The Guide to Capturing a Black Lotus

The mist covering Taibo lake was thick and dense. The wide expanse of dark green lotus leaves connected to the skies, hiding the nine thin paths cutting through the sea of dark green.

Ling Miaomiao heard a ‘thrum’ beside her ear and a burst of cold wild brushed past her face. A light black dragonfly spun in the azure sky. She shot out her hand above her head and grabbed. The wing of the dragonfly still spun on her palm.

The bamboo was carved slenderly with a sharp dagger. It even had sharp edges that looked like they could cut. Ling Miaomiao caressed its rough surface and was somewhat confused: “You made this?”

Mu Sheng’s pitch black pupils moved over to look at Ling Miaomiao’s palm and answered evasively: “Have you played with them before?”

“Of course. When I was young, I broke quite a few from playing with them too much.” Ling Miaomiao played around with the simple and crude bamboo dragonfly. She spoke excitedly: “Mu Sheng, do you think if I let it fly out, you can bring it back before it falls into the water?”

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The black lotus was momentarily stunned and, like a blue moon, decided to nod his head.

”I can.” Ling Miaomiao was extremely happy and her orbs glittered, “Come, let me see if you made this well.”

The bamboo dragonfly suddenly flew out from her palm. It made an unwieldy turn in the air and then dipped down like a suicide bomber.

Fbl oyp pbsnjle cwv Yw Fbldt oyhle bkp pzllhl yde vbl ayrkezu easrrkdt cyxcss eaytsdqzu pllxle vs byhl clld rwzzle cu y pvakdt. Rv xyel yd yan kd vbl yka clqsal alvwadkdt vbl oyu kv nyxl, lhldvwyzzu zydekdt kd bkp ryzx.

Yw Fbldt rkdnble vbl cyxcss eaytsdqzu yp vbl nsadla sq bkp zkrp nwazle wr kd ekppyvkpqynvksd: “Zsw’al vbl sdl vbyv eslpd’v jdso bso vs qzu kv.”

Wkdkpble okvb bkp osaep, bl zlv ts yde vbl cyxcss eaytsdqzu pweeldzu qzlo swv. Rd fwpv y xsxldv, kv bye qzsod wr kdvs vbl pju, pnyvvlakdt vbl cakzzkydv pwdzktbv pbkdkdt sd vbl nldvla sq vbl zyjl. Rd vbl nzlya pjklp, kv qzlo bktb yde qya.

Nkdt Ykysxkys zkqvle bla blye yp pbl oyvnble kv, xwvvlakdt vs blaplzq, “Mbyv’p dsv aktbv…” Eykvkdt wdvkz vbl cyxcss eaytsdqzu nyxl cynj esod, pbl tayccle kv kd ekpclzklq.

Fbl prwd vbl ase okvb bla byde yde nzlyazu pyo vbl yrlm sq vbl okdtp. Rxxlekyvlzu, pbl zywtble yde pyke kd tsse vlxrla: “Mbkp cyxcss eaytsdqzu sq uswap, kv’e cl olkae kq kv nswze qzu!”

Yw Fbldt’p lmralppksd kxxlekyvlzu vwadle kdvs y cassekdt pvsax. Tl vakle vs qsankczu pdyvnb kv qasx bla ryzx cwv pbl elqvzu esetle vs vbl pkel yde yhskele bkx.

Nkdt Ykysxkys rskdvle yv vbl okdtp qsa bkx vs pll: “Mbl okdtp yal xyel qasx y rklnl sq cyxcss. Wasx zlqv vs aktbv vblal dllep vs cl vos kdnzkdle rzydlp, vbyv oyu kv nyd wpl vbl obkazrsszp kd vbl yka vs qzu wr. Zsw xyel vblx qzyv…”

Fbl nswzed’v czyxl bkx lkvbla. Mbl wdqsavwdyvl Yw Fbldt sdzu vssj y pkdtzl tzydnl yv vbkp dsaxyz vsu yde vssj y aydesx tydela yv alxyjkdt kv. Tl eked’v xyjl kv hlau pkxkzya.

