Big thanks and a shout-out to biki for sending me a laptop so that I can translate LWSL more conveniently!
Wu Chenliu was aware that it would be Wu Chenzi’s birthday banquet in two days, so he told Wu Xi to wait until the day after the birthday banquet to look for him at his manor.
Even after Wu Qianqing and Guan Tong saw Wu Chenliu off, they remained as if they were within a dream, and only regained their senses when they were eating dinner: “Xiao-Ruo, did you already know all along that Xiao-Xi would take Senior as her shifu?”
Wu Ruo smiled mysteriously: “The mysteries of Heaven cannot be revealed.”
In this lifetime, Wu Yu had his shifu snatched by Wu Xi. He wanted to see if Wu Yu could still stand out amongst all others like he had in the previous lifetime, excellent and unrivaled, garnering everyone’s praise.
Wu Qianqing and Guan Tong were stunned. Wu Ruo’s words made them think that the matter of finding a shifu was a result that Hei Xin had divined, so both of them looked at Hei Xin extremely gratefully.
Hei Xin, who was currently setting out the dishes for dinner, broke out in a fine sweat because of their expressions of deep gratitude.
Wu Ruo didn’t bother explaining either, content to let his parents misunderstand.
After two days, the day of Wu Chenzi’s birthday banquet arrived, and the Wu family had a tradition. As long as it was the birthday of a prestigious senior, everyone within the clan absolutely had to go to the Wu family’s main temple to pray to the deity of longevity for good fortune. As members of the Wu family, Wu Ruo and his family were naturally not an exception, so Wu Ruo, Hei Xuanyi and the rest rose early to wash up and get dressed, rushing to the Wu family’s main temple even before maoshi15am to 6:59am..
The main temple was constructed on the slope of a small mountain outside of Huangdu City. It leaned against a larger mountain that was behind it. To its left, there was a great river like a winding dragon, and to its right, there was a lush, dense forest. In front of it was the endless prosperous sprawl of Huangdu City. This place could be said to have perfect fengshui, where the five blessings were gathered; fortune, status, longevity, happiness, and wealth. Both the family and the individual flourishing, their destinies winding infinitely.
Before maoshi, there were countless carriages stopped at the base of the small mountain slope.
The members of the Wu family held onto lanterns, marching up to the temple at the mountain summit in vast and mighty hordes. At this timing, the main gates of the temple were not open yet. Everyone was waiting outside the entrance. Everyone present was dressed in exquisite and fine robes, as if they were comparing whose family had more money. Everyone had accessorized with all kinds of rare and expensive jewelry.
They were no different than the Gaoling City Wu family. When they all gathered together, they would split themselves according to the estates that they lived in. Those who weren’t part of the main branch of the Wu family would stand to a corner, giving way to those who were part of the main branch of the family.
When Wu Ruo and the others arrived at the temple, they took the initiative to stand to a corner, doing their best not to attract the attention of others. They also did their best to remain quiet, lest a stray word of theirs be seized by someone as a topic of discussion and criticism.
Wu Qianqing swept a glance over the people present, feeling a subtle sense of unease. This birthday banquet didn’t make him feel as though the Wu family was on close terms with them. Rather, it invoked a sense of quiet discomfort, as though there was a massive trap that had been plotted and was currently waiting for them to jump into it.
Guan Tong and Wu Xi leaned close together, silent.
Hei Xuanyi held onto Wu Ruo’s hand, and Wu Ruo was discreetly writing characters on Hei Xuanyi’s palm for him to guess. It was obvious to see just how boring this birthday banquet was to them.
Hei Xuanyi very quickly guessed the word that Wu Ruo was writing, whispering quietly into Wu Ruo’s ear: “The ‘Yi’2From his name, Hei Xuanyi. character.”
With the hot breath blowing onto Wu Ruo’s ears, in an instant, fair and clear cheeks were dyed a ruddy red.
The corners of Hei Xuanyi’s mouth held faint amusement. He raised a hand to tuck the loose strands of hair behind Wu Ruo’s ears; it seemed as though he didn’t care about the gazes of the people around them.
Guan Tong and Wu Xi saw that their relationship was going so smoothly, they covered small smiles behind their hands.
“Qianqing.” Suddenly, someone called out.
When Wu Ruo and the others heard this voice, they turned around to look, and saw Wu Bofang walking over with Yao Shuwan3The one that Wu Ruo recently scared off was his own grandparents, and these are his great-grandparents. He left for Huangdu City first after splitting the family and was not there for the downfall of Gaoling City..
Wu Qianqing immediately bowed to them: “Qianqing greets Grandfather and Grandmother.”
