Chapter 54
Fang Chaozhou stretched his neck and looked outside. Ever since Zhongli Yueshui’s reprimanding words, there had been no sound outside. He pursed his lips, pushed away Tu Bai, who was leaning against him, and got up to walk out.
He walked slowly. When he reached the door curtain, he first lifted it and stuck his head out. As soon as he did, he met two pairs of eyes.
One pair belonged to his master, and the other pair belonged to Zhongli Yueshui. There was clearly anger in Zhongli Yueshui’s eyes, like flames swirling inside.
Fang Chaozhou quickly retracted his head when he met those eyes.
Did he anger Zhongli Yueshui? It shouldn’t be. What does Li Yiyue’s marriage proposal have to do with him?
“Fang Chaozhou,” Zhongli Yueshui’s voice came again, this time with even more anger. Fang Chaozhou raised his hand and touched his forehead. His expression seemed somewhat sad. Well, if Zhongli Yueshui wanted to vent his anger on him, he couldn’t do anything about it.
With that in mind, Fang Chaozhou cautiously walked forward at a slow pace until he stood at a distance from Zhongli Yueshui, and then carefully said, “Master, did you call me?”
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.
Hbsdtzk Zwlpbwk pvyale yv bkx, cwv eked’v pyu yduvbkdt. Mbl qzyxlp kd bkp lulp vwadle cynj yde qsavb, yp kq bl nswze vaydpqsax qasx yd yol-kdprkakdt qktwal vs y elhswakdt xsdpvla kd vbl dlmv kdpvydv. Wydt Ubysgbsw qlzv wdlypu yde iwklvzu xshle vsoyaep y pyqla rzynl—
Tkp xypvla’p pkel.
Rq Hbsdtzk Zwlpbwk olal vs bkv bkx, bkp xypvla oswze pwalzu kdvlahldl.
Tkp xypvla nswzed’v fwpv pvyde cu yde oyvnb Hbsdtzk Zwlpbwk bkv bkx. Tl clzklhle kd bkp xypvla.
Yshkdt vos pvlrp oyp dsv ldswtb. Wydt Ubysgbsw xshle vball xsal pvlrp, yde qkdyzzu qllzkdt vbyv bkp xypvla oyp czsnjkdt xspv sq bkp cseu, bl qlzv y zkvvzl xsal yv lypl.
Tsolhla, obld Hbsdtzk Zwlpbwk pyo Wydt Ubysgbsw’p xshlxldvp, bkp casop qwaasole yde vbl qzyxlp kd bkp lulp cwadle lhld caktbvla. “Wydt Ubysgbsw, obyv’p uswa alzyvksdpbkr okvb Nk Zkuwl qasx vbl Gcuppyz Fswz Qyvl?”
Brsd blyakdt vbkp iwlpvksd, Wydt Ubysgbsw yzxspv eked’v blpkvyvl vs ydpola, “Ls alzyvksdpbkr. R polya R byhl dsvbkdt vs es okvb Nk Zkuwl rasrspkdt vs xu fwdksa xyavkyz casvbla. Yypvla, R yx kddsnldv.”
Tl bye kdkvkyzzu oydvle vs ekpvydnl bkxplzq nsxrzlvlzu, cwv yp pssd yp vblpl osaep nyxl swv, bl qlzv vbl yvxsprblal yaswde bkx nbydtl.
“Who told you that Li Yiyue proposed to Danrong?” His master turned his head to look at him, his expression strange.
Fang Chaozhou paused for a moment. “If he’s not proposing to my junior martial brother, then who else…” He didn’t finish his sentence as some memories he shouldn’t have recalled surfaced in his mind.
atOptions = { ‘key’ : ‘819083b5141e2ddc81cd1b66b82e3d92’, ‘format’ : ‘iframe’, ‘height’ : 250, ‘width’ : 300, ‘params’ : {} }; document.write(”);“…If you want to be with me, you must tell the whole world and proactively propose to my master at the Tian Shui Sect… Then, I’ll marry you with great fanfare, becoming the wife of the Abyssal Soul Gate’s Sect Master…”
Fang Chaozhou’s expression stiffened, and he quickly reached out and grabbed his master’s sleeve. “Master, Li Yiyue wouldn’t… propose to me, right?”
His master didn’t speak, but the lack of denial was quite obvious.
