Lie Huo Jiao Chou Volume 1 Chapter 17

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"Had even seen a ghost , what's wrong with this trivial matter?" 

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　　 Xuan Ji, in the end, did not know what was in the sword.

　　Although, as a conspiracy theorist, Sheng Lingyuan thought so, before it was certain, he should not show his flaws — because knowing nothing of the surroundings, having limited knowledge about things, not understanding the words, and being trapped in the sword, had already put him in a state of arbitrary slaughter. For Sheng Lingyuan, the most rational choice should be to stand still and just watch. 

　　In theory, it was impossible for the Life Sword to cut himself. Otherwise, Xuan Ji would have already stabbed himself and had high-level paraplegia since he inserted the sword into the back of his spine every day. 　　

　　But Sheng Lingyuan truly didn't expect that this iron "chicken", who could only run and run, would unexpectedly soar high in the air and launched! He was absent-minded for a moment, and when the blade met the skin and flesh of the human, his thirst for blood actually overpowered his reasoning. 

　　By the time he recovered his wits, it was already too late. 

　　There were many thin blood vessels showing on the skin of his hands, and about half an inch of the heavy sword was embedded inside his palm. The blood flowed freely, and in the blink of an eye, the groove was filled. Luo Cuicui heard the movement beside him, probed his head to look, then said: "Oh my G.o.d." At the same time, a circle of green radish stem came out from his collar cuffs and ankles. His whole body became lush green, and he grasped his throat, shouting: "Blood! Ah! My G.o.d! A lot of blood! Stop the car... no... that thing… Help quick!" 　

　　He shouted and jolted all around the plane, begging for who-knows-who to hurriedly help him.

　　Ping Qianru suddenly jumped up, forgot to loosen her seat belt, and was dragged back. The bag of chocolate and fish skin beans rolled all over the floor. 

　　Only Yang Chao was still calm, putting down his book and glanced at the side. However, before Xuan Ji opened his mouth, the man got up, went straight to the toilet, and urinated. 　　

　　Xuan Ji: "..."

　　These helpful colleagues of his. 

　　The edge of blade of the heavy sword seemed to grow in his palm, sucking his blood greedily.　　

　　Such a big flaw in the theory, anyway, there was not enough time to compensate. Sheng Lingyuan had quite a bit temperament of "if you can't do anything to prevent it, might as well take it as it comes". Since the cut was already split, what's done is done and it couldn't be reversed, so just simply suck the blood on the sword. He was like a cold and hungry man, drinking a bowl of hot broth in the cold winter months. The whole body warmed up  — maybe since he got used to the coldness of the abyss, he found out that he had almost forgotten the taste of warmth. 

　　His mind was clear and bright in an instant, and his field of view broadened. Even through the sword, he could have a full-view of the whole small plane all at once.　

　　In the "rumbling" noise of the airplane, an imaginary voice seemed to float towards Xuan Ji's ear: "Delicious..." 

        The blue veins on Xuan Ji's arm immediately jumped up, and he said in his heart, "Does this motherf.u.c.ker take me for a fresh oyster?" 

     He didn't care about the ban of open-fire on the plane. He dipped his other hand in the blood and drew a complex character on the sword. The heavy sword burst into flames at his will, and the man inside ''choked" and groaned as he fell from his palm.

　　Before the fire alarm rang, Xuan Ji put his hands together and grasped the flames of the sword in his palms. At the same time, he seemed to see a pair of gentle and affectionate eyes in the reflection of the sword. They were reddened by the fire, but it still had a gentle and soft smile, making one's blood run cold. 

　　Sheng Lingyuan was caught by the flames, coughed a few times, and started to talk. His voice was a little husky, but he still asked in high spirits: "What is a fresh oyster?" 　　

　　At this time, Ping Qianru finally freed herself from the seatbelt and ran over like a gust of wind. Xuan Ji was afraid that she would touch this dangerous sword, so he stepped on the heavy sword that fell on the floor, and placed it under the seat. Sheng Lingyuan was tremendously kind. He didn't care about honor and reputation, one could just step on him as they please.　　

