Chương 127: Chapter 127: Shizun, Careful, the Grounds's Slippery
But Chu Wanning didn't ask, and Xue Zhengyong didn't bring it up.
In fact, the sect leader of Sisheng Peak was getting kind of plastered, feeling light-headed and slurring his words.
He suddenly leaned over, stared at Chu Wanning, and said, "Yuheng, you're upset." "I am not." "You're mad." "I am not," Chu Wanning repeated.
"Who upset you?" Chu Wanning: "..." Should he ask?
He'd feel a lot better if he just asked. Maybe Mo Ran didn't actually say that he'd definitely be back tonight, maybe he only said that he'll try his best to make it back, and Xue Zhengyong just said it wrong, or remembered it wrong...
Chu Wanning glanced toward the door, at the darkness of night outside.
The banquet was coming to a close, and the seats would soon be cold.
His first day out of seclusion, and Mo Ran hadn't made it back in time.
Every single disciple of Sisheng Peak was here, including the ones whose names he didn't know and the ones he'd never even met before. Only he wasn't here.
Without him here, the banquet was incomplete.
All the stewed crab meatballs, sweet osmanthus lotus root, and fragrant pear blossom white wine in the world wouldn't make it complete.
Chu Wanning closed his eyes, but there was suddenly a ruckus from the direction of Mengpo Hall's front entrance, with a bunch of disciples yelling excitedly in the distance.
"Aiyah——! Look! What's that outside?" "There's something in the sky!" More and more people gathered over there, and even those in the hall could hear the lively crackling sounds and thunderous booms coming from the outside,
one after another.
They walked out to the verdant lawn just outside Mengpo Hall, looking up at the sky all lit up by fireworks, explosions of millions of little glittering specks blooming and scattering against the backdrop of the starry night sky. "Fireworks!" The younger disciples beamed with joy, youthful faces illuminated by the flickering lights above, the sky full of stars reflected in their eyes.
"It's so pretty, I've never seen fireworks this big, not even at New Year's!' Chu Wanning walked slowly out from the hall as well. He wasn't in the greatest mood; though he was grateful that Xue Zhengyong had gone to the trouble of preparing such a brilliant fireworks show, the heaviness in his chest continued to weigh on him.
Fweeee—— A sharp whistling sound pierced through the night sky.
He lifted his head listlessly to see a streak of golden-red light shoot into the open sky like an arrow loosened from its bow.
How beautiful.
If only that person were here too…
Bang!
That brilliant flare flew up to a height about level with the Big Dipper's handle before bursting in explosion to fill the night sky with countless shimmering sparkles, eclipsing all the stars of the Milky Way and stealing the light from the moon itself.
The fireworks scattered like so many petals of haitang blossoms set adrift by a passing breeze, floating and dancing like wintry snow, glimmering and rippling like open waters. Amidst the splendid display and lively bustling of the crowd,
Chu Wanning slowly closed his eyes.
"Disciple Mo Ran Welcomes Shizun Back From Seclusion." Someone said from behind him all of a sudden, every word clear and needlelike.
Chu Wanning began to tremble lightly, feeling like there were thorns in his back, fire in his throat. With his heart beating all out of rhythm, blood racing through his veins, and unable to breathe, he whipped his head around—— Standing behind him were a couple of disciples who had just come out from Mengpo Hall, all of them looking up at the sky in amazement, and one of them had read aloud thus.
Gradually, it wasn't just the one person reading aloud anymore.
Everyone found it novel and interesting; everyone, including the youngest disciples, the men and the women, the ones standing alone and those in groups, all of them were looking up at the glittering, resplendent night sky and reading out loud:
Disciple Mo Ran.
Welcomes Shizun Back From Seclusion.
The utterances carried a tenderness like the tide, gentle as sleepy whispers;
the words bore a determination like a boulderstone, firm as mighty mountains.
Chu Wanning's head snapped skyward, where the brilliant fireworks, guided by spiritual energy, had spelled out the sentence in huge, shimmering letters across the night sky.
