The Villain's White Lotus Halo Chapter 24

I'm in another city right now…. and, well, I just finished translating this chapter. We've fallen back into the style of Syn-translates-in-fever-dream-and-posts-her-first-draft. So any and all mistakes are my own! After the weekend is over I'll be turning this over to someone to edit and hopefully make readable.

There's also a distinct lack of what I think are relatively important footnotes, but those will get added alongside the edited version.

Once again, I'm sorry for the extreme roughness of this… first draft.

Syn Chapter 24 - Prophecy

If one were to say that the entertainment culture of Cang Ya is in gossiping and spreading gossip, then the specialty of the citizens of Ye City are to observe hubbub and spread hubbub.

Long term stability and prosperity led to the people becoming increasingly bold and fearless. They dare to watch any commotion; they dare to spread any commotion.

They discuss the Eastern Continent's demonic cultivators' endless nefarious desires to rebuild the Demonic Palace, how the Southern Continent's Imperial clan is extravagant and wealthy, guess at just how beautiful the number one beauty in Lian Jian is, and even worried themselves to death over when their very own city lord will get married.  

The people of Ye City are interested in discussing both the storms and showers of the world, as if they're all important people with qualifications to guide the world.

Even when night has fallen, TaiHe Pavilion was still bustling with business, not losing in the slightest against JinFeng Pavilion.

In the hall on the first floor was a raised platform. A storyteller garbed in a long robe rinsed his mouth with a top quality maojian, and bowed towards the crowd, his hands clasped in a salute. The crowd immediately erupted into thunderous cheers and applause.

The hall on the main floor was already full, and in a remote corner on the second floor sat three young men. One had the refined countenance of a nobleman, one had the carefree manner of a young master. There is also a one wearing a black cloak, hiding his face from view.  

But Ye City is always bustling, and strange cultivators are easily found here. How he was dressed doesn't attract the slightest bit of attention.

As Yin BiYue sipped at the pot of Ba Shan Qiao She Duan Chatterbox had ordered, his heart was filled with countless emotions.

He never fathomed that the three of them…

Actually came to listen to a story!

The storyteller downstairs already began to speak, his strong voice resonating throughout the hall.

"Everyone here knows in one month, on the ZhongMing Mountains two li outside of the city, the Flower Picking Festival will begin. When the time arrives, various youths from every sect will gather here. Disciples from every continent will gather here to exhibit their skills; this truly is a rare once-every-ten-years event!"  

Just as everyone thought that today's story would also be about the Flower Picking Festival, the storyteller's words took a turn, "But today, let's not talk about the Flower Picking Festival- but then what are we talking about? Let's chat about the prophecy of the Central Continent's Director!"

The crowd surrounding the stage once again erupted in cheers.

Although the Flower Picking Festival is exciting, it's already been the topic for the story for many days and everyone had listened to it to the point of being able to recite it from memory. Talking about something fresh right now would naturally attract more people.

Yin Biyue's heart skipped a beat when he heard the two words Academy Director.

What prophecy?

The storyteller continued, "'Twin stars reveals the world, the dragon and serpent clash, live and die together, a single survivor.' is what the Director said three hundred years ago at Lake Ming. Some of you may have heard of it before, some of you may have not."

"But what do these two phrases mean? How would we decipher them? I'm sure everyone wants to know, then we'll thoroughly talk about it today!" Amidst the cheers of the audience he no longer dragged out the suspense.

"Out of the twenty-eight constellations in the night sky, there exists only one dragon, the KangJin Dragon, the 'Neck Cluster' in the seven asterisms of the Azure Dragon of the eastern sky…. As for the serpent, it refers to the seven asterisms of the southern sky's "Wing Cluster", YiHuo Serpent!"

This isn't some kind of profound revelation, the ones who understood a little called out in agreement, "That's not bad!"

There were also people who cast some doubt on his assertion, "This is something that everyone already knows; how about you talk about how these two constellations have anything to do with anything?"

The storyteller laughingly said, "What kind of character is the Academy Director! It could be said that he could even elucidate the mysteries of the heavens! These constellations are clearly referring to people! The KangJin Dragon and YiHuo Serpent, corresponding to the positions of the stars, I'd reckon that they represent 'Cang Ya' and 'Bao Pu Zong', and the prophecy is talking about the eldest disciple of Xi Hua Peak, Jun Yu, and Lin Yuangui of the Bao Pu Seven Sons. Those two are the strongest of the younger generation, and would naturally bear the Director's prophecy."

The people in the restaurant were happily chatting away, they had no inkling that in this place, in this moment, there would be three Cang Ya disciples present.  

Yin Biyue turned to glance at his two companions, neither of whom had any change in their expressions.

Someone on the first floor hollered, "Hey, we've got 'the dragon and serpent clash', but what about an explanation for 'live and die together'?  

The storyteller did not get angry; he waved his fan a couple times and said, 'together' merely refers to 'the scenario', it undoubtedly means that if they've been placed together into one scenario then they will battle to the death."

"Oh? You're so confident, what if you're wrong?"

