BXBX NOVEL Chapter 321 - It’s Not Easy Being the Head of Household (5)
Even the Empress was courteous to them.
As for the reason? No one knew...
It was just a tradition that had been passed down for a long time.
The population of Mt. Wanyuan had already dwindled greatly. But although it was no longer as revered in recent times, the imperial clan still respected them greatly.
As a result, one could see why Jiang Zhi offending the priest when she was meant to invite him had made the Empress so angry.
All of the people the Empress had subsequently sent were rejected mercilessly. In the end, all the officials of some ranking had been sent. It was soon Shi Sheng’s turn.
Shi Sheng wanted to get out of going by pretending to be ill. Unfortunately, the Empress exercised great foresight by preparing the entire procession beforehand and announcing the decree to send her in front of many commoners.
Shi Sheng could only grit her teeth and board the carriage. She could wilfully refuse to go, but then the Jun Clan would probably end up drowning in the spit of the people.
Jun Liyou had wanted the Jun Clan to be fine.
If Shi Sheng didn’t go, the Jun Clan could forget about having any more peaceful days.
Public opinion had always been a favourite tool of politicians.
Mt. Wanyuan wasn’t located too far from the capital. For the sake of showing the importance she placed in the priests of Mt. Wanyuan, the Empress had done her utmost to impress and decked out the procession quite grandly.
Shi Sheng propped up her jaw and watched the view outside the carriage slowly change as the procession trundled along.
This world didn’t contain spirit energy, so the priests on Mt. Wanyuan probably just chanted scriptures and meditated all day.
By the time they reached Mt. Wanyuan, night had already fallen. As she stood before a set of stairs that appeared to lead to heaven, Shi Sheng wore a dissatisfied expression as she looked at the two Yues.
She had ‘you actually want this Prime Minister to climb up there on foot?! Are you crazy?’ written all over her face.
“Your Excellency, just bear with it.” Ying Yue smoothed her ruffled feathers. “It’s a mission from the Empress, isn’t it? Besides, mountain-climbing has health benefits...”
Dai Yue nodded too. “Indeed, Your Excellency. At the very least, you have to put on a good show so you can report back to the Empress.”
Shi Sheng was still dissatisfied. ‘This mountain’s so tall, I’d(bbb) die before I(bbb) reached the top.’
“You two wait here. I’ll go up on my own.”
Ying Yue immediately objected, “How can that do? Although this is Mt. Wanyuan, Your Excellency’s safety comes first!”
The priests of Mt. Wanyuan disliked having too many people on the mountain. So they had only been planning to bring just a few people to accompany their lady up, while the rest camped at the foot of the mountain.
But suddenly hearing that Shi Sheng wished to ascend on her own, how could they agree to that?
The two Yues were unwilling to allow Shi Sheng to go up alone no matter what she said.
Shi Sheng, “...” ‘I(bbb) just wanted to use my sword to fly up, what’re you guys getting in the way for?’
“This is an order.” Shi Sheng shaped her features into a stern mask. “Don’t follow me, else I’ll go back.”
The two Yues, “...” ‘Why does Her Excellency’s temper seem much worse than before?’
Shi Sheng rushed up several flights of stairs and disappeared into the darkness of the night. Once she was out of everyone’s view, she drew her sword and used it to fly up.
The temple on the mountain was rather big, but there were only two sources of light. One came from a courtyard, while the other came from an even higher place up a cliff..
Shi Sheng frowned as she landed in the courtyard. ‘Why’s this temple so quiet? It barely feels lived in...’
Creaaak—
The door to a room on her left suddenly opened, allowing the light inside to spill out and envelop Shi Sheng, causing her shadow to appear long and drawn out.
“Ah!” Its occupant let out a short yelp.
The person standing in the doorway was a young lad who appeared about 11 or 12. He appeared very fair and tender and wore a green Daoist robe.
“Who are you? How did you get here?” The boy supported his somewhat crooked Daoist hat[1] as he poked his head out to get a better look at her. “You’re an official?”
These past few days, many officials sent by the court had arrived to pay a visit, so the boy couldn’t help but make this guess.
“En. Go call the person in charge here.” Since the other party was but a young lad, Shi Sheng didn’t reveal her ferociousness.
“Senior Brother is resting.” Throughout this exchange, the lad was using one hand to support the Daoist hat on his head. “Please come again tomorrow.”
Shi Sheng, “...” ‘I climbed a mountain in the middle of the goddamn night and this fellow tells me to come again tomorrow?! Is this a joke?! My(bbb) time is very precious, okay?!’
