Chapter 48 Captured

Although Su Su was angry with him, she also knew how dire the current situation was.

She hurriedly gave him half of her evil repelling spiritual essence and swam around the corpse demons towards shore.

As it was a matter of life and death, Tantai Jin also didn’t speak any nonsense. He was silent for a change and followed her to swim up. When the two of them managed to get to shore, Su Su laid down to catch her breath, so tired that she didn’t want to move.

It had been a long time since she’d rested. Beside her, Tantai Jin didn’t speak as he sat up to wring the water from his clothes. The Water Deterring Pearl had just lost its effect, so if Su Su hadn’t gone back just now, even if he hadn’t been eaten by the corpse demons, he would have drowned.

The blazing sun of the seventh month quickly dried their clothes.

Su Su got up from the ground. She patted the dust off her hands, but just when she moved, someone tightly gripped her wrist.

Su Su turned her head and saw a gloomy face, “Where are you going?”

She stared at Tantai Jin’s hand and his fingers froze for a moment, then he gripped even tighter.

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“Zsw rskpsdle xl, es usw vbkdj R’zz zlv usw zlyhl?”

Gnvwyzzu, Fw Fw eked’v oydv vs zlyhl, cwv pbl nswzed’v blzr cwv oydv vs jknj bkx obld pbl pyo bkx zssjkdt zkjl y elcv-nszzlnvsa¹讨债鬼 (vǎsgbàktwǐ) – rlapsd ekqqknwzv vs elyz okvb sa pbyjl sqq. Mbl Fswz Omvkdtwkpbkdt Mlya jlrv kd bla nzsvblp pzktbvzu oyaxle, yzvbswtb kv oyp sdzu qsa y xsxldv, Fw Fw pvkzz qlzv kv.

Uwahle Kyel nswzed’v blzr cwv pyu, “Twb?”

Jsvb sdl rlapsd yde sdl fyel nswzed’v blzr cwv zssj yv Mydvyk Kkd okvb caktbv yde rklankdt lulp. Mydvyk Kkd qasodle, yde bkp vsdl osapldle, “Ebu yal usw zssjkdt yv xl zkjl vbyv?”

Elzz, kd vbl dlmv xsxldv, vbl Fswz Omvkdtwkpbkdt Mlya pvsrrle oyaxkdt wr yde clnyxl nsze.

Fw Fw’p blyav kdlhkvyczu qlzv y zkvvzl pwcvzl.

“Psd’v tayc xu oakpv. R eked’v rskpsd usw, R zkle vs usw clqsal. Nssj, usw’al pvkzz yzkhl yde jknjkdt,²活蹦乱跳 (bwócèdt-zwàdvkàs) – vs zlyr yde qakpj ycswv (keksx); zkhlzu; tyxcsz; qaszkn; blyzvbu yde ynvkhl sjyu, zlv ts sq xl.”

Mydvyk Kkd’p byde oyp zkjl yd kasd takr. Tl tzydnle yv bla, “G xswvb qwzz sq zklp! Gp pssd yp R zlv ts sq usw, usw’zz awd yoyu.”

“I won’t run away.”

The young man’s face looked so gloomy it was thoroughly annoying.

Su Su had spoken kindly³好言好语 (hǎoyánhǎoyǔ) – sweet talk/coaxing manner, and she didn’t expect that he wouldn’t appreciate it at all. She simply stopped talking and knocked him down with an over the shoulder slam. Tantai Jin grunted and looked at her hatefully.

If she hadn’t just saved him a few moments ago, Su Su would have thought that she was the one who’d wronged and betrayed him.

“Are you trying to escape?” he asked hoarsely, his dark eyes looking cold.

Su Su rubbed her bruised wrist, “Can’t you understand human language? I don’t owe you anything, and I already said that I’m not leaving. Even if I do, it’s none of your business!”

The more she thought about it, the angrier she became, so she simply gave him a hard pinch on his waist, “Next time you grab my hand until it bruises, I’ll kill you, I’ll kill you, do you hear me, you sc*m with the fighting strength of five!”

Afraid that he wouldn’t feel enough pain, she pinched the thin layer of flesh and twisted it almost 360 degrees.

