Record of the Missing Sect Master Chapter 31

In which there's a shady conversation.

They'd stayed in that desolate place where even birds won't poop for several days, and now that they were finally back in human civilization, after eating their fill, everyone couldn't help but remember their lust. Thus, even though the sky had not yet darkened, the inside of the male brothel was abuzz with activity.

Quite a few people from Jianghu were gathered together, drinking with a male prostitute in hand on one side, while spiritedly gossiping on the other. All the discussions were about the things heard outside the restaurant that day, about the black piece and the white piece and the chessboard and so on. They all thought this was an extremely serious matter.

“Saying that the white piece was a person of prestige and virtue and is also the person who used the Lantern-Extinguishing Poison, is it true or not?”

“If you ask me, we should get some people over there to ask. How can we not know anything like this?”

“That's right, right now we're just wandering around blind. Even now, I still don't understand the whole deal about the secret book incident.”

“And also Bodhi Prison. Saying it's the black piece's move, why exactly is that…”

That person spoke only halfway before suddenly stopping.

Those in the surroundings also turned quiet, and they collectively turned to see a “lantern” stepping inside, all sounds stowed away.

Everyone looked at each other, and their expressions were all somewhat strange.

Just a moment ago, Sir Xiao could barely even stand up, and now he had come to a brothel? Wasn't he afraid that he'd die right in the middle of doing it? And why wasn't Sect Master Wenren keeping him under control?

The proprietor and the prostitutes also saw him enter. Seeing this person look so miserable yet still choose to patronize their business, they all felt moved. The proprietor smiled in greeting and said, “Please come inside, young sir.”

Ye You said, “I want a private room and a jug of your best wine. I want to drink by myself for a while.”

The proprietor asked, “Young sir doesn't want a singer?”

Ye You laughed and said, “Wait until I've drank a few cups before calling for one.”

“Yes.” The proprietor's face was full of smiles, and he called a waiter over and told the other to take the young sir upstairs.

This male brothel was the city's best, and within the private rooms hung landscape paintings with artfully arranged potted plants, all very tastefully chosen.

Ye You found a good place to sit and, upon hearing the creak of the door closing, poured a cup of wine for himself, though he simply held the cup in his hand, not drinking, until he heard faint movement outside the window. Only then did he shallowly take a sip and say, “It's not as good as the ‘Thirteen Beauties'.”

The person outside the window said, “You can get your Senior Brother to buy you a barrel. This whole way, I saw that he treated you quite well.”

Ye You laughed. “I'm injured, so he definitely wouldn't buy it for me.”

The person outside the window didn't respond, and Ye You also didn't speak for a time.

After waiting for a while and seeing that the other wasn't going to say anything else, that person asked, “What are you thinking about?”

Ye You looked at the wine cup and quietly said, “I was thinking that, ‘I didn't kill Boren, yet Boren died because of me.‘[1]”

That person said, “Are you talking about the matter with the Wang Patriarch?”

Ye You said, “Yes.”

That person said, “It really is a pity about the Patriarch, but regardless, you aren't going to feel softhearted and pull back.”

The corners of Ye You's mouth lifted, and a sliver of sharpness flashed across his half-covered pupils. “Is it even possible to pull back?”

He didn't wait for the other to respond and continued with, “Even if I really pulled back, who knows how many people there are like you and me on this earth.”

That person was silent. After a moment, he asked, “We definitely can't keep Bodhi Prison this time. What's the next step?”

“Dig out the one who manufactured the drug.” Ye You took another sip of wine. “Even if our luck is bad and nothing can be dug out right now, it doesn't matter. The white piece wants to end this matter quickly and is definitely looking for a scapegoat. And an ordinary scapegoat wouldn't be useful, so some things still need to be cut down first for it to be all right. There's another thing you need to pay more attention to.”

That person said, “What?”

“The fact that Blood-sucking Ghost was willing to commit suicide has left me with some suspicions,” Ye You said, “I don't believe that that sinister of a person could be swayed into serving another with such loyalty simply by being kept well-fed for a few years. Since he was willing to die, he definitely died because there was some benefit to him. And since that person is already dead, then the benefit has been left to someone living.”

That person was blank. “By the time that old ghost started making his way in Jianghu, he recognized no father and no mother. Since it's unlikely to be his parents, and he never had a wife, are you saying he left behind a disciple?”

Ye You said, “That's the most possible.”

That person said, “Yes, I'll keep that in mind.”

