Dinghai Fusheng Records Chapter 41 part1

Translated by Elestrea
Edited by juurensha

Xiao Shan immediately hid behind Chen Xing. Xiang Shu looked at him and then asked: "What are you going to do with this kid?"

Chen Xing was also slightly troubled. Take him with us to find the whereabouts of Dinghai Pearl ma? Shi Hai targeted him, if they brought Xiao Shan with them, he feared it would only put him in danger. But Lu Ying had entrusted Xiao Shan to himself, so how could he be left behind?

"What do you think?" Chen Xing asked Xiang Shu.

Xiang Shu: "He should go back to wherever he came from. He is the descendant of Huhanye Chanyu, the most suitable place for him is to be with his clan."

According to Lu Ying, the Huhanye clan had all perished in Longcheng, but the Xiongnus were still there. However, could they take care of Xiao Shan? Chen Xing was skeptical. Furthermore, he really didn't know whether Xiao Shan wanted to stay in Longcheng or not.

Xiao Shan seemed to sense that the two were discussing finding a place for him to settle in. He showed a slightly worried expression, which made Chen Xing stop talking altogether.

Chen Xing somewhat cleaned Xiao Shan and washed off the dirt on him during their bath. He was surprised to discover that the boy wasn't as dark-skinned as he had thought, but was instead pale and looked very neat. He borrowed children's clothes from the Xiongnus for him to put on. Although Xiao Shan and Xiang Shu didn't look alike at all, their bearings made them look like a father-son pair.

One big and one small, and not only did their faces both look grumpy and antisocial, they also looked majestic. At one glance, it was clear that they weren't to be messed with.

"Where does the music come from?" Chen Xing took Xiao Shan's hand as they stood in one of Karakorum's streets. He heard the sound of a flute coming from a distance and quickly walked over, watching the blood-colored sunset in the process. After bathing, Xiang Shu stood at the top of the city gate tower. Facing the direction of Chi Le Chuan and holding a Qiang flute in his hands, he lowered his eyebrows and closed his eyes as he played an ancient song of the people beyond the Great Wall.

Many of Chi Le Chuan's Hu people, as well as local Longcheng's people, came out of their houses, went to the city walls, and knelt in the street.

Chen Xing slowly walked up towards the city gate tower. For a period of time, he was truly fascinated by the fact that Xiang Shu could play the Qiang flute! In the world covered with snow, Chen Xing saw Xiang Shu in his Hu hunting robe; his clothes swaying and fluttering exactly like a dragon's whiskers. The Qiang flute in his hand sounded out a deep and sonorous tone, and under the gloomy sky, the wind surged and the clouds billowed; the atmosphere was filled with the type of feelings that could stir one's soul.

The sound of the Qiang flute was clear and firm. One time, it appeared as though there were two strong armies fighting in an intense battle. Another time, it sounded just as if the sea was raging and the waves were surging, pouring water everywhere. Then, the tone shifted, and it became the sound of a group of wild geese flying far away. It suddenly rose and became a scene of ten thousand horses galloping outside the Great Wall before gradually calming down, sounding as gentle and as soft as the snowflakes which covered the entire world. Finally, in the gentlest tune, it became a ballad for the souls, directing all the souls of those who sacrificed themselves in Chi Le Chuan to at last return to the earth.

"What song is this?" Chen Xing murmured.

After the song was over, Xiang Shu opened his eyes and glanced at Chen Xing.

"Fusheng Melody," Xiang Shu said.

Chen Xing recalled the tune of the song. It had suddenly risen before suddenly calmed down, indeed similar to the unstable life in the vast ocean; one moment floating, another moment sinking. He was about to ask who taught him to play the Qiang flute when Xiao Shan, full of curiosity, suddenly moved his hand closer and snatched Xiang Shu's Qiang flute out his hands before running away.

"Give it back!" Xiang Shu immediately chased him. Xiao Shan tried to blow the flute while making a "wuwuwu" sound as he ran away.

Chen Xing: "…"

Xiao Shan was so energetic. It had taken Chen Xing a full two days to correct Xiao Shan's habit of walking on all fours. Even though Xiao Shan had reluctantly changed it, sometimes, when Chen Xing was away, he still returned to his old habits. Chen Xing had to temporarily confiscate his claws so that his hands were shorter than his feet, making Xiao Shan feel uncomfortable if he tried crawling again.

Fortunately, Xiao Shan was devoted in carrying out Lu Ying's last order and basically behaved very well.

"'Xiang Shu', 'Xiang Shu'," Chen Xing began to teach Xiao Shan to speak Han again. He started with people's names before moving to heaven and earth, river and plains, sun and moon, and also the stars. Unexpectedly, Xiao Shan learned very quickly. It was just… he didn't know what language Lu Ying had used to talk to Xiao Shan before. Chen Xing was also surprised by the fact that Lu Ying's spoken Han was very pure because he originally thought that these great yaos were mostly associated with the Xiongnus in the north.

