CH 36.2

translator: baumkuchen  editor: ellabells

“So what exactly are you?” After hearing this long story, Lu Qingjiu raised a question. He poked Yin Xun’s arm. It had the warmth and feel of a human, completely unlike that of a corpse. 

Yin Xun said, “I thought about it, and I think I might have inherited the role of something like a mountain god…”

“Mountain god?” Lu Qingjiu asked.

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“Yes,” Yin Xun said, “I know about everything that happens on the mountain. But really, I only know about it, I can’t actually do too much. I feel like I’m just like a normal person.”

Lu Qingjiu said, “You know about everything that happens on the mountain? Then that time we went up the mountain with Zhu Miaomiao and got lost, how did that happen?”

Yin Xun said, “Ai, at the time, I really thought that there was a kid who had been caught by that puddle monster. That puddle monster is really troublesome, I can’t get rid of it, only keep an eye on it.”

Lu Qingjiu said, “Oh……”

Yin Xun had spoken a lot and was a little tired. He picked up the cup of tea before him and took a sip. He said, “Qingjiu, that’s what I had experienced. I’ve told you everything now. Don’t be afraid of me, I won’t hurt you.”

Lu Qingjiu nodded but remained silent, as if in deep thought. 

Yin Xun thought that Lu Qingjiu still couldn’t look past his status and looked at Lu Qingjiu with sincerity in his eyes; trying to tell him that he was truly a good person.

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Lu Qingjiu suddenly spoke up, “You know about everything that happens on the mountain?”

Yin Xun said, “Yes. Every blade of grass and every tree, every flower and every bush, I know it all.”

Lu Qingjiu said, “If anything’s added you’ll also know about it?” 

Yin Xun nodded.

Lu Qingjiu said, “Then…” He suddenly asked, “Then that year my parents met that mudslide, do you know where exactly their bodies are?”

Yin Xun was stunned speechless. He looked at the seriousness in Lu Qingjiu’s eyes, instantly understanding that this question was incredibly important.

That’s right, one would always pay particular attention to putting the dead to rest. It would be hard for any child to be at ease thinking about their parents not even having a coffin. 

“I don’t know,” Yin Xun said, “I’ve searched but your parents’ bodies weren’t there.” He was a little downcast. “I’m sorry. I only found your parents’ bags, but I didn’t see their bodies back then.”

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However, Yin Xun said he hadn’t seen their bodies, which made Lu Qingjiu surprised, and a little disappointed. 

If Yin Xun was truly Shuifu village’s mountain god yet he had no way of finding Lu Qingjiu’s parents’ remains, that meant that their bodies might have been swept out of Shuifu village with the rest of the mountain debris. If so, the scope had become too wide, Lu Qingjiu could only give up.

“Maybe I should try again?” Yin Xun was still a little upset.

“No need.” Lu Qingjiu shook his head. “There’s no need to force it.” He knew what Yin Xun was like. He definitely had only given him this answer after repeated checks. He smiled. “My parents’ were also open-minded people. They wouldn’t care much about these kinds of things, they only wanted me to live well.”

Only then did Yin Xun relax his expression. 

After this night of heart-to-hearts, Lu QIngjiu finally untied the knot in Yin Xun’s heart. They even decided to go see the shrine Yin Xun’s grandparents had set up the next time they went up the mountain. Afterwards, the two of them said their goodbyes in the courtyard. Lu Qingjiu watched the smiling Yin Xun completely disappear from his line of sight before turning and preparing to go back into the house.

When he turned, Lu Qingjiu found that at some point, Bai Yuehu had appeared behind him. Their eyes silently met. Lu Qingjiu was the first to break, letting out a bitter laugh.

“This fellow, he’s still hiding something from me,” Lu Qingjiu said, “That place that I entered, what is it to Yin Xun?”

Bai Yuehu said, “His soul.” 

A withered tree, a lonely grave, an endless field of wild grass, and on that grass was thorns that made one’s legs run red with blood. That was Yin Xun’s soul.

Lu Qingjiu thought of Yin Xun’s brilliant smile and that white tiger tooth peeking past his lips.

What was Yin Xun thinking when he smiled? And what was he thinking when he cried? When he was thrown to the ground by his mother and completely abandoned, did that produce that endless field of weeds?

And that crow, which had perched on that withered tree and called Lu Qingjiu’s name… 

Lu Qingjiu let out a heavy sigh. He said, “That place had a crow calling my name.”

Bai Yuehu just silently looked at Lu Qingjiu. 

“At first, I thought that the crow was calling my name in order to lead me out,” Lu Qingjiu said, “Afterwards, I thought about it more carefully.” His tone was a little pained, “Say, do you think that even when I’m not there, the crow would still be calling my name?”

