It’s Not Easy Being a Master, Extra 1: Mid-Autumn Festival

The festivals in the cultivation realm were actually similar to that of the ordinary world.

For example, today was the Mid-Autumn Festival.

This should be an occasional for a happy, blissful celebration with the family.

However, Shen Zhixian was tired of the Qingyun Sect’s Mid-Autumn Festival activities and didn’t want to face the wild demons of the wasteland. He thought for a while and decided to go to the mortal world for some fun this year.

So Shen Zhixian took advantage of Yan Jin’s inattention, left behind a note, and silently went to the mortal world alone.

There were only a few, concise words on the paper. Yan Jin glanced at it, frowned slightly, and then sighed helplessly.

Sui Xian ran away again.

This time, there was no clue left behind, and he wasn’t allowed to use spells or the contract to locate him.

……

The festivals in the mortal world were usually much more lively than that of the cultivation realm. Immortals were obsessed with cultivation and focused less on the tricks that ordinary people come up with to have fun.

Yan Jin was walking on a crowded street, and there were a lot of people all around. Everyone was smiling, seeming quite happy. However, Yan Jin’s expression was calm, as if he was a stranger who could not integrate with this lively atmosphere.

He was used to being the odd one out.

Although Yan Jin was born in the cultivation realm, his childhood world had been humble and gray. When it came to lively and busy festivals like these, little Yan Jan often avoided them.

It wasn’t until later when he met Shen Zhixian that his life gradually gained light and color.

As for Shen Zhixian, when he was younger, he’d loved joining in on the fun. After his illness, he began to prefer quietness for various reasons. Now that he was with Yan Jin for a long time, and with everything going so well, his youthful spirit seemed to have gradually returned bit by bit.

Various sounds passed by Yan Jin’s ears, but he was deaf to them. He only looked around calmly. After a while he saw a very lively place, and after a moment of silence, he walked decisively towards that side.

Shen Zhixian preferred the mountains and rivers. The place he chose was a water town beside the mountains. Yan Jin followed the rules and didn’t use any magic spells as he passed through the densely packed crowds. What came into view was a spacious river.

The starlit sky and the brilliant lights of the world was reflected in the water. A few pleasure boats floated among the colorful surface.

Shen Zhixian had shown him these pleasure boats a long time ago. However, what was causing tonight’s liveliness…didn’t appear to be these pleasure boats.

“Good!”

“Wonderful!”

“What a splendid view!”

It was hard to tell who was yelling with such excitement. Yan Jin looked at the particular small boat in the middle of the river. When he saw the man inside the boat, his forehead jerked happily.

The person sitting on that small boat had inky black hair and on his face rested a jade half-mask, only exposing a delicate chin. He was dressed in a plain white robe with a dark red coat draped loosely over his body, the sash unfastened. He sat in a lazy, languid posture, one long leg folded up while the other was concealed underneath the folds of his robe.

His boat drifted by two pleasure boats, which were moored on the banks. The many young masters aboard saw his half-covered face and their hearts began to feel itchy. They leaned against the deck to try to speak to him. Meanwhile, other courageous young women threw silk flowers at him.

But the silk flowers were too light. A gust of wind blew over them, making them unable to reach the boat and fell into the water instead.

The man in red ignored all the excitement around him. No matter how hard the people tried to get his attention, he continued to lazily rest his chin on one hand, leaning back to look at the bright moon in the sky.

His eyes were focused and attentive, as if he was looking at a peerless treasure.

Even the people looking at him couldn’t help but follow his gaze to look at the bright moon.

As everyone was looking up at the moon, the man in red withdrew his gaze. He lightly chuckled and reached over to pick up a jade chopstick and lazily fiddled with it.

On the small table next to him was a bottle of hard liquor, two bottles of wine, a small dish of peanuts, and another jade chopstick. The man in red played with the chopstick in his hand and leaned back. He suddenly cleared his throat and sang in a clear and melodious voice.

His chopstick lightly tapped on the table, his eyes half-closed, as he sang in a loud, carefree voice, “This esteemed lord glimpse Yu Xiao, reflected under a silver lamplight and singing a song that is too enchanting. Drunk in songs, who can regret it? The song ended but the taste of wine remains….”

He probably drank too much wine. His voice was lazy and languid, full of intoxication. The tone wasn’t clear and was like a small, white feather brushing against everyone’s ears.

Making them crazy with excitement.