Knowing that Li Yiyue had proposed to him, Fang Chaozhou took immediate action. He clung to his master’s thigh, crying and saying, “Master, please don’t agree to it. The Abyssal Soul Gate is full of demonic cultivators. How can I marry into that? And besides, Li Yiyue… his son is already so grown-up, I… I absolutely refuse to become a stepmother!”
His master looked at Fang Chaozhou, who was hugging his leg, with a reproachful gaze. “Stop clinging to me, speak properly, and step back a bit.”
Fang Chaozhou reluctantly let go of his hand, turned his head to look at Zhongli Yueshui. Zhongli Yueshui was his master’s master. If Zhongli Yueshui disagreed, his master would definitely not send him to the Abyssal Soul Gate. Moreover, Zhongli Yueshui’s tone just now clearly indicated his disagreement.
With this in mind, Fang Chaozhou hurriedly ran to Zhongli Yueshui’s side and said, “Master, I don’t agree to this marriage.”
Zhongli Yueshui glanced at him and then turned his face away, remaining silent for a long time. Fang Chaozhou looked at him several times and couldn’t help but turn his head to look at his master.
His master gave him a meaningful look, then glanced at Zhongli Yueshui. Fang Chaozhou instantly understood and took two steps forward, sat down, and clasped Zhongli Yueshui’s small leg with both hands, pleading, “Master, please save your disciple. If I marry into the Abyssal Soul Gate, I probably won’t survive half a month.”
atOptions = { ‘key’ : ‘819083b5141e2ddc81cd1b66b82e3d92’, ‘format’ : ‘iframe’, ‘height’ : 250, ‘width’ : 300, ‘params’ : {} }; document.write(”);Zhongli Yueshui’s face slightly darkened at his words. “Why wouldn’t you survive half a month? If Li Yiyue marries into our sect, he wouldn’t dare harm the disciples of our sect, right?”
Well…
It’s not necessarily intentional harm…
Fang Chaozhou hadn’t forgotten the size of that “hand warmer.”
If the Tian Shui Sect really agreed to this marriage and allowed him to become Li Yiyue’s partner, then he would have no excuse to stop Li Yiyue’s actions anymore, and he would definitely end up dead.
The manner of death would probably be extremely gruesome, with rivers of blood flowing. It would be particularly humiliating if the news spread.
In the cultivation world depicted in this book, there isn’t an irreconcilable conflict between orthodox cultivators from prestigious sects and demonic cultivators. They can even co-host cultivation conferences as long as the demonic cultivators don’t engage in excessively outrageous actions. The orthodox sects generally turn a blind eye and maintain a superficial peace.
From what Fang Chaozhou gathered from his master’s words, it seemed that Li Yiyue’s proposal this time was quite ostentatious, to the point where even the Tian Shui Sect found it troublesome.
However, as this involved Li Yiyue’s privacy, Fang Chaozhou had to be tactful. So he diverted the topic, saying, “Demonic cultivators have always been unruly, and Li Yiyue is even more so. If I become his partner, I’ll definitely face dire consequences in the future.”
“Then why did he propose to you?” Zhongli Yueshui asked.
Fang Chaozhou paused. “He must have targeted our Tian Shui Sect. Li Yiyue definitely has ill intentions. The proposal is a pretense, but the test is real. He might even be after the secret techniques of our Tian Shui Sect.”
After a moment of silence, Zhongli Yueshui lifted Fang Chaozhou, who was clinging to his leg. “If that’s the case, then let’s go and meet him.”
As soon as the words fell, Fang Chaozhou noticed that Zhongli Yueshui had transformed into an ordinary-looking youth, dressed in the disciples’ attire of the Tian Shui Sect.
Before leaving Huali Mountain, Zhongli Yueshui asked a question.
“Where is Danrong at the moment?”
“He should be in Zhichun Island. He’s never been interested in external matters,” Fang Chaozhou’s master replied.
Outside the Tian Shui Sect’s mountain gate, there was a clamor of voices. Elders from the four peaks of the Tianshui Sect gathered outside the gate, their faces displeased as they looked at the dense fog on the opposite side.