Bai Yuehu knew the answer to Lu Qingjiu’s question, but he didn’t expect Lu Qingjiu to guess it this easily. Bai Yuehu had always liked smart people, so he found that he liked the young man named Lu Qingjiu standing before him even more now. The expression in his eyes as he looked at Lu Qingjiu was gentle as he thought about how pleasurable it would be to swallow the person before him whole just like with everything he liked. But if he just swallowed him down like this, would the young man’s smooth, wheat coloured skin get scratched up by his sharp teeth? If it did, it would be such a pity… Bai Yuehu noticed, this kind of feeling was probably slightly different from his appetite, very novel. 

“Yuehu?” Bai Yuehu’s gaze made Lu Qingjiu’s hair stand on end. For some reason, his arm broke out into a layer of goosebumps, as if his body’s instincts were telling him that the person before him was incredibly dangerous even if his mind didn’t notice anything.

Bai Yuehu smiled. His smile was very beautiful; his long, narrow phoenix eyes curving into an alluring arc. He said, “But you came back.”

When Lu Qingjiu saw him smile, he suddenly realised why there were so many scholars who ended up bewitched by foxes in the Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio. Fortunately, he was still able to calm his heart. He said in a low voice, “Yes, fortunately, I came back.”

“We should sleep.” The next moment, Bai Yuehu sheathed the smile on his face, returning to his usual lazy appearance. “It’s late.” 

“Yeah, it’s late.” Lu Qingjiu looked up at the sky. It was another clear night, like every night. “Goodnight.”

“Goodnight,” Bai Yuehu said.

Lu Qingjiu turned and went back into the house but Bai Yuehu stayed outside in the courtyard for a long time, unmoving and fallen into deep thought.

Early the next morning, the blistering heat woke the world up from its sleep. Lu Qingjiu got up to make breakfast. In the garden, he saw Yin Xun, who just happened to be picking a fight with Xiao Hua. 

Xiao Hua’s identity as a Dangkang had already been exposed, so he no longer held himself back, shooting strings of curses at Yin Xun. The sharpness of his words made Lu Qingjiu who listened off to the side flabbergasted.

However, Yin Xun’s face was clearly much thicker than Xiao Hua’s. He picked Xiao Hua up in an embrace, completely unwilling to let go, embodying the force of “no matter your strength, no matter your technique, the wind blows over the mountain’s peak”.

Xiao Hua said, “Yin Xun, do you still want face, don’t hug me anymore, I’m so hot!”

Yin Xun said. “Jiu-er, how about we have cold noodles for lunch today, what do you think?”  

Xiao Hua, “You motherfucking—”

Yin Xun, “Yi, little kids shouldn’t say bad words.”

Xiao Hua, “…”

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Lu Qingjiu was amused by this conversation. After having dealt with the matter of Yin Xun’s true identity, this home had returned to its usual harmonious state again. 

Bai Yuehu had returned to his rocking chair, lazing like an old man in his eighties. Yin Xun hugged Xiao Hua and fed the chickens in the outer courtyard. But as he fed them, he suddenly exclaimed, “Yi, Xiao Hua, Xiao Hua, what’s wrong, wake up ah!”

Xiao Hua, who was just spitting insults now laid in his arms, motionless. Even as he was shaken back and forth by Yin Xun, his eyes remained closed. His breaths had also become extremely weak, looking as if he could breathe his last at any moment.

Seeing that the situation didn’t look good, Yin Xun hurriedly rushed into the house with Xiao Hua in his arms, asking Lu Qingjiu what was wrong with Xiao Hua. Lu Qingjiu checked him out. “I also don’t know, how about you ask Bai Yuehu? He should know more!”

Yin Xun said weakly, “I think it’d be better if you went. Yesterday, I ate Bai Yuehu’s chicken drumstick, how would I have the courage to talk to him today?” 

Lu Qingjiu thought it over, then went over with Xiao Hua in his arms.

After hearing what Lu Qingjiu had to say, Bai Yuehu, opened his previously closed eyes and glanced at Xiao Hua. His mouth spoke one word, “Heatstroke.”

Hearing this, Lu Qingjiu was stunned. “Heatstroke? Dangkangs can even get heatstroke? Then what should we do?”

Bai Yuehu said, “I think he’s beyond saving.” 

Lu Qingjiu, “…”

Sure enough, his next line was, “Let’s make red braised pork.”

Lu Qingjiu, “…” Why did that come out so smoothly? Exactly how many ways of cooking him have you sneakily gone through in your mind??