A Seductive Gentleman Chapter 12

Chapter 12: A n.o.ble Gentleman – Part 4

Translated by: Ritpoppy

Unedited (cause my sister is being a b*tch)

One day early in the morning, after the Colored Lantern Flower Festival had ended, Huai Yu was awakened by a soft knocking on the window sill.

He hesitated for a moment before walking to the window sill. Just as he was about to open the window a single branch of peach blossoms was thrust in front of his eyes. Behind the blossom was an attractive and charming face. Ming ChangYan smilingly looked at him, "The peach blossom trees on the mountain had just bloomed, I went to go pick some, the branch even still has some dew drops on it. Come, come, come, stick this in a flower vase." Pausing for a moment, he reached into his bosom and took out another branch of peach blossoms, handing it to Huai Yu, saying, "I'll give you another one."

Haui Yu stared at the peach blossoms pressed against his chest, asking, "What is this?"

"Eh? Aren't they just the flowers I gave you? But don't go flaunt that I gave you more than them, or else they'll start bugging me again."

After he finished speaking, he turned around and entered into the corridors running in the direction of the bedroom next door. After a short period of time, Huai Yu heard the voice of Zhong YuLou coming from next door.

After Ming ChangYan finished delivering all the flowers one by one, breakfast had already been served. Qin YuBao entered the dining room, and using his dog nose, he declared, "Da s.h.i.+-xiong made breakfast today!"

Ming ChangYan replied, "If you know then why don't you come over here and eat?"

When Huai Yu entered, LiMin-Jun was already spreading out his chopsticks. When he raised his head and saw Huai Yu, he turned his head around to wink at Ming ChangYan, "Hey! Ming ShaoXia, your man's here!"

Huai Yu's paused his footsteps.

Ming ChangYan scooped up some of the soup and saw that LiMin-Jun still hadn't let the bet from back then go, his face full of self-righteousness. It was extremely hateful, but he was too lazy to care.

Zhong YuLou and the rest of the inner disciples all rushed in, sat in order, finished their food. Ming ChangYan opened his mouth and said, "Did you guys recite the core teachings I told you to recite yesterday?"

Qin YuBao swayed his legs around and carefreely replied, "Recited!"

Ming ChangYan took out a ruler, saying, "Good, since Mister Zhou isn't here today, I'll be inspecting your writing. Everyone go wait for me in the library."

The distance from the dining area to the library only took about half an incense of time, after everyone arrived, they all began to diligently write from memory. Only Huai Yu had nothing to do, sitting by the sidelines lost in thought. After a quarter of an hour pa.s.sed, Zhong YuLou halted his writing brush and blew away the remnants of the ink marks. Not soon after he set down his pen, the others had finished their writing as well. Since Zhong YuLou was the most distinguished among the inner disciples, the other disciples all one by one came up to take a look at his test paper.

"YuLou, what does this mean?" asked Yan YuNan who was the oldest and the most earnest among the inner disciples.

Zhong YuLou replied, "I recently found some new sword foundation techniques, I wrote my thoughts about it on the paper! When Da s.h.i.+-xiong comes, I'm going to show it to him!"

Ming Yue had a stiff expression on his face as he said, "We all learned our sword techniques from TianQing, why should we change it if you tell us to change it?"

Zhong YuLou craned his head to look at him, and inexplicably said, "I never said that I wanted to change the sword techniques, I just said I thought of a better way."

Ming Yue crossed his arms, sneering, "Do you really think that yours is the better one? s.h.i.+-xiong just praised you a few times, yet you have the audacity to alter the sword techniques."

Zhong YuLou frowned, pus.h.i.+ng YuBao aside, and questioned, "First of all, I've already told you that I'm not changing the sword techniques. Second of all, Ming Yue, why do you insist on arguing with me?"

Ming Yue raised his voice, "Who wants to argue with you! With your high talent and early start, you think everyone is just beneath you. And now you can alter the sword techniques as you like, in the future, wouldn't you think that if you want to become the sect leader, you can just become sect leader? All it is, is a new technique, in what way is it so amazing?"

After being stabbed by his words, Zhong YuLou yelled, "You're right, I'm just so amazing. If it wasn't me, then do you think it would be you? s.h.i.+-xiong hasn't even said anything yet, so who do you think you are to lecture me?"

Immediately after, he deliberately sized up Ming Yue, smirking, "But…do you even deserve to lecture me?"

Ming Yue was aware that his innate talent isn't comparable to him. This matter just so happens to be his sore point, at once he retorted, "YOU!"