The storyteller burst into loud laughter, "Haha! If I'm wrong then you can come find me to foot your tea bill!"

Everyone knew that paying for tea was just a joke. The stories told in TaiHe pavillion are mostly conjecture and exaggeration. How could they take it seriously? The storyteller seized the opportunity to speak of old matters between Cang Ya and Bao Pu Zong and the hall was once again bubbling with sounds of passionate debate.

The storyteller also knew a bit of astrology, and he stayed in a tea house full of stray rumours about various sects. With his solemn intonation, the audience gobbled up every word.  

Yin Biyue already no longer had any desire to continue listening. Luo Mingchuan detected his unease, and his hand atop his teacup moved imperceptibly and suddenly the cacophony filling the hall disappeared around them.  

Even if it were the table nearest them, they would only see three young men drinking tea in silence.

Yin Biyue felt an abrupt change in the air, as if there was an invisible barrier encasing them.

This is the first time Luo Mingchuan displayed a technique worthy of his Breakthrough stage cultivation.  

Thus Yin Biyue straightforwardly expressed the doubts swirling in his heart. He asked Duan Chongxuan, "this matter….. Is it true?"

He's well aware that Duan Chongxuan's extraordinary background grants him unique channels of information. He knows of many secrets and rumours, not to mention one that implicated Eldest shixiong. 　　

Duan Chongxuan didn't answer "yes" or "no", but instead said, "It was rumoured that three hundred years ago, the Director drank under the moonlight at Lake Ming,  downing fourteen jugs of seventy year old Wandering Immortal Wine, drunk out of his senses, singing at the top of his lungs atop a longboat."    　

Yin Biyue could not begin to imagine, that scholar brewing tea beneath the boughs of a locust tree had a time when was capable of lifting his voice in drunkenness. 　

　　"Just as the starlight descended upon the lake, rippling in rings for a hundreds of li, the Director raised his gaze to the stars, in the midst of 《Phoenix Journey》 he sang out  'twin stars reveals the world, the dragon and serpent clash, live and die together; a single survivor'. The song ended, a fog arose from the lake and persisted for three days on end. Only when the night fog dissipated did the people realize the Director had an epiphany on the lake, and they followed the fair winds to go take a look. This prophetic song thus became recorded and became well known."

"When the rumours first spread, quite a few sects proudly affixed the titles of the dragon and snake onto their disciples but there was never any confirmation. As time went on, the clamour disappeared…. Until shifu brought back eldest shixiong and in the same year Lin Yuangui entered Bao Pu Zong. Even further after, when their reputations grew widespread, it's inevitable that the prophecy was brought up again. Over the following years people traced any spider's silk or horse's track of rumours, but found only wind blowing into an empty cave."

After saying this much, Duan Chongxuan sighed, "Fourth shixiong, you've immersed yourself in cultivating, never witnessing the secular world and would naturally not know these things. But the story being told today really isn't anything all that novel. It's already well know throughout the Western Continent." 　　

Yin Biyue asked him, "Do you believe it?"

"I similarly don't wish for this to be real. But as far as I know, Lin Yuangui's birth signs are a direct match for the 'Wing Cluster'.  Though it is said that to forcefully pry into the matters of heaven will cripple your cultivation, the myriad designs of heaven will change in a single moment. But the Director had just entered the 'Self-Transcendence Boundary', and the epiphany he received was naturally more than a hundred times more clear. Furthermore… the Director never speaks nonsense."  　

"What of Eldest shixiong? Does he know?"

Duan Chongxuan nodded, "He should be aware." 　

Listening to all this, Yin Biyue's mood dropped further.

He used to believe that Eldest Shixiong bore the honor of Xi Hua Peak, ChunShan Xiao's fame, and Cang Ya's peace or discord.

Only now did he realize, life and death were also his shackles.

It's not that he has no confidence in Jun Yu, it's just that Lin Yuangui is also very powerful. One can say that excepting Bao Pu Zong's Sage, it was him who was the most capable in combat.

If the Director's prophecy were to be believed, then the enmity between them isn't one of normal long-time foes, but one that commanded their lives and deaths.

To view life and death as if looking across a river is too cruel a fate. 　　

Duan Chatterbox seemed to have guessed his thoughts.

He suddenly gave a smile, his tone softening greatly, "Forth shixiong needn't worry so much. After all, there's still Shifu, there's no way anything would happen to Eldest shixiong."   

Yin Biyue was startled.

To be honest, he had absolutely no faith in that Shifu who hasn't returned to the peak in over a hundred years. 　　

Luo Mingchuan also cracked a smile, the oppressive atmosphere had completely eased.

Duan Chongxuan asked, "Fourth shixiong, do you know what's between us and Bao Pu Zong?"

Yin Biyue nodded, "It's rumoured that Shifu stood on the shores of Ba River, and using a single move of the QingTian BaiRi Sword, he crippled a Greater Vessel Stage elder from Bao Pu Zong."

This wasn't some kind of secret; that sword was too famous, and it lit up the entirety of the Ba River through the night. Everyone on all five continents knew of this incident.  　

