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Mentions of insects, transphobia, body image issues, discussion of fatness“Before soaking in the medicated bath, I’d like to ask you1Wu Ruo uses the formal ‘you’ here, which is 您 (nin). As a reminder, this is the form of ‘you’ to use when you’re elevating the person you’re speaking to above yourself. about something.” Wu Ruo let Nu Mu take a look at the prescription he’d given his dad to use, and explained his dad’s situation: “After my dad soaked in this medicated bath for a few days, his cultivation field started to recover. I’d like to ask you, does this prescription need any corrections? I worry that the situation with my dad’s cultivation field recovery isn’t stable enough.”
He hoped to turn a 70% chance into a 100% guarantee so that his dad’s body could recover even faster.
Nu Mu carefully studied the prescription once over, and his gaze brightened: “Good Boy2Nu Mu calls Wu Ruo 好小子 (hao xiao zi) which does mean “good boy”. He’s using it as a form of addressing Wu Ruo/a nickname rather than it being a noun, which is why it’s capitalised in text. It matches his nickname for Hei Xuanyi in Chinese, which is 黑小子 (hei xiaozi)., where did you get this secret prescription from?”
Wu Ruo: “…”
Could he say that the two of them had researched this from their previous lifetime?
“This secret prescription is absolutely the most ingenious. I can guarantee to you, this prescription can definitely cure your dad. And also, the person who could research this secret prescription must be a peerless medical genius. I really want to measure my skills with him and see whose medical skills is more excellent. Wu Ruo, do you know who this person is? And where is this person now?”
Wu Ruo: “…”
The person who researched this secret prescription is you, how do you want to measure your strength against yourself?
Nu Mu saw that he didn’t speak, and said uncertainly: “You can’t say?”
“Not that I can’t say, but I don’t know where he is right now either.”
Nu Mu’s face was full of regret: “That’s a pity, then do you know what is his name?”
“When he gave me the secret prescription, he didn’t tell me his name. If I ever see him again, I will definitely introduce him for your acquaintance.”
“Alright.”
Wu Ruo murmured softly: “I was thinking, after my dad has soaked in the baths for 30 days then I’ll add some Spirit Gathering Grass to stabilize his spiritual energy. If the Spirit Gathering Grass isn’t suitable, then he should try to take one Spirit Condensing Pill every day. What do you think?”
“I was also thinking of this.” Nu Mu nodded as he looked at the prescription, then he looked at Wu Ruo: “You know the medical arts?”
Wu Ruo said guiltily: “I roughly know one or two things.”
Nu Mu laughed vibrantly: “From the way I see it, it’s not just one or two things.”
He returned the prescription to Wu Ruo: “Let’s go, let’s go and soak in the herbal bath now.”
Wu Ruo put the prescription back into his shadow void: “Don’t we need to prepare a big pot that can fit me first?”
“When the two of you went to the theatre to watch the show, I already got people to prepare it.” Nu Mu led Wu Ruo and the rest of them to the bathing room adjacent to his rooms: “Go in after the water’s heated up.”
Nu Mu opened the bag of medicines that he’d placed in the bathing room before and tossed them into the big pot.
Wu Ruo saw that the medicinal ingredients were all kinds of small insects, and his goosebumps rose all over his body: “I’ll have to soak in that later?”
“Don’t think of them as disgusting, actually these are very precious medicinal ingredients. If you really can’t stand it, then wait for me outside first. Once the water’s heated up, I’ll call you in again. Oh, that’s right. Lunch should be ready soon, the lot of you, come back again after lunch.”
It wouldn’t be polite for Wu Ruo and Hei Xuanyi to leave Nu Mu to manage everything by himself, and then go for lunch themselves, so they waited outside for Nu Mu.
Once the water had heated up, Nu Mu got Shi Jiu, Shi Yuan to support Wu Ruo in.
Nu Mu said: “Take off all your clothes.”
Shi Yuan and Shi Jiu swiftly took off all of Wu Ruo’s clothing in a few moves.
Wu Ruo was so cold that he immediately shivered, but his face was warm. This was his first time being completely naked in front of Nu Mu, so he was naturally a little embarrassed.
