Beyond the Timescape

Chapter 932: When the Young General First Rides the Horse

The flirtatious voice merged with the mist, becoming charming and gentle as it spread.

Xu Qing couldn’t stop his heart from racing, and he was so incredibly nervous that his mouth had gone dry. Yet he couldn’t help but stare at Plumdark.

Within the swirling mist, her beautiful face was like a blooming flower. Her eyes, glittering, bright, and deep, seemed to contain myriads and myriads of worlds. They revealed the bashfulness and purity of a young woman, but at the same time, the profundity and wisdom of a mature lady. It made her both mysterious and fascinating. She blinked slowly, and it was like the bright glimmer of starlight on a dark night.

No one could look away from something like that. And in the process of looking, no one could miss the pale skin in the hazy atmosphere, or the faint flush on her cheeks. It was something delicate and tempting, and the mist only served to accentuate the effect.

In fact, as the mist grew thicker... Xu Qing’s head felt like it was going to explode.

Plumdark slowly entered the water, leaving her plum-colored garment behind at the edge of the pool. Her unclothed form was as fair as snow, but also slightly flushed. Just when it seemed she might disappear in the mist, she turned around and smiled. It was just like the famous line of poetry: “If she but turned her head and smiled, there were cast a hundred spells; and the powder and paint of the Six Palaces faded into nothing.” [1]

Her tender beauty and charming good looks were such that they could topple the heart of just about anyone. Then she spoke.

“Are you going to join me, Xu Qing...?”

She only spoke a few words, and in very rare fashion, her voice actually trembled. Then the mist wrapped her up, and she disappeared. Xu Qing also disappeared.

The water rippled. The mist seethed. No one knew what happened within, as no one could see.

The night passed.

***

Outside of the mansion, the blue worm wriggled valiantly in an attempt to break inside and cause a ruckus. All such attempts failed. The only option was to begrudgingly wait.

That wait lasted... seven days.

***

After Plumdark entered Xu Qing’s greater spirit mansion, seven days passed in which no one emerged. At dawn on the eighth day, the mansion’s large door slowly opened, and Plumdark walked out in her long gown.

She looked like a blooming orchid. The sun shone down onto her, illuminating legs as exquisite as porcelain. Her skin was as pure as the waters of a flowing spring, and she seemed both refreshed and relaxed. Seven days before, her long, black hair had flowed down around her like a waterfall. But now it was coiled on top of her head and secured in place with a golden phoenix hairpin.

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Of course, that revealed some of her exquisite neckline. When the morning breeze blew, the pearls in the hairpin clinked against each other. She really looked like an immortal beauty descended into the lands of mortals. Some of the flush was still visible on her face, and the flirtatious look in her eyes hadn’t disappeared. All of it made her look even more beautiful than before.

As the door opened, she looked back at Xu Qing and spoke in a heavenly voice. “So, we have a deal?”

“Yeah...” Xu Qing replied. Taking a deep breath, he nodded.

Plumdark smiled radiantly, then turned to leave. However, she only managed to take a few steps when she suddenly seemed uncomfortable. And yet her cheeks flushed even more deeply....

Xu Qing appeared to be in somewhat of a daze as he watched her leave.

Before he could start considering what happened during the past seven days, Erniu raced in. And he wasn’t alone. He had Wu Jianwu with him.

“Oh! Little Ah Qing! What a coincidence to see you here! It’s a good thing you provided me with that reminder a while back. I went to the Creation Mansion and kept an eye on them for seven days and seven nights. I didn’t take one step away, and as a result, they didn’t have any chances to skimp on the job.”

Wu Jianwu looked like he wanted to say something, but hesitated. Not wanting to cause any trouble, he just kept his mouth shut.

Xu Qing turned to look calmly at Erniu. The dazed look in his eyes was gone.

“It really is a coincidence, Eldest Brother.”

Erniu blinked a few times, then quickly looked Xu Qing up and down. Seeming very curious, he even walked a few circles around Xu Qing, his eyes glittering as he clucked his tongue. From what he could tell, Xu Qing looked calm, but his skin was unusually flushed....