Yan YuNan saw that things were getting out of hand, he immediately soothed, "Stop arguing, we're all disciples under the same sect, still considered family."

Zhong YuLou jumped up and said, "Who'd want to be family with this little ying-yang* faced person! Wearing this face as if somebody owes you eighty thousand taels! All you know how to do every day is to just be an eyesore with your a.s.sorted way of speaking! I've known for a long time that you were out of the sorts!"

(TN: Ying Yang faced means to have two different att.i.tudes based on who you're with. Like you're nice to this person, but mean to this other person. Should I use the word hypocritical instead, or just leave it be? Would two-faced fit better in this scene? Please tell me.)

Ming Yue's complexion was deathly pale, his eyes bloodshot as his entire body trembled, cursing, "And what are you supposed to be?!" He suddenly pointed his finger at YuNan, "And you, you're in it together with him. You think you're so cool, what right do you have to scold me! You're nothing but a worthless piece of trash that doesn't have any face, hiding behind Zhong YuLou to try to reconcile with him! Your talent isn't even comparable to Qin YuBao. You're the oldest yet the most useless!"

Zhong YuLou made a threatening expression, adopting a posture that seemed like he was about to begin fighting. Ming Yue coldly unsheathed his sword, "Who's afraid of who!"

With such a huge commotion, it finally caught the attention of Ming ChangYan. He pulled the two apart, giving each of them ten slaps with a board, inquiring, "Why are you guys fighting?"

Zhong YuLou ferociously wiped his face but didn't utter a single word. Ming Yue also stood by the side, his head lowered and silent.

Ming ChangYan continued, "Do you see Huai Yu sitting over there moving, he's the same age as you guys but more well-behaved than any of you."

Zhong YuLou turned to look at Huai Yu like everyone else, the other party was sitting there watching the conflict transpire in front of him, and hadn't moved an inch. The TianQing youngsters were all fl.u.s.tered, each one apologizing, "Da s.h.i.+-xiong, we were wrong."

Ming Yue hatefully glared at Huai Yu, closed his eyes, and stopped speaking.

After Ming ChangYan finished giving them a whip, he coaxed them a few times and collected the youngster's papers to examine. When Zhong YuLou saw that he had left, he said, "Such bad luck! I'm going to go down the mountain to walk a lap to dispel my anger!" He turned to face Yan YuNan, "Little s.h.i.+-xiong, wait for me to bring you something tasty when I come back. Inform Da s.h.i.+-xiong about this, I'll be going!"

This was translated by , any other repost of this is stolen work and if you steal my work, I will punish you in the name of the moon.

Yan YuNan responded, "Be careful on the road, remember not to pick up random stuff you find on the road!"

Zhong YuLou had already sprinted out of sight, only his voice could be heard, "I know, don't worry, I won't!"

Who knew that as night fell, XianYue Mountain began pouring with rain as Zhong YuLou showed up at TianQing Sect's doorstep carrying a man dripping with blood.

With the birth of this unseen event, Ming ChangYan set down the teacup in his hand, abruptly ending the conversation he was having with Huai Yu.

Zhong YuLou tried several times to explain, but in the end could only hesitatingly say, "Da s.h.i.+-xiong…I brought a person back!"

LiMin-Jun arrived from the west room and saw the situation. He blanked out for a while before roaring, "Zhong YuLou! You brat, what the f.u.c.k did you pick up this time!"

Zhong YuLou pursed his lips, feeling extremely wronged as he uttered, "I…"

LiMin-Jun pinched his ear and dragged him inside, "Did your mother send you here to TianQing to learn martial arts or for you to collect junk? Eh?! If you're so good at collect this stuff, then why don't you go join the Qixi Festival gang? Their entire group is known to gather rubbish. Looking at your level of skill, just by going there once, you could be their leader!"

Zhong YuLou cried, "Er s.h.i.+-xiong! My ears hurt!"

"It hurts? If I don't pull on your ear till you learn from your mistakes, then my surname might as well not be Li. Picking up a few rodents here and there would've been fine, but now you're venturing out and picking up humans?!" LiMin-Jun continued to twist his ear as he proceeded to shove Zhong YuLou into the water basin, swearing while he gave him some honey locust.

Ming ChangYan and Huai Yu crouched down, observing the pa.s.sed out man on the floor.

Huai Yu reached out his hand, landing on his wrist to check the other's pulse. After contemplating for a while, he said, "Poisoned."

Ming ChangYan used his fan to poke the other's clothes, "There's not a single piece of good flesh on him, his wounds look like he's been cut by some sort of thread."

He cast a glance at Huai Yu, abruptly asking, "You're experienced in the art of healing?"

