Chapter 29.3: Recluse (3)

“You think you’re raising a pig?” 

In the Magic Continent, the clan chiefs encouraged their clan members to innovate. The rarer the thing one came up with or the more powerful the research was, the more sought after it would be. Wasn’t the purpose of everyone creating new things and learning from each other to make better progress? Why should he be careful and not show any peculiarities? Moreover, it was all making some trivial gadgets to give away…

Chu Yan noticed his confusion. He remembered his own second elder brother who was hard to get along with and had an authoritarian character. He looked at Qiao Zhiya sympathetically and pulled Chu Rong’s sleeve as he said, “Erge, be nice. He only hid these things to protect himself and sold things to make money to support himself. Don’t scare him. Also, you obviously haven’t told him about this before. He’s an indigenous person who hasn’t been in contact with modern society, and he’s already cautious to anonymously introduce himself.” Although the vigilance was a bit skewed — employed only over himself — not to things he made.

From what he observed as someone outside of this situation and could see things matters more clearly, this little recluse that second elder brother raised was actually not at all anxious about the peculiarities of the giant sword he forged being discovered by people. He was only worried about being discovered as its creator as he decided to sell it anonymously. It appeared that he had no idea about hiding his strength and just wanted to hide his own identity. He didn’t at all think that his strength was “formidable.” 

The contents of his apology were also “he should not have sold things behind the man’s back” and “must not hide significant, countless things,” but never said he shouldn’t have recklessly sold such a powerful giant sword directly. He apologized for the act of concealing the sword from his second elder brother, whom Qiao Zhiya assumed to only care about the act of selling the sword itself; the two people’s dialogue and line of focus were in different frequencies.

As a person who had been tormented by his second elder brother’s odd character for more than ten years, Chu Yan sympathized with Qiao Zhiya. He could almost imagine Qiao Zhiya living a confused life around his second elder brother, guessing and fumbling blindly. If it was a normal person, it may be fine. However, this person was an aboriginal or indigenous person who knew nothing, and when faced with his second elder brother’s nature of silently arranging things one-sidedly, he would suffer a lot. 

The more he thought about it, the more he realized that this “settling score” operation might not lead to anything. Therefore, he glanced at Qiao Zhiya and Chu Rong, who had begun to talk again, and sealed his lips shut as he sent a message to his eldest brother.

On their side, Chu Rong shook his head in disbelief and arbitrarily made rules with Qiao Zhiya in a calm manner.

The following parts of the text will be scrambled to prevent theft from aggregators and unauthorized epub making. Please support our translators by reading on secondlifetranslations (dot) com. If you are currently on the site and and you are seeing this, please clear your cache.

“Zsw nyd plzz vbkdtp kq usw oydv, cwv usw xwpv pbso vblx vs xl qkapv. Wwavblaxsal, usw nyd’v bkel yduvbkdt qasx xl kd vbl qwvwal.” Ubw Ssdt nsxrasxkple y zkvvzl, yde vbld xyel y aliwlpv.

Ckys Hbkuy zssjle yv bkx yde qswtbv, “Uyd R jllr vbyv pvsaytl akdt qsa xuplzq?”

Pke bl vbkdj qsa y zsdt obkzl fwpv qsa vbkp? Ubw Ssdt pdknjlale, aykple bkp byde vs awc bkp qakdtlp sq byka, yde pyke, “Zsw vbkdj R oswze asc usw sq vbyv?”

“Ls, vbyv’p dsv kv.” Ckys Hbkuy czwpble y zkvvzl yde pbssj bkp blye. Tkp ydmkswp xsse alzymle y zkvvzl yp bl piwllgle vbl pvsaytl akdt yde yrszstkgle ytykd, “R’x psaau ycswv vbkp vkxl, R eked’v vbkdj kv vbaswtb.”

Myjkdt kdvs ynnswdv Ubw Zyd’p osaep, Ubw Ssdt psqvldle bkp lulp. Tl zktbvzu ryvvle vbl vsr sq bkp blye yde psxlobyv wddyvwayzzu pyke kd plzq-alqzlnvksd, “…R esd’v czyxl usw. Rv’p ryavzu xu qywzv vss.” Tl eked’v prlnkqknyzzu vlzz bkx ycswv vblpl vbkdtp; kv oyp yzps bkp xkpvyjl.

Ckys Hbkuy awccle ytykdpv bkp ryzx vldvyvkhlzu. Fllkdt vbyv bl eke dsv alqwpl, y pryaj sq bsrl zkv kd bkp lulp, yde bl tyvblale bkp nswaytl vs nyalqwzzu ypj, “Gal usw pvkzz xye yv xl vbld? R bke ps xwnb qasx usw, okzz usw yaalpv xl? Psd’v usw vbkdj R’x olkae?”