Indeed, it was a dense fog.
atOptions = { ‘key’ : ‘819083b5141e2ddc81cd1b66b82e3d92’, ‘format’ : ‘iframe’, ‘height’ : 250, ‘width’ : 300, ‘params’ : {} }; document.write(”);On the other side, every demonic cultivator was dressed in red. Some were banging gongs, while others were playing drums. One demonic cultivator shouted at the top of his lungs:
“The Abyssal Soul Gate has specially come to propose a marriage. Our Sect Master is exceptionally handsome, wealthy, well-endowed, and everything goes smoothly for him, except for lacking a partner. We have heard that your sect’s disciple Fang Chaozhou possesses both talent and beauty, virtuousness, good conduct, and excellent character. He is the perfect match for our Sect Master. We have come here to propose marriage and hope to establish a harmonious alliance between our sects.”
After finishing this speech, the demonic cultivator unfolded the red paper in front of him and recited:
“The Abyssal Soul Gate to celebrate the arrival of the Sect Master’s wife, presents ninety-nine precious demonic beasts, ninety-nine volumes of profound cultivation techniques, ninety-nine top-grade spiritual swords, ninety-nine loads of spiritual stones, ninety-nine loads of gold, ninety-nine deep-sea pearls, ninety-nine bolts of fine silk…”
The quantities of all the items in the betrothal gift were ninety-nine. He listed them in a long string, causing the listeners’ ears to go numb while also marveling at the immense wealth of the Abyssal Soul Gate.
The people gathered outside the mountain gate to watch not only included disciples but independent cultivators from other sects and unaffiliated cultivators. They saw this scene and started discussing it.
The Tianshui Sect is the number one sect in the world, while the Abyssal Soul Gate is the largest demonic sect. These two major sects have never had much interaction, but this time the Abyssal Soul Gate actually proposed marriage to the Tianshui Sect.
This was almost the most sensational event in hundreds of years.
After the demonic cultivator finished listing the items, he turned to the only man in black robes among their group and spoke in a flattering tone, “Master, should I repeat it a few more times? The lady hasn’t appeared yet.”
The man in black robes smirked and chuckled, “Continue, speak as loud as you can. If the Tian Shui Sect won’t let us in, we’ll recite it here at the mountain gate. That kid has thick skin. Only a few repetitions won’t be enough to draw him out.”
atOptions = { ‘key’ : ‘819083b5141e2ddc81cd1b66b82e3d92’, ‘format’ : ‘iframe’, ‘height’ : 250, ‘width’ : 300, ‘params’ : {} }; document.write(”);The demonic cultivator nodded, “Yes, I’ll keep reciting until the lady feels embarrassed.”
He returned to his previous position and raised his hand towards the army of gong players and drummers behind him. “Brothers, speak even louder to let the lady hear our sincerity.”
The young man with cat-like eyes standing beside the man in black robes pursed his lips. “Dad, is it necessary? Aren’t you afraid that the people from the Tian Shui Sect will become furious and attack our Abyssal Soul Gate because of your grand display? And why is it only you proposing marriage? I also want to get married.”
The man turned his gaze towards the young man, his eyes filled with a hint of sarcasm. “Then propose on your own, go propose to Xue Danrong.”
Upon hearing these words, the young man’s eyes instantly turned evasive. After a while, he muttered, “I don’t have a dad as thick-skinned as you. I’ll definitely make sure there is mutual affection before proposing a marriage.”
Fang Chaozhou came down with Zhongli Yueshui and his master, coincidentally hearing the recitation of the betrothal gifts. At first, he was taken aback, but then couldn’t help poking his head out from his cloak to listen more clearly. However, after only a moment, his head was pressed back down.
“What are you doing?” a cold voice came from above.
Fang Chaozhou shrunk his neck, not daring to mention that he was curious about his own worth.
His master’s flying sword landed, and Fang Chaozhou was lifted down. He had intended to land on the ground, but it seemed that Zhongli Yueshui had no such intention. Fang Chaozhou could only continue to lie in his arms, boredly shifting his gaze around.
atOptions = { ‘key’ : ‘819083b5141e2ddc81cd1b66b82e3d92’, ‘format’ : ‘iframe’, ‘height’ : 250, ‘width’ : 300, ‘params’ : {} }; document.write(”);The elders from the other four peaks noticed Fang Chaozhou’s master approaching and walked over together, not noticing Zhongli Yueshui standing behind.