“Be careful not to give the game away,” Ye You unhurriedly said, drawing out every word, “If you die, I'll abide by our agreement and bury you in your hometown.”

The person outside the window let out a low sigh. “You also be careful. Today, you were too conspicuous; it'll easily invite people's suspicions.”

Ye You said, “I know.”

That person copied his previous tone and said, “If you die, I'll also abide by our agreement and separate your ashes into three and bury them in three different places…” He seemed to have thought of something and couldn't maintain the same mood, “As long as I can steal your body from the hands of your Senior Brother. I just realized that I got the short end of the stick when I initially agreed to this.”

Ye You gave a faint laugh. “That isn't so difficult. It'll be all right if you wait until he buries me and then just secretly dig me up after. Don't worry, if I'm aware in the afterlife, I definitely won't blame you, and I won't jump out and scare you as a corpse either.”

The person outside the window was about to leave but thought that there was a demented air about those words just now and said, “If Wenren Heng heard those words, he'd definitely peel off your skin…”

By the time the last word was said, the voice was already drifting away into the distance.

The private room was once again quiet. Within the small building, the faint sounds of cheery conversation mixed with music floated over. The room felt as if it was in another world.

Ye You drank two cups of wine and waited for the many thoughts in his heart to settle down. Then, he found the proprietor and asked for a companion. Contented, he listened to the other's singing while unhurriedly drinking half the jug of wine.

When the man had already sung three songs and Ye You was about to pour another cup of wine, the door to the room was suddenly pushed open without the slightest warning. Wenren Heng's face, along with a hard to describe expression in his eyes, appeared together in the field of view.

He raised his brows.

Wenren Heng was able to see the situation in the room clearly, and the heart that had been suspended on high returned to its place.

It wasn't that he hadn't thought that his Junior Brother was once again testing him, but he didn't dare to gamble on it.

Now in this situation, he had already been scared and uneasy letting his Junior Brother leave for this short while, and that's not even mentioning the fact that the other came to this kind of place. He feared that his Junior Brother was in a bad mood and wanted to vent, so he hastily rushed over.

“I heard you were drinking, so I came over to see.” Wenren Heng walked over to his side to sit down and took the wine cup in his hand. “Your body still isn't well, so you should drink less.”

“It's only one jug,” Ye You said, “You could've just let someone warn me.”

Wenren Heng calmly gave him a rational excuse, “I'm afraid you wouldn't heed someone else's warnings.”

Ye You looked at that face which was close enough to touch. That gentle gaze remained the same as the one in his memories of long ago, never changing in the slightest. He moved his tongue, suddenly feeling compelled to ask his Senior Brother, plainly and directly, if the other still liked him.

That matter had happened so many years ago, so right now, was the other treating him like this because of guilt or love?

Or was it simply because of their relationship as fellow disciples?

If Senior Brother knew that matter that year was because of his schemes, what would he think?

The words turned in Ye You's mouth, but in the end, he swallowed it back down.

Forget it, he thought.

The moment he asked, his Senior Brother would undoubtedly know that he had regained his memories and would definitely start acting the same as everytime they had met before. Even if he wanted to pry some words out of the other's mouth, there was no way it'd be as nice as the easy and tranquil way things were now.

He restrained the emotions in his eyes and, looking at the person who had finished singing, considerately asked, “Thirsty? Want to drink some water before singing again?”

“All right.” The singer wasn't shy and stepped forward to pour tea, taking the opportunity to give Wenren Heng quite a few glances.

Ye You asked, all smiles, “My Senior Brother is good-looking, right?”

The singer trembled slightly and wasn't able to grasp whether these two had more to their relationship. He had half-mind to say some sweet, coaxing words such as, “Not as good-looking as young sir,” but looking at the other's appearance, even he himself felt like the words spoken aloud would be too fake. So the only thing he could do was give a short laugh and hurriedly back away.

Ye You regretfully said, “I also feel that he's quite good-looking, but it's a pity that he's not interested in such things[2]. Come, continue singing. If you sing well, this one has a reward.”

The singer didn't dare to look at the young sir again and concentrated on singing a popular song.

Wenren Heng observed for a while and saw that his Junior Brother was simply saying whatever comes to mind as the other's attention seemed to be entirely on the singer's person. The other truly didn't seem to have any intentions of testing him and had simply wanted to come to the male brothel. His expression once again turned black, and he thought that it was fortunate that he had come, or else this scoundrel might have actually decided to do something.