“Help him into the pot.” Nu Mu commanded Shi Yuan and the rest: “Be careful, the floor is wet here, it’s easy to slip. Wu Ruo, you get in from these small steps that I’ve set up…”
He hadn’t even finished speaking when Wu Ruo, who had only stepped into the water with one leg and swayed a little, abruptly fell backwards: “Ah~~”
“Careful.” Nu Mu hurriedly rushed forward to hold him up by his back.
At the same time, the bathroom’s doors were quickly pushed open by someone.
Wu Ruo saw that it was Hei Xuanyi and swept the leg that was in the pot towards the person by the door with shame, splashing the water and the medicinal ingredients onto Hei Xuanyi.
He said, embarrassed and angry: “Hei Xuanyi, get out!”
Whether it was his previous lifetime or his current lifetime, he had never once let Hei Xuanyi see him like this3It doesn’t say even in the original Chinese text, but I’d like to clarify Wu Ruo is referring to his being butt naked while he’s still fat. Hei Xuanyi has never seen Wu Ruo naked while fat, probably only after he lost weight..
Nu Mu watched Wu Ruo wasting his precious medicinal ingredients, and was so angry that he smacked Wu Ruo’s white and soft big buttocks: “Don’t waste the ingredients!”
“…” Wu Ruo was so embarrassed that he hurriedly sat down inside the pot, at this moment, his face was hotter than the water surrounding his body.
Nu Mu said with good humour: “We’re all men, taking a look won’t make you lose a piece of flesh. And besides, Little Hei is your husband, and the two of you have bared yourself to each other with honesty4The author uses the phrase 坦承相露 (tan cheng xiang lou). I checked on Baidu and I can’t find any explanations for this phrase in particular, so I’ve translated it by tancheng and xianglou (which is how we end up with what’s in the translation text). I did however find the phrase 坦承相见 (tan cheng xiang jian) which refers to when two parties treat each other with honesty and sincerity, sharing thoughts with each other unguardedly.
Personally, I think the author meant for Nu Mu to be speaking in euphemisms and imply that Hei Xuanyi and Wu Ruo have already seen each other naked (when consummating their marriage).. What’s there to be embarrassed of?”
“Master,” Wu Ruo was so embarrassed by his words that he’d forgotten that he hadn’t even asked Nu Mu to take him in as a disciple.
“Haha.” Nu Mu laughed at the top of his voice: “On account of this ‘master’ you’ve said, I’ll take you in as my disciple. It’s just as well, I don’t have any disciples either. It’s about time to take in a disciple to inherit my legacy5The word Nu Mu uses for ‘legacy’ here is 衣钵 (yibo), which also refers to a Buddhist monk’s mantle and alms bowl which he passes down to his favourite disciple..”
He raised his hands to feel around his robes, and fished out a black cicada jade pendant for Wu Ruo: “I’m the kind of person who doesn’t like troublesome things, so there’s no need for a ceremony6Nu Mu says 拜师仪式 (bai shi yi shi) which is a ceremony where someone formally apprentices to their master. I’m not so sure about the steps and what happens, but I can say it probably involves bowing and tea/wine as do most Chinese ceremonies.. I give this jade pendant to you, seeing it is like seeing me, if you ever run into any troubles next time, you can come to the Shaman’s clan7Nu Mu is from the 巫族 (wuzu). For all other non-Tianxing species/clans, I’ve stuck to keeping the pinyin rather than the translation because they don’t translate well into English. However, because this Wu clan will be very easy to confuse with the Wu family/clan/estate, I’ve ultimately chosen to use the English translation for this instead. in the South to look for me.”
Wu Ruo was stunned in place as he looked at the jade pendant.
He was still thinking about finding an excuse to apprentice to Nu Mu. He didn’t think that, with a simple ‘master’, Nu Mu would take him as a disciple outright.
Nu Mu saw that he wasn’t taking the jade pendant and raised his eyebrows: “What, you’re not willing to apprentice to me?”
“No, no,” Wu Ruo hurriedly accepted the jade pendant: “Thank you, Master.”
