A Seductive Gentleman Chapter 34

Chapter 34: The God of the Yellow River Takes a Wife – Part 4

Translated by: Ritpoppy

The person rolled across the street twice and his bamboo hat fell on the ground. He picked it up but didn't intend to put it back on, revealing a smooth and round face.

Ming ChangYan smiled, "Hey, aren't you that Ming ChangYan, Ming ShaoXia!"

It turns out that it was that 'Noble Gentleman' who had hastily ran away before. He patted off the bamboo hat, looked at Ming ChangYan, and smiled back, "What a coincidence."

Zhao XiaoLan's expression paled, "That's a bunch of nonsense! Ming ShaoXia would never be that fat!"

'The Noble Gentleman' said, "Hahahaha, I ate too much, it's hard to avoid becoming fat. I'm not an immortal, naturally, I have to eat food."

He put back on the bamboo hat and continued, "Anyway, I'm not Ming ChangYan. This crutch is called Wang, may I ask you distinguished gentlemen your names?"

Ming ChangYan said, "This person's insignificant name is not worth mentioning. This fellow crutch, since you're not Ming ChangYan, why do you pretend to be him?"

Crutch Wang replied, "Aren't you pretending to be him as well? Everyone knows that it's nothing but using the Noble Gentleman's name to fake a reputation. We're all out here just to get a meal, they all see through it, but none of us say anything about it."

Ming ChangYan thought: I didn't expect the title of Noble Gentleman to be used in such a way.

Crutch Wang said, "These good friends, where do you plan on going?"

Ming ChangYan replied, "We're going to YanDang River."

Crutch Wang said, "To be straightforward, since the two of us met by chance I won't hold back from you. GuangLing is being plagued by evil spirits. There are people helping the dying and healing the injured and also those who are taking advantage of the crisis to gain some cash. You just saw for yourself the behaviors of that XiaoHan Temple; how could they be here to help subdue the evil, they're clearly here to fish for a quick buck! If you lot are going to YanDang River to help the people, there's no need. Otherwise instead of doing a chivalrous deed, you'll just going to be a bother."

Ming ChangYan said, "How could you say such a thing?"

Crutch Wang said, "You'll see for yourself when you arrive at YanDang River."

No one suspected him and they all hurried to YanDang River.

On the banks of the YanDang River gathered a few crowds. Just as Crutch Wang had said, every sect in JiangHu dispatched 3 to 4 people to GuangLing for disaster relief. Ming ChangYan recognized a few of the sect disciple's uniforms, the rest in uniforms were either form lesser sects or lone cultivators. In short, the crowd was bustling with activity.

Huai Yu held onto his arm, to avoid him jumping around too much and accidentally falling into the river.

On the river rested a row of bamboo rafts. On each raft was a newly built altar. The altars were built with wood and bricks, around it stood a ring-fence while in the middle was three gongs and drums.

A little old man wearing a tortoise shell standing next to the gongs and drums caught Ming ChangYan's attention.

He asked, "This person is wearing a rather strange-looking outfit, what's the meaning of this?"

Crutch Wang immediately gave him an explanation, "When He Bo takes a bride, there needs to be a person receive the bride. This person cannot be someone from dry land, if a millennia year old tortoise from the river cultivates to human form, after waiting for the bride to finish dressing up, it can go receive the bride."

Ming ChangYan concluded, "So he's playing the role of the tortoise."

He secretly gave the little old man the name Senior Minister Tortoise in his head. He closely examined him and noticed that beside Senior Minister Tortoise was a woman wearing mourning clothes.

"This person is wearing mourning clothes, did someone in their family pass away?"

"She's the shaman who's managing He Bo taking a wife. The bride marrying He Bo is a joyful occasion. But a soul entering the heavens is a mournful occasion. He Bo taking a wife is both a joyful and mournful occasion, that's why she's wearing mourning clothes."

Ming ChangYan crinkled his eyebrows, exclaiming, "A load of crap."

Huai Yu, "The bride's coming."

Senior Minister Tortoise rushed over, bent down, and carried a maiden that was wailing nonstop. She was clothed in red and green, the style of dress for a wedding. She held a red candle as her entire body shook uncontrollably. Ming ChangYan moved, but just as he was about to stop them, Huai Yu prevented him from doing so, "With your current cultivation, do you think you'll be able to win a fight against them?"

Ming ChangYan said, "Don't I still have you?"

Huai Yu said, "Even if you have me, what do you expect me to do? Kill everyone here?"

Ming ChangYan decided, "Let me think of a plan."

Before he could even conjure up a plan, the bride had already been ushered by old tortoise man onto the boat. On the boat there was a bridal chamber made out of paper tied with red and green tassels. Even with the breeze, the structure stayed in place. When He Bo is taking wife, the bride must first stay in one of these paper houses, then they install some paper dowry, before it's all lumped together aboard. A small hole will be drilled into the boat ahead of time so when the boat is out on the river it doesn't sink right away. Rather, only when the boat arrives at the center will the bride begin to sink along with the boat.