"In the version told by Bao Pu Zong, the Sword Saint acted arrogantly and could not be reasoned with. The Bao Pu Zong elder heard that the Sword Saint had accepted a head disciple, and just wanted to take a look; but not only was he cursed at the door, his cultivation was also mercilessly crippled…. Fourth shixiong, do you believe this?"

Yin Biyue was decisive, "I don't."

If the Sword Saint was this kind of person, then Eldest Shixiong and Second Shijie wouldn't have turned out the way they did.

Duan Chongxuan grinned, "In truth, at the time Bao Pu Zong had just split into two factions. The new faction advocated for a dharma that was more natural, that cultivation is for the cultivator to discover for themselves. The old faction insisted on preserving the destined path of the heavens. The more people the Sword Saint defeated singlehandedly, the less people remained with the old faction. Now that Cang Ya has produced a Sword Saint, it's already threatened Bao Pu Zong's position as the undisputed number one sect of the Western Continent. Thus, with the emergence of Eldest Shixiong, they became exceedingly nervous, fearing that in the future Cang Ya might produce a second sword saint.  　

Yin Biyue already had some vague guesses about the how the events proceeded. It must've been that Bao Pu Zong had done something unsavory to Eldest Shixiong.

"The elders of the conservative faction of Bao Pu Zong joined forces with the strongest cultivators from a few small sects, and took the chance while the sword saint was away to kidnap Eldest Shixiong. At that point, Eldest Shixiong was still a child and couldn't even hold a sword steady. He was taken to the shores of the Ba River right outside of the area of the Bao Pu Zong sect in order to force the the Sword Saint to lower his own cultivation! No, not only lowering his cultivation, but they also demanded that the Sword Saint destroy one of his spiritual veins."

Yin Biyue became more and more angry as he listened, however, he was still able to pick out a dubious point, "Them? Wasn't it just one Bao Pu Zong elder?"

Duan Chongxuan's eyes revealed a hint of ridicule, "There wasn't only one, there were six people, adding on those few from the smaller sects, for a total of twelve people. They believed that no matter how strong the Sword Saint is, it was impossible for him to kill this many people. Or rather: he didn't dare to kill so many people. Does he still want to preserve his reputation or not? Only by adhering to the idea of 'the law will not punish the many, righteousness will stand on the side of greater numbers' did they dare to do this sort of thing."   　

By this point, Yin Biyue already knew how it all ended.

Sure enough, Duan Chongxuan said, "It's been too long since there was a 'Saint' in the world, and everyone has forgotten the prowess of a Saint. The Sword Saint, by only a single slash of his sword, killed eleven people, while crippling that Greater Vessel stage Bao Pu Zong elder. That elder's life was spared only because he held Eldest Shixiong in his arms, and feared accidentally injuring Eldest Shixiong."

"After that incident Bao Pu Zong had lost much of their vigor. The new faction believed that they took the initiative, was in the wrong, and thus found this incident difficult to mention.  Though the old faction's elders were dead, their disciples still remained, and they began to secretly spread slander of the Sword Saint for being cruel, bloodthirsty and unable to be reasoned with."　　

After listening to all of this, Yin Biyue finally laughed, "A person like Shifu, how could he be concerned about something like his reputation?"

This Sword saint who was like a blank canvas vividly came to life just like that. He could even imagine the brilliance of that single sword strike on the banks of the rushing Ba River.

No matter the opinions of the rest of the world, Yin Biyue feels like this person is worthy of admiration.

Duan Chongxuan also smiled, "Shifu, that old man, naturally wouldn't care about what mere fleas have to say…… So Fourth Brother shouldn't worry too much."

He drank a mouthful of tea, with his voice full of emotion, said:

"If we were to say that Shifu had a bottom line, then that bottom line is Eldest Shixiong."

1) It generally means something to the effect of something exciting, usually that people could get engaged in. 

2) 指点江山的大人物 –  someone so important that you're able to direct the laws and nature of the world. 

3)  毛尖 – a type of tea! My favorite type, actually.

4) 天上的二十八宿里只有一个龙，亢金龙，是东方七宿中的'亢宿'……至于蛇，是南方七宿中的'翼宿'，翼火蛇 – referring to the respective parts in Chinese astrology. Wikipedia seems to have it together. In short, the Azure Dragon represents the eastern sky, while the serpent is part of the Vermilion Bird of the southern sky. 

5) 蛛丝马迹 – Chasing a spider's silk and tracks of a horse. Essentially following any hint of a lead about a topic. 

6) 空穴来风 – baseless claim

Guys I don't even understand Hellenistic astrology how the heck am I supposed to decipher Chinese astrology???

No thanks to me for working so slowly, but this chapter really is like… DCX shut tf up challenge the second. I'm literally weeping at the language he uses.

Come join our We're friendly, and surprisingly productive in terms of art (and… writing fic. he he he.)

Worry not friends, I'll get this edited eventually… when I'm not working off of 2 hours of sleep after a weeklong con crunch, and then driving for 3 hours to a different city.

syn

Chapter end