Chapter 22 - The peerlessly talented demon ba snake (5)
Please don’t post this translation anywhere, even if it's in Wattpad. It’s no problem if it's only redirect to this site, but no reposting.
Translated by: Niladri
Edited by: celes
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Recap: Shi Kong helped Lu Heng heal up, thinking him to be an ordinary snake and left him when he recovered, freeing Lu Heng into the wild. Lu Heng started to miss him and found it difficult to live as an ordinary snake.
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When he saw Shi Kong again, Lu Heng even thought it was his mind playing tricks on him. Because finding Shi Kong was way too straightforward. The moon had just reached the treetops, and Lu Heng, with the speed of someone unused to climbing, did not reach very far.
However, the fresh and clean visage of Shi Kong cultivating beneath the trees made Lu Heng dispel these thoughts. Shi Kong was sitting cross-legged, with his eyes closed and both hands joined in prayer. The moonlight pouring down in torrents seemed to enter his body.
No, the moonlight was really entering Shi Kong’s body. Lu Heng did not know how he could see the trajectory of moonlight. But he did see that the moonlight turned into essence, like a group of cotton candies, gathering around the cross-legged Shi Kong, and swirling into his body.
This cotton candy-like moonlight had great appeal to Lu Heng. He felt his throat growing a little parched. He couldn’t help but lift his upper body, catch a falling wisp of moonlight, and swallow it. At that moment, a lot of information poured into Lu Heng’s mind: about the demon race, about the Ba She, about the cotton candy-like emperor-grade essence.
Accepting the inheritance of the Ba She clan, Lu Heng knew that the emperor-grade essence was one of great benefit to the demon race. Immediately, according to the cultivation method in the inheritance, the emperor-grade essence started to be devoured (by him) as quickly as possible.
One needed to spend years for cultivation.
Not to mention a short night. In the midst of waking up from meditation, Lu Heng felt a sense of unprecedented relief. He stretched his waist and felt that something was wrong. How could a snake make such a complex move? After receiving a fright, Lu Heng suddenly opened one of his eyes, and after deciding to give it a try, in the end, he leaned over and looked at Shi Kong, and in his eyes, he saw the reflection of a plump and fair-complexioned young boy.
“It turns out that you are a demon.”
The young boy sitting on the ground looked like a child the age of three, loveable like snow-jade. The young boy’s body was naked, and apparently, it was the first time he had transformed; he still didn’t know how to make clothes.
Shi Kong reached out and picked up this ignorant little demon. Afterwards, he took off his own robe and put it on the boy’s body. “What is your name? The demon race’s inheritance should tell you your own name.”
Lu Heng wanted to say his own name but found that there was an invisible force stopping him. The words “Lu Heng” could not be said in anyway. On the contrary, he spit out a word: “Zheng.”
“Transforming after absorbing emperor-grade essence for the first time, you must be from a clan of powerful demons.”
“Ba Snake.” Shi Kong’s words seemed to have magical power, so Lu Heng had nothing else to say.
Shi Kong gently tapped Lu Heng’s forehead; he seems to be very satisfied with his frankness: “Ba Snake, the legendary powerful demon clan, (I) have not heard of your clan for a long time. The more powerful you are, the more you need to be guided. You will cultivate with this poor monk until you can control yourself.”
[T/N: 修行 can mean religious cultivation or xianxia type stuff. IDK what he means here]
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Lu Heng had a long dream. In the dream, after he graduated, he had an accident on the first day of work. Then it seems that a lot of strange things happened, but it did not persist (long enough) for Lu Heng to see clearly, before he woke up.
Lu Heng opened his eyes and seeing the verdant roof above his head, stared blankly for a moment.
Oh, right, he transmigrated into a cultivation world with immortals, strange indeed. Lu Heng rubbed his face, and when he turned around, pondering, he felt pain from his scalp. He looked down and saw his hair getting pressed under his own hand.
