Rise of Humanity
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chapter-18
Chapter 18: 18
The female yard was the residence where the upper yard female disciples lived. For any male upper yard disciple it was a place both strange and full of mystery. Once upon a time there was a male disciple who went inside the female yard; he was beaten until he lost his memories and was expelled from the Sword Sect.
This kind of things happened once or twice every year. Although many male disciples were still full of fascination towards the female yard, the dangers of the female yard were also well known. Even if a female disciple were an intimate lovers of yours, you could still only wait outside for your lover to come out and couldn’t go inside.
"This brave warrior, I wish him good luck in his next life." The male disciples outside the yard gloated about his upcoming misfortune.
It had only been a very short time since Zhong Yue became an upper yard disciple, and a series of incidents had happened after that. So absolutely no one had time to tell him that the female yard was strictly forbidden to male disciples, hence he walked inside upright and in broad daylight. No one blocked his way."This female yard is indeed different compared to our male yard, the pleasant scenery couldn’t be more beautiful."
As he walked along he observed the scene around him. The landscape was beautiful, and flowers blossomed bright and magnificent all along the way. The mountains were green, the sky was blue, and the lakes reflected the sky. Over those lakes small boats lazily drifted while cormorants frolicked in the water in couples. The sound of female singing rose, gentle and beautiful, nimble and elusive, the music lingering uninterrupted.
Zhong Yue stopped and watched from the lakeside. A girl sat at the bow of a boat and was singing a tune. The water rippled, and several girls emerged from the lake’s bottom still dripping wet. They clung to the boat and listened quietly, their lovely shoulders exposed over the water’s surface.
"There’s a man peeping on your bath!"
The girl on the boat suddenly glimpsed Zhong Yue on the lakeside and shouted in alarm.
The young girls in the water cried in fear and hurried dove down, creating many flowers made of ripples.
Zhong Yue hurried to leave. Those girls hid themselves on the small island in the middle of the lake and quickly put their clothes on, their almond eyes all glowing with fury. Their killing intent surged in scathing waves as they sought Zhong Yue’s whereabouts.But Zhong Yue’s steps were extremely fast, while they still needed to put clothes on and were delayed for a time. They were already distanced by Zhong Yue.
"There’s a man who broke into my upper yard, and even peeped on us sisters bathing!"
"Alert the other sisters, immediately find this man!"
"Lust gave him wings, he surprisingly dares to intrude inside the female yard, and even dares to peep us sisters bathing! Find him and break his three legs!"
…
Zhong Yue was leisurely strolling inside the female yard, thinking: "Where’s the Qingyan girl living in the end? The female yard is so big and the female disciples so many, it’s really not easy to search for her. I better find someone to ask…"
"Brother apprentice Zhong, why did you run to this place?"
Suddenly a familiar voice came to him. Zhong Yue’s vision followed the sound and saw Tian Lanyue dressed like a village girl while carrying a flower basket. Inside the basket were all kinds of fresh flowers. Flabbergast was written all over her face as she looked at him.
"Your courage is actually pretty big, you even dare to break inside the female yard."
Tian Lanyue quickly walked toward him, but suddenly she thought of something and asked a little bashfully: "Was it for my sake that you took the risk of intruding inside the female yard? I still haven’t changed my clothes…"
Zhong Yue smiled: "Senior apprentice sister is mistaken. I’m looking for someone in the female yard, she’s called Shui Qingyan, of the River Mud clan from the Wei River tribe. I promised her I’d come look for her. But before I had no time, and today I’m finally free. Does senior sister apprentice know junior sister apprentice Shui?"
"So he wasn’t looking for me…"
Tian Lanyue felt a little disappointment in her heart, but hurriedly smiled: "Brother apprentice came to find sister apprentice Shui Qingyan? Could sister apprentice Shui be your little lover?"
Not waiting for Zhong Yue to refute, Tian Lanyue hurried to grab his arm and dragged him toward her own residence, saying: "Your courage is too big! You’re going to suffer if people knew you came inside the female yard, first hide inside my house! Right, did someone see you come in?"
Zhong Yue mumbled: "When I was beside a lake I saw someone singing, and some people were also bathing. I was discovered and left…"
Tian Lanyue rolled her eyes and didn’t know whether to laugh or cry: "You’re done. Among the ones bathing there’s the eldest sister apprentice of the female yard, Yu Feiyan. She’s the granddaughter of the patriarch of the You Yu clan [1], one of the ten great clans. The You Yu clansmen are named Yu, and the clan is ranked second among the ten great clans and tribes. Sister apprentice’s strength is recognized to be first inside the female yard, her means are nearly those of a Qi Refining warrior. Her temper is explosive, you actually dare to watch her bath. You’re dead for sure! Hide inside my house first, we’ll wait until the storm settles down before I lead you out."
