7 Ye Cheng Fu

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Ye Cheng Fu

 Chapter 7: 

 

After Yan Zhuang and his men mounted their horses, he whipped the horses hard, causing them to gallop forward. I was pulled painfully by the horse, forced to run alongside it. I quickly ran out of strength and stumbled, falling to the ground. The horse dragged me along, scraping against the dirt, and I could almost smell the blood. At that moment, Shen Ye suddenly grabbed me, lifted me onto his back, and started running while carrying me.

Around us, there were mocking voices, and the mounted guards blew their whistles, praising Shen Ye, “Good, this kid has some stamina! Kid, carry her properly, or you can forget about your head!”

Yan Zhuang looked back at us and then whipped the horse again, causing it to sprint even faster.

© translations belonging to  flamingobeestranslations.blogspot.com. If you read this somewhere else instead of flamingobeestranslations.blogspot.com then the translations has been posted WITHOUT permission of translator.

I had never seen a man like this before. From a young age, the men around me had distinct styles. Either they were like Bai Shaotang, the kind who was clearly destined for the battlefield with every gesture reflecting a general’s demeanor; or they were like my father, delicate, effeminate, and somewhat foolish.

I had thought Shen Ye would be like my father, adorned in gold and silver, with make-up and delicate, relying on women for affection and unable to endure hardship. He would complain even if he was slightly burned by hot water.

But now, as I lay on his back, hearing his labored breaths and feeling his stumbling steps as he struggled to keep running, I suddenly felt a sense of security I had never experienced before. This sense of security was something no one had ever given me.

He carried me for quite a while. Initially, everyone around us was still jesting, but soon they fell silent. I felt that I had recovered enough and signaled him that I was fine, but he just smiled. Yan Zhuang, upon hearing our conversation, finally showed some humanity and signaled for the horses to stop. After a break, we continued our journey at a more moderate pace.

We traveled for half a day and arrived at a small town where someone was waiting for us. Yan Zhuang changed the horses and supplies, and immediately began to hurry on again, seemingly unwilling to rest for even a moment.

While I tried to understand their intentions, Shen Ye appeared unfazed, taking everything in stride. He ate whatever was given to him and slept soundly at night, except for the lack of a bath, which seemed to be his only real complaint.

After ten days of travel, we finally stopped. I couldn’t quite tell where we were; it didn’t resemble a town but was instead a dense cluster of small wooden houses nestled within a thick forest.

The trees in this forest were towering and ancient, casting deep shadows that made the sunlight patchy. The village's perimeter was shrouded in a dense green mist. Before entering, Yan Zhuang handed each of us a handkerchief soaked in some sort of liquid and instructed us to cover our noses tightly. He then led us through the fog and various traps, navigating carefully. After evading the mist and traps, the village of small wooden houses came into view.

© translations belonging to  flamingobeestranslations.blogspot.com. If you read this somewhere else instead of flamingobeestranslations.blogspot.com then the translations has been posted WITHOUT permission of translator.

I had never seen such a primitive place before, and it took me a while to get my bearings. The village seemed deserted. Yan Zhuang led us forward, and suddenly, he shouted out in a peculiar manner, producing a strange sound.

After a moment, a similar sound echoed from afar, and then the trees began to shake violently, as if something was rushing towards us. I felt a sudden surge of fear, and Shen Ye, standing beside me, quietly grasped my hand, his brow furrowed as he stared at the trembling trees. Then I heard a loud shout, and a group of people leapt down from the trees.

These individuals had intricate patterns painted on their faces and wore little more than leaves and animal skins to cover their most private parts. Their weapons were unusually sharp and well-crafted, clearly not made by them.

Yan Zhuang approached and began conversing with them in a language I couldn’t understand. As he spoke, more and more people descended from the trees, each of them casting a cold, intimidating glance in our direction, making us shiver with unease.

After a long while, no one else jumped down from the trees. The person who had been talking with Yan Zhuang nodded and then walked towards me.

Unlike the others, this person wore a small skirt made from bluebird feathers, which was much more vibrant compared to the others' attire. My gaze lingered on the skirt, and Shen Ye, unable to hold back, tugged at me, saying, "Stop staring at that. I have one too."

"You... you're shameless!" I snapped back, blushing deeply. Shen Ye looked at me with disdain and said, "There's nothing to be embarrassed about. Do you know why he wears bird feathers? Because in their tribe, birds are seen as symbols of status. So the chief wears a skirt made from bird feathers, and the more feathers, the more status they believe they gain. It’s quite bizarre."

"This... this person is the chief?"

"Clearly," Shen Ye nodded, "this bird person is the chief." He then looked down at the chief's skirt with a pitying expression, "So many feathers, he must be very small..."