It must be said that Zhongli Yueshui’s cultivation was so high that he could make people ignore his presence if he wished. Even though he wasn’t using any concealment technique, people around him seemed oblivious to his existence.
“Elder Cheng, have you consulted our Sect Master? What is his attitude?” the elder from the Second Finger Peak asked in a low voice.
Cheng Hongyi was Fang Chaozhou’s master.
He shook his head and looked at the group of demonic cultivators across from them. “They still refuse to leave?”
“They won’t leave. If they keep shouting like this, the whole world will know,” the elder from the Third Peak had a fiery temper. “In my opinion, why should we give face to the Abyssal Soul Gate? They haven’t settled the matter of them publicly humiliating our young disciples at the cultivation conference. Now they dare to propose marriage to us. They have no shame! We should just attack them directly!”
The elder from the Fourth Peak sighed, “If we’re going to fight, my treasured magic weapon is currently being maintained. Do any of you have a suitable weapon to lend me?”
As soon as he finished speaking, the elder from the Fifth Peak retorted, “Song, you’re here to scam weapons again? You haven’t returned the weapon you borrowed from me last time.”
“Ah, we’re all from the same sect, why separate you and me? You all know that the Fourth Peak is the poorest, and I have too many disciples to support,” the elder from the Fourth Peak complained about being poor.
Fang Chaozhou’s master saw that the elders from the Fourth and Fifth Peaks were about to start quarreling again and quickly called a halt, “That’s enough. I didn’t call you here to argue. There are still many disciples here. If you want to argue, save it for later when you return.”
atOptions = { ‘key’ : ‘819083b5141e2ddc81cd1b66b82e3d92’, ‘format’ : ‘iframe’, ‘height’ : 250, ‘width’ : 300, ‘params’ : {} }; document.write(”);The elder from the Second Peak nodded, “Yes, today is not a day for quarrels. Elder Song, Elder Lin, you can argue another day. By the way, Elder Cheng, has your disciple arrived?”
“He has.”
As soon as these words were spoken, Fang Chaozhou, who was lying down, suddenly felt many pairs of eyes on him. He hesitated for a moment before turning his head, locking eyes with five pairs of eyes.
Apart from his master’s gaze, the emotions in the other four pairs of eyes were varied.
The first to break the silence was the elder from the Third Peak, “Is this your disciple, Fang Chaozhou? Has he turned three this year?”
“He has no cultivation, how can he be your disciple?” said the elder from the Fifth Peak.
At this moment, Zhongli Yueshui, who was holding Fang Chaozhou, spoke abruptly, “I sealed his cultivation.”
Zhongli Yueshui used his own voice, and this voice caught the attention of several elders. They looked at Zhongli Yueshui and their expressions turned to surprise, followed by the intention to bow, but Zhongli Yueshui stopped them.
“No need to bow. Cheng Hongyi, go and tell Li Yiyue of the Abyssal Soul Gate that the Tian Shui Sect will not agree to this marriage proposal,” Zhongli Yueshui said coldly.
“Yes.”
Fang Chaozhou’s master stepped forward and looked at the demonic cultivators across from them. He raised his voice and said, “Master Li, my disciple is young and may not be able to bear your kindness. I kindly request Master Li to take his disciples and leave.”
Li Yiyue raised his right hand, and the sound of drums and gongs behind him instantly stopped. He looked at Fang Chaozhou’s master with a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes and spoke in a relatively gentle tone, “Brother Cheng, have you ever heard a saying? Those who ruin a marriage will be struck by thunder. Moreover, Chaozhou and I are in love with each other. This marriage proposal was his idea.”
As soon as these words were spoken, Fang Chaozhou inexplicably felt that the temperature around him dropped significantly.
Fang Chaozhou’s master frowned, “Where does this love come from? My disciple has been staying in the sect, focusing on cultivation. How can Master Li make unfounded claims?”
“I am not making unfounded claims. Brother Cheng, you just need to ask your disciple, Fang Chaozhou, and you will know. Ask him if he himself proposed marriage to me, ask him if we already have tokens of love.” Li Yiyue’s smile became particularly radiant. “By the way, the tokens of love were entrusted to Brother Cheng to deliver.”
Upon hearing this, Fang Chaozhou’s master seemed to recall something, and his expression became extremely unpleasant. Fang Chaozhou himself also realized what the so-called tokens of love were.
It was that “hand warmer” toy.