Zhong Yue explained: "I wasn’t watching her bath on purpose, I was just fascinated by the song."
"The girl singing isn’t an ordinary person either. She’s Tao Dai’er and comes from the clan ranked third among the ten great clans, the Peach Forest clan. Her singing voice is the most moving of all. Her dad is a law enforcement elder of our Sword Sect, you might have seen him when you were accepted in the sect. He’s the elder with his face always black, when he looks at someone it’s always like they killed his father."
Tian Lanyue had a big headache. She put her upper yard token on her front gate and said: "If someone discovers you, you’re really dead for sure… I’ll go look for sister apprentice Shui, but you two can’t act as you please in my courtyard, doing shameful things!"
Zhong Yue asked a bit puzzled: "What shameful things can I do with apprentice sister Shui?"
Tian Lanyue was both embarrassed and furious: "Anyway you can’t act recklessly in my courtyard!"
Not long later, Tian Lanyue came back but Shui Qingyan wasn’t following at her side. She shook her head at Zhong Yue: "Your little lover went up the mountain a few days ago, she was summoned by the Qi Refining warriors of the River Mud clan. She sealed her residence off after returning. I went to look for her and she said she didn’t want to see you. Did you two quarrel? I noticed her expression wasn’t very good. I casually told her you narrowly escaped with your life in the demon ruins, but she showed no reaction…"
Zhong Yue was slightly startled, thinking: "Apprentice sister Shui has always been soft and gentle. I haven’t offended her either, why did she become so cold today?"
Tian Lanyue continued: "Sister apprentice Shui’s cultivation is actually shocking, after she came back down the mountain her cultivation speed has been really god-like. She’s much stronger than me. I’m guessing she’ll soon be able to induce spirits and become a Qi Refining warrior! This level of cultivation speed is really a divine speed, it’s even faster than yours! Right now it’s hard to say whether Yu Feiyan can keep her title of eldest sister apprentice."
Zhong Yue felt disappointed and stood up: "I better leave since apprentice sister Shui doesn’t want to see me."
Tian Lanyue hurriedly said: "You can’t! If you leave now you’ll certainly be caught red-handed. I’ll be shamed to death if someone saw you come out of my house! Wait until nighttime, I’ll secretly lead you out!"
Zhong Yue nodded, and the two of them quieted down.
Tian Lanyue wasn’t very used to the feeling of sharing her room with him. She secretly looked him over. Zhong Yue wasn’t a handsome man, and on the contrary his appearance was a little rough. He had thick eyebrows and big eyes, his body was full of solid and powerful muscles. His chest was broad, and his stature was also half a head taller than ordinary young men.
Her own figure could be said to be outstanding, and her height counted as tall among women, but in front of him she looked like a cute little girl.
"Now that I’m carefully looking, brother apprentice Zhong is more worth the look than those handsome disciples." Tian Lanyue’s cheek were faintly red when she thought this.
Night fell, and over two hours later, Tian Lanyue secretly led Zhong Yue out of her residence toward the female yard’s exit. Her heart banged loudly in her chest: "If someone finds out I’m sneakily leading a small man out of the female yard, my reputation will be entirely destroyed, everyone will definitely think that brother apprentice Zhong is my little lover…"
She was restless in her heart, but fortunately the sky was dark and they didn’t meet other female disciples on the way.
As they went past a certain courtyard, Xin Huo suddenly said in Zhong Yue’s sea of consciousness: "Zhong kid, I sense the Celestial Elephant Old Mother’s aura, it’s very close!"
"Celestial Elephant Old Mother?"
Zhong Yue’s heart jumped: "Could the Celestial Elephant Old Mother be hiding inside the Sword Sect upper yard?"
"This demon god’s spirit is most likely living inside the body of a female disciple, she should be right here in this yard."
The small flame jumped as he said: "Her aura is extremely weak when hidden inside a woman’s body. There’s only occasionally a shiver of breath leaking through that’s difficult to sense. It must be because she just obtained this body and didn’t fully integrate with it. After she fully integrates in her new body, it’ll be very difficult even for me to sense her!"
Zhong Yue looked over this courtyard. Tian Lanyue was astonished and she laughed. "Puchi." She said: "Brother apprentice Zhong really has a lover his heart and shares feelings even when away from each other. You can actually see at a single glance that here is sister apprentice Shui Qingyan’s residence. Unfortunately your little lover doesn’t want to see you. Let’s go, let’s avoid being found out, otherwise I’ll be the scapegoat in sister apprentice Shui’s stead!"