"Enough, have you said enough?" The chief finally spoke, his expression remaining neutral, but I noticed his hand gripping the spear was turning blue with tension.

Upon hearing him speak in Chu dialect, Shen Ye and I were both startled. Shen Ye managed a strained smile and said slowly, "You... you speak Chu dialect... truly impressive..."

The chief didn't respond, but gave a disdainful smile before turning to me. He extended his hand towards me and said abruptly, "You, blood contract."

"What?" I was taken aback. He sneered, then pointed at Shen Ye and continued, "He, heavenly sacrifice."

"You all, die!" He raised his hand, mimicking a gesture to slit his throat. Seeing my terrified expression seemed to amuse him greatly, and he burst into loud laughter. Turning to his followers, he chattered away, and everyone joined in the laughter. Several people came forward and dragged Shen Ye and me to the back of the village, where a dirt cover was removed to reveal a staircase leading underground. The soldiers prodded us with their spears, urging us to descend. 

I was quite frightened, but Shen Ye appeared unconcerned and proceeded forward. Noticing that I was lagging behind, he turned around, reached out his hand, and said gently, "Don't be afraid, come with me."

Despite his dirty face and ragged clothes, there was something oddly noble about him as he stood there in the dim light, holding a small golden fan. I suddenly felt my fear dissipate and quickly moved forward, taking his hand.

He led me down the staircase to a dungeon filled with various torture devices. The soldiers followed us, unlocked a cell, and pointed their spears at us. Shen Ye glanced at me and calmly walked inside. The soldiers seemed satisfied with our cooperation, nodded with smiles, locked the cell, and returned above ground, covering the entrance with the dirt.

Once the dirt cover was replaced, the dungeon was completely dark, with no light whatsoever. I groped around and found a bed made of piled-up straw in the corner, and crouched there. Shen Ye came over and sat beside me. The cell seemed to be backed by a hidden river, and I could hear the sound of flowing water. Having never been close to nature, I felt a bit scared and decided to speak to Shen Ye: "These people don't seem like ordinary people. Aren't you afraid?"

“I'm a bit scared,” he said casually, “but seeing you so scared makes me less afraid.”

“Why?” I asked, a bit surprised.

He chuckled softly, “After all, I’m the head of Phoenix Tower. Protecting people is a habit of mine.”

© translations belonging to  flamingobeestranslations.blogspot.com. If you read this somewhere else instead of flamingobeestranslations.blogspot.com then the translations has been posted WITHOUT permission of translator.

“You...” I found it hard to get used to his way of speaking, “I’m not used to you being like this.”

“Well,” he said, playing with the small golden fan in his hand, “people always have different identities and faces. Whatever the environment, it shapes the person. Shu Cheng, look at you. You’re usually so imposing and fierce, but now you’re like a little kitten.” He ruffled my hair.

His hand was large and warm, and resting on my head made even the unknown dark river behind us seem endearing. As I stared at his blurred silhouette in the darkness, a strange thought suddenly crossed my mind.

“Shen Ye,” I said, “if you stayed like this, I could actually consider marrying you as a consort.”

His hand on my head paused slightly. After a moment, he gave a wry smile, “If you manage to get out alive.”

“If I manage to get out alive, I probably won’t marry you,” I replied.

“So, do you think you won’t make it out alive?” he asked.

“Probably,” I sighed, watching him toss the fan up and catch it as it fell, over and over. “I have a pretty good idea of what they plan to do, so I think I probably won’t make it out alive.”

“What do they plan to do?”

I didn’t answer. He thought for a moment and changed the topic: “And what about me?”

“I don’t know,” I shrugged, “You might make it, but... I probably won’t.”

“Why?”

I still didn’t answer. He seemed to guess something and asked, “Is it related to the blood pact?”

I remained silent. He stopped playing with the fan, and with nothing else to focus on, I closed my eyes. My mind wandered to past unfinished business, trying to pull out some thoughts to talk about, to add some life to this eerily quiet dungeon.

But after thinking for a while, I realized I had no significant regrets. Perhaps because everything had gone too smoothly, it felt rather dull. The only splash of color seemed to be that young man in the bamboo forest cottage, who had coldly asked, “Why?”

“Su Rongqing...” I couldn’t help but utter his name. Shen Ye turned to look at me and asked, “Who are you talking about?”

“Shen Ye, have you ever liked someone?” I opened my eyes, my gaze drifting to the memory of Su Rongqing’s figure as he rejected me that night. The pure white robe, the cold moonlight, and his words, “Shu Cheng, take care.”

“I liked someone, but I never spoke of it to anyone or discussed it.”

“I was so close to marrying him, just that little bit away.”

© translations belonging to  flamingobeestranslations.blogspot.com. If you read this somewhere else instead of flamingobeestranslations.blogspot.com then the translations has been posted WITHOUT permission of translator.

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