Record of the Missing Sect Master Chapter 2

Slowly and steadily moving through this. Translating has made me realize how badly my English has deteriorated.

Xunliu Manor was uniquely constructed. It had engraved railings with inlaid jade and beautiful flowers of all varieties, with every single slab of stone placed with special care and diligence. At this moment, it was covered in a layer of misty rain, carrying with it a faint scent, full of elegance and charm.

Ye You was sitting in the corner of a pavilion, slowly caressing a teacup. Following the tenets of “the less said, the better” and “the first who moves loses”[1], he patiently waited for the opposing Sect Master[2] to speak first, all the while hoping that this person will provide some useful information.

However, those few expectations were quickly dashed — Wenren Heng acted as if he was invisible, quietly lifting up his cup to drink his tea. His fingers, slender and pretty, were white like green onions[3].

This Sect Master's presence was impossible to ignore. Just by looking at him, it was clear that he was very refined, and with that handsome face, he was quite simply very pleasing to the eye. Even like this with “not a word spoken”, his presence didn't make Ye You feel oppressed or embarrassed but rather an indescribable serenity.

So Ye You decided to also drink his tea little by little, and in a solemn and earnest manner, counted all the detritus from the tea leaves in his cup one by one. Just as he was about to count a second time in a fit of insanity, Sect Master Wenren finally finished drinking his cup of tea.

The cup was placed on the table with a small clink of sound.

Ye You shook himself to attention and slightly straightened his back, only to see this Sect Master calmly pick up the teapot and refill his cup once again.

Ye You: “…”

Wenren Heng maintained his previous composure and proceeded to drink his second cup of tea.

Ye You wondered, was the relationship with this person so complicated that even while drinking two cups of tea, this person still didn't know how to explain the situation?

— What if he himself spoke first?

Almost as soon as he had the thought, he ruthlessly crushed it.[4]

Ye You decided to follow the other's example and waste time.

Xunliu Manor's Manor Lord Qin Yuemian was peeking at the scene from a distant hiding place, laughing as he rubbed his chin.

His appearance wasn't as striking as Wenren Heng's, but he had a pair of tender, expressive eyes[5]. He smiled slightly, full of feeling, and said, “I knew there was something between those two.”

His trusted aide was by his side. Looking within the pavilion at those two people “as different as night and day”, he couldn't help but say, “Manor Lord, It doesn't look like it.”

Qin Yuemian asked, “Have you ever seen anyone else able to sit in silence with Wenren Heng for this long?”

The trusted aide stared blankly.

Qin Yuemian laughed meaningfully. “Not to mention that that person also had Wenren Heng's jade pendant, and that's not an ordinary jade pendant either.”

That was the reason why he brought that man back, gave orders to take good care of him so that he would stay, and actively sought to illuminate the relationship between Wenren Heng and that young sir today. The pendant was made of warm jade, not very high in quality and with a strange decorative design. Nevertheless, he had seen Wenren Heng personally engrave it himself[6]. It was a one-of-kind pendant.

Although Wenren Heng gave the excuse that the engraving was just for fun, but he had always thought it was meant to be a gift. And sure enough he had guessed right.

He and Wenren Heng have known one another for many years, and he understood Wenren Heng better than others. While this guy always liked to pretend to be a proper gentleman and acted cultured and refined towards everyone, there was perhaps very few in the entirety of Jianghu whom he would genuinely worry over. And suddenly one such person appeared. How out of the ordinary!

What's even more strange is that in all these years he had never seen that injured young sir by Wenren Heng's side. Where did that person pop out from, what was his name, and what was their exact relationship?

Qin Yuemian's heart was unsettled[7], and he became increasingly restless. So making up an excuse, he went to the pavilion himself.

Even before he could take a step inside, Wenren Heng finished his second cup of tea and spoke a sentence that surprised both Ye You and Qin Yuemian.

In a deadpan tone without a hint of interrogation, he asked, “How could you have my jade pendant?”

Qin Yuemian was astonished.

Ye You wanted to smile, but it aggravated the wound on his face and he immediately stiffened. He tried covering it up by swallowing a mouthful of saliva and said, “This is Sect Master's own jade, and yet you ask me.”

Wenren Heng said, “It's because I don't understand that I asked.”

Ye You remained calm and composed, his mind shuffling through a whole pile of thoughts, before deciding to have a go at bluffing him. “Could it possibly be because of my current appearance that Sect Master doesn't recognize me.”