Wu Ruo and the others also bowed to Wu Bofang, one after another.
Wu Bofang said, pleasantly surprised: “It really is you. That’s wonderful. When I’d heard that you had also arrived at Huangdu City, and had thus been invited to participate in Lord State Tutor’s birthday banquet, I could hardly dare to believe it!”
After that, he thought of what had happened at Gaoling City, and the smile immediately fell off of his face. He frowned and asked: “The matter of the infinite ghosts attacking Gaoling City is true?”
Grief filled Wu Qianqing’s gaze: “Grandfather, this matter is true.”
A pained look appeared in Wu Bofang’s expression: “So it was an omen of a catastrophe after all. Even the commoners of Gaoling City were not spared from this disaster.”
Yao Shuwan’s expression was also full of grief. All her children and grandchildren had died within a span of a day4Not a translation note: I get that it’s just an exaggerated expression, but what are Wu Qianqing and his family to you, lady? Chopped liver?. How could she not be pained? At that time, when she had received the news, she had fainted on the spot.
Wu Bofang thought about how it was Wu Chenzi’s birthday today, and knew that it was inappropriate to be anguished at this moment, so he hurriedly suppressed his emotions. He looked at Wu Qianqing curiously: “How did you manage to escape?”
Wu Qianqing didn’t dare to voice his actual reason for coming to Huangdu City: “Before the attack by the Infinite Gui, we had agreed as a family to accompany Xiao-Xi to study at an academy in Huangdu City for a period of time. We never would’ve thought that just as we were leaving Gaoling City, the sky darkened and then the Infinite Gui appeared. After that…”
Yao Shuwan choked back a sob: “It’s a blessing that you were able to leave one step ahead of time.”
Wu Bofang frowned: “I’ve already sent some people back to Gaoling City to take a look. Hopefully there are still some people who were lucky enough to survive.”
As of right now, other than Wu Qianqing’s family, the only ones who managed to survive were the disciples of the family who were currently out for experience training. The Gaoling City Wu family could be considered mostly decimated.
Yao Shuwan speedily took out a silk handkerchief5丝绢 (si juan): refers to a specific kind of silk called ‘tiffany’, not to be confused with the popular women’s brand Tiffany & Co. which populates the search if you look up ‘tiffany textile’. It was more popular/common in the 18th to 19th century, apparently. and wiped away a tear that was about to fall, and asked with a hoarse voice: “Qianqing, where are you staying right now?”
Wu Qianqing looked toward Hei Xuanyi: “We’re currently staying at a residence that Xuanyi purchased.”
It was only then that Wu Bofang and Yao Shuwan noticed the handsome man standing next to Wu Ruo. Following that, their gazes filled with astonishment at his outstanding appearance shifted from their faces to both their hands that were intertwined, and they said with shock: “He’s Xuanyi? Xiao-Ruo’s husband?”
Looking at Wu Ruo and Hei Xuanyi who were standing together, it was as if the surrounding scenery turned dull, unable to attract their attention any further.
Wu Qianqing hurried to explain the matter of how Hei Xuanyi used to wear a false skin.
“Oh, so that’s how it was,” Wu Bofang and Yao Shuwan weren’t bothered by Hei Xuanyi wearing a false skin, but were instead pleased that Hei Xuanyi had a residence in Huangdu City. Unlike when they themselves had arrived in Huangdu City, and still needed to reside in someone else’s home, staying at the side residences of the Yao family. Not only were they subjected to all kinds of restrictions, they were also looked down upon by others. That’s why they had planned to, after a period of time, buy a separate residence to move into.
It was at this moment, the first wisps of light rose in the horizon of the sky, and at the same time, the main gates of the temple made creaking noises. The two doors gradually split open, and all the sights and sounds of the temple were slowly presented in front of everyone’s eyes.
“The main gates have opened!” Everyone said happily.
The layout inside of the temple was similar to that of an average temple. Towering, lush green pine trees that reached toward the skies were planted inside the temple, and in the temple’s back gardens, a nine-storey pagoda had been erected. Everyone walked in front of the pagoda and then simply stopped there. Other than the leading clan elder of the Wu family who stood at the frontmost position, everyone else found their positions and stood in their appropriate spots.
Not long after, the main door of the pagoda opened, and Wu Chenzi who had spent a night in the pagoda emerged from it. Today would be his grand 150th birthday, but it was as if his appearance had frozen in time, remaining as though he was about 40 years old. He wielded a staff in one hand, wearing elaborate deep blue robes, his face handsome and stern, his lips tightly pursed. His gaze was as bright as a burning torch, as if the emperor himself had arrived. He took every single step in a dignified manner until he came to the flight of stairs in front of everyone.