“Mbl Wlelayvksd byp xsal pvaydtl blaxkvp vbyd usw, ps pvsr vbkdjkdt pwnb dsdpldpl.” Ubw Ssdt alxlxclale vbl ekyxsde-pbyrle fyel pvkzz bydtkdt sd bkp prynl cwvvsd. Tl awqqzle bkp byka yde pyke okvb y pllxkdtzu hknkswp lmralppksd, “Jwv R’x pvkzz ydtau, ps es yp usw’al vsze qasx dso sd.”

Rv vwadle swv vbyv bkp zkvvzl ckv sq pvwqq oypd’v alyzzu pvaydtl blal, yde Ckys Hbkuy’p vldple blyav nsxrzlvlzu plvvzle yp bl dseele hktsaswpzu, “Xjyu, R’zz cl sclekldv.”¹ID: Jwv obs ynvwyzzu zkjlp y essaxyv YU? R clzklhl Dkys Ckys oswze ekpsclu Gdnlpvsa Ubw xsal vbyd ydusdl.

After sending the message, Chu Yan was about to persuade his second elder brother when he saw this sudden agreement. “…” 

What’s going on? What about the howling wind and torrential storm?²It simply means “crisis” or “violent commotion.” That’s it? How did two people who was on different frequencies reconcile? What did he miss?

His second elder brother valued his lover more than his own younger brother! He was so partial!

Ten minutes later, the eldest brother Chu arrived with Old Ren. Chu Rong guided the two to the study to talk. Meanwhile, Qiao Zhiya and Chu Yan were left in the living room under A1’s watchful eye.

Chu Yan and Qiao Zhiya sat side by side on the couch, looking at one another.

“So…” Chu Yan couldn’t hold back and asked, “So how did you coax Erge? It’s amazing that he didn’t lose his temper with you or even give you some punishment.” It was so unfair!

Qiao Zhiya shook his head and replied, “He’s actually very nice… I didn’t expect that…” He thought Chu Rong would be angry after knowing the truth. He even thought of being violently beaten up and kicked out or arrested. Nonetheless, after thinking so much about these grave outcomes, he didn’t expect the other person actually directly just acquitted him.

This was completely different from the result he had guessed. Due to this, he felt  like a fool for taking the trouble to conceal it before, fearing that it would lead to his death if exposed.

Chu Yan was aggrieved and looked at the giant sword that Qiao Zhiya was holding, which had been stuffed back to his hand by his second elder brother. He said indignantly in a small voice, “It’s so unfair!” Why was he fined allowance for making a small mistake, but the one who made a huge one got nothing and even got his giant sword back?! His second elder brother also spent five mil³Just a reminder, CR spent 5M to buy QZY’s sword back. — wait!

“Although you sell items anonymously, the recipient account cannot always be hidden. That thing is bound to the communicator!” Chu Yan suddenly became excited, as if he had finally found a little psychological relief.

Qiao Zhiya also remembered this matter. He glanced at the giant sword, his ears moved, and then he looked at A1. He sheepishly replied, “It’s true that I can’t be anonymous, so I put the recipient account number of A1…”

The househbot⁴Short for “household robot” also had its own deposit account, which automatically activated once it recognized its owner. The owner would  deposit a little money in the housebot’s account regularly to buy groceries and pay for utilities and such.

Again, because housebots had all the privacy data of their customers, there were certain federal protection mechanisms regarding confidentiality of these domestic robots. So to speak, in addition from the central brain and government systems that assign random accounts to the housebots, the only people in the world who could know the housebots’ account numbers were their acknowledged owners. Similarly, no one but the owner could pry anything out of the housebot. Unless one was desperate enough to personally catch the housebot and find a way to hack into its system before it self-destructs.

Nonetheless, a housebot living in the Chu family’s second eldest’s house  was basically impossible to hack into.

He could actually think of using a housebot’s account to collect money. Chu Yan looked at Qiao Zhiya in astonishment. Afterwards, he felt even more wronged — this guy looked stupid, but didn’t seem that much either. He was sometimes stupid, sometimes too smart…

Qiao Zhiya didn’t know what he was thinking; he only felt embarrassed by his intense gaze. His face flushed red as he changed the subject, “You seem to like this giant sword, so I’ll give it—”

Chu Yan’s body shook, and his eyes lit up.

“It won’t be good.” Qiao Zhiya stopped mid-sentence, shook his head, and seriously said, “Your brother won’t allow me to send anything anymore, and since this has been bought by your brother, I can’t decide whether to keep it.” 

As he experienced great mood fluctuations, Chu Yan choked. He then collapsed on the couch in anguish wails. He looked at the giant sword, covered his face, and muttered, “Sure enough, it’s not a good thing to meet Erge. How can I be so miserable? This world is so cruel…”

Qiao Zhiya had never seen someone uttering such nonsense and making an unreasonable scene. He thought that he was really in sorrow, and after a few anxious and useless words of reassurance, he compromised by saying, “Then why don’t I forge you another sword? I won’t engrave magic arrays, I’ll only use other ordinary materials. However, you have to prepare the materials, I only have a few varieties of magic stones at hand.”

