Chapter 56: Waning Moon, Dual Souls, Yin and Yang, One Life

The seventeenth day of the third month.

The Imperial Capital of Great Wu, Central Heaven City.

The atmosphere in the court these past two days has been a bit strange. After the morning assembly today, His Majesty even summoned many high-ranking officials to the Jinshen Hall for a discussion, which lasted until nearly noon, yet the hall doors remained tightly shut.

But in Central Heaven City, the bustling prosperity continued as usual.

Early in the morning, at the intersections of the major streets of Central Heaven, there stood two or three young servants dressed in green. Whenever they saw a man who looked like a scholar, they would approach and hand him a thin little booklet.

The content of these booklets was identical, but their titles varied wildly.

Some were titled ‘Abnormal Love,’ with the subtitle ‘The Story That Jinlian and Aqing Must Tell.’

Some were titled’Sinful Fate in the Sea of Desire,’ and even more bizarre and eye-catching ones were called ‘The Bloody Case Caused by One Stick.’

‘A girl of sixteen or seventeen, her body like cream, wields a sword at her waist to slay the foolish husband.’

Those who received the booklets could vaguely guess the content just by glancing at that introductory poem. After returning home, they would quickly find a secluded spot to read it closely, and before long, they would be completely immersed in it.

However, without exception, all the free booklets distributed ended at the exact same spot.

‘In her haste, Jinlian could not afford to care about anything else; her undergarments and silk stockings were already tossed out of the brocade curtain. The Great Official Ximen quickly stripped off his clothes and pounced. (The End). To know what happens next, please purchase the romantic legend, ‘Jin Ping Mei,’ available at all major bookshops in the city.’

“Damn that son of a bitch!”

Readers, upon reaching this point, would often curse aloud, then quickly tuck the pamphlet away, grab their silver, and rush to the nearest bookshop.

By the time of the You hour that day, the first batch of two thousand copies of ‘Jin Ping Mei’ that had been printed were declared sold out.

In the evening, Jiang Xuan and Liu Fuzhou, the Young Master of the Director of the Imperial Library, Liu, met as agreed at the Zhuoyue Tower. They requested a private room, and inside, the two counted the money they had just collected from the bookshops.

After finishing the count, Jiang Xuan divided the silver notes into four piles.

“This pile is the capital for printing the second volume! This pile is your dividend, and this pile is mine.”

“Then what about this pile?”

“Didn’t we agree? This pile belongs to my elder brother!”

Jiang Xuan put away his own dividend and neatly folded another portion.

Liu Fuzhou looked on eagerly and suggested in a low voice, “A’Xuan, didn’t you say that person is just a lowlife? Why don’t we just split his share between us?”

“What lowlife? If our Great Wu Soldiers hadn’t abandoned their homes and families to guard the frontier passes, how could pampered Young Masters like you be enjoying music and dancing in the capital? My father is also a Martial Artist from the border garrisons. If you saw him next time, would you also call him a ‘lowlife’!”

Hearing those words, why did they sound so familiar?

Liu Fuzhou’s father held a low-ranking position in the Imperial Library. In a place like Central Heaven, even urinating could drench a crowd.

Thus, even though Jiang Xuan was an illegitimate son whose name couldn’t enter the family registry, invoking his father’s name was enough to intimidate Liu Fuzhou.

Liu Fuzhou gave a sheepish smile and said, “I’ll listen to you.”

“A’Zhou, let me tell you, a person cannot stand without integrity. We must be reasonable in what we say.”

“A’Xuan, you mean ‘a man of his word,’ right?”

“Who cares what bird word it is, the main thing is we can’t go back on our word.”

“Mm, I understand.”

“Creak~”

As the two were speaking, the door to the room was pushed open from the outside.

A young man in fine silks, with a fair complexion and deep-set eyes, entered uninvited, fanning himself while standing at the door, followed by an attendant.

Jiang Xuan turned and clearly saw who it was. He jumped up instantly, hastily hiding the share belonging to Ding Suian that he held in his hand behind his back.

The young man in fine silks saw it but didn’t press the matter, merely chuckling, “Brother Xuan, long time no see.”

“Oh my, what fragrant breeze blew Brother Yu here? We haven’t seen each other for months, and Brother Yu has become even more graceful and delicate.”

“Hehe, Brother Xuan won’t even call me cousin, let alone brother.”

“Uh, Cousin.”

“Brother Xuan, I heard you started a profitable venture. I, your elder brother, wish to take a stake. How about it?”

“Brother Yu is joking. How could you possibly take notice of this small business that Ah Zhou and I are running?”

“Hehe, what a coincidence. I just happen to notice it! I’ll put up one hundred taels of silver, and from now on, I get eighty percent of this business. That’s settled!”

“No deal!”

“No deal?”

The smile on the young man in fine silks vanished. He stepped forward and grabbed Jiang Xuan’s collar, “Deal or no deal?”

Jiang Xuan shrank his neck in fear, forcing a fawning smile onto his face, but he said, “No deal!”

A Thousand Li Away

The twilight of the You hour.

Thirty li northeast of Koujian Pass in Southern Zhao.

The dense spring rain was falling lightly.

Under a huge rock sheltering them from the rain at the foot of the mountain, a Southern Zhao cavalry squad of over twenty men gathered around a bonfire, occasionally bursting into hearty laughter.

Today was the third day since the great battle at Koujian Pass.

After the news of the Wu Army’s crushing defeat spread, the Southern Zhao cities that had feigned allegiance quickly reverted.

They sealed off the Wu Army’s path back north completely.

