CH 110

December 25, 2022Merchie

Pei Zheng raised his eyebrows, and merely looked at Shen Huan without saying a word.

Cheng Feng and Li Yu saw how Pei Zheng looked; they knew that His Lordship felt displeasure in his heart, but because of Shen Huan’s identity, he couldn’t express it.

Li Yu stepped forward to explain, “Master Shen, what you said is reasonable. But if you think about it, it is because there are so many people here that we must protect Young Master Shen even more, otherwise it’ll be too late when something happens.”

Unexpectedly, Shen Huan looked Pei Zheng up and down, before she stared at Cheng Feng and scanned over him as well.

“You’re right.” Shen Huan grabbed Shen Shijiu and pulled him over, before stuffing him into Cheng Feng’s hands, “Your lord is injured right now; I’m afraid that he can’t even take care of himself properly, so I’ll be leaving my disciple with you for now.”

Cheng Feng, whose face had always been emotionless, was now wearing a very strange expression. A limp little hand had been forcibly stuffed into his palm. He couldn’t just shake it off, let alone grip it, and for the moment, he was clueless on what to do.

And Shen Shijiu was still a bit drunk. His vision was blurry and so was his mind. He didn’t know when the person standing in front of him had become Cheng Feng, and he actually smiled with joy.

“A… A-Feng…”

The small man’s drunken voice was soft and sweet; with a smile on his face, he was about to lean toward Cheng Feng.

At this moment, several people behind them entered the restaurant, and shoved into Shen Shijiu as they passed by.

Shen Shijiu stumbled forward, and was about to collapse onto the ground.

“Disciple!”

“Your Highness!”

“Your Highness!”

Shen Huan, Li Yu, and Cheng Feng all called out in shock, and three pairs of hands were about to grab Shen Shijiu to stabilize him.

But all three of them only caught a handful of air, because Shen Shijiu, who had tripped, merely staggered forward a step before he stood upright again, without falling to the ground.

Although he didn’t fall over, Shen Shijiu clung to the figure beside him like a spoiled child. His small, soft body seemed limp and boneless; his arms hung around that man’s neck, his little chin resting on his chest.

“I’m so dizzy… let me lean on you for a little bit… only for a little bit… then I can stand on my own… I’m really too dizzy… I’m spinning…”

Three people stared with wide eyes at the scene in front of them. Shen Shijiu’s arms wrapped around Pei Zheng’s neck, before he began to walk in circles around the other. He even tugged at a few strands of Pei Zheng’s hair, and Pei Zheng’s brows knitted visibly.

“Disciple…” Shen Huan patted her forehead. Why did her stupid disciple become even stupider when he was drunk?

Pei Zheng was strangely tolerant. He grabbed the back of Shen Shijiu’s collar with one hand, and lifted him into a standing position.

“Look at me,” Pei Zheng squeezed his little chin.

Shen Shijiu blinked his misty eyes, and tried his best to focus on Pei Zheng, but his vision was too blurry.

“I-I can’t see clearly…” Shen Shijiu pouted, and his nose twitched pitifully; he looked like he was about to cry.

“What about now?” Pei Zheng took a step closer, aligning the tips of his boots with the ones on Shen Shijiu’s feet.

“I still can’t see…”

Pei Zheng bent down slightly, leaned toward the small man, and stared at those watery eyes, “Now?”

Shen Shijiu’s gaze seemed to crash into a dark, bottomless pool, and was lured into it, sinking deeper and deeper…

“I-I can see you now.” Shen Shijiu replied obediently.

“Then who am I?”

“You’re my Lord.”

Pei Zheng straightened up, and stepped back a bit.

Shen Shijiu could also stand by himself now. He lifted his head to look at Pei Zheng, and stared at him unblinkingly.

The three people at the side all stood in place and didn’t move.

Shen Huan seemed to have recalled something, and she asked the two people beside her, “Just now, what did you guys call my disciple?”

Cheng Feng froze, as did Li Yu. The two of them averted their eyes and feigned deafness.

Shen Huan thought she had heard wrong, and didn’t press further.

She realized that the pair in front of her had been staring at each other for a while now, yet they still hadn’t left the restaurant. Shen Huan shot Cheng Feng a look; go up to them and say something.

Cheng Feng’s eyes flitted towards her, but he pretended not to notice.

Shen Huan looked over Li Yu as well, and tilted her chin toward the pair in front of her; you can do it then.

Li Yu also raised his chin toward Shen Huan; why don’t you walk up to them yourself?

Shen Huan’s eyes flared, and she whispered, “If I tell you to go, just go. I still don’t understand your lord’s temper. If I actually piss him off, I won’t be able to bear the consequences!”

Li Yu whispered back, “It is precisely because I understand His Lordship’s temper that I don’t dare to walk up there and get myself into trouble. I have a lot of experience with His Lordship’s methods; I still want to live for a few more years.”

The two locked eyes, and suddenly looked toward Cheng Feng, who was carrying his sword. Then, the two of them exchanged a smile, and together, gave Cheng Feng a hard shove from behind.

