confront Ah Ren…
“Master…”
The door closed in front of him. Mo Ren’s call dissipated at his lips, and a cloud of worry gradually covered his eyebrows.
Although Chu Yan tried hard to hide it, the guard still noticed something was wrong.
He noticed that his master had been in a very bad and depressed mood since dinner, but he pretended to be okay and deliberately avoided him. Even at the expense of dealing with Bai Hua as an excuse, it was clear that the master was extremely annoyed with this spy in his heart…
…Why? What did he do wrong? Is it because of the matter with Qiu Jin? But if that’s the case, why doesn’t the Master scold or punish him, not even mentioning a word?
Mo Ren didn’t understand, he never understood what kind of feelings Chu Yan had for him.
At first, he thought it was guilt that would dissipate in a few days; later he was alarmed at Chu Yan’s excessive indulgence in him, both uneasy and fearful; that morning when Chu Yan kissed him, he thought he understood Chu Yan’s intentions, he thought his master had developed affection for him, so those indulgences could be explained… He had accepted the identity of being pampered, and even decided to learn about the matters of the bed for this, but why… is it still not right?
Mo Ren stood straight with no expression on his face, but his fists were tightly clenched. For a moment he hesitated whether to go back to sleep obediently or stay up just in case.
But at this moment, the guard suddenly felt a tightness in his heart—
Mo Ren’s expression changed slightly, and he belatedly realized that a faint dark fragrance was lingering at the tip of his nose… What is this smell?
He quickly realized that it was the fragrance from Bai Hua’s body.
Whether it was in his previous life or this life, since the day Chu Yan met Bai Hua, the latter had always carried this faint fragrance, which was elegant and a little sweet. To be honest, it smelt good, and his master also likes it… likes it a lot?
…No.
Mo Ren’s face gradually turned pale. No, no… wrong!!
This smell… this smell always gives him an uneasy sense of familiarity. No, not from his previous life. He must have smelled a similar but not exactly the same fragrance somewhere. This is, this is—
The night turned into a thick dark ink, as if to stretch out strange claws from it and strangle someone’s throat. The guard stepped back in a daze, and a nearly suffocating fear arose in his heart.
Suddenly, a cold light pierced his mind, but it seemed to push him to the bottom of an abyssal ice lake!
That day… when he went out with the Master and Xiao Yu, they accidentally encountered a secluded small shop at the corner of the street. The strange fragrance insect in the jar!!
In an instant, the world turned upside down. Mo Ren’s vision went dark and he stumbled back. A sharp sound rang in his ears, and various people’s voices echoed endlessly—
…That day, he served tea for his master and listened to the Senior Brother of Xuyang Sword Sect in blue clothes murmuring:
“It’s about where it grows. The raw materials of this poison are all rare and strange things. Last night Miao’er and your Fourth Guardian checked the classics all night. After checking, they found that most of them grow in Nanjiang, and some are even unique to that area.”
…That day, he followed his master into that corner shop, and heard the old man at the counter chuckling from afar:
“Ah! It’s the Wuxian Sect, that evil sect of poison bugs from Nanjiang that tried to invade the Central Plains forty years ago! Although it’s now disbanded and gone, there are still a few poisonous insects that have been passed down…”
“We also got a few things by chance. Taking advantage of the recent influx of Jianghu heroes, we’re trying to see if we can get a good price…”
