- This particular chapter appeared in episode 32 in the drama. Before we get into the translation, there are a few points we have to go over. 1. The Emperor in the novel is a real sleazeball all around but especially when it comes to women. I mean…the icky sort of sleazeball who thinks just because he is the emperor, every woman should welcome his advances. 2. As a total jerk, the Emperor didn’t love Ning Yi’s mother at all. The only reason Ning Yi’s mother had a special meaning to the Emperor was because the first time he met her, she fell right into his arms from the sky (yap, you read that right) while prophesying (she actually sang it). No one knows what the prophecy said but it was obviously something the emperor is very wary of. (Ning Yi’s mother was the sacred priestess of a mysterious tribe that has since then been wiped out.)
- Like in the drama, Zhi Wei runs into Ning Yi at his mother’s previous dwelling. Zhi Wei accidentally discovers a hidden passage behind a crystal figure of a woman. Realizing the crystal figure’s identity when Ning Yi breaks down in tears at the sight of it, Zhi Wei watches in silence as Ning Yi’s initial joy of seeing his mother’s likeness turns to fury when he belatedly registers the disgustingly suggestive posture of the crystal figure. In a rage, Ning Yi smashes the crystal figure until it shatters into pieces. (The Emperor is obviously the one who had the crystal figure made…like I said, he is a real sleazeball.)
Standing in the utterly silent underground passage, the only sound Zhi Wei would hear is the sound of her own breathing. Her heart filled with unease by the deafening silence and the extreme paleness of his face, Zhi Wei couldn’t help but walks forward, wanting to do something. However, the moment she reaches Ning Yi, he suddenly falls unconscious.
Amidst the pouring rain and the raging thunder, Zhi Wei struggles with much difficulty as she carries Ning Yi on her back, carefully treading on the moss covered path. Instantly drenched the moment she took a step out of the underground passage, Zhi Wei wipes the dripping water off her face as she curses herself. Why did she run into the underground passage to avoid the rain? All that work for nothing when she was destined to get drenched anyway. And what’s up with Ning Yi?! What happened to his perpetual calm? He has to go crazy today of all days? Guess he still has a lot to learn from her!
Blinded by the fierce rain, Zhi Wei almost had to rely completely by touch as she puts her hand to the wall to figure out which way to go. After what seemed like forever, covering only a small distance, Zhi Wei finally makes it to an abandoned palace area that despite looking old, the place is still clean and dry.
Zhi Wei didn’t dump Ning Yi on the bed right away. He is completely drenched as well, so he would’ve ended up just laying in a water puddle. Setting Ning Yi on a chair, Zhi Wei wraps him from head to toe with a blanket then took his pulse.
Frowning, Zhi Wei quickly realizes that Ning Yi’s condition wasn’t as simple as getting rained on or overwhelmed with emotion. Ning Yi’s body has obviously been harboring an old malady and it is about to get much worse if she doesn’t figure out a way to protect him from the cold first.
Standing in the dark room, Zhi Wei raised her face to the ceiling, thought for a moment before finally closing her eyes.
Reaching under the blanket, Zhi Wei resolutely begins to undress Ning Yi.
Long robe, belt, outer garment, inner garment, pants, underwear…
Initially, Zhi Wei’s movement was brisk but it soon slowed down as her ears turn bright pink yet her hand never stopped.
A small pile of wet clothing quickly appeared on the ground. Judging by the size, the clothes that should’ve been off, are off…and the ones that should not have been off…are also off.
While pulling her hand out underneath the blanket, Zhi Wei suddenly stopped when her fingers felt a bump. Tracing the bump with her fingers, Zhi Wei is certain that it is a scar, a very ghastly one at that.
This was probably the old malady that caused him to fall unconscious. But, how would a prince sustain such a severe injury?
Slowly feeling the bump again, the scar is long, wide and jugged. Making it easy for Zhi Wei to imagine how dreadful it must have been.
Remembering the rumor about him in the Capital…an almost fatal illness at the age of seven, undergoing a drastic change of personality after… what if it wasn’t an illness but a wound?
Belatedly remembering what she is doing when her finger reached his smooth skin, a red faced Zhi Wei promptly pulls her hand back, trying to not let her imagination go wild.