Cheng Feng was completely caught off guard as he was shoved toward Pei Zheng and Shen Shijiu. He turned his head and glanced back at the two people behind him; both Li Yu and Shen Huan flashed an evil grin.

Pei Zheng cast a cold glance at Cheng Feng.

Cheng Feng said in a low voice, “My Lord, the parade is about to start. And this year’s parade will be a bit different from previous years, so people will wear masks. Why don’t we…. choose a few masks first?”

“Masks,” Shen Shijiu finally tore his eyes away from Pei Zheng, and looked toward Cheng Feng.

“I want… a mask…”

Cheng Feng said, “Young Master, we’ll buy one right away.”

Shen Shijiu repeated,” I want… a mask…”

Cheng Feng spoke again, “Young Master Shen, His Lordship will take you to buy one.”

Shen Shijiu pouted and continued, “I want… a mask…”

He looked at Pei Zheng and said, “I want that one…”

Pei Zheng raised a hand toward Cheng Feng, and Cheng Feng immediately took a few steps back.

Pei Zheng asked in a low voice, “What do you want? Hm?”

Shen Shijiu answered obediently, “I want a mask.”

“I’ll take you to buy one, okay?”

“Okay.” Shen Shijiu gave an exaggerated, child-like nod, before he held his hand out to Pei Zheng; he wanted him to hold it as they walked.

Pei Zheng didn’t immediately take his hand, but instead glanced in Shen Huan’s direction.

In her heart, Shen Huan wanted to tie her little disciple to her side; she didn’t want him to get too close to Pei Zheng, because she always had this nagging thought that Pei Zheng’s feelings toward her disciple were too weird.

People will never be kind to each other for no reason, and this level of niceness could be called ‘pampering’ or ‘cherishing’.

Only two situations could explain this bit.

The first was that Pei Zheng was enamored with her pretty little disciple, and only wanted to cherish him, love him, and protect him. After all, her disciple was such an idiot that it made people pity him.

The second was that Pei Zheng had done something terrible to her little disciple, so he felt guilty, and was atoning for his crimes. It seemed like he wouldn’t even hesitate to sacrifice his life to her disciple.

But what Shen Huan didn’t know was that there was a third situation, in which these two circumstances could coexist.

Earlier, Li Yu had told Shen Huan in private, “Master Shen, weren’t you always wondering about what happened to Young Master Shen in the past? Perhaps I can explain a bit to you.”

“But tonight, you should just let Young Master Shen go with His Lordship. With His Lordship around, he’ll be fine. Guard Feng and the other guards are following them as well.”

Shen Huan wasn’t actually someone who had bad judgment; it was only a question of whether she was willing to let him go or not.

She could tell that her little disciple already had some feelings for Pei Zheng, and that those feelings were completely different from the ones they had as master and disciple.

Shen Huan sighed, and nodded at Pei Zheng.

Pei Zheng smiled, reached out, and grabbed Shen Shijiu’s hand.

Their interlocked fingers were completely covered by their wide sleeves, and there were also many people walking through the street; everybody’s sleeves brushed and rubbed together, so no one would be able to notice the two of them holding hands.

Pei Zheng’s fingers were always cool; it was as if he was born cold-blooded. But the small man’s hands were usually warm ans although it was a cold day, they were still warm; as if he were holding a little stove.

Pei Zheng’s slender fingers squeezed into the gaps between the small man’s. Their hands locked together, fitting perfectly against each other.

Shen Huan, Li Yu, and Cheng Feng followed behind the pair of figures; one big, one small; one tall, one short; one deep, one shallow, as they walked side by side, weaving through the crowd.

One had to admit that they looked good together.

The group stopped in front of a small vendor. The little stall had all kinds of masks on display, all of which were covered in colorful designs; they were all intricate and beautiful.

“Oh, you’re all joining in the parade as well, you haven’t bought lanterns yet? You can look at masks first too. I’ve got the biggest collection, what are you looking for? “

Shen Shijiu stood in front of the little stall, and diligently examined the masks, before he picked one with a ghost face.

“I want this one.” He pointed at the mask as he tilted his head to look at Pei Zheng.

“Oh, this Young Master has unique tastes. This mask depicts a very famous figure. He was once a god from the Heavenly Palaces, and was a relative of the Heavenly Emperor. But unfortunately, he broke the laws of Heaven and was sent to the Underworld, where he became a ghost servant1.

Shen Huan was curious, and asked, “What kind of law did he break that would make him fall so low, so quickly?”

The stall owner placed his hand by his lips and whispered, “It’s said that he fell in love with another god. If it was just some ordinary god, it would’ve been fine, but he had to fall in love with the Heavenly Emperor’s most valuable subject, and these two gods were both male…”

The stall owner rummaged through his pile of masks for a long while, and found another mask, “Look, this is the other god. He was reduced to a mortal. Later, he also went to the Underworld and became an immortal fierce ghost.”