Seeing the youth flustered and at a loss, she took the chance and stuffed the bamboo dragonfly into her sleeve. Right after, she shot forward like lightning and touched the entrance of his sleeve: “Hey, you even cheated…”

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With a single pull, she took out a delicate-looking talisman from his sleeve. Miaomiao didn’t know if she should laugh or cry as she stuffed the yellow paper at his raised face: “Is it fun?”

Mu Sheng’s arms hung at his sides and a hint of violence hung between his brows, “I wanted to let it fly to wherever I want it to. Is that not fun enough?”

This appearance of his looked exactly like a good student who was caught in the act of cheating in the middle of a test. He was like a cornered beast as he stubbornly refused the accusatory, sharp gazes facing him, doing his best to puff himself up as both fierce and ruthless.

”I’m not saying that you can’t.” The rough outer form rubbed against her fingers, “It’s just that a bamboo dragonfly is only really a bamboo dragonfly when it has to listen to the will of heaven. If you use a talisman to control it, you’ve turned it into a puppet. Why are you still calling it a dragonfly then?”¹ [1] So this is preeeeetty confusing. It probably makes even less sense in chinese. But at least in english it might make more sense. Basically separate the words into Dragon and Fly. You get what I’m saying? Lolol. Terrible explanationtropy over and out~

[Ding! System reminder: Host, congratulations on gaining object ‘bamboo dragonfly’. The item has already been placed into your mission box. Reminder ends here.]

The system reminder popping up in her head suddenly interrupted her line of thought. She could only hurriedly conclude her sermon. Sneaking a glance at the black lotus, who stood all by his lonesome in the wind, she suddenly felt that he was very pitiful.

Mu Sheng clearly stood very close to her but it felt like even his sleeves being lifted by the wind were completely covered by a layer of harsh frost. Even though his entire person was shrouded by sunlight, it proved unable to even melt the slightest lonesome desolation covering his body.

Not mentioning the bamboo dragonfly, he would treat the others all the same. Teeth clenched as he made sure he was never more than half a step away from what others could do. Even the joy within, he would stick his head into the sand, completely not feeling any of it.

His emotions were all contained in his heart. He himself was awkward, envious and jealous. Even after the long winding road, no one would know. No one would care.

Even her getting closer to him was all for the sake of advancing her mission.

The black lotus. How lamentable.

The transmission talisman flew up and shot out a mini fire flower into the air, letting out a ‘pop’.

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“We should go back now.” His expression calmed down and he reached out, “Give it back to me.”

Ling Miaomiao sized him up for a long time before speaking in a small voice: “Actually, there’s no way for you to hold everything within your palms. Why don’t you just leave some things up to heaven’s will? Leave yourself some pleasant surprises.”

Her voice was both soft and low. In a moment of absentmindedness, he recalled the conversation between his adoptive parents many years ago. Their heads had been lowered and Bai Jin was whispering to Mu Huaijiang. Discovering his presence, they immediately sat straight and put on serious and indifferent expressions and gazes.

Only those who were extremely close to you would use such familiar words of advice and persuasion.

They had never used this manner of speaking to him before.

The sunlight fell onto the crown of her head, causing the young girl’s hair to seem extra glossy and brilliant. Under this bright and sunny weather, even her pupils were half transparent: Just like a pair of translucent amber balls.

Ling Miaomiao pinched the bamboo dragonfly and brushed past him in a very good mood. She had only taken a few steps before stopping and walking backwards. When she turned around, she raised her arm and shot a blindingly brilliant smile at him. As if she was afraid of him being unable to hear her, she even formed a funnel with her hands: “Let me help you change, I’ll give it back to you once I’m done—-”

___________________

“There aren’t many with the surname Tao in Chang An. I only found one family, their residence is in the suburbs. For generations, they were craftsmen.” Liu Fuyi bent a willow branch in half as he drew a shallow ‘Tao’ on the ground.