Perhaps, in order not to let Xiao Shan forget that he had a Han father, Lu Ying would occasionally speak in Han to the child. Xiao Shan learned some words and would string some words together on his own, saying a lot of confusing words that only Chen Xing could understand.

Chen Xing took Xiao Shan with him. He thought that Xiao Shan was actually more fun to play with, moreover, he didn't want to go to Xiang Shu just to be rebuffed. He could only live up to twenty years old. In this life, there was probably no hope for him to settle down, start a family, and have children. Raising Xiao Shan felt just like raising a son; he would just treat it as if experiencing the joy of having children in advance.

That day, Xiang Shu had asked Chen Xing about finding a place for Xiao Shan. Chen Xing was conflicted; on one hand, he wanted Xiao Shan to be by his side, but on the other hand, he also worried that he was unable to take care of him in the long term. What would happen to the child then? Give him to Xiang Shu? Looking from his appearance, Xiang Shu was also unreliable. In the end, it was still necessary to let Xiao Shan go back to his clan as soon as possible.

Although Xiao Shan was already twelve years old, his height was about the same as some much younger children. Since he had been living with the wolves for a long time, his wisdom was far worse than that of his peers. He changed into a Xiongnu fur hunting suit. Chen Xing specially dressed him; he took both sides of his hair and pushed it up and also combed the hair on the top of his forehead and arranged it just like Xiang Shu. At this moment, even though his identity wasn't clear to Chi Le Chuan's people, nobody asked about it. They only regarded Xiao Shan as the little prince of the Tieles.

Chen Xing wanted to change Xiao Shan's attire into a Han costume, but he couldn't find one anywhere. Xiao Shan was still very young, and his facial features were very upright; his face outline was deep, he had a high nose bridge and bright amber eyes, and between his eyebrows and eyes, there was a trace of arrogance, betraying his half Xiongnu's lineage.

"You are Zhaojun's descendant," Chen Xing said, "Your ancestor was a famous beauty. You should always be at least a little aware of this fact, so don't rub around against the wall like a dog."

Xiao Shan: "???"

Chen Xing and Xiao Shan were sitting beside the city walls, warming themselves up with the fire. Xiao Shan's back was itching, so he leaned on the brick wall and started rubbing against it. Chen Xing gave him a backscratcher and Xiao Shan enjoyed scratching himself with it. Xiao Shan seemed to have had a good time since he started following Chen Xing. Most of the time, he was full of curiosity, moving around and peering at everything.

But in the dead of night, Xiao Shan would occasionally think of Lu Ying and became a little depressed. Chen Xing would touch his small arm to give out some comfort: "Everyone must've experienced this kind of thing, everything will get better slowly."

Chen Xing gave the amber containing the ashes of the Phoenix to Xiao Shan as a token to remember Lu Ying by. Xiao Shan wore it around his neck and put it underneath his clothes.

"How can you get so dirty every day?" Chen Xing really didn't understand how Xiao Shan could get dirty despite following him almost all the time. Wearing new clothes, they would be covered with dust in less than half a day. Ever since he was a child, he was used to properly sitting and studying at home, and when sometimes he went out, he would be waited upon by Yuwen Xin. He never went wild like Xiao Shan. When Xiao Shan saw a tree, he wanted to climb it. When he saw cattle or sheep, he also wanted to touch them.

Xiao Shan: "How?"

Xiao Shan was just subconsciously repeating his words, but that remark was like a provocation. Chen Xing sometimes looked at him and felt that he liked him more and more. If he had this kind of younger brother at home, surely he would have loved him dearly, to the point where he would nearly want to tie him with a rope and stop him from running around everywhere.

"Keep an eye on your amber," Chen Xing said, "If all goes well, when the mana returns in the future, maybe you can bring Lu Ying back to life."

Xiao Shan generally understood his meaning and nodded his head.

Chen Xing also didn't know how the Phoenix would revive from the dead. According to ancient records, the power released during the Phoenix Nirvana could reshape one's body, but it was also limited to the physical body. Lu Ying was dead, if he had already belonged to heaven and had entered the reincarnation cycle, Chen Xing didn't know whether it would still be useful or not.

Finished scratching his back, Xiao Shan's ears suddenly perked up, and he turned to look outside of the city.

"Coming," Xiao Shan said, "Coming!"

Chen Xing was sitting in front of the fire, trying to keep his hands warm. Hearing Xiao Shan's words, he raised his head and nervously stood up, looking outside of the city.

Xiao Shan held the backscratcher and stood in front of Chen Xing, showing the might that was enough to hold out against ten thousand people. Chen Xing looked for a long time, but as far as he could see, there was nothing outside the city.

"Coming, coming!" Xiao Shan pushed Chen Xing, trying to make him go to a safe place. He opened up his outer robe and tied it on his waist. He intended to go to the city walls to fight, saying: "Chen Xing, go! Chen Xing, go!"

And then, Chen Xing saw it. At the far end of the plain, there was a black tide watermark, and some thousands of living corpses cavalry slowly closing in.

The scouts saw it too, and the sound of the horn immediately resounded all over Longcheng.

And then, it's started…

Chapter end