　　"Director, are you alright, Director? Where is the cut?" Ping Qianru was shocked by the blood on the floor, asking with a sobbing tone, "Is it the main artery?" 

　　Xuan Ji: "...Miss, do you want me to get better or not?"

　　"We, we, we have a first aid kit, I will immediately find it for you. You, you, you hold on for a while." Ping Qianru ran two frantically for two steps before turning back, "Hold on for a while!" 

　　"Ah," Xuan Ji helplessly nodded at her, "go ahead, don't fall down."　

　　After all, this Life Sword was the Life Sword. When the heavy sword was out from the palm of his hand, his wounds began to heal by itself. With a few words, the severed muscles have begun to repair on its own. Xuan Ji held his own wounded hand and his eyes fell on the sword hilt that was exposed under the seat. His face was unpredictable. 

　　He took advantage of the noise of the plane, lowered his voice, and said, "You slightly like to kick your benefactor in the teeth, eh... Bixia?" 

　　From the beginning of his memory, this sword had always been with him, which was equivalent to his bones. With the fact that the Life Sword couldn't be returned, let alone him, it was unheard of even if one rummaged through the records of the whole clan. It must be related to the blood splashed on it by the devil summoned by the gloomy sacrifice.

        The unknown devil had a face that was exactly the same as the one in his dream, and when he was awakened from Chiyuan, the disturbing arrangement of the mutated trees also appeared in his dream. Also, in the hospital, when his sacred fire ring broke apart in an instant he had a murderous intent.... If the patriarchs of all generations had the same dream, then this devil and their "Guardian of Fire" clan must've certainly be linked in countless ways.　

　　Xuan Ji felt something was wrong after waking up from his nap at noon. He dreamt of the sound of breathing at his side simultaneously, and felt that the sword was colder than usual. What really made him sure that something was wrong with the sword was the Mirage b.u.t.terfly — when he approached the b.u.t.terfly, the pair of smiling faces on the b.u.t.terfly's wings changed, one side changed into a frightened face, and the other side turned into a crying face. 

　　Its fear was understandable, Xuan Ji warded off evil spirits, and thus was the natural nemesis of these things. The b.u.t.terfly seeing him might be equivalent to seeing a big crematorium. 　

　　But what was the little crying face felt wronged for? 

　　If this b.u.t.terfly, beside it being able to live an exceptionally long life outside, had no additional ability to evolve other than "self-splitting ", then it could only be that it sensed another person... or rather, the existence of something else. 
　
　　His sword was born from raging fire, and all evils would retreat from it. It was reasonable to say that there should be nothing attached to it. But if it was that devil... it was not impossible to for such bizarre thing to happen. After all, the sacred fire ring protected him. 
　　
　　The devil had defied the gloomy sacrifice, and when he attacked Bi Chunsheng, he said something. At that time, Xuan Ji who was the nearest to him was the only one to hear it. There were two words in that remark that made him very concerned: one was 'zhen'* and the other was 'er deng'*. 

*Zhen - Imperial use of I/me.
*Er Deng - Addressing someone who is lower in rank or lower than his/her own. 

　　'Deng' seemed to hint that there was still someone behind Bi Chunsheng.

　　Before the chaos of the Nine Regions — to be precise, it was the first Battle of Pingyuan, it was just an ordinary self-p.r.o.nouncement and everyone used it. Later, when Emperor Ping's ambition expanded and he began to invade Chiyuan, it was only then that the word became for royal purposes. So, the person who would say this was either born in the era before the Emperor of Ping Dynasty, or they were a succeeding emperor. [Note] 

　　Except for the individually defeated monarchs of vanquished nations, most emperors have real estates after their death. 

　　There were only two people who buried their bones in Chiyuan: one was Emperor Qi Ping who died tragically in the Battle of Pingyuan, and the other was Emperor Wu, who was so mad that he jumped off by himself.

　　And Qi's surname name was 'Sheng'. 

　　So who was he? 

　　Xuan Ji was uncertain, therefore he was vague and intended to try at it first. 
　　
　　Unexpectedly, as soon as his voice fell, he heard the hoa.r.s.e voice in his ear laughing lowly: "Then how do you propose I should repay my grat.i.tude?" 

