Falling Dreams of Fang Hua Chapter 39

Chapter 39 Orginal and most updated translations are from volaretranslations.

Evening came as bright lights illuminated the main hall.

All the handsome men had gathered together, some speaking in low voices. First was wiping clean his jade xiao[1] while his gaze came to rest on Fourth with a derisive smile. As it turned out, the young Fourth Prince Mole was currently filing his nails. On the side, Fifth held a sallow yellow book, staring intently as the light illuminated the scar on his face in savage focus.

“What do you think of my nails?” Fourth asked as he held them up to the lamp light, eyes squinting.

Fifth picked up his book and scooted away when Fourth spoke, keeping some distance between them. There was a fragrant scent in the air that mixed with the flicker of lampwicks and the sound of turning pages. I took a break and cleared my papers, taking a sip of tea before I spoke. “Little Sixth, come to my room today.”

As soon as my words finished, their eyes all turned to me with hot gazes. Little Sixth seemed stupefied. I swallowed my saliva and changed my words. “Or I could go to yours instead.”

One line was enough to cause one thousand waves. The young Poison Prince prepared to rise from the table, but was forced down by First. I stared at everyone. “What’s wrong with you guys?”

Each one of them had complex expressions in their eyes, some shocked, some gleeful, some resentful or uncertain or expectant…

Che, they all had problems.

I grabbed the badly shaken Sixth’s hand, squeezing past the crowd towards my private rooms. There was no time to study their expressions as they burst into a spell of discomfited whispers.

The door shut.

I rubbed my hands as I paced back and forth, finally perching by the window to look outside. After verifying the courtyard was empty, I released a breath and tightly shut the windows. Little Sixth looked cramped as he stood on one side, unsure of what he’d done wrong.

“Sit.” He prepared to sit in a chair, but I hurriedly stopped him and pulled him towards the bed. “Don’t, you’ll catch a cold there.”

His face was completely red, and his pale pink robes set off the skin more prettily than brightly-colored peach blossoms. I sat next to him and leaned close, turning his hands in mine as I smiled. “You’ve been here for a long time, right?”

He nodded.

I smiled, touching his shoulders and smoothing out his hair. His hair just was like him, tough but velvety smooth to the touch like something that could be be hated and loved at the same time.

“Sixth…” My grinning face looked at him. “Let me see the 《Carefree Recollection》you copied for me again, okay?”

He widened his bright, beautiful eyes as if he didn’t dare to believe me.

“Look, I’ve already cultivated to the seventh level and my internal energy’s returned to the beginning tiers. As long as I can persist until the ninth, I’ll reach a miraculous breakthrough in my skills.”

His eyebrows knitted. I tugged on his shoulders but he turned away, shaking harder than ever.

“Are you afraid that technique is too strange and I’ll have an accident while learning it?” I smiled, ridiculing him. “Or…are you afraid I’ll forget everything in the end if I keep practicing, including you? Hey, you’re not allowed to cry. If you don’t hand it over, I’m going to do a full body search.”

I smirked with my head on his shoulders, my hands preparing to frisk him. With his eyes red, he actually bit his lip and grabbed my hands, his face completely white. Though he couldn’t talk, a dull, hoa.r.s.e sound rose from his throat.

I knew that he really was frightened…

Frightened that I’d do exactly what he didn’t want.

Although he wasn’t very strong, he gripped my sleeves tightly, his face trying desperately to convey his feelings. He had long lost his ability of speech and couldn’t express things very well, but I understood him completely…

The Carefree Recollection was like a legend. Few people had cultivated it successfully until the end, but many more had been mentally damaged and lost their lives. When I first started cultivating, it was to halt my days of taking medication to forget my sorrows, but now my motives were wholly different. I embraced him gently, patting his back as I spoke in a comforting whisper. “I know my limits, so just let me take a peek.”

He not only refused to smile, but had a strained, serious expression.

Sighing, I stroked his hair. “Ah, when did you turn so stubborn? It’s fine if it’s just that, but you’re now stingy as well.”

His body shook as I held him tight, as if he was extremely uneasy. I wanted to say something, but stopped as my heart softened into knots.