Trying to distract herself to think about anything but what she is doing, Zhi Wei savagely dried Ning Yi’s whole body with a towel. Replacing the wet blanket on Ning Yi with a dry one, Zhi Wei picks Ning Yi up and deposits him on the bed.
Using the blanket to forcefully rub a still unconscious Ning Yi’s body all over to encourage his blood circulation, Zhi Wei is soon rewarded to see the grey in his face fading away. Sweaty after all her hard work, Zhi Wei fumes as she stares at the man who is sleeping in comfort. With great jealousy, Zhi Wei pats Ning Yi’s face none too gently and mutters “Having a nice dream are we?!”
Feeling vindicated, Zhi Wei decides that she should use the chance to beat Ning Yi a few more times…after all, she might not get another chance.
Searching around the room for anything to start a fire, Zhi Wei couldn’t help but admire the room full of exquisite furniture and decorations. Dragging a fire basin from underneath the bed, Zhi Wei starts a fire then turns her attention to drying and brushing Ning Yi’s hair.
Waking up just as Zhi Wei is leaning over him gently brushing his hair away from his forehead, Ning Yi felt like he has been trapped in a dark abyss struggling to find an escape from the perpetual cold and stormy world. When he was finally able to open his eyes, the only thing he saw was a delicate hand brushing across. Raising his eyes, Ning Yi could see the corner of a dainty chin and soft pink lips that seem to glow brightly in a world that is otherwise completely grey.
Under the faint glow of the fire that warms him right to the bone, the dark and cold endless torment just now seemed to all be a dream.
Or, is this the dream now?
His vision a bit blurry as the hand above is still moving around busily, Ning Yi looks around in a daze. Everything feels so familiar. He seems to remember that years ago, there is such a place with such a person who had gently and carefully tended to him.
His heart instantly filled with overwhelming joy.
Has everything that was lost, finally back?
Letting out a soft moan, he grabs the hand, pressed his face gently against it.
“Mother…”
The hand felt warm against his cool face, a warmth that spread through his whole body.
Her body freezes in mid-motion, Zhi Wei stares at the hand that is in Ning Yi’s grasp and couldn’t decide if she should pull her hand away or just let Ning Yi be. The guy is obviously not completely awake yet so if she abruptly pulls her hand away, she risks waking him up and have him so embarrassed that he gets mad. But…if she leaves her hand, then is him going to get even madder when he eventually wakes up?
Jerking awake when Zhi Wei’s hand quiver ever so slightly, Ning Yi’s eyes that were dazed a moment ago instantly come back to focus. Narrowing his eyes when he sees who is in front of him, Ning Yi lets go of her hand and demands “Why are you here?”
There wasn’t any embarrassment on his face, just an instant recovery of his usual sharpness and serene composure. Once the confusion in his eyes was gone, the perpetual caution and alertness came rushing back.
Wiping her fingers on her skirt, Zhi Wei turns away to dry Ning Yi’s clothes over the fire and says with a smile “I came in to avoid the rain. It was unintentional.”
All text copyright @ www.Ninja-Reflection.com
Gah! I’m on tetherhooks and have to wait another week for more! Love your translations especially as there isn’t an English one
Por Dios , se pone mas interesante. Espero con ansias la otra semana.
I look forward to these translations every Monday! Thank you so much for your hard work. I’m sure you have a lot of fans globally that tunes into your blog. Keep up the great work. 🤗👍🏽
What a nice translation! I’m excited to learn more about this encounter next week. Are they still in his mother’s previous dwelling? Or are they in some random palace? I assume that the rain washes away all of her makeup so that he clearly recognizes who she is?
So this whole scene in the novel started in an underground passage so they are now in the hero’s mother’s dwelling.
It gets better every week! Can’t wait for the next installment.
!!!
Side note- is ZW uncommonly strong for a woman? She talks about carrying him inside and picking him up to put him in bed like its nothing at all
I think I like the dramas version of the Emperor better so far. He feels a little more complex.