Huai Yu didn't answer.

Ming ChangYan continued, "Can he be saved?'

Huai Yu replied, "Yes. If it was someone else, then no."

This sort of reply meant that this youngster's ambition was quite high, clearly confident in his skills.

Zhong YuLou washed his hands, popped his head cutely from behind and let out a mischievous giggle, "Da s.h.i.+-xiong, can he still be saved?"

Ming ChangYan flicked his forehead, "Who allowed you to pick up these kinds of dubious people, what have I told you?"

Zhong YuLou diffidently answered, "TianQing sect is isolated from the other sects, we mustn't stir up trouble and stay true to one's duty…"

LiMin-Jun let out a cold snort, Zhong YuLou said, "I, I saw that he was pitiful so I brought him back! It was pouring so hard outside, if I had just ignored him, he definitely would've died!"

Ming ChangYan said, "We'll discuss this matter later. The rainfall today is rather heavy, let's bring him back to small pavilion terrace first and let Lady Hua give him a medical prescription." He looked at Huai Yu, "It's better if you don't leave tonight, the mountain roads are slippery, I'll have someone to clean out the Jeweled Canopy."

On the way to the small pavilion terrace, they ran into the YuMao and YuMi who were coming over to take part in the commotion. The one accompanying the two was Yan YuNan.

Yan YuNan said, "Da sh-xiong, I couldn't stop them."

Ming ChangYan said, "I know, these two small ones have never had to worry before. Ming Yue didn't come, right? If he comes over and starts a fight with YuLou again, I'll be irritated."

Yan YuNan replied, "Nope, Ming Yue went to sleep. Da s.h.i.+-xiong, let me help you carry him, this guy's covered from head to toe in blood, it's dirty."

Ming ChangYan responded, "Forget it, you're wearing white, if you get it dirty, it'll be hard to wash out. Give me some peace of mind, I don't feel like was.h.i.+ng your clothes today."

In the early years, back when TianQing sect was still managed by Ming ChangYan, using the phrase "so poor that they couldn't even eat a pot of white rice" was already praise. Forget about a pot of rice, they didn't even have a pot! In addition to this, there were several little mouths that needed to be fed, this really was like a hero trying to solve a problem that would only cost a penny*, making the gentleman worry.

(TN: "一分钱难倒英雄好汉"; I really hate translator notes, but I couldn't find a good enough description of this. Basically means when someone that's capable is helpless when facing a small problem and how people can't do anything without money even if you're the most powerful person in the world.)

Ming ShaoXia in those years: He was no more than 17 to 18 years of age, but held the duty of being their father figure every day. They lived frugally, robbed the rich to help the poor, carried out a.s.sa.s.sinations in different sects, and killed all kinds of figures for work. Because he was being dragged down by a family he had to feed, in the daytime he was chivalrous, but at night he was using the needle repair clothing. He could only ever settle for temporary methods but never any fundamental solutions. Only after six years, was he able to raise TianQing sect to become the world's most powerful sect.

Therefore, the few inner disciples that he had raised since they were small all heavily depended on Ming ChangYan, to the point that without him, they wouldn't even be able to take a single step forward by themselves.

A group a people walked through the stone steps paved from bluestone slabs, pa.s.sed through an arched door. Walking down, the arrived at the small pavilion terrace.

The small pavilion terrace was located at the waist of XianYue Mountain, neighboring the West Lake. There were lush hills and clear, transparent waters. It was gracefully tranquil while lotus flowers bejeweled the surface of the lake and a pleasure boat floated on the jade colored waters. The building depended on the mountain to keep it steady. Huai Yu took advantage of the dim lights of night as he gazed at the scenery around him. When he couldn't see the road ahead of him anymore, Ming ChangYan reached out his hand pull him along. When his hand suddenly fell into the other's palm, Huai Yu gave him a blank look. Ming ChangYan said, "When first coming to the small pavilion terrace, a lot of people don't see the roads on the lake and by the sh.o.r.e, causing them to always fall in."

Huai Yu was still being pulled by him when he calmly asked, "Why are you pulling on my hand."

Ming ChangYan smiled, "I'm already pulling, you think I'd hurt you? It's the middle of the night and not to mention the wet, slippery roads, if I don't pull you along, do you think you won't fall in?"

Ming ChangYan pulled Huai Yu up onto the steps, reaching out to pull Yan YuNan up as well. The latter was used to being taken care of, obviously accustomed to it, his complexion steady.

Huai Yu saw this, twisted the corners of his robe, and let out a soft grunt.