He said, “Bodhi Prison being overtaken is a big issue, so this time, the Alliance Leader and the others won't stay long. They'll set out tomorrow morning, so let's go back in a while and sleep early tonight.”

Ye You smiled and said, “Then let me finish drinking this jug of wine.”

Wenren Heng said, “No.”

Ye You tried settling for second best, “What about you drink with me?”

Wenren Heng didn't try any further persuasion. In the end, most of the wine ended up in his stomach, and he poured only a small cup for his Junior Brother.

Ye You had some grievances, but he endured.

When they came out, the sky was already dark, and on both sides of the street, lanterns were lit, extending outwards like a fiery dragon. A light drizzle was still raining down, indistinct and hazy, carrying with it a faint chill.

Holding the umbrella, Wenren Heng had to stand shoulder-to-shoulder to fit under it with his Junior Brother. After walking for a few steps, he felt that the mood was quite good and said, “Since it's still early, do you want me to take you around on a stroll?”

Ye You naturally wouldn't refuse; wherever his Senior Brother went, he also went along. The Demonic Sect Elders secretly observed for a while, and seeing that the two were simply taking a walk, they couldn't help but look at each other.

“Is it my imagination? I feel as if those two people are getting along quite well.”

“Yes…”

Elder Miao said gravely, “Could it be like this: the Sect Master wants to do a big thing, and because of certain goals, he pretended to lose his memories to approach Wenren Heng. Wenren Heng has some designs on the Sect Master and so lied and said he was his Senior Brother. After lots of tender pampering, the Sect Master started feeling somewhat moved and suspected that he might like men. With much struggle in his heart, he decided to go to a male brothel to try it out, while Wenren Heng uneasily chased him there. And then the Sect Master thought that the male brothel wasn't as good as Wenren Heng, so he ended up following him out?”

The group, “…”

After a moment of deathly silence, Elder Mei said, “Although I don't want to admit it…”

Elder Baili and Elder Ji said, “But what you said also isn't impossible…”

The group once again looked at each other. Thinking of the image of calling Wenren Heng the Sect Master's wife, they all suddenly felt a sinister chill; they'd still rather cut him up to dispel their anger!

Wenren Heng was completely unaware that those people had started bearing even more grudges against him.

He took his Junior Brother to see the usual picturesque places present in cities, and they spoke of inconsequential things. The calculations and the desires in his heart, along with worries about the future, all quieted down along with the sound of the rain. Although he wished that it could always be like this, after walking for a while, he couldn't help but ask about the matters which occurred today. He told his Junior Brother to stop being so ostentatious, and that he was still there to take care of everything.

Ye You said, “I've already restrained myself.”

Wenren Heng had some words that he wanted to say — Qin Yuemian and the Young Miracle Doctor had been present while they were eating, and just now, there had been that singer, unpleasant to the eye, so it had never been convenient.

But right now, with no one around, it was a good time.

He stopped and looked at his Junior Brother. “Have you ever thought that you could actually be the black piece?”

[1] 我不殺伯仁，伯仁卻因我而死 This is actually a Chinese proverb/saying, so I translated it directly. Boren is the courtesy name of Zhou Yi, who was an official during the Jin Dynasty. These words are uttered by Wang Dao, another official, whose cousin Wang Dun, a military general, rebelled against the emperor. During this rebellion, the emperor initially ordered the entire Wang clan to be executed for this treachery. In response, Wang Dao brought fellow clan members (who were also officials) to plead in front of the courts day in and day out. Every day, Zhou Yi passed by this crowd without appearing to heed Wang Dao's pleas for help, but every night he wrote to the emperor pleading him to grant the Wang clan mercy. In the end, Wang Dun's rebellion succeeds, and when asked, Wang Dao spoke not a word to help Zhou Yi, believing the other to have conspired against his family, and thus Zhou Yi is executed. Later, when Wang Dao finds the petitions that Zhou Yi wrote to the emperor, these are the words he uttered in regret.

[2] 他不好這一口 I actually ??? at this because I recognized all the words, but it made zero sense to me. Apparently, this is a Beijing turn-of-phrase that means [so-and-so] isn't interested in/doesn't like [this thing]. I mostly wanted to include a note to remind myself if this ever comes up again.

I kept forgetting to include a note in these actual posts, but I made for this series! It's mainly a reference for myself of how I've been translating titles, etc. But for those who are having trouble remembering names, or for those who are curious about what characters are used in folks' names, feel free to check it out!

Chapter end