The Rise of Phoenixes- Novel Translation #42

Ripping a piece of her sleeve when they made it to the bottom of the cliff, Zhi Wei wrapped up Ning Yi’s injured knee and her own wounds simply. Helping Ning Yi to his feet, Zhi Wei exchanges a look with him, their smiles disappearing in an instant. Ning Yi says “Let’s go.”

[I know we just established Ning Yi is blind right now but for some reason, the author used the phrase “exchanges a look” here. It doesn’t make sense…but that’s what the book says. By the way, this will keep happening so…]

Wiping away the blood on her sword with some leaves, Zhi Wei wraps her sword in a place she could easily reach.

“The water here is moving towards a direction. If we follow the water we should be able to find a way out.” Ning Yi continues “After a bit, those above will send men down to investigate.”

“Let’s go.” Zhi Wei leads Ning Yi forward by holding onto his sleeve. Zhi Wei could feel her wounds seem to be better. Perhaps when she fainted earlier Ning Yi had either fed her some medicine or transferred some internal energy to her.

She has no idea of Ning Yi’s current condition. She has no clue the extent of the harm the creature caused him but Ning Yi doesn’t look good right now. It has been quite a few days since the wine so his weakness right now is probably because of the creature.

“Can you hold my hand?” After walking for a while, Ning Yi says “Sleeve tears easily.”

Zhi Wei was still hesitating when Ning Yi already grabbed her hand. Their two hands, one hot one cold, made both of them shiver when they touched. With a grin, Ning Yi says “Our hands are sure a good match for one another.

Continuing on when Zhi Wei ignores him, Ning Yi says “When we are holding hands in the royal tomb then you won’t be hot and I won’t be cold. Even better.” (I am not sure this is true historically but in these sort of novels, it is understood that back in the old days, couples who really loves each other will choose to be buried together after they die.) 

It took Zhi Wei a moment to realize His Highness is talking in circles about marriage. Apparently, he has even figured out where they will be buried after they are dead. 

Zhi Wei was about to retort “Who wants to be buried with you in the royal tomb” but she is suddenly filled with a sense of sadness as she sees in her mind the tall imposing royal tomb, with the green lantern that is never to be put out and the white jade staircase leading down to the royal casket. Who would be sleeping in it?

And when she is old, whose tomb will she be in? Whose history book will her life be written in?

Remembering the promise she made with her mother, Zhi Wei couldn’t help herself but asks “If I leave the Capital and disappear forever, what would you think about that?” 

Silent for a while, Ning Yi suddenly tighten his hold on her hand and says clearly “Find you.”

“What if you can’t find me?” Zhi Wei thinks she must be crazy today or else why would she be asking nonsensical questions right now.

“You can’t escape.” Ning Yi “looks” at her, his voice calm “This world, along with the wind, the rain, the water, the dirt all will belong to me. Even if you turns to dust, turns to bones then you will still be my dust, my bones.”

Her turn to be silent for a long moment, Zhi Wei finally forced a laugh as she rubbed her arms “Your Highness, don’t make it sound so scary.”

Ning Yi smiles, but the smile doesn’t reach his eyes.

Staring at Ning Yi, Zhi Wei knew that if she was smiling, the smile would not have reached her own eyes either. Chun Yu’s yell on that cliff still rings in their ears, echoing and sending a dull stabbing pain into their hearts. They don’t bring it up, they are avoiding it, but that doesn’t mean they have or will forget.

They followed the water upstream and made their way into a mountain. Her mind slightly more at ease as they enter into the mountain. The mountain range they are in is quite big and there is no way the people after them could make big a ruckus searching for them. Wondering around in the mountain is much safer compared to their situation before.

After walking for another while, Ning Yi and Zhi Wei share an exasperated smile when they hear each other’s stomach growling. Not daring to leave Ning Yi to go hunting, Zhi Wei looks around and finally says “Maybe talk to our neighbor above and see if we could get something to eat?”

“What neighbor above?”

Zhi Wei points at the pine tree above them, a squirrel is happily jumping around. Listening intently, Ning Yi suggests “I think the neighbor’s meat might be even better.”

“Then you go convince him to offer up his meat.” Zhi Wei suggests with a wry smile “Your humble servant is too unskilled and can’t manage the task.”

“Such a pretentious woman.” Ning Yi jeers “You kill people with the ease of chopping vegetables but you are unwilling to kill a squirrel.”

“Humans can be worse than animals.” Zhi Wei replies with an unemotional voice “Beasts will rarely provoke without cause, betray, shame, hurt but people will.”

Giving Zhi Wei a side glance with his beautiful glistening black eyes, Ning Yi laughs then gives her a push “Eunuch Feng should hurry to go pick the nuts then. By the time you finish preaching, this Prince would be ready for the royal tomb.” (Referring to Zhi Wei as Eunuch Feng is Ning Yi’s jab at her previous words of calling herself as Ning Yi’s humble servant.)

After rolling her eyes at Ning Yi, Zhi Wei starts climbing up the tree. Leaning against the tree, Ning Yi waits as small pine needles fall around him, tickling his face. Raising his face up, Ning Yi “looked” around his surrounding. He might not be able to see, but he can still imagine the beauty of the forest in this fall season. The afternoon sun would be shining its golden rays through the forest of green and the ground would be covered by a thick blanket of fallen leaves.

And that girl’s willowy figure is busily working above his head. He can feel the tree vibrating accompanied by sounds of the wresting of the leaves. In a soft beguiling voice, she is bargaining with the squirrel on a deal of emptying his nest. Losing to her “convincing” speech, the squirrel runs off, leaving behind its nest of treasures.

Ning Yi could hear Zhi Wei fearlessly scrambling around among the tree branches. Feeling playful all the sudden, Ning Yi takes one steps forward, let out a loud yelp of surprise as he gives the tree trunk a kick.

Belatedly remembering that he had twisted his ankle once the heart numbing pain came, Ning Yi first yelp is followed by another… a real one this time.

Alarmed by the two yelps, Zhi Wei quickly looks down. Letting out a surprised yelp of her own as the tree shakes and she loses her footing on the narrow branches, Zhi Wei falls as her armful of spoils tumble out.

She fell right into Ning Yi’s arms.

Just as a certain someone had wanted her to.

Having already calculated where Zhi Wei would fall, Ning Yi catches her in his waiting arms as he says languidly “How can one resist when a beautiful woman throws herself at him?”

 

 

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