Tantai Jin’s face was turning green.

Curved Jade had been silent, but at this moment, it couldn’t help but speak, “Little Master, do you still remember Ji Ze’s words, the Soul Extinguishing Tear needs him to understand feelings, only then can we remove his evil bone.”

Aren’t you running in the opposite direction⁴背道而驰 (bèidào’érchí) – an idiom; run counter to by treating him like this?

Su Su said incredulously, “You’re not asking me to teach him right? Even I want to smack him to death!”

After speaking, she burst into laughter as if amused by something.

Curved Jade caught a glimpse of the young man on the ground looking grim and also felt like laughing.

Su Su was relentless and Tantai Jin’s waist was definitely bruised, but he was able to endure it, refusing to cover his injured side, his face turning livid then pale.  

She propped up her chin and looked at him with a smile, “Remember what it means to judge others by your own standards⁵以己度人 (yǐjǐ-duórén) – measure others’ corn with one’s own bushel (idiom). This time is just a lesson. If you dare to hurt me again, I’ll hurt you ten times more.”

He sneered.

Su Su heard the sound of rustling footsteps. She turned her head and saw that it was indeed the soldiers of Zhou Kingdom approaching, and the leader was the unlucky henchman⁶狗腿子 (gǒutuǐzi) – fig. one who follows a villain; hired thug/lackey, Yang Ji.

Yang Ji started to howl woefully from afar, “Aiyo, my Majesty, are you alright!”

His slightly chubby body trying his best to run in front of the soldiers was really comical. He almost cried tears of joy when he saw Tantai Jin.

Yang Ji attentively went to support Tantai Jin, “Your Majesty, which insolent fool dares to do this to you, this subordinate……”

Tantai Jin kicked him in the butt, and was even angrier as he’d struck a nerve⁷哪壶不开提哪壶 (nǎhúbùkāitínǎhú) – lit. mention the pot that doesn’t boil (idiom); to talk about somebody’s weak point, “Scram! Who allowed you to touch me!”

Yang Ji awkwardly smiled, “I won’t touch, I won’t touch.”

Tantai Jin glanced at Su Su who was watching the fun⁸看笑话 (kàn//xiàohua) – amuse oneself by watching other people make fools of themselves; have a good laugh at and he ordered with a black face, “Catch that woman!”

Yang Ji immediately retracted his smile, taking on the posture of a fox exploiting the tiger’s might⁹狐假虎威 (hújiǎ-hǔwēi) – (lit.) The fox exploits the tiger’s might/The fox borrows the tiger’s fierceness (by walking in the latter’s company). (idiom); bully people by flaunting one’s powerful connections, “What are you still standing there for, are you all deaf? His Majesty asked you to catch that woman!”

Su Su was amazed by his ingratitude. 

No wonder Aunt Lan An betrayed him. This terrible character, this vicious mouth and look, who wouldn’t want to stab him a few times!

The Night Shadow Guards walked towards Su Su. While Su Su looked to them, Tantai Jin was also looking towards her, and she could see the pent-up¹⁰蓄势待发 (xùshìdàifā) – to wait for action after having accumulated power, energy etc nervousness in his eyes.

Tantai Jin’s muscles were all tensed, as if she was some kind of monster that could sprout wings and suddenly fly across the Mo River.

She held up her hand and sincerely said, “I can walk by myself, you don’t need to bother yourselves with it.”

The Night Shadow Guards ignored her and tied her wrists with a pliable rope. Oddly enough, the rope was flexible, but when it touched her wrists, it automatically buckled into a loop.

Tantai Jin watched without blinking. When he saw that this time, Su Su really seemed to have no hidden trump card to escape, he finally revealed a satisfied sinister smile.

Seeing his twisted smile, Yang Ji reported, “Your Majesty, Lord Ye and Lord Gan have both been found. Lord Gan was seriously injured and sent back to the residence of Mohe’s City Lord.”

Tantai Jin frowned and said, “They’re all a useless bunch!”

Yang Ji didn’t dare to say a word. It had been almost half a year, and he’d also experienced the temper of the little tyrant. Tantai Jin hated all waste and liked capable people.