Chu Yan immediately stopped howling, sat up straight, and took out a similar purple stone from his space button with a clatter. He said, “Do you think it’s enough? I quiet like the shape of this giant sword. You can make me an identical one. It doesn’t matter if it doesn’t have a pattern.”

Qiao Zhiya was dumbfounded by his abrupt change of expression as he took the stone and touched it. He first confirmed its hardness and other characteristics. After probing into the magic power to feel it, he found that the power contained within the stone was also quite strong and nodded, “I’ll try it then.”

Inside the study, Chu Rong told the information he obtained and looked at Old Ren, “Later, I have to trouble you⁵It’s courteous kind of “you” (您). to find Famous Brands and make a scene. Thank you for your hard work.”

“It’s fine,” Old Ran’s attention was directed on the jade placed on the table at this point. His eyes scrutinized the magic array on it like he wanted to make a flower out of it.

“These jades actually contain energy as well.” Chu Huai took out the ink jade crest he carried with him. He probed with his spiritual power to feel it. Sure enough, he couldn’t really sense anything and thoughtfully said, “An energy that spiritual power cannot sense… Lao’er, has your spiritual strength really started to gradually improve?”

Chu Rong nodded and replied, “I do feel a lot more relaxed lately. The occasional use of my spiritual power doesn’t also give me the same headache as before. Prior to this, I thought it was due to the pollution value dropping below critical level.” Nevertheless, he didn’t expect that it was because of such a small piece of emerald jade.

Remembering the group of irritable researchers at home who were painstakingly searching without success for the cause of the drop in pollution value and pulling their hair out in frustration while locked in the lab all day, Chu Huai couldn’t help but smile, look at him, and say, “This is indeed a pleasant surprise. Ten years. Everyone has been hoping for your immediate recovery all these years, but I never expected such an unforeseen opportunity…  Lao’er, that Qiao Zhiya…”

“He’ll stay with me.” Chu Rong interrupted him, looked at him in the eye, and said conscientiously, “Dage, he’s merely an unusual recluse; I promised to take good care of him.”

Chu Huai frankly met his eyes, raised his eyebrow, and asked, “Promise, to whom? Lao’er, what do you think I’m going to do? What I want to ask is, that Qiao Zhiya isn’t really that of a ‘delicate’ person you’re trying so hard to protect and hide from the outside world. You’re no longer that young, it’s time for you to find someone.”

“Dage!” Chu Rong knocked on the table with slight annoyance, “I don’t have that in mind at the time being.”

“I think you should stay a bachelor for the rest of your life. Don’t come back and tell me that you’ve fallen in love with someone, then ask me to go and be your matchmaker.” Chu Hai gave him a meaningful glance. He then looked at Qiao Zhiya’s file and said, “Keep this child if you want to. He’s considered your savior, which also means our Chu family’s benefactor. If he’s fine with it, you can completely support him. But, Lao’er, do you even know how to raise a child?”

Chu Rong felt like his name was incompatible with his brother’s.⁶二字反冲 — if a person’s name is not compatible with someone, a conflict will likely arise between them. Otherwise, how could his brother annoy him so much with just a few words? He replied with an icy expression, “He’s almost an adult. He’s going to junior college soon, he’s recently gained weight, and I can certainly raise him.” The implication was that Qiao Zhiya wasn’t really a little kid, he’d be going to school soon, he’d put on weight, and he was doing quite well here.

Old Ren turned his head towards him when he heard his words; his expression strange.

“You think you’re raising a pig?” Chu Huai did not know what to say. He got up, patted him on the shoulder, and said, “Lao’er, raising a child is not just to make him go to school or simply giving him food. Look at Laosan,⁷老三 pertains to the third child in the family, in this case, Chu Yan. he’s like a mouse encountering a cat whenever he sees you. Have you ever wondered why? Now that you’ve decided to keep Qiao Zhiya by your side, you must learn to live with him as an equal and communicate with him often. In the final analysis, this trouble is caused by you communicating with him so little. He only knows a few things about this world and doesn’t even have a clear understanding of his own situation. Meanwhile, you — who’s so taciturn — only know how to arrange things on your own and expect him to passively accept everything. It would actually be strange if this way of getting along didn’t go wrong. Lao’er, reflect upon yourself properly once in a while.”  After saying that, he shook his head, invited Old Ren out with him, and left the study.

Old Ren withdrew his gaze, shook his head as well, got up, and followed.

The study was empty in a blink of an eye. Chu Rong leaned back on the single-seated couch, staring at the beautiful colored jade on the table, and a little lost in thought — a bald chicken that size could be raised as a pig?

Translator’s Note

Oh my ghad, Chu Rong. I’m really looking forward to your character development. (╯_╰)

Thankfully, it starts next chapter. Currently rushing it now.