Perhaps his worries were well-founded. Recently my memory was a lot worse than before, and my internal energy had diminished greatly without cause or reason. There wasn’t much time left, though. I had to restore my body to its former state before Han Zichuan found me, or else I’d be at his mercy. The situation now was urgent, even though I had no guarantee of pus.h.i.+ng through the eighth level and finis.h.i.+ng the ninth.

All I had was a gamble. Risking everything was better than helplessly waiting for Han Zichuan’s forces…

I smiled bitterly as I looked down. Sixth seemed to have calmed down from his explosive feelings before, and I stroked his hair again. “Sixth…before I learned about your past, I only happened to see you on the streets and liked you a lot. Coincidentally, you wanted to follow me as well. I never expected that your father was an admirable general. Though I don’t have much skills, I can at least keep the imperial court from hara.s.sing you.” My hand reached out to pat him again, and my voice softened. “If you don’t want me to practice it, I won’t force the issue.”

In a very short time, he had begun to smile.

“You’ve always been the most clever of the Princes, so don’t tell the rest what happened today, all right?” His hand clutched the front of his robes as he drew closer to give me a careful look, before resting his head on my shoulder. It was just a nod, but afraid that I didn’t see, he nodded again a few more times. I smiled and held his face in my hands.

“I only regret not finding your sooner or else I might have saved your voice and had a chance to hear you speak…”

His eyes curved into a smile as he pulled on my clothes, eyelashes quivering as if trying to say he didn’t mind.

“Sixth…I’ve run into some trouble, and I’m afraid you’re the only one who can help me.” I quietly gathered him into my arms, hands lightly running past his shoulders and neck to brush aside his clothes, digging my hands inside. He seemed to s.h.i.+ver slightly.

“Is it alright?”

He was very quiet as he lay by my chest, hands shaking minutely as he grasped my robes. I could feel his restlessness. I grinned and gave a forceful tug, loosening all his clothes so that they settled around his waist. Sucking in a deep breath, I quickly got off the bed to grab the candlestick holder by the table. Carefully, I sat down with its light in my hands.

Sixth seemed a little lost as he stared uncertainly my way, but I just pushed him down again. His clothes were spread messily across the bed and the contours of his figure were lovely. The light shone across his glossy, jade-like skin and revealed numerous things written across its surface. My fingers trembled as I held on…so it really was here.

“Curses, you really have secret martial arts manuals on your body? What’s this thing on your right side, a map?”

His mood seemed to darken. Turning his head, he looked at me, his hands groping for the bedcovers to hide himself.

“Aiya, you’re a guy, what’re you afraid of? I’m not going to strip you…or did you want to go back on your word to help me?”

He blinked, as if unsure how to react. A face stared at me in a mixture of anger and impatience, and his gaze seemed almost ashamed…

Could it be…he thought I wanted to do this and that tonight with him? Seeing that he looked ready to flee, I stuck out two fingers and sealed his internal pa.s.sageways[2], effectively freezing him in place. Then I gave a cough.

“Maybe I didn’t explain myself clearly. My deadly foe’s on his way here, so the only solution is to memorize the eighth and ninth levels of the Carefree Recollection and see if I’m lucky enough to break through and complete my cultivation. Don’t worry…I won’t look at the other manuals copied on your back.”

He remained curled up, not moving an inch.

“If you want to take offense, now’s the time. Anyways, I said I won’t look.”

He was absolutely still, still half bent over. His difficulties seemed hard to express in words. Of course, who could with their whole body immobile like that? They’d have to be an Immortal.

—

The night slowly wore on. There was a crescent moon in the skies. Many people were probably awake with this kind of chilly night.

Within a lady’s chambers, a certain beautiful, charming male was half-bent in a rather ambiguous position. Next to him was a woman dressed as a man, holding a lamp as she bent over to stare at his exposed back. She seemed to be mumbling something under her breath as she gesticulated with her hands. A sleeve carefully s.h.i.+elded the lamplight to prevent wax from dripping on the man’s body.

The secret treasure map drawn on his right side, the coveted gem of the entire imperial court and all the martial arts circles, was neatly covered up a washcloth, courtesy of the woman.

Moonlight brightened as the night drew on…