Tantai Jin was never stingy in giving jewels and jade to capable people. He was so generous that people were green with envy. He was cold, heartless, and even ruthless in dealing with “useless trash”, and would never remember their former good. 

When we return, Nian Baiyu will definitely be severely punished.

Yang Ji was cunning¹¹人精 (rénjīng) – extremely slick person/wordly-wise person, adhering to the principle of a Dao friend dying is better than me¹²贫道 (píndào) – I—a poor cleric/poor Taoist [self-deprecating form of address used by Taoist priests]; dying¹³死道友不死贫道 (sǐ dào yǒu bùsǐ pín dào) – Others can die, but I can’t., he was glad that he didn’t follow them down the Mo River. He didn’t dare to plead for Nian Baiyu either, as Nian Baiyu indeed did a bad job this time.

Su Su turned back and glanced at the Mo River. Now, its water was so clear that if it wasn’t so deep, she’d have been able to see the bottom at a glance. Both Ming Ye and the Clam Princess had dissipated in the river, and ordinarily, that would protect the river for tens of thousands of years, but unfortunately, Tantai Jin created a group of corpse demons.

Originally, there were only twenty or thirty Daoist priests, but since they had killed so many people, there was a conservative estimate of forty or fifty corpse demons now. 

It was a number that could make one’s blood freeze. The corpse demons had absorbed the thousand-year old resentment, and were doomed to be difficult to kill.

If these things were to come ashore, mortals would definitely suffer. She still must find a way to let Tantai Jin destroy this group of corpse demons. He and the old Daoist created them, so he must know how to destroy them.

Luckily, the corpse demons didn’t have any intelligence, so they couldn’t climb up the Mo River by themselves. Su Su sighed in relief.

Su Su sensed that someone was looking at her. She turned her head and saw Tantai Jin. He met her eyes and looked away in disgust, as if she was something dirty that burned his eyes.

“Return to the residence of the City Lord of Mo River,” Tantai Jin instructed.

This time, Su Su was locked in a sealed off room, and even the windows were sealed. She used her strength to go around pulling on things, but found that the door and windows wouldn’t budge¹⁴纹丝不动 (wénsī-bùdòng) – to not move a single jot (idiom); absolutely still. She squinted her eyes and looked out. She could vaguely see a few silhouettes that were guarding outside, probably the Night Shadow Guards.

She shook the rope on her wrists, this really was the treatment of a criminal. The rope wasn’t made of Xuan iron, and it looked extremely easy to break. She sat cross-legged on the bed and tried to break it, but the rope emitted a faint red light and suddenly tightened its binding on her wrists.

Su Su gasped in pain and she hurriedly relaxed her hands, no longer trying to break the rope. Sure enough, the rope went back to its original state, loosely binding her wrists.

What is this thing?

Curved Jade said, “Little Master, don’t struggle. This thing is made by weaving silk created by silkworms that grew up drinking weak water. It looks extremely soft, but you can’t break free. It will only tighten the more you struggle.”

After speaking, Curved Jade was also puzzled. How did Tantai Jin’s Yiyue Tribe also have weak water? Before, we saw a weak water coffin, and now this. Is weak water, this ancient rarity, actually wholesale?

Su Su listened to Curved Jade and didn’t fiddle with the silk on her wrists anymore.

She felt a little perplexed. Since when did Tantai Jin start to prepare the weak water silk? Was it just to catch me today? 

She swung her wrists and indeed felt like she didn’t have much strength. She couldn’t even jump high when she wanted to.

Curved Jade looked at her sympathetically and said, ‘Little Master, I’ve been awake for too long, I need to be dormant now. You should be more careful around Tantai Jin.“

After pausing for a while, it stammered, “You’ve seen it too. He doesn’t seem too keen on killing you.”

Su Su was silent for a moment, then dryly said, “It seems so.”

Curved Jade also dryly said, “Everything is cultivation. If you’re free, try giving him some lessons on feelings. Motivate him with reason and enlighten him with affection¹⁵动之以情，晓之以理 (dòng zhī yǐ qíng, xiǎo zhī yǐ lǐ) – an idiom, what if he listens?”

Su Su continued to laugh dryly, “Haha.”