One thing that is very important to keep in mind is that this story is set in the same world as Legend of Fuyao (Chinese drama, 2018). For those who didn’t watch Fuyao, that particular world has immortals with supernatural fighting abilities. In The Rise of Phoenixes, the whole immortal realms have seemed to retreat from the human world, so the story deals mostly with human intrigue. However, there are still plenty of signs that Phoenixes are set in a fantasy world…just not quite to the point that was in Fuyao. In the drama, neither of our leads seemed to be particularly super fighters. Even Gu Nan Yi was just a better fighter than your average guy. In the novel though, Gu Nan Yi is one of the best fighter in the human world so that whole scene where Gu Nan Yi got beat up by the Bloody Pagoda members would never have happened. While our hero in the novel is not quite as good of fighter as Gu Nan Yi but he is probably one of the few in the world that could hold his own against him. As for Zhi Wei, in the novel her dream is to become a great female general like Mama Qiu was so of course she would have pretty good fighting skill as well. It is also important to point out that Zhi Wei did come from a line of two immortals so that why she has a mysterious ball of energy locked inside her right now so as the story goes along and the energy begins to be unlocked, our heroine will get stronger as she goes as well. Anyway, a very long answer to your question: Yes, Zhi Wei could carry our hero. Not effortlessly but doable.
Yes, I too think the Emperor in the drama had more depth so a better character than the one in the novel.
I loved watching Legend of Fuyao also =)
Also, this scene is quite different from the drama. Does it give any details about the emperor birthday? In the drama that the Emperor birthday celebration is one of my favorites scenes. Also, where does Ning Yi get that scar from?
Hmm…I might have to go back and check, but I don’t believe the feast was given that much attention…but then my attention was completely focused elsewhere… you guys will see why next week. 🙂
Sarah also asked the same question as you did about the scar so see my answer to her.
Ninja,
This is fantastic! Thank you for this scene as it is different from the drama.
When did Ning Yi get the scar that Zhi Wei feels up? Her wondering about it made me want to ask. 🙂 Is it from his childhood when he got poisoned and fell into a coma?
If we find out later, DON’T tell me! I’ll wait just wondering if we learn later.
Thank you again for your translations!
~Sarah
Good question about the scar. This didn’t come across very clear in the drama but remember the part when young Ning Yi confronted Mama Qiu’s husband (who was the leader of Bloody Pagoda) and tried to get him to give up the baby? Mama Qiu’s husband jumped off the cliff to his death with the baby but not before he set off a bomb that was hiding in one of his dead comrade’s body. The author doesn’t explain exactly where the scar came from but it is probably safe to assume it came from the explosion. Young Ning Yi was severely wounded by the bomb, fell into a coma and by the time he woke up, his mother is dead. By the way, as I have explained about Bloody Pagoda before, in the novel, Mama Qiu’s husband was really only a member of the organization (granted an important one) but his whole obsession of re-establishing the Da Cheng Empire was his own since Bloody Pagoda only had one mission- protect Zhi Wei and allow her to eventually live a happy life no matter what path she decides to choose.
Hi, I found this site recently and have really enjoyed and appreciated all of your The Rise of Phoenixes features. I’ll also be tuning in every week to follow these translations. Many thanks!
Thank you for your answer, that seems to make sense, in the drama, Zhi Wei father explodes a white flame like tear gas and the young Ning Yi fell. I thought It was to protect him from the arrow from the young prince. This was all in the beginning in the drama. I could be wrong.
Thank you so much for your translation of the novel 🙂 You made me truly happy .
Aghhh, my heart just aches for NY. It can’t be easy to have those big heavy emotions from his childhood loss flood back, then to have that vulnerable moment witnessed by ZW must have been really tough. It was smart that ZW played it off. She probably realized how tender and protective he must have been feeling. Side note: I’m sooooo glad she got to touch his hot bod and even beat him up a little for the time he gave her grief! Her discovery of the scar made me remember the novel ending translation about how he later used it his advantage. 😉
Different scar…that’s another great scene we will cover later.
I know this question is totally unrelated to this post, but I am dying to know the answer and I wasn’t able to comment on the relevant post. What is the realtion between Princess Shao Ning and Zhi Wei ? Why do they look so shockingly similar? Will we find out soon? Thank you so much for your hardwork! These posts are awesome. I wish I could read the novels. 😪
That one is a BIG mystery we won’t find out until much later. Sorry!
The question of Ning Yi visiting his mother will get answered in the next post. As for Ning Yi’s mother’s death, I don’t seem to remember her showing up again…but don’t quote me on that.