Pei Zheng took the mask that the stall owner had passed to him, and stared at it, before he put it on his face.

When Shen Shijiu saw Pei Zheng put on his mask, he did the same.

What the two of them wore on their faces was the story of a pair of gods; the love between them couldn’t be tolerated by the rules of Heaven, and they were exiled because of it.

If the world of immortals in the story was like this, then the world of the present – which was rigid and proper, yet filled with brutality – would probably never accept anything; especially not the current relationship between Pei Zheng and Shen Shijiu.

There were many vendors selling lanterns behind Pei Zheng. After Shen Shijiu saw them, his eyes lit up.

“So pretty…” He pointed in the direction of the stalls, “My Lord…”

Pei Zheng heard the pleading in his tone, and his heart immediately softened, “Do you want one?”

“I do…”

Pei Zheng led Shen Shijiu toward the stalls. Shen Huan also picked a mask for herself, before she also picked one each for Li Yu and Cheng Feng.

“Oi, pay up.”

Shen Huan callously called to the two of them, before she also headed toward the lantern stalls.

Li Yu took out the money and paid, before he nudged Cheng Feng, “You’re sure that nothing bad is going to happen tonight? I just have this terrible feeling.”

Cheng Feng glanced at him, “As long as you don’t stir up trouble this time, nothing is going to happen.”

Li Yu recalled the lantern parade three years ago. At that time, His Highness had been trapped at Lord Pei’s side, and had been tortured to the point that he wanted to die. Then, Li Yu had gone to beg General Zhao to take His Highness away.

He never thought that after so long, all of them would be able to participate in the lantern parade together again.

Everything was always changing.

The two didn’t say another word to each other, and caught up to the rest of the group.

At the first stall Shen Shijiu and Pei Zheng came to, there was a large assortment of lanterns; there were so many options to choose from.

Unfortunately, Shen Shijiu looked around and didn’t find one that he liked. There were so many well-made and beautiful lanterns, and he had once whined about wanting them, but when it came time for him to choose one, he had a change of heart.

“You really don’t want one?”

Pei Zheng asked softly.

“Mm, I don’t want one, I don’t like any of them…”

Shen Shijiu pouted. Because he hadn’t found anything that he liked, he looked a bit unhappy.

At this moment, waves of cheers came from the crowd beside them.

Shen Shijiu’s attention was instantly drawn away, and he pulled Pei Zheng into the crowd.

Everybody was wearing a mask; there was a wide variety, and many people were carrying lanterns in every color of the rainbow. The atmosphere was relaxed, joyous, and lively.

A man carrying a drum walked around the inside of an arena, and beat it a few times, before he shouted, “Come and take a look, is anyone else willing to come into the arena and accept the challenge? All you need to do is pay fifty copper coins2, and you have one shot with the bow and arrow. If you can hit the bull’s-eye, I’ll give you five taels!”

The crowd around them began to quietly discuss amongst themselves; this offer was quite tempting, but one needed to cough up fifty coppers per attempt; if one couldn’t hit the bull’s-eye, then those fifty coppers would be wasted.

Everyone there was just an ordinary commoner, so there weren’t many people who were proficient in archery. Even if there were, they were all the sons of rich families.

One rich young master who was standing in the arena, was growing irritated by the long wait.

“What are you still asking for? These people are all poor as hell, do they look like they’ve even touched an arrow before? Just watch this young master’s3 performance. When this young master shoots, all of you peasants must clap and cheer for me.”

These words made the audience feel very uncomfortable, but none of them dared to talk back. There were too many rich and powerful people in this city; if one wasn’t careful, it was quite easy to get into trouble.

But Shen Shijiu simply huffed, and turned his head to look at Pei Zheng, “I’m not going to clap and cheer for him. My Lord, he’s very annoying, I don’t like him.”

“You don’t like who?”

Pei Zheng was right behind Shen Shijiu.

“The one with the big painted face.” Shen Shijiu pointed at the rich family’s young master; he was wearing a mask with a painted face.

“All right.”

Pei Zheng pushed Shen Shijiu aside, before letting go of his hand. Shen Huan and the others were standing at the side, and Shen Shijiu had been pushed toward them, so they caught Shen Shijiu, shielding him from the crowd as they squeezed past.

Shen Shijiu looked at Pei Zheng in confusion, and tugged his sleeve, “My Lord, where are you going…”

However, Shen Huan understood immediately, and pulled Shen Shijiu’s hand back, before she patted his little head.

“Lord Pei is off to eliminate the evils.”

Notes

Thanks for reading~ Merry Christmas too!

1.鬼使 (guǐ shǐ): ‘ghost servant’, mainly refers to servants of the Underworld.

2. So, in the text, it doesn’t state what currency the ‘fifty’ refers to, but I read ahead, and I’m (probably) right so we’re fine ;3 So in Ancient China, they used copper, silver and gold currency, which was threaded onto strings; one silver tael would be equivalent to ten strings of 100 copper coins. (1000 coppers = 1 tael of silver)