Curved Jade was so embarrassed that it left, and the jade bracelet fell into silence.

Su Su touched her face and felt that it was a little hot. Before, she didn’t know much, but after entering the Clam Princess’s body, she understood that things like love can be more or less awkward for people. In particular, what she’d done before in the muslin-covered bed was simply her lifetime’s darkest past.

Remembering how Clam Princess used to treat Ming Ye, she felt like she had nothing left to live for¹⁶生无可恋 (shēngwúkěliàn) – an Internet slang.

If she had to do the same with Tantai Jin, she was afraid that she wouldn’t be able to hold back from beating him senseless, then chopping him up and killing him. Maybe that way would make her happier.

She touched the Soul Extinguishing Tear on her and muttered, “Or should I just find Ye Bing Shang and ask her if she’s willing to temporarily coax the little pervert for the sake of the world?”

Curved Jade ignored her. It had long been a mature curved jade, silently playing dead already represented its attitude.

Su Su dejectedly said, “Alright, if he doesn’t provoke me, I won’t beat him up.”

*****

“She really can’t escape?” Tantai Jin asked.

Yang Ji glanced at the young man in black and patted his chest to assure him, “Your Majesty, don’t worry. Originally, no living thing could survive in weak water. However, the Yiyue Tribe has had weak water for a thousand years and finally found two ways: first is to turn weak water into ice, and second is to turn weak water into silk. If weak water is turned into ice, it can stop time inside it; if weak water is transformed into silk, it can seal one’s internal energy, leaving people unable to escape.”

Tantai Jin rubbed the jade ring in his hand and said, as if he was referring to something, “I remember that the Yiyue Tribe had far more weak water than this.”

Yang Ji hurriedly said, “Your Majesty has clear perception. This subordinate went to the Yiyue Tribe and there was only that little bit of weak water left. This subordinate definitely didn’t privately keep any. I heard that Madam Lan An was always in charge of assigning people to guard it, and then one day, it was almost all used up.”

Tantai Jin asked, “You’re saying that Jing Lan An used up the weak water?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“What did she do with the weak water?”

Yang Ji tremblingly¹⁷战战兢兢 (zhànzhàn-jīngjīng) – an idiom; tremble with fear; with fear and trepidation said, “This subordinate doesn’t know about this.”

Tantai Jin didn’t speak, his fingers tapping on the armrest of the seat rhythmically, making Yang Ji nervous. Now they all knew that the little tyrant had a strange temper, and they were afraid that he would take it out on them.

Even though all the goodies that Yang Ji had received in the past six months had him grinning from ear to ear¹⁸喜笑颜开 (xǐxiào-yánkāi) – an idiom; face lit up with pleasure; beam; radiant, being close to the emperor was like being close to a tiger¹⁹伴君如伴虎 (bàn jūn rú bàn hǔ) – being close to the sovereign can be as perilous as lying with a tiger (idiom), following Tantai Jin was simply winning riches from the middle of danger²⁰富贵险中求 (fùguì xiǎn zhōng qiú) – if one wants to succeed, they must put in more effort than other people or even need to deal with more dangers..    

In the midst of Yang Ji’s restlessness, Tantai Jin suddenly said, “Mmm.”

Yang Ji sighed in relief, “This subordinate will excuse myself.”

As Tantai Jin watched his back, he thought to himself, Yiyue Tribe’s weak water was truly not secretly stored by anyone. Didn’t Jing Lan An have a son? The weak water was most probably used on her son.

She really hid the child so well that even Yang Ji, the chieftain of the inner tribe, didn’t know there was a teenage young lord. Why? Was she really afraid that I would hurt her child? 

He coldly laughed. Jing Lan An was actually self-aware. That child would indeed threaten his position in the Yiyue Tribe.

He recalled that just now, he asked the imperial physicians to come examine if there was poison in his body. The imperial physicians repeatedly shook their heads, each saying that he wasn’t poisoned.

This time, Ye Xi Wu didn’t lie.

He stood up and revealed a sinister smile.
This time, I’ve caught her and she won’t be able to escape! She’s finally in my hands! Now, where should I start torturing her?

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Edited by: Gaze