During that time the bride will most likely begin struggling and calling for help, the tragic situation unbearable. Therefore, before getting on the boat, the bride's arms and legs need to be bound together. In addition, they even added two large stones to ensure that she'll sink to the bottom of the river. Finally, worried that she might cry for help and the people present might take pity on her, they even sealed up her mouth.

The old tortoise man took a thumb-thick, coarse rope, motioning as if he was about to tie the bride up.

Ming ChangYan frowned as he continued to observe, the railings were loose on the altar and bricks piled up in a hideous mess, his mind stirred. He suddenly patted Zhao XiaoLan's back, "XiaoLan, didn't you say you wanted to be a chivalrous hero? An opportunity for you to be chivalrous has arrived!"

Zhao XiaoLan sputtered, "That's what I was thinking! It's despicable to treat an innocent maiden like this!"

After saying these words, he began to walk towards the altar. Who would've thought that Zhao XiaoLan was so eager to save the girl that he sprained his leg after a mere two steps? Zhu Rong was instantly shocked, but before he could raise his arms and catch him, Zhao XiaoLan lived up to expectations and plummeted to the ground under the gaze of everyone around them. Before he collapsed, he dragged the rope that was wrapped around the altar down with him. Ming ChangYan pulled out a needle and took this as an opportunity to fiercely stab at where the ends of the rope met. The rope that was met with the spiritual energy dispersed on the spot. The altar itself that was used when He Bo took a wife was never built to be sturdy. As the ropes dispersed, the banners that were on top of the altar fell down one by one. Finally, with a loud rumble, the entire offering platform collapsed.

The weeping bride was dumbfounded while the shaman let out a blood-curdling scream as the platform slowly sunk to the bottom of the river. The groups of people who were standing along the shoreline, those who knew how to swim leaped into the river only to climb back up. The shaman flopped around for quite a while, but only as she was just about to run out of air did the old tortoise man jump in and save her.

Ming ChangYan laughed out loud, "It seems that He Bo isn't very pleased with his new bride!"

The shaman crawled up the shore, after noticing Ming ChangYan she said, "Are you here to stir up trouble?"

Ming ChangYan walked out from the middle of the crowd. He swept a glance at everyone before saying, "Stir up trouble? This He Bo taking a wife is complete nonsense. You're poisoning the people when you yourselves aren't even aware of what's right and what's wrong. Insisting it's all an epidemic, causing human lives to be lost without any proper reasoning. Tell me that I'm the one causing trouble, say it again."

Zhao XiaoLan asked, "Yan-jiejie, what do you mean by poisoning?"

Ming ChangYan added, "Let me ask you something. Along the way here, besides GuangLing, were there any other epidemics that emerged near the area?"

Zhao XiaoLan answered, "No."

Ming ChangYan continued, "Since this is an epidemic, why is GuangLing the only disaster-stricken area while it's surrounding regions doesn't have a hair wrong with them?"

The shaman retorted, "Naturally it's because He Bo is angry and dropped its fury onto GuangLing! His lordship has the right to do as he pleases and didn't condemn the other areas!"

Ming ChangYan commented, "Hilarious. It's prejudiced that you have to sacrifice a bride, oh you're so tragic. If this He Bo wasn't a moron then he'd be mentally challenged. This 'calamity' that's stricken GuangLing, it never was an epidemic, rather someone has poisoned them."

The shaman's expression was deathly pale, she cried, "You're just saying nonsense! How do you know that it's poisoning!"

Ming ChangYan thought: Because two years ago, I've personally sampled this vigorous poison. How would I not be able to recognize it?

At this moment, a person wearing blue spoke out from the crowd, "I think what he's saying makes sense. If it really was He Bo's fury, why hasn't the epidemic settled down after he took so many brides?"

The shaman argued, "He Bo hasn't received enough!"

Ming ChangYan laughed, "Maybe it'll be enough if he takes you!"

The shaman's complexion changed, suddenly she let out a current of unusual strength, grabbing the bride and threw her aboard. Before anyone could respond, an elder let out a loud shout before he sent off a ball of spiritual energy that hit the back end of the boat. Immediately the boat rushed forwards like an arrow being shot. With a 'whoosh', it flew a few meters forwards.

Ming ChangYan promptly leaped over the fencing, causing Huai Yu's pupils to shrink. But Ming ChangYan had already borrowed some spiritual energy, stepping on the fence before steadily landing aboard. The moment he had a firm standing he reached out to untie the ropes around the bride. The boat had already taken in a finger length of water, he threw out the two stones on the boat, but it didn't stop the boat from its continuous sinking.

The spiritual energy the elder had let out was extraordinary. The boat flew a few hundred meters, Ming ChangYan said, "So fast!"

The bride spit out the white cloth that had been blocking her mouth, confusedly crying, "SAVE ME!! HELP!"

Ming ChangYan replied, "Don't panic, I'm thinking."

The bride exerted enough strength to swallow her saliva, shivering, "This Young Master said 'so fast', but will saying 'so fast' be able to save us?"