Wenren Heng lifted his eyes to look at him.

Qin Yuemian organized his own thoughts and, upon entering the pavilion, also gave Ye You a look.

Ye You's face was burned. The bandages didn't completely cover his head, leaving behind a small, visible space, but to people not familiar with him, this bit was displayed in vain. Wenren Heng got up and walked halfway around the stone table, sitting down beside Ye You, and said, “I don't recognize you.”

He lifted his hand, and Ye You tilted his head away. He stopped in time, not forcing him, only saying, “If you don't let me look, I won't know who you are.”

Ye You hesitated for only a moment before lifting up his own hand. However, he couldn't unravel the bandages no matter how long he tried, even causing himself an immense amount of pain.

Wenren Heng respectfully asked, “Let me?”

Without a trace of discomfort, Ye You politely said, “My gratitude.”

Wenren Heng's movements were very gentle, as if he was coddling him. This Sect Master's thoughts could not be read at all from his eyes, but as someone who has been in a high-ranking position for a long time, he had a natural air of calm and composure, giving people the impression of warmth and tenderness.

The bandages were quickly removed. Nearly half of Ye You's face was burned. His forehead, chin, and the other half of his face were thankfully intact. Qin Yuemian had already seen this sight before, but even so he couldn't help but turn to look at Ye You.

This person's appearance was exquisite, his facial features arranged just right, beautiful to the point of awe. But he wasn't just beautiful, he had a transparently strong spirit. Now, half his face was beautiful and half was terrifying, altogether the impact was huge. Whether from the front of the back, his face was one that could easily ensnare people's hearts.

Just one look and this kind of person will firmly be remembered.

Ye You surreptitiously observed Wenren Heng and saw that this Sect Master's composed expression finally had a small change, looking first blankly and then in amazement. Qin Yuemian was also very curious about his old friend's reaction, but before he could turn his attention away from Ye You, he heard a surprised exclamation from Wenren Heng, “…Junior Disciple-Brother[8]?”

Qin Yuemian, “…”

So you actually had a junior disciple-brother!

Qin Yuemian almost choked on his own spit and hurriedly drank some tea to contain his shock.

Ye You was also blind-sided. He had already grasped that this situation wasn't so simple. Notwithstanding anything else, the way that Wenren Heng remained silent for so long just a moment ago was already suspicious.

But this scene didn't give him any room to think. Wenren Heng was looking straight at him, and although he made an effort to preserve his refined air, his tone of voice betrayed an obvious excitement. “It really is Junior Brother. Where have you been all these years? You actually aren't stupid anymore? In the past, you were such a silly idiot[9]. When you got lost, I thought you had already met with disaster.”

Ye You, “…”

Qin Yuemian, “…”

These words seemed to contain some extremely serious implications.

Even with a taut face, Ye You didn't respond, still trying with some difficulty to digest what he had just heard.

Just as he was about to ruminate on the main points of what was just said, the person in front of him dropped yet more bombshells[10].

This time Wenren Heng fixed his state of mind, returning to his previous noble refined demeanor, but he couldn't help grabbing Ye You's hand. His concern was visible from his eyes, mixing with an impression of tenderness, altogether trapping Ye You. “After you got lost, I constantly searched for you, but never heard a single shred of information. How have you been living these past ten years? Who cured you? How did you suddenly get injured? Who hurt you? Who gave you my jade pendant?”

Ye You had his hand grabbed so suddenly that he subconsciously tried to pull away.

Wenren Heng very considerately let him go. Looking at his old friend, “His wounds seem to have been caused by a burning object.”

Qin Yuemian said, “Yes… When I entered his room, he was collapsed by the bedside, and a burnt pillar just happened to collapse, crashing right into him. Fortunately, I quickly pushed it aside, so he wasn't burned as severely as he could've been. Applying the medicine from Miracle Doctor Ji[11] several more times should lead to a complete recovery…”

He suddenly trailed off. “No, wait a minute. You also don't know why your jade pendant was with your Junior Brother?”

“Yes, I lost the jade pendant a few days ago. You know that I usually keep that pendant on my person. To have it be stolen from right underneath my eyes, the person who did it was probably remarkable.” As Wenren Heng spoke, he once again rewrapped the bandages for Ye You. Seeing how quiet and obedient he was, Wenren Heng was delighted and finished by tying a bow on top.

