Journey of Flower Novel Translation #4

Standing in the courtyard, Qiangu stares at the door that has remained closed for a long time since Zi Xun has walked in. With a sad laugh, Qiangu figures that Zihua’s resentment must have grown even bigger.

Walking in the dungeon where Ni Man Tian is held, Qiangu listens silently for a long time as a half crazy Ni Man Tian laughs, yells, and cries to an imaginary Luo Shiyi. (In the drama, Ni Man Tian was in love with Shuo Feng (a piece of jade that had turned into a human) but in the novel, she is actually in love with Luo Shiyi.)
Raising her hand, Qiangu heals Ni Man Tian as her flesh grows back while she screams in pain.
“Hua Qiangu! What are you up to now?!”
“I am tired, I don’t want to play anymore.”
“Ha ha! Are you finally willing to kill me? You want to show the world your mercy?”
“I won’t kill you. That will only dirty my hand. You lived your whole life loving your own beauty so I will let you kill yourself with dignity.”

Feeling her eyesight coming back and her body healed, the only thought left in Ni Man Tian was to kill Qiangu. Without any power left, the only thing Ni Man Tian could do was to lurch herself at Qiangu and bites our heroine’s left hand with all of her strength. Her eyes devoid of expression, Qiangu’s movement was slow and sluggish as she waves her arm slightly and sends Ni Man Tian flying through the air until she hits the wall.
“You killed the person that was most important to me. The fact I am willing to let you die is not because I have forgiven you but because it is time to end everything. Why? Why after suffering so much you still don’t think you’ve done anything wrong?”
“Why do I need to be contrite for? If I am given another hundred of chances I will still kill that disgusting Tangbao!”
“I won’t let Tangbao die like this. I will bring her back to me.”
“Ha ha! Hua Qiangu! Did you think just because you are a god you can bring back everything? So what if Tangbao comes back? You killed the person she loved the most, do you think she will forgive you?”
Frozen like a bucket of icy water has been dumped on her in the middle of winter, Qiangu backs away while shaking her head violently. “No! Tangbao loves me the most. She won’t hate me because of Luo Shiyi! She won’t!”
“What a joke! If Tango had killed Bai Zihua would you not be resentful? Can you still treat her like before?”
Overwhelmed with fear, a feeling she hasn’t felt for a long time, Qiangu yells “I can resurrect Tangbo which means I can bring Luo Shiyi back as well.”
Laughing wildly with despair in her voice, Ni Man Tian asks “Are you not aware? How can a person who was killed by a god personally be brought back to life?”
All her hope shattered in one instant, Qiangu falls back against the wall, shaking her head in disbelief “You are lying! Everyone is lying to me!”
Qing Shui lied about the two of them being best friends. (That’s her bff who ended up going crazy after stabbing our heroine.) Sha Qianmo lied because he really only ever saw her as his dead sister’s replacement. Everything Zhu Ran has done is to use her. Bai Zihua is staying by her side to find a way to kill her. Even Dong Fang…his death was all part of his plan.
Why? Is she really so foolish that everyone finds it easy to deceive her?
Filled with glee to see Qiangu in despair just because of some random lie she said, Ni Man Tian decides she can finally die now she had her revenge. “We will be enemies in the next life, and the life after that, and the one after that. Perhaps forever.” Bashing her head against the wall with all her strength, Ni Man Tian’s body slowly crumbles to the ground while keeping her eyes still on Qiangu.
Staring at Ni Man Tian as she swallows her last breath wearing a satisfied smile, Qiangu wonders when would it be her turn to be liberated.

Ni Man Tian’s death stunned Zhu Ran. The timing was much earlier than he expected. Was it because of Bai Zihua? Or can she no longer stand her cruel and cold self?

—————————————————————————5/30/2018——————————————————————————–

Qiangu has not gone back to see Bai Zihua but is instead spending all of her time sleeping on her throne while the demons party all around her. No longer cold, Qiangu now seems sluggish and stoic, constantly spacing out. Disinterested in everything, the aura of sadness mix with a sense of determination surrounds Qiangu.

Tired of Zhu Ran’s attempt to put a spark of life in her by kidnapping a bunch of men who look like Zihua, Qiangu tells Zhu Ran to free the men and turns her attention on him by offering “If you are self-conscious of the scar left by the water of greed, then I can get rid of the scar. You had always made the excuse that you were too busy, but now the whole world is in your hand. Instead of spending your time trying to do this and that for me, why don’t you spend time making yourself happy? I know you are worried about me, but you should know that none of this could lessen the pain. I know what I am don’t so don’t worry.”

Worried about her?! Stunned by Qiangu’s words Zhu Ran can’t figure out why she would think he would worry about her when they have always used one another. It has been a long time since Zhu Ran has heard Qiangu said so much in one shot and she even said it in a warm manner. In truth, Qiangu has been extra forgiving lately, from him drugging Bai Zihua to everything else he had done recently, she has not uttered one word of anger. Has she taken off her mask and decided to return to her real self? Or did she really let go and doesn’t care anymore? With a soft laugh, Zhu Ran thought to himself “I would sure like to see if you really could let go of Bai Zihua.”