The lights around the small pavilion terrace glistened in the dark as a single boat swayed over. Aboard the boat was a crimson clothed young lady, she smiled delicately, "Lady Hua's body was feeling unwell today so she has already gone to bed. She instructed me ahead of time that if Ming gong-zi was to pay a visit to the small pavilion terrace, I must not hesitate to bring you in. Everyone, please follow me."

LiMin-Jun handed the medicine in his hands over to the crimson clothed young lady, "Xiao Chai, give this medicine to your Lady Hua, tell her not to just secretly throw it away, it was quite hard to find."

Xiao Chai asked everyone to board the boat, hanging the paper lantern on the bow of the s.h.i.+p, smiling, "Lady Hua does not like to take medicine, Xiao Chai thanks ChangYan gong-zi's hospitality."

Ming ChangYan asked, "Has she coughed up any blood recently?"

Xiao Chai replied, "No blood, she's just unable to catch her breath. Old problems, nothing to worry about."

Ming ChangYan sat at the back of the boat, his legs crossed and sticking out, "Her sickness has dragged on for 10 years yet there have been no signs of improvement. When seeing her every two days out of three, she always looks as if she's about to be parted by death."

Xiao Chai lowered her head and smiled, but didn't reply.

Finally arriving at the small pavilion terrace, several servant girls stepped forward and hauled the half-dead man onto a bed. Huai Yu took a step forward, stretching the man's eyelids open and a.n.a.lyzed the odor on the tip of the guy's nose.

"Is there a needle?"

Hearing this, Ming ChangYan took some silver needles out from his bosom. Huai Yu took the needles, and on the patient's philtrum, using his ten fingers, he pinned eleven needles in. After getting punctured, thick, blackened blood oozed out from his flesh like silk, falling onto the floor.

Huai Yu said, "Is there medicine?"

Ming ChangYan pointed to his left, "Go in and take a right, there's a small medicine cabinet, some commonly used medicines should be in there."

After he finished mixing up the medicines, Yan YuNan finished feeding the medicine to the wounded man, carefully laying him back down. His expression changed as he bashfully looked towards Ming ChangYan.

The Ming ChangYan who was lost in thought was brought back to reality. He saw Yan YuNan's expression, who looked like he was trying to make a good impression by showing obeisance, was clearly waiting to be praised. But since his actions were such an ordinary thing, Ming ShaoXia pondered but couldn't think of anything to praise, so he could only insipidly say, "Good job, good job. YuNan has become more and more earnest."

When he finished praising Yan YuNan, the YuMao, and YuMi who were in the same room as they gazed up at him with eyes filled with expectation. The two had carried basins of water over a few moments ago and didn't do any less work. Ming ShaoXia's head ached, he racked up his brains and said a few words, "You guys did good as well, very good, sensible."

He turned his head around once more. Ming ChangYan looked at Huai Yu and thought he might as well praise this person as well, "Little Huai Yu also did a good job, so youthful, yet so informed in the art of medicine. In the future, you'd definitely become a very capable person."

Yan YuNan who was waiting to be praised was very happy. Only Huai Yu, who was just praised by Ming ShaoXia, expression changed, his face taking on a look as cold as ice and frost.

Ming ChangYan was stupefied.

Huai Yu said, "What are you looking at me for, change the water, we still need a few more st.i.tches."

YuMao was young but very quick-witted. Hearing Huai Yu's orders, he proceeded to stride off on his short, stubby legs to fetch some water back. He then, together with YuMi, sat cutely on a stool. After Huai Yu completed the last few st.i.tches, YuMao suddenly blinked his eyes like he had just realized something, asking Ming ChangYan, "Da s.h.i.+-xiong, who is he?"

LiMin-Jun just now remembered, YuMao was homesick for a period of time and had asked his mother to bring him back home to stay for a few days. He had only returned to TianQing just this evening after the Flower Festival had ended, so naturally, he wouldn't have recognized Huai Yu.

He answered, "Oh, I forgot to introduce him. This is one of your Da s.h.i.+-xiong's friends, called Huai Yu. You guys can call him… can just call him 'ge-ge'"

Huai Yu heard this and suddenly said, "Friend? Aren't I his man?"

After hearing this, the Ming ChangYan that had been sitting aside drinking tea suddenly sprayed out the tea in mouth and onto the table.

This was translated by , any other repost of this is stolen work and if you steal my work, I will punish you in the name of the moon.

Wow, Huai Yu is a bold one ain't he.

What are your thoughts on this chapter?

If you see any grammar/translation errors, feel free to comment down below! I read every comment and they inspire me to write more!

Have a twinkling weekend~ ✨