“Something strange is going on, little Ah Qing. Something about you seems different.” Erniu smiled enigmatically. “What’s more, I’m fairly certain I spotted someone leaving your mansion just now.... Heh heh.”

Xu Qing cleared his throat and opened his mouth to speak.

Before he could, Wu Jianwu, whose spirits seemed to have lifted, suddenly said, “When the young general first rides the horse, only heaven knows how long he’ll last in battle; it seems he ran dry after seven days, but who knows how often he rested during that time!”

The moment after the words left his mouth, a wild wind suddenly swept through the area, picking him up and sending him flying off into the distance.

Xu Qing let out a cold harrumph.

Erniu cleared his throat. Seeing that Xu Qing felt somewhat embarrassed, he decided to help out.

“Ridiculous! That Wu Jianwu was just asking for a beating!” Raising his voice, he yelled, “Hey, Wu Jianwu. Remember to get back as quickly as possible!”

Then Erniu looked around Xu Qing’s mansion.

Although Xu Qing couldn’t do much when it came to his Eldest Brother, he had long since learned how to clean up after himself. Looking even more calm than before he asked, “Did you find Master?”

The mention of their Master caused Erniu’s mood to suddenly shift. Gritting his teeth angrily, he said, “Don’t even mention Master. The old man ran off!! You were right all along. A few days ago, I used some special methods to track him down. Unfortunately, by the time I found him, the old brat was long gone. He’s obviously planning on hogging all the loot!

“Since when does a Master act like this, huh? It’s outrageous! I’m definitely going to demand an explanation. In fact, I already thought of what to do next. Soon enough, you and I are going to take a trip back. As the dignified Eldest Brother, I’ll summon Second Sib and Third Sib, and the four of us will finally confront Master!

“If he refuses to split the loot with us, then we’ll all refuse to be his apprentices anymore. Let’s see how the old man likes being all alone!”

Erniu spoke in an astonishingly commanding and proud voice, as if he had truly decided on a course of action.

Xu Qing blinked a few times, then quietly said, “Is it really a good idea to—”

“If he wants to make us mad, he can’t blame us for wanting to get even!” Erniu snorted coldly. “I’ve already planned everything out. When the time comes, we just have to stay united!” [2]

By this point, the two of them had walked out of the mansion and sat down in the front veranda. Erniu was clearly brooding over the situation with their Master, and it wasn’t until Wu Jianwu returned a short time later that he managed to divert his attention to something else. Wu Jianwu’s face was swollen and bruised, but he was behaving well. [3]

He feared Xu Qing most, and after Xu Qing, Erniu. Earlier, he had let his mouth get the better of him and spouted some poetry without thinking. After that, Xu Qing taught him a lesson. Though he was actually feeling quite irritated, he didn’t let it show, and acted very obedient. Sitting down in front of Xu Qing and Erniu, he kept his mouth shut tight.

“Little Jianjian,” Erniu said in a serious tone, “I really have to thank you for what you agreed to do a few days ago. Don’t worry. I, Chen Erniu, always do things in a fair and equitable manner. Your assistance will not be in vain! How about this? After the eggs hatch, you can keep the shells!”

With that, Erniu took out his egg and placed it down in front of Wu Jianwu. Xu Qing expressionlessly took out his egg.

Although Wu Jianwu was completely confident in being able to hatch the eggs, the reality was that the situation was a bit embarrassing. Earlier, he’d had no choice but to agree to Erniu’s offer, but now that he was looking at the eggs in person, he felt hesitant.

Seeing that, Erniu smacked his shoulder. “Believe me, these two eggs are anything but ordinary. Thēy’re the children of a god! Thēir eggs are not made from ordinary eggshells! They’re god shells! Most importantly, you already have experience incubating gods, so this will give you unheard-of experience for raising future pets.