The fireworks flowed into a magnificent river that could probably be seen from even hundreds of miles away, and in that moment, in that night, the colorful,
glimmering specks felt like they were converging in on him from across hills and mountains, across time and bygones, bringing with them that person's joys and sorrows, longings and regrets.
He suddenly felt like a piece of driftwood afloat in the ocean, and the ocean was Mo Ran's eyes, the way they had looked when he had suddenly pulled him into his arms in front of the ghost king's palace in the Underworld, full of warm tenderness, fiery passion, and unwavering determination.
There was nowhere to run.
He was surrounded by that person's murmurs, that person's laughter, that person's affection.
Chu Wanning didn't want to think about what kind of affection it was, that of a master and disciple, or something else.
Just having the affection was enough.
Mo Ran didn't manage to make it back before the end of the banquet.
Even pushing on through the night without stop, it was simply too far away.
Luckily he still had the signal fireworks made by Xuanji Elder in his bag that had been given to him for use in an emergency, should he meet with some mishap while away from the peak. It was an ingenious creation; by writing a message on paper with spiritual energy, putting it into the tube, and setting off the firework, the message would be writ boldly across the sky in letters so large that it would be visible from Sisheng Peak from however far away.
The signal fireworks were costly and exceedingly difficult to make, but Mo Ran didn't care about that; all he wanted was to make sure that his shizun wouldn't be upset.
Even from across mountains and rivers, even separated by time and circumstances.
He had to make sure that Chu Wanning could hear these words.
"Disciple Mo Ran Welcomes Shizun Back From Seclusion." The banquet came to a close four hours later, and it was late at night by the time he got back to the Red Lotus Pavilion.
Chu Wanning smelled like wine. He wanted to take a bath, wash the smell off, but the weather had gotten cooler lately and the water in the pavilion's lotus pond was too cold for bathing in—he'd nearly caught a cold bathing there yesterday. He thought for a moment, then went inside to fetch a change of clothes and a wooden washbin, and headed toward Miaoyin Springs[15].
Miaoyin Springs was the sect's communal bath. He'd only ever bathed there in his first few months here at Sisheng Peak.
This late at night, there would be hardly anyone bathing there. Lifting the thin layer of hemp curtain with one hand, Chu Wanning walked in. Many parts of Sisheng Peak had been renovated, but Miaoyin Springs was the same as before, with tall, black-tiled walls on all sides, and sheer veils drifting lightly in the breeze along a winding corridor that led from the front gate to a set of six narrow wooden steps lacquered with a clear varnish.
The bathers would all take off their shoes and socks before going down these steps, so just one look here would reveal just how many people were currently soaking in the baths.
Chu Wanning took a look while taking off his shoes and socks, and saw that there was only one lone pair of boots here, of a fairly large size and a little dirty,
but placed neatly in the corner, rather than carelessly tossed to the ground just because it was empty here.
Chu Wanning wondered whom it was, to come here for a bath this late at night...
But it was only a fleeting thought. Holding his small washbin, he walked down the steps barefooted, brushed aside the last set of curtains at the end of the footpath, and walked into the courtyard.
The courtyard was hazy with steam from the massive hot spring pond inside that rose and fell with the ground, the water cascading down in a broad, rumbling waterfall. The thick, cloudy steam unfurled gently outwards from the pond,
drifting slowly into the air, spreading into every corner and crevice.
The thick steam made everything here blurry, and a person had to get very close to another to see their face.
Walking across the little footpath of smooth, colorful pebbles under the luxuriant canopy of flowering peach blossoms, Chu Wanning arrived at the nearest entrance to the baths. There was a low shelf carved from bluestone there specifically for holding clothes. He put his wooden washbin and robe on the shelf, then took off his clothes and walked slowly into the pond.
It was nice and warm.
He sighed softly in contentment despite himself.
If not for the fact that he didn't want to crowd in here with everyone else while bathing, nor did he fancy coming here late at night every day, he'd really rather bathe here than in the cold waters of the Red Lotus Pavilion's simple pond.