Every other day, Qiangu would show up at a sleeping Sha Qian Mo’s side and mutter nonstop by herself. Walking out of Sha Qian Mo’s room, Qiangu looks visibly more relaxed. Puzzled when she hears an upbeat and carefree melody, Qiangu wonders who could be in the mood to play at this place? Bai Zihua? No, the melody could not have been this carefree if it was him.
Curious, Qiangu goes searching until she finally sees a man in white sitting underneath a tree with his back towards her. Her breath caught to see the figure that looks so much like Zihua but Qiangu knew instantly that it wasn’t. Standing quietly, memories of her happy time with Bai Zihua come flooding back to Qiangu. Stopping his playing abruptly when he hears Qiangu’s sigh, the man turns around and the expression of shock crosses his face when he saw her.

Equally stunned when she sees the man who looks like he had just walked out of a painting, Qiangu could see the man easily match Bai Zihua both in look and charisma but without the cold aloofness. Seemingly transported back to the moment when she first saw Zihua, Qiangu stood in a daze.

“Who are you?” The man asks in a melodic voice that surrounds her like a gentle breeze.
“Who am I?” Still dazed, Qiangu repeats the question in a mutter.
Dazzled when the man smiles and promptly turns the world around her into a blinding pink hue, Qiangu obediently sits down like a puppet when the man invites “Don’t stand on the rooftop, you might fall. If you don’t mind, why don’t you come sit over here?”
Shaking her hand quickly as the man pour her a cup of wine, Qiangu says “Thank you, but I don’t drink.”
Giving Qiangu another dazzling smile, the man explains “This is not wine but it’s a tea that has the fragrance of wine.”
Mildly embarrassed, Qiangu takes a small sip and the tea was indeed more fragrant than real wine.
“Thank you, you are?”
“My name is Mo Bing Xian.”
Unable to look away from the man who looks like a tranquil painting but with a lace of coldness winding through its core, Qiangu asks “How did you get here? Did Zhu Ran forced you to come?” Thinking back to all the men Zhu Ran had kidnapped for her, Qiangu figures it is very likely that this man came here by the same method.
With a shrug, Mo Bing Xian takes a sip of his tea then replies “He doesn’t have that ability. The only thing he could do was to threaten me with the Shu Shan sect”
“You are part of the Shu Shan sect? Are you a new disciple? How come I have never heard of you?”
“Of course you have never heard of me. It has been a long time since I have concerned myself with the things of this world. The head of Shu Shan sect could’ve been my disciple’s disciple…if I actually had a disciple.”
Surprised, Qiangu asks “Sorry, have you been here for a long time?”
“Not too long. Honestly, here or there is all the same. What’s your name?”
“I…” Standing up abruptly, Qiangu mutters “I should go.”
It is enough for her to spend a short amount of time with someone who doesn’t hate her or afraid of her. When she gets back, she will tell Zhu Ran to let him go.
Amused as he watches a flustered Qiangu runs off, Mo Bing Xian just smiles and sips his tea.
Showing up not long after Qiangu left, Zhu Ran asks “So how was it?”
“It is such a bore to lie to a kid.” Replying with a derisive smile, Mo Bing Xian continues “I had thought that the demon goddess must be some scary monster or a Medusa sort of beauty. All my hopes was for nothing.”
Amused by Mo Bing Xian’s words, Zhu Ran explains with a laugh “If you had arrived earlier then you could’ve seen a cool haughty beauty but for some reason, she has been out of it lately but I guess she was easily charmed by you.”
“I really feel like a fool. Who would’ve thought that I, Mo Bing Xian, would have a day when I have to use my beauty to seduce a woman…and as someone else’s substitute at that! What a joke.”
“This is the easiest way for her to accept you. Moreoever, you come off like Bai Zihua even without trying. The legend was true. You two are equally impressive.”
“Hey, Bai Zihua is the one that’s like me. He wasn’t even born when I was zipping around the six realms.”
“Fine, fine. We will still trouble you then.”
“What do you want really? Do you want me to make her happy or are you trying to get her power so you can replace her? You do know that I came to figure out a way to kill her. Aren’t you afraid of losing your trump card?”
“Of course I am not afraid of you killing her…unless you are really Bai Zihua.”
“How did she end up falling in love with her own master? I really can’t understand how the six realms got so messy.”
“You don’t seem to care much about the fate of Shu Shan or the six realms, so why are you here?”
“It’s true that I don’t care. I was just a bit surprised. Hey, kid. If you have seen your master kneel to someone before then you wouldn’t be surprised to see me here.”
Completely stunned, Zhu Ran thought: He got on his knees in front of Mo Bing Xian?! To save the six realms? Or was it only to for Bai Zihua?
Shaking his head with a smile, Mo Bing Xian sighs “Of all the time I have known your master I have never seen him like this. I was also surprised that a woman could put Bai Zihua in this state. So I figure since I was bored I might as well come and see for myself what the demon goddess is like. She is indeed a beauty that is unparalleled in this world but I still find it a bit unsavory to have to go to bed with her just to achieve some sort of an end. Your master is sure interesting. He couldn’t stand to sacrifice Bai Zihua so he is going to sacrifice me.”

Shaking his head as well, Zhu Ran muses ” Mo Bing Xian, you are so confident. Just like everyone else. From Bai Zihua to Sha Qian Mo, to Dong Fang, and even myself, we all thought it would be so easy to manipulate a girl that is so naive but in the end, it is a toss up which one of us is more pitiful.”

“Thanks for the advice. I will be careful.”

Turning to leave, Zhu Ran knew that in truth Bai Zihua and Mo Bing Xian are nothing alike. Mo Bing Xian hates responsibilities but Bai Zihua piles everything on himself. The six realms, to Zhang Liu (that’s the sect our hero belongs to), to Hua Qiangu, or even some random passerby, Bai Zihua would feel like he is responsible for them all so how can he not feel tired from all that.

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