Pulling Together A Villain Reformation Strategy Chapter 33

Oh my gosh I'm so sorry for the extensive delay! I'm not dead, I just feel a little bit lied to because my uppercla.s.smen told me this quarter would be easy, but so far the content has been the most difficult yet. I've readjusted my goals: hopefully in the summer I'll definitely have more free time.

Of note, I did take some artistic license with some of the phrasing in this chapter. There were also two poems referenced, so of course I had to look them up and get distracted trying to translate them~ Please let me know where my translations can be improved!

Chapter 33 – Still Afraid This Reunion is Only Within A Dream1

But just as the words left his mouth, even he wasn't able to hear his own speech—from the north, the sharp whistle of a sword pierced the air. A blue-robed man standing on his sword rushed over with the swiftness of lightning. Even the black fog present was swept to the side by his fierce momentum.

His posture as he rushed out was very handsome and cool, but the angle was tricky and his timing unfortunate. Due to the obscuring black fog, Yun Xie's attack just happened to be aimed straight at this newcomer. Seeing this problem, Jiang Xunyi didn't have time to think—he borrowed the momentum of a nearby large tree by kicking off it and leaping into the air. A bolt of spiritual energy burst from his fingers to shoot the flying sword and its rider down from the sky.

Wei Xiuqi and Nie Yan exclaimed in unison: "Shizun!"

Thankfully, Jiang Molou was indeed a peerless martial arts master—even though the black fog had blocked his line of sight and he was caught off guard by this attack on his personal sword, his posture was still neat and clean as ever as he made this surprise landing. Just as his feet touched the ground, he took advantage of the chance to unsheathe his sword for an "Ignition Dragon Curse," aimed straight at the Jiang Xunyi who had sneak attacked him.

At the same time, Jiang Xunyi also used "Ignition Dragon Curse" to meet this attack. The two swords originating from the same master's teachings thus crashed straight into each other.

The moment the two blades crossed, their long call rang loud and clear, piercing the very heavens. Jiang Molou's wrist turned to pull back the blade's edge and he indifferently looked up, but the moment his gaze met his attacker's, his eyes suddenly opened wide.

His face, normally as cold as the ice and frost, revealed shock and surprise for the first time. His long sword fell to the ground but he seemed to be completely unaware, instead raising his hand to grab Jiang Xunyi's right shoulder: "You!"

What met his hand was a thin layer of clothing as the sea wave-patterned robes of the two men overlapped, holding the vague familiarity of bygone days. Jiang Molou felt almost as if a raging fire had ignited in his heart, while in reality a rush of scorching hot blood flooded through his chest. Under this extreme swing in emotions, he could not tell whether this was an illusion or reality, dream or waking.

Jiang Molou's other hand trembled as it lifted up, seeming to want to touch Jiang Xunyi's face. But with this movement, his ice-cold touch accidentally crossed the skin on his own chest.

As if a bucket of cold water had splashed him right in the face, the fire in Jiang Molou's heart was instantly extinguished.

It was the Sect Head Seal that hung around his neck. Within this single year2 since he had mourned the loss of his Shifu and Shixiong, the Sect Head Seal had been stolen away by the traitors in the sect and then returned to his hands after many twists and turns. This eternally cold piece of jade was akin to a drop of ice-cold heartblood3, reminding him at every second and every moment of the decaying of their sect and how much had been lost since those previous days.

Even though all this time he had stubbornly refused to take off his sea wave-patterned robe and replace it with the sect master uniform, the events of that year would forever be engraved onto his heart.

Jiang Molou lowered his gaze. His chest rose and fell fiercely as he used his entire life's supply of perseverance to keep his calm and wave-less exterior, and slowly let go of Jiang Xunyi's shoulders.

He was not the only one losing control of his demeanor—under this completely unexpected face-to-face encounter, even Jiang Xunyi was stupefied. In contrast to Yun Xie, he did not hold the tiniest bit of vigilance towards Jiang Molou, so before his brain could process the scene, his mouth had already blurted out: “Molou?”

Jiang Molou's reaction did not have any of his imagined happy surprise. The grasp Jiang Molou had just released from his shoulder instantly moved to press his sword hilt, full of murderous intent: “Who are you? You dare pretend to be my Shixiong?!”

Jiang Xunyi: "……What do you think?"

Jiang Molou looked Jiang Xunyi over intently. Even though Du Heng had exactly the same appearance as his previous body, a few differences in the details could ultimately still be picked out, so Jiang Molou refused: “You absolutely can't be him! He is already dead!”

When he didn't want to admit his ident.i.ty, there was always someone pressing him to admit it. Now that he was finally recognizing it from his own mouth, other people didn't believe him. Jiang Xunyi had already accepted this reality, and resignedly said: “Okay, okay, you don't believe it…”

Without warning, he was pulled behind another person. Yun Xie directed his faint words towards Jiang Molou: "It's truly for the best that Sect Head Jiang thinks such. I hope that in the future you will remember your words today and refrain from coming to pester us.”