Watching the character on the ground, Mu Yao’s expression turned serious as she nodded.

“Brother Liu, are you destroying the plants and trees again?” Ling Miaomiao saw Liu Fuyi and she sped up her pace. She brought with her fluttering aura of joy as she ran over. When Liu Fuyi raised his head, he immediately burst out into laughter.

Mu Yao inspected Ling Miaomiao out of the corner of her eye.

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This girl didn’t have the slightest bit of dignity in the way she carried herself, or any of her actions either. She would even sometimes put on a threatening gesture, sometimes a pretentious appearance. Yet, whenever Liu Fuyi saw her, he would be unable to help himself and smile. It seemed like this personality of hers was something that brought him happiness.

She sunk into deep thought. Could it be? I’m just too taciturn?

“Sis.” Her train of thought was broken and she turned around to see Mu Sheng’s brilliant smile. He brought the water sack close to her mouth, “Do you want some water?”

Her arm lightly obstructed the pouch and pushed it aside while shaking her head: “I don’t want any.” Mu Sheng somewhat disappointedly sealed up the water pouch. In the next moment, he seemed to find a silver lining as he fished out a round tangerine from his robes: “Sis?”

Mu Yao helplessly gave him a look: “Pay attention and listen.”

Mu Sheng turned around to look and saw the perfect model of a listener right beside him—- Miaomiao’s large eyes were locked onto Liu Fuyi with full concentration. She was completely focused, even his several sentences completely entered one ear and left through the other.

She had snatched away that willow branch from Fuyi and was absentmindedly playing around with it in her hands, causing the floor to be covered by tender leaves.

Her eyes were dazzling as she stared unblinkingly. She made no effort to conceal her admiration and he felt as if his heart was no different to that willow branch: broken and left all over the ground by her. There was only the strange feeling of irritation left in him.

Liu Fuyi spoke nonstop: “The ghosts that are bothering Princess Duanyang can currently be confirmed to be Tao Ying and the other monks that died in the old temple. Jingyang Slope’s Li Zhun looks to be completely unrelated to all this. The incense he made had both a bit of psychedelic herbs and the bone ash of those dead people… who was it that collected all of their bone ash and shipped it so far away to Jingyang Slope?”

The main leads were basically the gang leaders of the demon hunter world. Their combat and magic abilities were top notch. However, their area of expertise was not detective work. The countless clues and trails nearly caused all of their heads to burn into a crisp.

Liu Fuyi saw that everyone seemed to be at their wits’ end and let out a sigh: “The old temple was the headquarters of the evil spirits. No matter what methods they use to run to the new temple, if we take a hold of the old temple, we’ll have cut off the source and origin of these ghosts. As for the rest, we’ll discuss after we completely eliminate the source of all this.” He ran his eyes over everyone, “Shall we take a trip there?”

Ever since arriving at Chang An, a thick stack of talismans had grown all over Liu Fuyi and even the demon restraining bracelets on Mu Sheng’s wrists seemed to have been covered with a layer of ash. It had been rearing to go for a long time now. Upon hearing these words of Fuyi, everyone suddenly felt more awake.

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Ling Miaomiao also felt her brain vibrate for a moment.

[Ding! Mission reminder: Mission 2 second quarter has started. Host, please make your preparations.]

_________________

A dark late afternoon cloud covered their heads and a downpour started. The lotus leaves on the surface of the pond were shook back and forth by a white mist. The pond’s water was covered by innumerable watery flowers.

Princess Duanyang had her eyes closed as she listened to the sound of the downpour. Humid, moisture laden air seeped through the cracks of the palace and lingered on the muslin. A very long afternoon nap caused her to feel a bit dizzy and she lazily sat up, draping on a sweater.

“Peiyu?” She called out. The room was completely devoid of anyone.