When everyone saw him, they immediately fell silent, looking at him with reverence.
Wu Ruo zoned out a little. This was his first time seeing this person at such a close proximity. However, he held not an ounce of respect for this person. If anything, he only felt a strong sense of ridicule. To him, Wu Chenzi was just another sanctimonious hypocrite, and he was even worse than Wu Bofang and that lot of them.
Wu Chenzi slowly swept a glance over the thousands of Wu family descendants, and his stern face finally revealed a hint of a smile: “Seeing that the Wu family is becoming more and more prosperous and abundant, I6Wu Chenzi uses the same first person pronoun as Ji Xi, which is 本尊 (ben zun) and is an arrogant way of referring to oneself. It’s used by people with a lot of power, and is often translated as ‘venerable’ in Chinese BL webnovel fandom. am extremely pleased. I hope that the Wu family can continue on in this manner in the future.”
Everyone immediately replied: “It is all thanks to Lord State Tutor’s excellent leadership.”
The Wu family clan elder walked forth: “Lord State Tutor, the auspicious hour has arrived.”
Wu Chenzi nodded and walked to the array that had been set in place much earlier on, then he closed both his eyes. He raised the golden staff above his head with both hands, chanting a tediously long spell.
Wu Ruo’s gaze was tightly fixed on him. He wasn’t sure if it was because he was overly focused, but he actually saw that there was a golden light circulating inside of Wu Chenzi’s body. It was like a golden sea serpent, leisurely travelling through the body’s channels7I didn’t use the word ‘veins’ because the original term refers to the circulatory system for spiritual energy/magic.. Its visibility fluctuated, and Wu Ruo couldn’t see it very clearly.
He couldn’t hold back his shock and his eyes widened. He had never seen this sort of thing before in the past. Could it be that this was some sort of new secret technique that Wu Chenzi himself had developed?
Wu Ruo looked at the people around him, but everyone’s expressions were calm.
However, he still felt that something wasn’t quite right.
If it was only the people from the Huangdu Wu family whose expressions were calm, then it wouldn’t be that strange, but his dad, mum, Xiao-Xi and Hei Xuanyi and the rest were the same as him, and had also never seen something like this before. The fact that they were all so unperturbed made him feel that something was strange.
Could it be that he was mistaken8看错 (kan cuo): literally ‘to see wrongly’. Very specifically meaning that he was mistaken in what he saw.?
Wu Ruo rubbed his eyes. The golden light inside of Wu Chenzi’s body had disappeared. Everything that he had just seen felt like an illusion.
He let out a sigh and continued looking at Wu Chenzi. After that, the golden light appeared within Wu Chenzi’s body again.
Wu Ruo involuntarily tugged on Hei Xuanyi’s sleeve.
Hei Xuanyi turned to look at Wu Ruo.
Wu Ruo opened his mouth, but seeing that they were surrounded by people, he left his doubts unspoken9Actually, the original phrasing is “he left the doubts (from the bottom of his heart) inside of his heart”.. He would wait until after the blessings prayer to ask the others about it.
Hei Xuanyi saw that Wu Ruo seemed a little anxious, and so he held onto Wu Ruo’s hand.
Wu Ruo glanced at him, then turned his gaze back onto Wu Chenzi’s body. That thread of gold light bore into Wu Chenzi’s spiritual field, and then, Wu Chenzi’s body emitted a golden glow. It was as if a deity had been invited to the mortal realm, Wu Ruo saw that there was a golden shadow behind Wu Chenzi.
The Wu family clan elder immediately offered joss sticks and made obseisances with everyone, then he began chanting tedious prayers and everyone else from the Wu family also chanted along. They were like monks in a temple, chanting scriptures, a soft buzzing noise came from every direction.
After an unknown period of time, the blessings prayers finally ended. Thousands of streams of golden light shot out from the array beneath Wu Chenzi’s feet, as if it was the sun that was just beginning to rise, and it made everyone feel comfortably warm.
The people of the Huangdu Wu family all showed smiles of joy.
“The blessings prayer has successfully completed.”
Everyone else who had never seen this scene before still stared doubtfully at the spot that Wu Chenzi was standing on. After the golden light gradually disappeared, everyone realized that Wu Chenzi seemed to be a few years younger than he had appeared before.
Wu Xi’s eyes widened with curiosity. She saw that no one else was quietly discussing their misgivings, so she hastily said to Guan Tong: “Mum, did you notice that Lord State Tutor seems to have become younger?”
Guan Tong nodded.
Someone beside them snorted at them: “It must be your first time coming for the blessings prayer, isn’t it?”