　　This sentence was actually nothing, because it was followed by a more shocking sentence. 

　　Xuan Ji heard the devil in the sword said, "So, it turns out that this little demon is possibly putting on an act." 　

　　Xuan Ji's mind was blank for a moment, the hair on his whole body stood up: "What the f.u.c.k, he can hear what I was thinking!"

　　At the same time, Sheng Lingyuan in the sword "heard" his foul language and immediately realized something. 
　　
　　The two responded in quite identical manners, emptying their brains at almost the same time, forcing themselves to focus on one thing, cutting off all thoughts — Xuan Ji, with single-hearted devotion, began to count Luo Cuicui's hair on his head, while Sheng Lingyuan in the sword recited the ancient scriptures that were completely incomprehensible. 
　
　　These two belonged to the type that wore countless masks and thousands layers of subtlety in their hearts, they absolutely never expected that one day they would "connect minds" with a stranger in this kind of unknown and forced position. 

　　The connection must not continue! 　

　　People with deep thoughts could control their every single micro-expressions. Some experts could even arrange their body language precisely, but who could control their own brains?　

　　Comrade Luo Cuicui's hair couldn't be counted, in the end, Xuan Ji was just rapid-counting it. He was too exhausted that he couldn't help but come up with a thought: "Had even seen a ghost, what's wrong with this trivial matter?" 

　　Within Sheng Lingyuan's difficult-to-p.r.o.nounce ancient scriptures, a sentence came out through his teeth, "That's true."
　
　　Xuan Ji: "Deviant Control Office, if my 14th-month salary didn't come out by the end of the year, this is not going to be over." 

　　The scriptures of Sheng Lingyuan, though no one but himself could understand, Xuan Ji could still guess from his p.r.o.nunciation. He recited them, p.r.o.nouncing one sentence and repeated it back and forth three or four times, and he finally couldn't help but blurt out: "The initiator of the gloomy sacrifice, I will inevitably hack that person into pieces." 

　　Xuan Ji: "So the gloomy sacrifice writing has an initiator? Is Bi Chunsheng really just a puppet on the stage?" 

　　He threw out a question and at the same time, there were two voices coming out from Sheng Lingyuan. One was the calm and skillful yet easy tone of his usual speech, accompanied by a light chuckle: "You guess." 

　　The other was in a cold tone: "Nonsense." 
　
　　Xuan Ji: "..." 

　　Old devil, you are such a schizo*.

*精分 [jīng fēn] adj. Short for 精神分裂 [jīng shén fēn liè] schizophrenia. As an Internet slang term, it means showing two or more personalities or being dazzled by a fickle and annoying person or unexpected changes. It is often used humorously.
　

　　Sheng Lingyuan's heart and mouth being at odds was an instinctive reaction, and when he finished, he himself reacted: "...What is the meaning of schizo?" 
　　
　　"'Schizo' is..." Xuan Ji's couldn't explain it for a while, and he was confused. The sounds in his mind mixed into a ball, and finally came together into one sentence, "I'm f.u.c.king breaking down." 

　　Sheng Lingyuan had not learned the word "breaking down", so all kinds of ancient scriptures cla.s.sics on his side rang one after another in disorder, sometimes even mixed with a few ancient nursery rhymes. 
　　
　　At this time, Ping Qianru finally rummaged out the first aid kit on the plane, and ran back all the way and said incoherently: "How are you? Director, I haven't used this first aid kit before, how?" 
　　
　　"Oh... first of all, please hand me a wet tissue," Xuan Ji raised his injured hand to show her, and only the shallow clear trace was left in the b.l.o.o.d.y wound, "Later, remind me to reimburse this carpet cleaning fee, okay?" 