Jiang Molou had always possessed a strict and rigorous personality, so words like "miracle" and "coincidence" were a foreign language to him. He had originally held the firm belief that dead was dead, and the person in front of him being dressed like this must be an immense conspiracy. But Yun Xie now standing to the side and saying these words instead caused him to hesitate and doubt.

Below Jiang Molou's eternally frosty and bitter face lay hidden confusion and entanglement. His gaze darted back and forth between the two men, until Jiang Xunyi finally didn't have the heart to keep watching him like this: "Alright, what are you looking at me for. You and I have grown up together all this time, yet you actually can't even recognize whether it's me. Fine, how about this: back when you were five years old, you wanted to eat the offerings that Shizun had presented to the ancestral sect founders, but you were too embarra.s.sed…”

Jiang Molou's conditioned reflexes kicked in: "Shut up!"

Yun Xie's smile was a tad gloomy. Jiang Xunyi didn't say a single sincere word in his presence, but upon encountering Jiang Molou his entire person seemed to have completely relaxed. This subconscious difference in treatment was even more unbearable for him than Jiang Xunyi's malicious att.i.tude.

Just as the "Shut up" left Jiang Molou's mouth, he seemed to realize what had happened. His voice trembled slightly: "…You really didn't die!"

Jiang Xunyi wasn't too happy with him: “Your tone sounds pretty disappointed, huh?”

Jiang Molou's lips quivered, and he didn't say anything for a long while. Instead, Jiang Xunyi smiled, shaking his head and sighing with both helplessness and indulgence.

This scene of “With clasped hands, we look into each other's teary eyes; Unable to utter words, choking on emotion"4 almost gave the watching Yun Xie a myocardial infarction. He took a deep breath; in this moment of silence, he heard a noisy din in the distance, getting closer and closer like the advancing tide.

Jiang Molou's expression changed: "Oh no, I actually forgot, it's that herd of old men… What…What's going on with you? Never mind, now's not the time to talk, hurry and come leave with me!”

He wasn't good with words in the first place, and under this excitement his speech devolved into incoherent rambling. He only grabbed Jiang Xunyi's hand directly to take him to leave, and had even forgotten about his two poor disciples.

Jiang Xunyi: “Wait a moment, I haven't figured out the mystery here… you have to first explain!”

Yun Xie flew into a fury: "Jiang Molou! Are you treating me as if I'm dead?"

The two men's words mixed together and Jiang Molou couldn't hear either one clearly. Just as he opened his mouth to speak, another man had already arrived behind him, laughing as he rode his sword through the air: “Sect Head Jiang, what are you running so fast for…….. Jiang Xunyi, you're not dead?!”

The volume of his voice suddenly increased for that last sentence. Immediately afterwards, his figure suddenly landed in front of these people stuck in a deadlock.

Hearing this voice, Jiang Xunyi instantly understood what Jiang Molou had meant by his concern. Unfortunately, it was already too late. He turned his head, half of his snow-white face hidden in the shadow of the towering trees, and coldly said: "Feng Xue.”

His face no longer showed that mocking hint of a smile, and his entire person's temperament instantly became gloomy. The contrasting black and white in his eyes made his gaze akin to two bolts of cold electricity, razor-sharp and threatening, so it was the originally aggressive Feng Xue who instead took a step back.

There were four great families in the cultivation world: Du, Feng, Yue, and Han. Feng Xue was indeed the head of the Feng family5, and had achieved fame over a hundred years ago. Even though he now appeared to be an old man past his prime, his strength could not be underestimated. Moreover, in the past he had conflicted significantly with the Dual Jades of the Spirit Stage. Yun Xie's expression was calm even as his mind ran as fast as lightning. He darted another glance at Jiang Molou, who held the position of head of a sect. It was currently unclear why these two men appeared in this desolate wilderness at the same time and happened to know Jiang Xunyi.

However, even though this situation was a perilous one, he actually felt this wasn't a bad arrangement. After all, no one would want their beloved to hide their ident.i.ty and bury their name for an entire lifetime. If no one forced him, Jiang Xunyi would likely never be willing to admit who he himself was.

Jiang Molou was standing closer to the two of them, and whispered to them in an impartial and flat tone: "Half a month ago, Xuan Li re-emerged into the Jianghu, and the Solar Envy Sect Master fell into the Imprisoned Demons Valley with his whereabouts unknown. Both these events were important affairs, so the heads of the various major sects in the cultivation world convened twenty Li west of the Imprisoned Demons Valley entrance for a congress discussing countermeasures. The meeting had not yet begun when we felt an incredible amount of sinister aura coming from this direction, so we each came over to check it out… I was the earliest to arrive, and most likely everyone else is about to get here.”

In that last sentence, even his tone could not help but reveal a subtle bitterness.

Wei Xiuqi and Nie Yan were already used to being treated as background props. Even now, they still couldn't believe their ears. Wei Xiuqi quietly said: “I didn't… I didn't hear that wrong, did I? That senior is eldest Shibo?! No wonder…no wonder he's so powerful!"