Zhong Yue’s brain thundered. He followed her step after step going forward, moving up and down, until they finally exited the female yard after a while.
"Sister apprentice Shui was parasitized by the Celestial Elephant Old Mother…"
His mind was a great blank. The young girl who always called him elder brother Yue was actually parasitized by the Celestial Elephant Old Mother. He really couldn’t accept it!
After a while, Zhong Yue finally came back to his senses and said: "Xin Huo, if she’s been taken over by the demon god spirit, will sister apprentice Shui still be the original sister apprentice Shui?
"How powerful is a demon god spirit? The spiritual soul of ordinary people will be crushed dead in one instant."
Little Xin Huo casually said: "Even a Qi Refining warrior can’t resist. If you’re parasitized by a demon god spirit, your soul will die without any doubt, only your body will still be alive."
Tian Lanyue saw that he was dazed as if he had lost his soul. She couldn’t help shaking her head, saying: "Brother apprentice, you’re still young, if you already lose yourself in the charms of the opposite sex, I’m afraid it’ll delay your cultivation…"
"Hehehe, junior sister apprentice Ting, you actually know that being lost in the charms of the opposite sex will hinder cultivation!"
Suddenly a cold laugh came from the small woods outside the female yard. Several girls came out from among the trees and blocked their way. The girl in the lead was precisely the female yard’s eldest sister apprentice, Yu Feiyan. She examined Zhong Yue up and down, and sneered: "You hide a man in your own house, happy in carnal congress until now. Why bother pretending to explain?"
Tian Lanyue silently screamed disaster in her heart, and hurriedly said: "Sister apprentice Yu, you’re all mistaken…"
Another girl laughed coldly: "Mistaken? If we were mistaken, why would you hide your little man in your own room until now? Do you still need me to point out what kind of happy things you two did during all this time? However, the rules of the female yard can’t be changed, otherwise you hide a man and I hide a man, then the female yard will soon have a foul atmosphere. Today your little lover must leave a leg behind. As to which leg out of his three legs, sister apprentice Ting you can make the choice."
Tian Lanyue was greatly anxious, and hurriedly looked at Zhong Yue, quietly saying: "Brother apprentice, you go first!"
Zi La!
Suddenly ear-grating sounds came, and totem poles emerged one after another. Light rays shone brightly. Yu Feiyan, Tao Dai’er and the other girls had shockingly arranged a totem pole battle array at this place long ago. They crushed the two of them with the pressure!
Tian Lanyue sensed that her body couldn’t move and felt incomparably anxious.
Suddenly, a totem pole trembled and flew up in the air with a "hu", then exploded with a bang.
Zhong Yue lifted his foot and strode forward, his muscles shaking. The pressure coming from the totem poles met with the counter force coming from his body, and the poles couldn’t prevent being lifted in the air one after the other, exploding with loud bangs!
Yu Feiyan shouted sternly and soared in the air. Suddenly a fish and a goose flew out in tandem [2]. Her mind power poured out as she unexpectedly visualized a big fish and a big bird that dove toward Zhong Yue!
Inside the darkness, two silhouette clashed. Suddenly lightning flashed and thunder rolled, brightly illuminating the darkness. An incomparably savage Jiao dragon carrying thunderbolts released great rays of light and crashed against the fish and goose flying in tandem!
"Mang!"
A dragon cry rose and Yu Feiyan fell on the ground with a stuffy groan. When she raised her head she saw that the savage evil Jiao had vanished, and Zhong Yue had already disappeared inside the darkness.
Tian Lanyue’s heart jumped: "The strongest in the female yard, Yu Feiyan, couldn’t stop him?"
Translator notes:
[1] Of particular note is that Emperor Shun, said to be one of the "three sovereigns and five emperors," is from the You Yu clan. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emperor_Shun
[2] This is a little too clever not to mention:
The girl is called Yu Fei Yan (Yu flight swallow). fish and goose flying in tandem is Yu Yan Shuang Fei (fish goose dual flight). This is also the title of the chapter. A stanza from a famous poem goes: Wei Yu Yan Shuang Fei (in the drizzle swallows fly in tandem/play among themselves). From 临江仙·梦后楼台高锁 (roughly: Tune of Liu Jiang Xian - locked in a tower after the dream) by Song poet You Jidao. Finally Yu Yan (fish goose) originally meant a letter and later became the symbol of the Chinese postal system.