“Fang Chaozhou, what tokens of love?” Zhongli Yueshui’s voice came from above.
Fang Chaozhou forced a smile, “Master, don’t listen to his nonsense. There are no tokens of love.”
Ah, he shouldn’t have thought the “hand warmer” was warm and accepted it. When his master gave it to him, he should have rejected it.
atOptions = { ‘key’ : ‘819083b5141e2ddc81cd1b66b82e3d92’, ‘format’ : ‘iframe’, ‘height’ : 250, ‘width’ : 300, ‘params’ : {} }; document.write(”);Fang Chaozhou’s master furrowed his brow and said, “Back then, Master Li gave me something, claiming it was an apology to my disciple, but my disciple didn’t accept it. Therefore, Master Li’s claims of tokens of love are all false.”
The elder from the Third Peak, who had been listening nearby, couldn’t bear it any longer. “Li Yiyue, the Tian Shui Sect never enters into marriage alliances with demonic cultivators, so it’s best for you to leave as soon as possible.”
His interruption prompted the young boy standing beside Li Yiyue to speak up as well. “Hey, did my dad talk to you? Who are you? What’s it to you if my dad wants to marry my stepmother? Where’s Fang Chaozhou? Let him come out himself.”
“Li Zhu, mind your manners.” Li Yiyue glanced at the young boy beside him and then swept his gaze across the entire venue. It seemed like he was looking for someone, and after a while, his gaze landed on a certain spot.
That spot happened to be where Zhongli Yueshui was standing.
Li Yiyue raised an eyebrow, his expression becoming somewhat peculiar. He even curled his lips, as if he had discovered something extremely amusing. Li Zhu glanced at him and noticed his gaze fixed on a particular spot. Curiously following his line of sight, Li Zhu looked in that direction as well. After staring for a while, his expression suddenly changed.
After a moment, Li Zhu exclaimed loudly, his voice loud enough for everyone present to hear, “Dad, that… that ugly creature holding the little one seems to be Fang Chaozhou!”
The smile on Li Yiyue’s lips deepened. “Yes.”
Fang Chaozhou realized that he had been noticed and couldn’t help but speak softly to Zhongli Yueshui, “Master, they saw us and even insulted you, calling you an ugly creature.”
At the same time, Li Zhu’s voice rang out, “Damn, my little brother has grown so big!”
*********
Translator’s note: I can’t stop laughing. 🤣🤣🤣 One of these days, Fang Chaozhou is going to kill himself with his life choices. Hahahahaahahah.
**********
atOptions = { ‘key’ : ‘a2c08536ac5f3373f407464a13564065’, ‘format’ : ‘iframe’, ‘height’ : 50, ‘width’ : 320, ‘params’ : {} }; document.write(”);
Oh man, I've been waiting for the new chapters to come out. It definitely did not disappoint 🤣
Keep up the good work translator!
I actually read this on the raws before, but it still makes me laugh while I translate. Fang Chaozhu is crazy, and he just makes my day! He never disappoints! Let's wait till Xue danrong joins in on the fun. Hahahahahahaha.
Thank you!
I now believe that there will be no dull days living with Chaozhouz. Keep it up baby~! We love it when you get in trouble 😈
LOL. He's so crazy, it's making my stomach ache from laughing too much.
I CANT BELIEVE SOMEONE PICKED THIS UPPPP OMG U ARE A GIFT FROM THE HEAVENS I CAN FINALLY READ THISSSS OMG OMG i caught up in a day IM SO HAPPY!!! IVE WAITED FOR THIS FOR SO LONG cause the plot seemed so interesting, but it stopped getting translated a year ago. Once again thank uuuu and okay lowkey li yiyue and fcz dont look so bad together tho is it just me 👀👀👀👀👀 they kinda cute damnnn
Hahaha. You're welcome. I didn't know this was even dropped. I went ahead and read the raws. This is really good, and I loved it. I'm still laughing hard even though I read it before. Uhm, yeah, kinda shipping them, too. I find it hard to choose from the ML's. Hahaha.
Li Zhu 😭😭
He did do as Fang Chaozhou asked, I mean after the second kidnapping and drugging event..
Fang Chaozhou never thinks past the moment he’s in. Unintentionally leaving a string of heartbreak behind his wake of wanting to be a salted fish. He is hilarious.
TYSM