The lad watched as the woman’s previously calm manner turned fiendish and she started striding over to him. Her terrifying aura scared him into retreating.
“W-what are you planning to do? This is Mt. Wanyuan—I’m a disciple of Mt. Wanyuan—you can’t attack me!”
Pa!
Shi Sheng slapped the doorframe. “Take me to your Senior Brother. Right. Fucking. Now.”
The young lad had probably never met such a barbaric woman, for he was terrified into quaking and his face turned even paler.
“S-Senior Brother doesn’t see visitors at night.”
Although he was nearly pissing his pants from fear, the boy still grit his teeth and insisted.
Shi Sheng’s eyes curved into crescents. “Is that so?”
The lad felt his anus tightening. “W-what do you want to do...?”
Shi Sheng strode into the room, and grabbed the boy by the neck. “Would you rather die, or lead me to your Senior Brother?”
The boy was nearly in tears as he brought Shi Sheng further up the mountain, until they came to the cliff where she had noticed light before.
There was a tower that had been built atop the cliff, without any visible pathways to get to it.
“How do I get over there?” Shi Sheng stared at the young lad who was currently shaking like a leaf.
“Fly over...” The lad replied in a soft voice.
‘Fly?
There’s no spirit energy in this world; how’d that Senior Brother of his fly up there? Did he grow wings? Is he a birdman or something?!’
[Hidden Quest: Promised to You[2]]
Shi Sheng stared blankly at the lit room that wasn’t very far from her.
‘The hidden quest was actually here? A Daoist priest?! And “promised to you”...? Why not “die together” while you’re at it?! System, are you fucking kidding me?’
[...Hidden Quest Target: Ling Yue. Take him as your husband.]
‘Great! Yet another name I’ve never heard of!’
Shi Sheng took a deep breath. ‘I am so hacking that space apart when I get back.’
The young lad stared in shocked terror as she drew her sword, sat on it, and flew up to the tower.
This tower had three floors to it and a square platform at its base.
The light was coming from the top of the tower.
She’d only just landed when someone opened the door to the tower, an oil lamp in his hand. He wore a similar Daoist robe to the young lad back there.
With a white jade hairpin in his hair, his dark flowing locks were bound by a white ribbon and hung from his back.
As he stood there unfazed, his thin and long eyebrows scrunched together slightly as his brilliantly clear eyes stared placidly at Shi Sheng.
The flickering light outlined his perfect features. He was surrounded by an ethereal aura, making him seem like an expert who’d hidden away from the rest of the world.
If he was brought to the capital, countless women would fight over him.
“You are trespassing on Mt. Wanyuan. Please return, Your Excellency.” Oh look, the expert spoke. His voice was as limpid as a mountain spring, the type that made you feel like your ears were going to get pregnant just from hearing it.
Shi Sheng, “...” ‘Return my arse!’
She examined him for a while before suddenly striding towards him. ‘This fellow’s most likely that lil devil Feng Ci. A pity there isn’t any spirit energy I can use to confirm this. Still, let’s at least bring him back before thinking of a way to verify whether or not he’s Feng Ci.’
Ling Yue retreated a step, guardedness and dislike appearing in his eyes.
Just as Shi Sheng was about to reach him, in the blink of an eye, he drew a flexible sword[3] and attacked her.
‘Wah! Now you even dare to attack me(lz)!’
Though, he really couldn’t be blamed, seeing as Shi Sheng hadn’t bothered to put her own sword away and had been advancing in a manner that could definitely be perceived as aggressive...
[1] Here’s a pic:
[2] I really wish System would stop using poem verses... It’s really hard on me! The original name of this quest in the raws is “与子成说” while the poem goes “死生契阔，与子成说。执子之手，与子偕老” I don’t think there’s an English translation for it, but I’ll give it a go: “(My) life and death are promised to you. (I) wish to hold your hand till we both grow old and white-haired.” The brackets are implied (yes, you don’t need pronouns in Chinese...)
[3] There are two types of swords from what I know. One, the flexible type that bends and you can wrap it around your waist (for some). Two, the rigid sword that would break before it bends. I think.
[4] I wasn’t sure how to translate this part because it relies on a sort of pun? The original was “辞笙有你” where the first two characters are Feng Ci and Shi Sheng’s given names respectively. It sounds like “此生有你” which translates to something like “even if I only had you in this life (I would be content)” The words in brackets are more implied.