Nie Yan was so dumbstruck he could hardly reply. Of course, he himself was completely confused too: "Didn't eldest Shibo pa.s.s away? Wasn't he killed by Yun Xie?”

Due to his excitement, his voice was a little on the loud side. He was a little excited when he was excited. Although the current situation was an emergency, Yun Xie still took a bit of effort to pull himself out of his busyness and give Nie Yan a furious eye-roll. He had a deep suspicion that the reason this disciple was so terse must be because even he himself knew he was simple-minded and was thus too ashamed to speak.

Hearing this, Jiang Xunyi said to Jiang Molou: "This bunch of people do not possess a united will. Even if they do arrive, they won't be able to do anything to me. On the contrary, you're the one who'll be in trouble, so you should first take your two disciples and leave until this all blows over."

Jiang Molou stared at Jiang Xunyi, and faintly said: “That is impossible.”

Yun Xie's anger rose, and he coldly said: "Stop arguing. Everyone's already arrived, none of us will be able to escape." His style had always been to act however he felt like acting. Now at this moment, he held even more of a desire to stir up trouble, so he idly waved his hand in greeting to the newcomers: "Sect Head Liu, Family Head5 Du, Old Man Cheng… Hey, it looks like everyone's here? Wow, you all covered the distance quite fast!”

Jiang Xunyi: "……."

Jiang Molou grew furious in return: "Yun Xie, what are you posing as a good person for? Go stand on their side, don't get so close to me and my brother6!”

Yun Xie hadn't replied yet when on the side, the Feng Xue who had been ignored for a long while now couldn't hold himself back anymore. He abruptly burst into a rage: "Jiang Xunyi! You wanton thief and traitor! Back then I just didn't believe Yun Xie would actually kill you. Now what crafty trick are you going to use to feign death and escape this time? Whatever, if heaven won't take care of you, I will!”

He pulled out his sword: “Don't think that just because you faked death once, all those things are resolved. You b.a.s.t.a.r.d who raped7 my daughter, you and I are mortal enemies who can't share the same sky!”

Footnotes (I hope y'all like poetry):

1. The t.i.tle of this chapter comes from the poem 《鹧鸪天》 by the Song Dynasty poet Yan Jidao. The poem's t.i.tle literally translates to something like "Pheasant Days", and it is about the moment when two lovers reunite after a separation.
Here's my extremely rough and crude translation of the full poem:

彩袖殷勤捧玉钟，当年拚却醉颜红。
"Rainbow sleeves attentively held up a jade gla.s.s; yet back in the day, I willingly inebriated myself to a flushed red."
["Rainbow sleeves" refers to the ancient colorful dresses of songstresses. "Jade clock" is an ancient term for a precious and beautiful wine cup.]

舞低杨柳楼心月，歌尽桃花扇底风。
"Dancing until the moon above the tower fell below the arched willows, until the song ended and the wind of the peach blossom fan stopped"
[The peach blossom fan would be an accessory used by a songstress in her dance. Here after a long night together, the songstress finally grew tired]

从别后，忆相逢，几回魂梦与君同。
"Ever since parting, I remember that encounter; my dreaming soul has so often met with yours."

今宵剩把银釭照，犹恐相逢是梦中。
"Tonight, I must shine the silver lantern, still afraid this reunion is only within my dreams."

In plain language, the poem is basically saying "All those years ago in our first encounter, your hands were attentively holding up a wine cup with such charm and grace, and I willingly drank until my face flushed red from drunkenness. Your song and fan dance began with the bright evening moon on the willow branches, until the moon above the tower fell into the dark night. All this time we danced and sang together, until you were so exhausted that you could not wave your peach blossom fan.

Ever since that parting, I have always fondly remembered that beautiful encounter. In my dreams, I have embraced you so many times. Tonight, I must raise up the silver lantern to examine you carefully, still afraid this reunion is yet another dream."

2. Yeah apparently it's only been a year since Jiang Xunyi's death? Don't ask me how the timeline works lol…

3.  心头血 literally translates to something like "blood from the tip of the heart." In traditional Chinese medicine it's supposed to possess special properties (something like “it's the most condensed blood in the body”), and is therefore considered very precious. (Fun fact: in some cultivation novels it's a.s.sociated with one's spiritual powers.)

4. This is a line from the poem <雨霖铃> [Bells Ringing in the Rain] by Liu Yong, a Song dynasty poet. The original Chinese is "执手相看泪眼，竟无语凝噎". I believe the topic of the poem is about lovers bidding farewell to each other lol.

5.  家主 lit. "head of the family." Of note, this is a cultivation world where families can be so powerful as to rival actual sects.

6. Cute fact: When Jiang Molou is excited or otherwise not paying attention to formalities, he calls Jiang Xunyi by the informal 哥 (somewhat similar in tone to "big bro") just like he did when they were little.

7. Feng Xue uses the term 强暴, which was partially censored in the original text. This term carries the connotations of an especially violent/brutal rape.

Translator's Comments: Yes, the “Du” is the same Du as the one you guys know.