Qin Yuemian, “…”

Wenren Heng looked at Ye You and slowed his manner of speaking, “Why aren't you speaking? Why do you not acknowledge your Senior Brother?” He paused. “If you don't want to speak, this Senior Brother won't force you. Just say who injured you like this, and Senior Brother will avenge you.”

Thinking that the person who took his jade pendant was remarkable, he decided to calmly drink tea and wait for the other party to speak first. What he said makes sense. Does this mean I'm really his Junior Brother? Ye You gave him a glance, giving a faint sigh. He hesitated before he spoke, trying to get a sense of exactly what to say.

Qin Yuemian quickly perked his ears, itching to get to the bottom of things. But then he simply heard this person say, “As it happens, I also don't know. To Senior Brother, what was my name? Who was our master?”

Qin Yuemian, “…”

Wenren Heng, “…”

Wenren Heng was the first to react. “You don't remember?”

“After getting injured, I woke up having forgotten everything, and the only clue was the jade pendant,” Ye You said, “When was the last time Senior Brother saw this jade pendant? And who did you meet back then?”

Wenren Heng frowned. “I've also thought about this matter for a long time but have no leads.”

Ye You decided to drop the subject for now. Seeing as there's an old servant standing outside the pavilion afraid to come in, he knew that it was time for his medicine. He gave the two other people in the pavilion a bow and, with the bowtie still on his head, walked away.

I'm this clever. Was I really an idiot for so many years?

Ye You narcissistically thought as he not too slowly passed through the courtyard covered by a curtain of rain. Gloomily thinking about whether this matter was true or if it was that… Wenren Heng already knew that he had amnesia and was simply trying to scare him.

He decided to carefully observe for a while. From now on, he can ask whatever he wanted, and it wouldn't be too late to judge whether it was true or false.

Qin Yuemian also wanted to make this matter clear. Waiting until Ye You had walked far away, he asked, “Is that really your Junior Brother?”

Wenren Heng lips curled up. Although he still maintained his elegant demeanor, there was still something seeping out that was worth a second look. Qin Yuemian decided not to worry about these trivial things and continued asking, “In the end, is he or is he not… No, before, you didn't even know about his circumstances, so you probably spoke the truth…”

He suddenly thought of something and sucked in a breath.

Putting himself in Ye You's shoes, if he had lost his memory, then after he had woken up, he would've definitely impatiently wanted to know his own name, where his family were, and so on. But in the half-month that he has been in the manor, that injured young sir hadn't let on about these circumstances. Moreover, even after learning that the jade pendant belonged to Wenren Heng, he could still appear nonchalant and even drink two cups of tea with Wenren Heng.

Qin Yuemian couldn't help but mutter, “What kind of person is he?”

Wenren Heng's face didn't change. “He's my Junior Brother.”

Qin Yuemian wanted to spit blood. Seeing that Wenren Heng had stood up, he asked, “Where are you going?”

“It's been ten years,” Wenren Heng walked out of the small pavilion, his voice carried a hint of joy, “I've finally been reunited with Junior Brother through much hardship, of course I'm going to go care for him a bit.”

[1] 「多說多錯」lit. “The more is spoken, the more will go wrong.” &「敵不動我不動」lit. “If the enemy doesn't move, I don't move.” Not sure if I conveyed either properly.

[2] So Ye You is referred to as 教主 as opposed to here, where 門主 is used. For Ye You, the 教 implies that his sect is religious in nature.

[3] Literally what it says lmao. Aren't green onions… green…

[4] Another super liberal translation. Original: 這念頭只在心里轉了一圈，便被壓下去了。lit. This thought was turned around in his mind for only one cycle before it was pushed down.

[5] 桃花眼 lit. peach blossom eyes.

[6] I can't believe this guy literally just went, “Oh, this pendant's design is weird as fuck. By the way, Wenren Heng carved it.” lmao

[7] 長草 lit. grow grass. I'm honestly not actually sure what this means, so I guessed via context. If anyone does, please tell me!

[8] Yeah, I'm gonna translate 師弟. I'll probably write it as just “Junior Brother” from this point on, but I wanted it clear that they were disciples together under the same master here.

[9] 痴痴傻傻 Meaning that he always had a blank/idiotic look on his face.

[10] You won't believe how tempted I was to translate 一堆東西 as “a pile of shit”.

[11] 紀神醫 I originally translated this as “Divine Doctor Ji”, but after thinking about it, changed it to “Miracle” since this is a wuxia and not, like, a xianxia.

Chapter end