It’s clear that his body was just that of a young child; why was his hair so long? In the beginning, Lu Heng wanted to cut off the long hair that was in the way but was stopped by Shi Kong. It was said that the demon race’s cultivation had a connection to every part of the body, including hair.
After a while, Lu Heng looked at his own extremely messy, long hair in the mirror and gave up on the idea of combing his hair. He pushed the door out and grabbed a comb. Like the previous morning, he called: “Shi Kong…”
The handsome and beautiful man, who was meditating nearby, heard the words being spoken and took the comb. Looking at the hair under the slender fingers, he slowly smoothed them. Lu Heng was embarrassed: “I am sorry to bother you every time.”
“No problem.”
In fact, initially, Lu Heng was a bit embarrassed to talk to Shi Kong. After all, the appearance of this juvenile form combined the old-fashioned voice felt really jarring. Lu Heng was worried that he would notice this discrepancy. He has never felt any doubt within Shi Kong.
After the two were familiar, Lu Heng could not help but ask. Shi Kong explained that because the development period of the demon race was very long, the demons who could transform were actually not young, at least not as immature as their appearance. Then, Lu Heng searched the inheritance and found that though he was in this state, his age was actually a few hundred years older Shi Kong.
The inheritance of the demon race accepted by Lu Heng was incomplete. Many of the things about the demon race’s cultivation techniques were missing. This situation was not normal. Shi Kong inspected his physical condition and said that his demon core seemed to have been damaged. Afterwards when Lu Heng learnt to examine his inside with his inner Qi, he also found that his demon core was covered with cracks.
Additionally, there was a strange ear ornament on his left ear that baffled Lu Heng. Shi Kong explained that it was a powerful Buddhist artifact. Lu Heng tried to inspect the earrings after mastering the method of manipulating demonic qi, but it did not respond, as if it were just ordinary jewelry.
Time flew by, and spring became autumn. With the growth of his cultivation level, Lu Heng’s figure grew to seven or eight years old. On this day, Shi Kong received a letter paper crane.
Shi Kong has always been as calm as water, and Lu Heng could not decipher anything from his expression. He could only see that the latter wrote a few words on the paper crane and opened his palm. The paper crane patted his wings and flew away.
Then, he heard Shi Kong saying, “How good is your breath control technique?” [T/N: Lian xi technique]
Lu Heng hurriedly sat in meditation, and he skillfully made a few pinching hand movements. The faint demonic aura that shrouded him suddenly disappeared. It seemed no different from ordinary human children.
Shi Kong nodded: “Yes. Today we will go out to gain worldly experience.”
“So fast?” The only person who he came in contact with after he recovered was Shi Kong. Now suddenly, he had to enter this strange world? Lu Heng’s heart was a bit perturbed.
“To enter the (secular) world is also a part of cultivation.”
……
Linyang City, which resided in Jiangnan County, was famous for its silk exports. Not only was it populous and wealthy, it also housed the Fengqi Kingdom’s granaries. Prince Gong, the only young blood-related brother of Fengqi’s emperor, was given a manor and fief here. In Linyang City, Prince Gong’s power was boundless, and he was the local tyrant.
The Linyang County Lord was a famous figure in the local area, and her reputation even exceeded that of her prince father. First, she was a world-class beauty, and the other was that her character was unruly and domineering. One year’s Lantern Festival, while walking amidst a large crowd, the corner of noble Linyang County Lord’s skirt was stepped on. The unfortunate hawker was dragged to the side, and his legs were broken.
There were not many pedestrians in front of the Prince’s Palace, as they were afraid of accidentally touching the Linyang County Lord. Today, some people saw a pair of people including a seven- or eight-year-old boy knocking on the corner door of Prince Gong’s palace.
“The monk is not a person from Jiangnan County. He dared to go to Prince Gong’s manor to beg for money. It is really tragic.”
“Hey, I just saw the face of the monk. It’s really that I have never seen such a good-looking person in my whole life.”