　　Ping Qianru looked at his hand sluggishly.
　
　　Xuan Ji dryly said: "I'm sorry, you came late, you weren't able to see the last side of it." 
　
　　Ping Qianru had already gone to two business trips with her new boss. During the first one, lightning flashed and thunder rumbled with a combination of incompatible elements, and ended with him blowing up a building. The second one, there was already bloodshed even before they landed. She thought that this temporary boss must be a calamity star. Everyone was a Special Ability, and this calamity star happened to be extra "special". It was understandable, so she easily accepted that fact that Xuan Ji's wound was strangely healed and helped him clean up the bloodstain.
　　
　　Xuan Ji repeatedly did some mechanical cleaning task, Sheng Lingyuan recited the cla.s.sics of history back and forth several times, and the two of them finally calmed down a bit. 
　
　　Xuan Ji sent Ping Qianru to fetch the heavy sword from under the seat, "inviting" it to come over. He looked out of the small window, staring at the sea of ​​clouds, and said to Sheng Lingyuan in his mind: "I said, Uncle, do you have other plans?"

　　Sheng Lingyuan simply said: "Let me out." 　

　　Xuan Ji: "I also want to let you out, the problem is, I don't even know how you got in." 

　　This was the truth, and at this point, it didn't make sense for them to not tell the truth. 

　　Sheng Lingyuan: "Break down the sword." 

　　"I see, you are not afraid to die." Xuan Ji said, "This is my Life Sword. If a man is in the sword, even if I want to smash it, I don't know how to do it unless we commit suicide together." 
　
　　Sheng Lingyuan did not say anything on his mouth, and thought: "That is also better than this." 

　　Xuan Ji: "If you want to die, you can do as you please. But I don't, I haven't lived enough yet." 
　
　　Sheng Lingyuan extremely wanted to "do as he pleases", but he was unfortunately powerless, and had to follow after him together while being helpless. He heard the prospective graduate student Yang Chao slipping back into his seat and endorsed a book in a "buzz".
　
　　"Qi Wu Emperor, Sheng Xiao, was a famous politician and military strategist in the history of our country… wait... what was it?" He opened the book and glanced at it. "Oh, the reformer — Qi Wu Emperor, Sheng Xiao was a famous reformer, military strategist, and thinker in the history of our country..." 

　　Xuan Ji: "Hey, isn't he a politician?" 
　
　　Yang Chao looked over at him with his slender little gla.s.ses: "...politician, reformer, thinker…"　

　　Xuan Ji began to doubt the overstatement of this so-called 'big encyclopedia': "Didn't you read 'politician, military strategist, and reformer' the first time?" 

　　Yang Chao opened the book and glanced back, seethingly recited to himself, and his glib-talking mouth couldn't make a sound. 
　
　　Xuan Ji knew this was left out by mistake, and didn't dare to think of anything in his mind. There was also nothing to talk about with the devil who was eager to die, so he decided to "trick the cat to make the dog laugh". He stretched his arm very weakly and took away the revision materials in Yang Chao's hands: "Huh, we're almost arrived, and you're still just reciting the second paragraph — no, Comrade Xiao Yang, you're reciting CET-4 & 6 words for half a year, and in the end became a mob who only recognizes 'abandon'*." 　

　　"Nonsense," Yang Chao was extremely angry and jumped up, "I had once recited 'abyss'*!" 

*'abandon' and 'abyss' are originally written in English, they were referring to dictionary words. CET (College English Test) is a national 'English as a foreign language' test in China, comprised of two levels: 4 & 6

　　As he said this, he s.n.a.t.c.hed his own revision materials, and the plane announced to prepare for landing. Yang Chao's elbows b.u.mped into a small bar above, knocked against his funny bone, and the revision materials flew out and spread out face up —-
　

　　Showing the strokes highlighted above: "Qi Wu Emperor Sheng Xiao, was a famous politician, military strategist, and reformer in the history of our country, and was also a tyrant of mixed reputation."　

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The author has something to say: 

Note: Everything related to history in this story are all my foolish made ups, ha.

In order to avoid misleading, I'll explain the word "Zhen (I)", it was used in ancient China --- very ancient times, a self-proclaimed t.i.tle, not limited to the royalty (the limited one "I, the emperor, will inspect to speak" was learned in the children's textbook), was used after the Qin Dynasty, it was used by the emperors, but it was not commonly used. It was just mentioned in some major occasions or in written words. When the emperors of the Qin and Han Dynasties in history spoke, many refer to themselves as "吾 - Wu - I ".