The cicada jade pendant was extremely unique. On its every little foot hung a small bell made of silver, with a gentle shake, it would let out refreshing “ting-ling-ling” noises.
Nu Mu turned to look at Hei Xuanyi and the rest: “The rest of you can go outside and wait first, I want to speak privately with my little disciple.”
Hei Xuanyi walked outside with a gloomy expression.
Hei Gan silently came to Hei Xuanyi’s side, removing the medicinal ingredients from him bit by bit, and asked as he suppressed a smile: “Master, did you see anything when you went inside?”
He knew that imagining the madam’s naked body was treasonous and heresy but he couldn’t help but wonder what the madam’s physique after taking off his clothes was like.
“…” Hei Xuanyi swept him with a cold glance. When he thought about the scene he had just seen, the corners of his lips subconsciously curled up.
When he’d gone inside just now, he hadn’t had the time to grasp the situation when he was splashed with a face full of water. In the blink of an eye, he’d only seen a shining large ball rolling into the big pot.
Honestly speaking, he really didn’t know what Wu Ruo was so embarrassed about. Everyone was a man and had what they should have. Besides, Wu Ruo had already married him, what was there to be embarrassed about8The author is trying to imply that everyone has penises. Pretty transphobic, but I’m not surprised. Also, the word for married here is 嫁 (jia) which is used for the person who married into the family. Once again places Wu Ruo in the traditionally ‘female’ position.?
Inside the bathroom, after Hei Xuanyi and the rest had left, Nu Mu asked Wu Ruo about his understanding of medicine. He realised that the little fellow, at a young age, didn’t just know about various medicinal ingredients but his knowledge about medicine was also very rich. He knew even more than some old doctors and didn’t need Nu Mu to teach him from scratch at all. So, he was very pleased in his heart. He hadn’t expected to pick up such a precious gem when he came here to treat someone, and so he made up his mind. During the period of time when he was in Gaoling, he would pass all of his medical knowledge that he’d learned to Wu Ruo.
When Wu Ruo had finished soaking in the medicated bath and came out to eat dinner, he realised that Hei Xuanyi’s gaze was kept roaming around his body. In one moment, he was staring at Wu Ruo picking up some food, then in another moment, he was staring at Wu Ruo chew his food, or he would stare at Wu Ruo’s round and full belly.
Being stared at like that by someone else made Wu Ruo feel uneasy all over, when he was about to ask Hei Xuanyi what he was staring at, he heard Nu Mu laugh ‘haha’: “Xiao-Ruo, I think the way you eat is so interesting.”
The form of address Xiao-Ruo was something that Wu Ruo had told Nu Mu to call him by during the medicated bath.
Wu Ruo’s eyebrows twisted: “Interesting?”
“Did you know that right now, you’re like a little child who has just learned how to eat? Because your stomach is too round so you can’t come close to the table. And because your fingers are too fat, you can’t even hold your chopsticks steadily. And also because the muscles in your arms can’t bend back enough, it takes up a lot of strength when you’re eating.
“Yet you’re not willing to let people feed you, so you’re at odds with yourself, it takes so much effort and is so difficult for you just to feed yourself one mouth of food. So, when you’re chewing on your food, your cheeks are puffed with anger, and are also full and plump, like a two-year-old fat baby. Eh, how do I describe it…”
Nu Mu thought about it for a long while before he found a word to describe it: “That’s right, ‘cute’! Especially cute, it makes one want to pinch your cheeks.”
Cute?!
Hei Xuanyi stared at Wu Ruo with narrowed eyes. Just now, he just couldn’t think of a word to describe Wu Ruo. Now that Nu Mu had put it this way, the way Wu Ruo ate was really quite cute.
He nodded in agreement, this word was suitably appropriate.
“Master.” Wu Ruo’s expression was full of helplessness. Eating was already tiring enough, and he was still being treated as the butt of a joke.
Nu Mu laughed ‘haha’: “I’m not making fun of you, you really are very cute. It’s a pity, in a few months, you’ll have slimmed down.”
Hei Xuanyi nodded his head and also felt that it was a shame.
Wu Ruo said angrily, upon seeing this: “What are you nodding about, eat your food.”