The Zhao Army then broke up into scattered units, dividing into countless small teams ranging from five or six men to a hundred, searching the mountains and seas for retreating Soldiers.

This squad capturing stragglers had achieved a great haul.

Hanging from both sides of the tethered warhorses were the heads of Wu Soldiers. The mountain wind swept past, causing them to sway slightly, resembling strings of silent wind chimes.

Two hundred paces away, halfway up the mountain.

Ding Suian lay prone in a patch of damp weeds.

His condition was very poor.

Since the morning, the Zhongji Acupoint inside him had suddenly churned as if boiling, and wave after wave of Protective Aura continuously seeped into it.

By now, his face was as red as blood, the Zhongji Acupoint was swollen as if about to burst, his entire body was burning hot, and his limbs felt like iron.

The scattered raindrops that fell on his body quickly evaporated into mist.

He vaguely guessed the reason: perhaps one of the Jiang siblings had exerted their power.

He wondered if this side effect was due to absorbing too much.

And it had come at the worst possible time.

Currently deep within enemy territory, he had almost lost all combat capability, making his situation even worse.

Ding Suian took one last look at the Zhao Army below the mountain and slowly retreated.

Where he had been lying moments before, a pit was clearly poked into the muddy ground.

Using the cover of vegetation, he crossed the ridge. When the sky was completely dark, he accidentally discovered a cave with a small, hidden entrance.

The inside of the cave was dry.

Forcing himself up, he sat cross-legged, attempting to channel the increasingly violent Protective Aura within his Zhongji Acupoint into his bones and muscles.

But the speed of absorption was far slower than the speed at which the Protective Aura gathered. He didn’t know how long it took, but after sweating profusely, he felt a wave of exhaustion wash over him.

His body uncontrollably leaned back and he fell onto the ground.

As his consciousness began to fade, Ding Suian silently thought: I am a Transmigrator, I am the protagonist! I can’t just die like this, can I?

“Husband~”

“Husband~ Answer me~”

“Mm.”

“Husband, are you willing to live with your concubine for three years?”

“Mm.”

“Are you willing or not!”

“Willing.”

“Then recite this with me: Waning Moon, Dual Souls, Yin and Yang, One Life; if this pact is broken, there is no master in the Yellow Springs.”

“Waning Moon, Dual Souls, Yin and Yang, One Life; if this pact is broken, there is no master in the Yellow Springs.”

Several slivers of sunlight leaked in through the cave entrance, hitting his face perfectly.

Ding Suian slowly opened his eyes.

He had slept incredibly soundly.

Huh?

The feeling of almost exploding that he had last night was gone.

The discomfort had completely vanished; instead, he felt light and full of strength.

He raised his arm to stretch, but as soon as his arm moved, it touched something soft, warm, and furry.

He subconsciously looked up.

Curled up in his arms, a red fox was sleeping soundly against his chest.

“!”

Ding Suian was startled, reacting instinctively, and slapped the red fox away to the side.

“Ying ying~”

The red fox woke up startled in mid-air, letting out a soft, milky cry similar to a baby’s wail. However, its body twisted deftly in the air, lightly tapping the stone wall with its four paws, and landing steadily.

A pair of fox eyes, still clouded with sleepiness, looked at Ding Suian fuzzily.

The expression was indescribably strange.

Ding Suian slowly reached out, grabbed the Kunlun saber, and as he slowly drew the blade, the red fox spoke human words, “Husband! If you kill me, you will die too!”

Immediately after, its glossy fur began to fade away like wind-blown mist, its body stretched out, transforming into human form.

Only a fluffy fox tail remained, swaying leisurely behind her.

In the blink of an eye, a completely naked young woman was sitting cross-legged on the ground. *Jiju* (sitting cross-legged) is a posture similar to the duck-sit of later generations.

For a woman, this was a very uninhibited posture, let alone being completely uncovered.

Aren’t there supposed to be no monsters in this world?

Ding Suian’s scalp tingled, shocked beyond measure. Acting purely on instinct, he blurted out, “Who are you?”

“Husband, I am your wife~”

The young woman tilted her head slightly, bit her lower lip, and let her arms hang naturally at her sides. She showed no intention of covering her vital parts with her hands.

“Who is your husband?”

“You are!” The young woman puffed out her chest, speaking righteously, “You are the husband granted to me by the Mountain Ancestor Goddess!”

Ding Suian pulled his gaze away from the area in front of her chest, slowly drew the Kunlun saber, and pointed the blade forward, “Speak properly.”

“Ah, Nunu is scared~”

“…”

“Husband, Nunu saved you, and this is how you repay Nunu?”

“Saved me?”

“Mmm~ Husband, you might have accidentally eaten an immortal fruit filled with Protective Aura yesterday and absorbed too much. Protective Aura is extremely Yang; too much leads to excessive Yang. If Nunu hadn’t helped absorb the excessive Protective Aura for you, Husband would have gone ‘bang’ and exploded.”

Ding Suian subconsciously glanced downwards and said reflexively, “Absorbed? How did you absorb it?”

“By getting close to Husband, that’s how.”

As she spoke, the young woman slowly leaned forward, placing her hands on the ground, moving forward several feet like a beast using its hands and knees for support. After carefully getting close, she affectionately rubbed her smooth cheek against Ding Suian’s chest, “Just like this.”

Her seductive melon-seed face tilted slightly upwards, narrow, charming eyes shimmering with a spring-like radiance. She gently swayed her hips like a small beast seeking affection, and said sweetly, “Husband, Nunu’s name is Zhao Yan.”

Thanks: Gu Yue oooo, for the tip~