“Spring is quiet and the night lingers. Chu Palace is as distant as Biyuntian. But the dream soul had no restraint and stepped on poplar flowers to cross Xie Bridge…”

The last words were sung very lightly, ending on a sigh. The man in red threw down the jade chopstick, picked up the wine cup, and tipped his head back to drain it.

Because he was drinking too quickly, a few drops of liquor dripped down the corners of his mouth, sliding down his chin to his neck, leaving a shallow trail of watermarks.

As he was striking the cup and singing, everyone’s eyes were drawn to him. The crowd exclaimed, full of admiration

Yan Jin’s face froze and he strode down the banks.

It just so happened that a tourist came ashore and returned his small boat rental. The owner of the boat held on to the rope, counting copper coins with joy. Suddenly, a dark shadow appeared in front of him. A person pulled the rope attached to the boat.

“Ai, ai ,ai, this boat is no longer chartered! I should go back—” Before the boat owner could finish speaking, he felt his hand sink. Seeing the gold ingot, he immediately smiled and widened his eyes. “Aiya, esteem guest. Please, do you need me…”

He pushed the large ingot into his sleeve and raised his head, just in time to see that his boat was already some distance away. The tall man was rowing the boat toward the middle of the river.

“… row for you?” The boat owner finished saying, stunned. He scratched his head. “He doesn’t seem to need it….”

It happened really fast.

According to the memories of the people present, it happened like this:

“The little boat came out of nowhere. The man in black was very fierce. He rowed the boat quickly and leaned over. With a jump, he landed in the boat where the red beauty was sitting.”

The brother who missed the beauty was filled with indignation. Meanwhile, the speaker gestured wildly as he continued saying, “Then he started rowing the boat, moving the oars so fast that it was a blur. Just like that, he snatched the beauty away. No one could stop him! I was so angry!”

Of course, that was all afterward and was not worth mentioning for the time being. The situation now was that Yan Jin was rowing with a cold face, avoiding pleasure boats, and moving further and further away.

Shen Zhixian couldn’t contain his laughter. With his mask off and eyes crescent to the point of tears, he laughingly said, “A’jin, you slow down… This is the Mid-Autumn Festival, not a boat race…”

This boat had completely left everyone in the dust!

Yan Jin pressed his lips tightly and rowed all the way to a sparsely populated place before finally slowing down. He set the oars aside and turned his head to look at the man in messy, red clothes who was still grinning at him. “Fortunately, the rules for not using spells were set in advance.”

He paused for a moment, then continued, “….Otherwise, Master, I’m afraid you won’t be able to laugh.”

Shen Zhixian discovered that the surrounding silence was too deep, as if there were only the two of them. He didn’t have a good feeling about this. He smiled slightly and raised his hands, but Yan Jin said, “Master should also obey the rules.”

Shen Zhixian dispersed the newly condensed spiritual power and looked away. The river was full of stars. While Yan Jin wasn’t paying attention, he got up and wanted to jump into the water.

However, Yan Jin’s reaction was too quick. With one quick stretch of his hand, he caught Shen Zhixian’s ankle.

With this grip, Yan Jin discovered that the man was not wearing shoes or socks. His delicate skin was slightly cool in the night breeze and holding it was like holding a piece of soft jade. With barely any efforts, he yanked the man back and pulled him into his arms.

Shen Zhixian struggled for a bit. Finally, he relented. With lowered eyebrows, he immediately begged for mercy. “I was wrong. A‘jin, I was wrong… Let me go this time …”

This small boat could carry two to three people and had a small canopy. Yan Jin hid the man inside the canopy. The moment the curtain fell, the lights grew dim.

Shen Zhixian heard Yan Jin’s deep and low voice by his ear, “Too late. If Master wants to perform an act in a play, then disciple…should always accompany Master to complete it.”

As Yan Jin’s master, Shen Zhixian laughed teasingly and pretended to be stupid, “What play?
How do I not know about it?”

“It’s probably…” A hot, heated kiss came down. After a moment, Yan Jin smiled against Shen Zhixian’s mouth, full of satisfaction. “…a play about how an evil tyrant captured the weak and innocent little beauty.”

“…………”

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Translation Notes:
The poem was called “Partridge Day” or 鹧鸪天, which was apparently also a brand of a wine, and was written by a poet called Yan Jidao.

Yu Xiao – the name of the enchanting singer

Biyutian – where the gods live, also alluding that the singer was a goddess

Source: Baidu