“Hey, you woman, do you find bald heads attractive?”
“You are a bald head with a few holes in the white eggs, and the bald heads are like the moon in the sky.”
“Ze, long hair is short, I don’t want to talk to you. Apparently, the monk is with a young child, and he looks clever and cute, but unfortunately, I fear they will be tortured by Prince Gong.” [T/N: Basically it was believed that women had long hair, because they were less knowledgeable and spent a lot time on hairs. #Sexist_ancient_China].
However, what made everyone’s eyes pop out of their heads was that the gatekeeper of Prince Gong’s house who always looked down on others, upon seeing the monk, opened the main entrance with enthusiasm. After a while, a group of people hurried out of the house, and the middle-aged man who was heading them, dressed in gorgeous robes and wearing a jade crown, was actually Prince Gong.
“Master Shi Kong, we are honoured by your presence. Forgive us for lacking manners.” Prince Gong gave a ceremonial slogan to Shi Kong, and the group of people standing far away dropped their jaws.
“This poor monk arrived at the martial school to hear the news. I heard that the fox escaped from the town’s demon locking tower and has returned to take revenge.” Shi Kong folded his hands together and stood in ceremony.
“Master, please come in and let’s talk.”
Richly ornamented (building), small bridges over flowing water, layers of stone springs. It felt like walking amidst a painting step by step. Despite Lu Heng’s eyes being unable to perceive it all at once, he felt that he could not tarnish Shi Kong’s reputation. Though he tried his best to avoid staring, it felt like a thousand claws scratching his heart, and his restless fingers were testament to his unbridled emotions. Shi Kong was in front of him throughout the journey but he perceived Lu Heng’s changes at once. His gaze stayed on Lu Heng for a moment.
Later, Lu Heng heard Shi Kong’s voice, but Prince Gong and the others who led the way did not respond. This is the legendary secret sound transmission technique, ba! The powers of people who cultivate are really numerous.
“This Prince Gong’s Mansion is the first place we are visiting on our spiritual tour of the secular world.” [T/N: Probably something like travelling the world and helping out people in order to achieve experience and enlightenment]
Shi Kong explained the purpose of this trip to Lu Heng. Three years ago, the Linyang County Lord was enchanted by a Bizong demon fox, and the Bizong demon fox family has always cultivated by absorbing people’s vital essence to grow stronger. This demon fox had cultivated to quite a high level. Prince Gong searched all over the country for someone capable of taming it. Instead, they were all killed by the demon fox. In desperation, he could only request the Zongmen Fanyin Temple to provide asylum from the winds. It coincided with Shi Kong’s spiritual world tour, and this matter fell onto his head. Afterwards, Shi Kong was able to break the enchantment on the Linyang County Lord, sealed the Bizong demon fox, and sent it back to the demon locking tower much to its chagrin.
Who could have thought that a few months ago, the mountain where the demon locking tower was located suddenly trembled, forming a crevice in the array, and a group of demon escaped, with the Bizong demon fox among them? A few days ago, Fanyin Temple received a message from Prince Gong’s government, saying that the fox had returned to take revenge.
While discussing, the group arrived at the main room, sitting down in order. A servant came over to ask Lu Heng to go out, and Shi Kong raised his hands to stop him: “He is a spiritual person, not an ordinary child.”
Therefore, Lu Heng also got a seat with Shi Kong.
“Regarding the specifics, is it okay to invite my daughter to explain?” Prince Gong asked while looking at Shi Kong.
“Can.”
Prince Gong gestured to the servant to invite the Linyang County Lord into the main hall. A moment later, there was a ringing sound outside the hallway. Before the person herself entered, her voice was carried over: “Has Master Shi Kong arrived?”
As usual another super long chapter + finals were here hence the late releases. I just don’t feel like breaking it in parts because that would introduce unnecessary cliffhangers. Unless someone decides to pick this up *wink wink*, you guys are stuck with monthly releases.
I would appreciate any feedback or comments (as usual).