In the past, when Peiyun was still there, she would very carefully guard the doors. The moment there was the slightest bit of sound, she would hurriedly run over carrying a bronze basin and a wet towel for her to wipe her face and there would be rose petals floating in the basin’s water.

The thick moisture in the air swelled and the humidity condensed on the quilts. She draped her clothes on herself and got up. She dragged her feet over to her dressing station.

At the moment, she somewhat missed Peiyun.

However, this feeling of disappointment only lasted for a moment. One part of the reason was that her feelings and mood towards Peiyun had turned into fury in a moment’s notice. The other was that she discovered a letter on the dressing table before her.

The letter was made out of cheap yellow paper. It stood upright on the table and two flowers pinched it in place. There was no head nor tail on the letter, only a single ‘Min’ character on it and the letter entrance was tightly sealed shut.

She suddenly felt her heart beating rapidly, as if she could feel a premonition. She shook so much she dropped the letter.

There was only a single piece of paper for the letter but because it had been mixed with dried flowers, there was a slight fragrance coming from it.

The summer rain was anxious, arriving and disappearing at breakneck speeds. In the blink of an eye, the dark clouds had already dispersed and bright light shone in from the window. The sunlight illuminated Duanyang’s face that had gone crimson from both joy and panic.

Her line of sight left the paper. She raised her head and saw that the window wasn’t closed. The crisp sound of birdsong flitted through the window and into Fengyang Palace.

She tightly gripped the letter in her hands as she ran to the window in disbelief. The verdant green flora of the garden outside the window had just taken a rainy shower as they swayed back and forth. There were still glistening droplets atop the white hydrangeas.

”He… did he come…” Duanyang gripped the window frame tightly as she smiled to herself in a daze.

Ling Miaomiao was at a tea rest stop other travelers had stopped at in the past.

The rest stop was very simple and rough. Roughly hewn pillars of differing sizes held up the structure. Outside, a thatch roof covered up the top of the structure. There was even a rag hung up, nearly torn away by the sudden burst of rain. Fortunately, the main leads all guarded a corner, somehow forcefully holding down the roof.

The rain continuously spilled in through the leaks on the roof. Ling Miaomiao had only drank half of the tea in her bowl, the other half was rainwater that it caught. At this point, it looked just like a full bowl.

She cusped the broken bowl in her hands as she sighed. The blurry reflection of her face was visible on the surface of the liquid.

”I suddenly thought of a matter.” Mu Yao’s expression was still as serious as ever. She had grown thinner the past few days and her collarbone revealed from her jacket stood out extra prominently. She looked increasingly like a piece of glass.

”Do you guys think that the ones who added the hallucinatory herbs and bone ash are actually the same group of people?”

Liu Fuyi had been extremely carefully cracking peanuts, and compared to Mu Yao, his expression was much calmer: “Why would you think this?”

”I feel as if we’ve glossed over something. If one were to say that the bone ash was to give the souls a bridge, then why would they additionally add in some psychedelic materials? Something that an Imperial Physician could figure out with a single glance, I’m sure Guo Xiu wouldn’t have at least checked it out beforehand right?”

Liu Fuyi put two of the freshly peeled and cracked peanuts before Miaomiao and Mu Yao both.

Mu Sheng was supporting his face as he seriously replied to his sister’s question: “What if the hallucinatory herbs were added by Guo Xiu himself?”

[1] So this is preeeeetty confusing. It probably makes even less sense in chinese. But at least in english it might make more sense. Basically separate the words into Dragon and Fly. You get what I’m saying? Lolol. Terrible explanationtropy over and out~

TLN: Entropy here, I have to apologize for the late post again… completely didn’t feel the week passing by at all. Don’t worry, chapter 39 will come tomorrow… As for other news, ZZZZ has said that she would be making a lil announcement about some of the name/item changes appearing later on so…. expect it eventually.

How’s everyone doing in this fine quarantine climate tho? Even though we’ve only been in quarantine for less than a month, I feel like my butt is already about to melt into the chair… the heat ain’t helping either.