Ming ChangYan frowned as he inspected the river, replying, "I'm saying that the boat is sinking 'so fast.'"

Sure enough, after the two barely exchanged a few words, the water leaking into the boat had already reached their ankles. The bride let out a scream before she fainted.

Ming ChangYan turned around and thought: Oh no, I shouldn't have scared her. So feeble!

At this point, the tiny hole drilled into the boat was already in bad condition, so it thought it might as well just split open, allowing all of the water to pour in. The crack widened, Ming ChangYan stumbled, and soon the two along with the boat fell into the river.

He knew he was going to fall thus he took a breath in advance so that even if he was underwater, he wouldn't be completely helpless.

The river water was muddy and there seemed to be a distinct force that was pulling Ming ChangYan into the center of the river. He struggled for a bit before he forcibly opened his eyes and began to look for the bride's silhouette.

He couldn't find the bride but saw the silhouette of a man, similar to that of a giant fish leaping up from out of the water. Ming ChangYan was startled, his panic making it difficult for him to recognize the path. He swam backwards and hid inside a patch of water grass.

The silhouette swam with ease, clearly exceptional in water and was well-versed with the underwater terrain. He methodically swam for a while before finding the bride. Ming ChangYan held his breath and watched with rapt attention, but the figure merely picked up the bride and carried her deeper underwater. He hastily pushed the water grass away, intending to catch up on them. However just as he moved his body he realized that he couldn't move his foot.

Ming ChangYan was alarmed as he looked back. His foot was tightly coiled around the water grass.

He immediately bent down to resolve the problem. But the more he tried, the tighter it became while the oxygen in his lungs was starting to run out. He thought: Oh no, don't tell me I'm going to die miserably here!

Just as the thought arose in his mind, Ming ChangYan suddenly felt his body become lighter as he was held closely by someone. Following came a ray of bright light, the water grass slowly slid off his foot.

Ming ChangYan's heart fluttered and looked towards the person who saved him. He gripped his hand and pointed towards where the silhouette disappeared to.

Huai Yu nodded his head, he reached out towards his waist and held it tightly in his arms. Ming ChangYan was a bit startled in the water, if not for the fact that he was out of breath he was afraid that he would've jumped three feet in the air.

When Huai Yu saw his reaction he gave him an unfathomable look. His eyes seemed to say: You still have strength left in you?

Ming ChangYan rubbed his nose and consciously gestured: Actually, no.

The two exchanged complicated glances, being very inconvenient. Huai Yu hugged him and brought both of them back to shore with what was remaining energy he had left.

Coincidentally, at the bottom of the river there were two large rocks with enough space between the cracks for the two to walk over. Ming ChangYan passed through the cracks which were both narrow and broad before arriving at a clearing.

Finally from above their heads they could see the crystalline waters. Huai Yu took them up a few meters as they suddenly broke through the waters.

The moment they broke through the waters, Ming ChangYan felt like he was given new life and took big mouthfuls of air. His entire body was so weak that he hugged Huai Yu's neck for a bit to take a breather before saying, "Let's go ashore and take a look."

After they climbed ashore, Ming ChangYan felt nauseous all over. He rubbed his face and narrowed his eyes in concentration. His vision was a bit blurry and couldn't see very clearly. All he saw in front of him were two stone doors running in opposite directions. By his ears, he heard the sound of the water and the sigh of the wind.

"Huai Yu, take a look at what's that in front!"

Huai Yu walked forwards a few steps. Ming ChangYan grabbed his arm, reaching out, he found his clothes dry and clean.

Ming ShaoXia was shocked, "How are you dry?"

Taking another look, Huai Yu's hair was loose and extremely smooth. He reached out for a touch and realized that it was dry as well.

"Internal drying forces."

Hearing this, Ming ChangYan smiled, "So it's like that. After years of not being able to use my cultivation, I completely forgot about it."

Huai Yu said, "Stand closer."

Ming ChangYan asked, "Why?"

He didn't move so Huai Yu moved.

Ming ChangYan's hands were caught by him. All of a sudden, a flow of spiritual energy stirred in his body. In a short period of time, his clothes were as dry and clean as ever.

Huai Yu ignited a fire, inquiring, "How do you know that there's something below this river?"

Ming ChangYan smiled, "Because rivers usually flow towards the earth, only YanDang River's water flows towards the middle!"

This was translated by , any other repost of this is stolen, and if you steal my translations I'll tie you up in water grass.

There's a chapter coming up that's 10,000+ words long and I really don't want to translate it (ⅈ▱ⅈ)

For perspective, each chapter of A Seductive Gentleman is about 4000-6000 words long. This is my suffering.

If you see any grammatic/translation errors, please notify me! My email will always be at the top of the website. Also, comment. I adore your comments.

Anyway, have you heard the trashy heavenly official is having an affair with the Demon Realm's number one hotshot?

Yeah, TGCF donghua PV came out and I'm ecstatic.

Chapter end