“I know you have ambition. But those random pets of yours can’t have anything more than an Imperial Sovereign bloodline. Think about it. What if you could simply wave your hand and produce, not the bloodline of an Imperial Sovereign, but rather, some actual, full-grown god pets! Now that would be impressive!

“At that time, if you want some relics of Ancient Emperor Dark Serenity, what species in Revered Ancient would possibly dare to refuse your request?”

It was hard to say which of Erniu’s arguments pushed Wu Jianwu over the edge. But by the end, his eyes shone with determination. Gritting his teeth, he agreed. Xu Qing nodded, and Wu Jianwu took the eggs and sped off.

After Wu Jianwu was a good distance away, his eyes started shining.

God pets....

He struggled to control his breathing as a sense of determination rose up within him. If his Master from years ago had been present, he would definitely have had very mixed emotions. The reality was that... years ago in Seven Blood Eyes, Wu Jianwu had started out as a top chosen from the First Peak. But after acquiring a certain item, his dao had changed. And he had completely changed as well.

After Wu Jianwu left the greater spirit mansion, Erniu smacked the top of his head, causing a green vine to snake out. As it swirled in the area, it seemed intelligent.

“This little baby is a true treasure, little Ah Qing. You should really fuse with the one you have. If we raise them to maturity, heh heh... we’ll be completely ferocious.”

Xu Qing looked at the vine and could sense the strange power in it. He nodded. Waving his hand, he produced his own vine.

After some thought, he decided not to devour it. Instead, he pierced his skin and put a drop of blood onto the vine. The vine absorbed it, glittered, then shot into the wound. Soul fluctuations rolled out.

A moment later, Patriarch Golden Vajra Warrior suddenly went on guard, and Little Shadow shivered.

Erniu licked his lips. “Back in that cave, I got those random puppet parts. They’re all broken, but they still have some impressive fluctuations. After a lot of thought, I realized they’re still valuable. If we could only figure out how to put all the pieces back together, we might be able to make a full mantis... and that would be a very impressive weapon.”

Erniu waved his hand and a host of spare parts flew out. Together with Xu Qing, he started studying them.

***

Meanwhile, the teleportation portal outside the Imperial Region activated, and a group of figures appeared there.

The surrounding human cultivators looked on seriously, and Heavenly Marquis Wang seemed fully on guard.

The cultivators who had just teleported in had been at war with humankind not very long ago. They were a subsidiary species of the Firemoon Darkheaven people. They were Whitemarshes and Saias! Both species looked very different from humans, which made them stand out. All of them were scowling; clearly, none of them were happy with how the war ended.

However, there was nothing else they could do but carry out this mission, which was to sign a treaty with humankind.

Traveling with them was a Firemoon Darkheaven cultivator whose scowl was even deeper. He was Fan Shishuang! He looked irritated and felt even more irritated. But there was nothing he could do. He was acting as the inspections commissioner for the Firemoons, and had come along with these two species to bear witness to the ceasefire agreement.

I heard Xu Qing is back already. Why did I get such an unlucky assignment!

1. The poetry here comes from a famous poem by Tang Dynasty poet Bai Juyi. There is an entire Wikipedia page about the poem. As I’ve mentioned before, if I’m able to use existing translations of poems, I do. If you want to read a translation of the poem (from which I took the quote in this chapter), you can go here. ☜

2. When Erniu talks about “getting even,” he uses a riff on an idiom here that makes no sense if translated directly. Literally, it translates as “if he does something on the first of the month, he can’t blame us for doing something on the fifteenth of the month.” The explanation behind the idiom is frankly too complicated for me to put here. In this context, the meaning, as I think I’ve conveyed in the translation, is that one person doing something will lead to another person doing something in response, presumably out of anger or for revenge. ☜

3. What I’m rendering as ‘veranda’ is literally the ‘front hall’ of a building. Normally speaking, such locations do not have chairs or other seating locations, so I imagine they’re sitting on the steps. That said, the narrative is not very clear. Here are a few results from an image search that show this part of a building. ☜