He deliberately picked up a piece of chicken that he’d already bitten into it and placed it in Hei Xuanyi’s bowl.
Hei Xuanyi looked at the piece of meat that looked like a dog had gnawed on it, raised his eyebrows, then picked it up and put it in his mouth.
Wu Ruo: “…”
It’d already been gnawed like that, Hei Xuanyi still dared to eat it?
Nu Mu sighed with feeling: “The two of you have such a good relationship.”
Wu Ruo felt sheepish at being commented on: “Who has a good relationship with him.”
“Embarrassed?” Nu Mu said with a smile: “Xiao-Ruo, you really get embarrassed so easily. Look how your face has turned red like a monkey’s backside.”
Wu Ruo refused to admit it: “My face is red because of the reflection from the candlelight.”
Actually, he wasn’t the kind of person to get easily embarrassed. However, after his reincarnation, he wasn’t sure why either but he got embarrassed especially easily whenever he faced Hei Xuanyi.
“Hn, hn, I understand. It’s because of the reflection from the candlelight.” Nu Mu smiled as he looked at him, and said with sincere words and earnest wishes: “Xiao-Ruo, everyone has a sense of shame, so getting embarrassed is a very normal thing. However, when it comes to certain things, if you get embarrassed too much, it’s easy to lose what’s important.”
“I’m done eating, the two of you can take your time.” He put down his chopsticks, stood up, and walked over to Wu Ruo’s side to whisper in his ear: “If you like Little Hei, then you should hold onto him tightly. Don’t wait for someone else to steal him away to regret.”
Wu Ruo rolled his eyes in his head. Couldn’t these words wait till no one else was around to be said? It had to be known that people with spiritual energy had especially sensitive ears. Even if one didn’t know, after looking at the way Hei Xuanyi’s ears kept moving, then one had to know that he was eavesdropping on their conversation.
Nu Mu left the main hall after saying these words, leaving Wu Ruo to face Hei Xuanyi awkwardly.
He hurriedly scoffed down the food in his bowl: “I’m also done eating. I’m going back to the room to rest first.”
With the assistance of Shi Yuan and the rest, Wu Ruo speedily left the main hall.
Hei Xuanyi watched Wu Ruo run away like he had a ghost chasing on his heels, and the space between his eyebrows creased.
When Hei Xin saw this, thought about it for a moment9I’d just like to say, the original phrasing used in Chinese was 眼珠子咕噜一转 which directly translates as “eyeballs rolled and rolled”. However, the two words for “roll” are 咕噜 (gulu) and 转 (zhuan). The word gulu can also be an onomatopoeia for ‘rumbling’. I’ve never seen this phrase before and thought it was supposed to be “eyeballs rolled with a rumble” and for a hot second, I was extremely alarmed at what Hei Xin’s eyeballs were doing. Thank goodness for Baidu explaining phrases., and he discreetly left the main hall. Not long after, he came back again, taking out a book and placing it in front of Hei Xuanyi.
Hei Xuanyi looked down doubtfully, and two words were written on the cover in huge font: Bedroom Tactics1010 — in the original Chinese, it says 书面上写着大大三个字：房•中•术. There is no way to translate it into English without modifying the actual content. The title of the book is 房中术 (fang zhong shu), which has been bulleted for emphasis. It means “skills/techniques inside the bedroom”. It’s written with three characters in the original Chinese.
So, what is it? Taken off of Baidu, it’s an actual ancient Chinese sex theory book, which “from a modern perspective”, “covers sex, sexual skills, treatment of sexual dysfunction, and conception. It is not limited to sex but combines sex with qigong and health preservation, and the pursuit of immortality or longevity.” Apparently, the earliest records of it are in the Han dynasty and it was closely related to Taoism. I guess the closest popular culture reference would be India’s Kama Sutra.
“…”
Notes: Whew, another long chapter. There’s like a handful of these in the chapters leading up to 60, which is when the paid chapters start and where everything is 3000-4000+ Chinese characters long.
![He Lived Like You [End of the World]](https://www.freenovels.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/HLLY.jpg "He Lived Like You [End of the World]")