Xue Zhengyong really was fastidious and thorough. He had personally overseen the construction of Miaoyin Springs; flowers bloomed along the edge of the pond year-round, there was a waterfall at the end of the pond for rinsing off, and there was even a small wooden pavilion on the side to lie down and rest in after soaking, provided with heated stones to be placed along the meridians to help relieve the pressure.
Way more indulgent than that rushed bath he had to make do with yesterday at the Red Lotus Pavilion's pond.
Delighted and seeing as how there was no one else around, Chu Wanning let loose for a moment, spreading out his slender body and swimming all the way to the waterfall.
Splash!
He had only just risen out of the water and wiped his face, a faint smile still lingering at his lips, when he abruptly noticed a man very close to him, showering in the surging waterfall with his back to him. The waterfall was so loud that Chu Wanning couldn't hear the other person at all, even this close.
If he had come out of the water a little later, swam a little further, the tips of his fingers probably would've touched the man's legs.
Good thing he had gotten up when he did and hadn't ended up touching the other person, but this was still a bit inappropriately close—he was practically standing right behind the man. He was very tall, quite a bit taller than Chu Wanning, and his sun-kissed skin was the color of honey, making him seem wild and unrestrained. His shoulders were strong and broad, shoulder blades flexing beneath golden skin with concealed strength as his arms moved.
He wasn't overly muscular, but sculpted and evenly toned. The water cascaded over his body, rivulets of it flowing down the wide expanse of his strong, masculine back to gather into streams. Some of the water splashed off,
but some seemed infatuated with this body of his, clinging to him in a light sheen, loathe to part.
As someone who was used to being ascetic, Chu Wanning had never seen such a carnal sight before, and his ears burned red as he hurriedly turned to leave.
Heaven only knew if the bottom of the pond was too slippery or if he had taken a false step, but he stumbled and fell face first into the pond, sending a big spray of water splashing into the air!
"Cough cough!!!!" Chu Wanning's face was bright red with embarrassment and, flustered as he was, he'd even inadvertently swallowed some mouthfuls of water. Remembering that the water was technically used bathwater from that guy behind him, he was so indignant and disgusted that he threw all appearances of calm and composure aside, scrambling and flailing frantically as he tried to get back up.
He was the Yuheng Elder, how could—— In his panicked fluster, with no dignity left to speak of, there was suddenly a strong, shapely hand on him, pulling him up from the streaming waters. The man had obviously been startled by the happening behind him.
"Are you okay?" With one hand around his arm, the man spoke in a deep, calming voice. The difference in their heights was such that his breath puffed out against Chu Wanning's ear as he lowered his head to speak, "Careful, it's slippery here." Chu Wanning's ears burned even hotter; he could practically feel that person's chest behind him, mere inches from his back, rising and falling, rising and falling, a merciful relief in each fall like it was sparing his life, a menacing precarity in each rise as it threatened to brush against his back.
Chu Wanning was both indignant and mortified at once—never had he been touched by someone like this before!
Shaking the man's hand off of him, Chu Wanning's face was all surly, even as he avoided eye contact. "I'm fine." The deafening sound of the waterfall's rushing waters all but covered up Chu Wanning's voice.
But the man jolted at his voice for some reason, going entirely still for a second before slowly lifting his hand like he wanted to say something, but didn't quite have the courage to...
In that moment of hesitation, Chu Wanning had already walked a ways into the distance and stepped into, or rather, went to hide inside the rushing, roaring curtain of water.
Author's Notes:
This mini-theatre originates from an old joke *scratches head*
Mo Ran: Um...the title has already reminded Shizun that the ground is slippery, why did Shizun still slip? (LOL)
Chu Wan Ning: ...Isn't it pronounced "slip carefully"[16]?
[15] 妙音池 the miao yin in Miaoyin Springs means beautiful (musical) sounds/tones [16] The title is 小心地滑小心 means be careful/watch out 地 when pronounced as "dì" means ground, but when pronounced as "de" is a structural particle used before a verb or adjective to link it to a preceding modifying adverb, i.e., -ly 滑 means slip so 小心地滑 can be either "小心 be careful 地滑 the ground is slippery" or "小心地carefully 滑 slip"
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