Red Bean Lyrics 红豆词 Chapter 2

Hell King Sect Series/Yan Wang Sect Series 阎王门系列

Red Bean Lyrics 红豆词 Chapter Two

By: Jue Ming 决明

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Time fluttered by quickly, in the blink of an eye, the little Red Bean from before is now a beautiful and petite ten-year-old girl. Safely growing up under the protection of her four papas and uncle.

When she was five, Shi Yan Guan told her the truth about how she came to them. Not only did Red Bean not hate her mother for abandoning her, she was actually quite glad she had grown up under the protection of the Hell King Sect and had such a happy childhood.

To other people, the members of the Hell King Sect were considered to be heinous killers and bloodthirsty monsters. But she was forsaken by her mother and saved by these so-called monsters. In her heart, she can’t quite distinguish between these so-called good and evil. She doesn’t understand but also didn’t want to overthink it.

When she was six, Yan Wang brought back a girl four years older than her and named her Pity Me^[1]. Since then, another “flower” bloomed within the walls of the Hell King Sect. If Red Bean represented passionate flames, then Pity Me embodies the heatless ice. Despite the short age gap, their personalities are radically different. In the male-dominated organization of assassins, the two girls of ice and fire became surprisingly close sisters that talked about anything and everything.

Veiled by the foliage, the sun’s golden rays sparsely sprinkled down through the leaves and landed on a sleepy little girl. Warm southern winds whispered people to sleep, while the accompanying sound of cicadas carried one off to dreamland with each chirp ….

“Red Bean, you’re slacking off again.” A calm voice interrupted Red Bean’s slumbering daze, a faint smile shone through the affirming tone.

“Big sister Pity Me.” Red Bean stuck her tongue out guiltily and turned around to greet the other.

The girl who was two whole heads taller than Red Bean sat down on the spot and crossed her legs to meditate with Red Bean.

Pity Me had just turned fourteen-years-old, under her raised eyebrows are a set of ink-black pupils, her long hair tied plainly behind her head. Her undeveloped boyish figure was a result of her practicing martial arts since childhood, thin waist, narrow hips, long legs, not a single sign of a young girl’s graceful elegance.

“Isn’t the martial arts advancement test taking place soon？ You aren’t planning to stay at the same level again this year, are you?” Pity Me asked jokingly, the expression on her face remained unchanged, as if all her emotions and desires have long since been taken away.

“Don’t tease me about that, I’m for sure going to lose in the first round anyway, I’ll just continue to be myself.” Red Bean waved her hand indifferently, she knew the limits of her capabilities.

The Hell King Sect holds a martial arts advancement test every year and determines the status of its members within the sect based on their performance. The most coveted position by the underlings has to be the long emptied seat of the White Impermanence.

“If Fourth Master heard what you’ve just said, he’d probably blow his top.”

Everyone in the sect knows, even though Red Ben is the adopted “daughter” of the lord masters, she was never granted any special privileges. She had to practice martial arts alongside all the other underlings. And even though everyone else who started at the same time as Red Bean had long since advanced to become full-fledged assassins, she has steadily held her position as a newbie.

All of the special training the Martial Judge had been giving to Red Bean was in vain. His painstaking efforts to try and help her make something of herself has gone to waste.

“Little Papa loves me the most, he won’t scold me. Big sister Pity Me, how confident are you in the upcoming advancement test?” Although Pity Me is only older than her by four years, her martial arts abilities far exceeded that of Red Bean’s. Red Bean can probably practice for another three or five hundred years, and still struggle to keep up with Pity Me.

This is probably because all of big sister Pity Me’s special training was done by Big Papa himself!

Pity Me hesitated before answering, “If the main examiner is Third Master or Fourth Master then I should be able to end in a draw. But if it’s Second Master then ….”

She’s never seen the Civil Judge fight before, and have only briefly heard about his abilities from Yan Luo, but she knows that the Civil Judge’s skills are on par with that of the Hell King. So if he is the chief examiner, then she is not sure that she will ever win.

It’s said that back in the day, the four founding lord masters were similar in age and used their martial arts skills to determine their rank and order. She had sparred in the past with the Black Impermanence, Martial Judge, and the Hell King. The murderous aura beneath the Black Impermanence’s calm exterior is mixed with subtle hints of kindness, his moves are carefully measured and thoughtfully executed. The Martial Judge’s fist routines are fierce. His style is fast and ruthless. However, his mutually destructive way of attacking displays impatience and exposes the shortcomings of non-defence. She’s quite familiar with how these two lord masters operate.

As for her martial arts teacher, the Hell King …. She has yet to win even once against him, but is well aware of the depth of his abilities. So she had to wonder, what face of horror lies beneath the inscrutable Civil Judge’s gentle smiling exterior?

“No worries, if you’re up against Second Uncle then you’ll win for sure.” Red Bean patted her on the back confidently, her mannerisms reminiscent of Shi Yan Guan. Which certainly can’t be helped, since the two of them were the closest ever since Red Ben was young. Underneath Shi Yan Guan’s rugged outer appearance, beats the soft heart of a loving father.

“How so?” Pity Me asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Second Uncle is called the “Civil Judge” for a reason, it’s because he’s just a weak scholar who’s only good at reading and writing. You’d win against him easily, hands down.” All he could do is recite poetry from time to time, and wave his fan around, what’s there to worry about?

“You speak so poorly of Second Master, does he not treat you well?”

“It’s not that.” Red Bean scratched her head, “Second Uncle treats me really well, it’s just ….”

She could still recall Second Uncle’s kind face when he brought her back to the Hell King Sect. He was also the one who comforted her every night when she first arrived, and would stay up crying because of the unfamiliar environment. She didn’t know when it started. She used to be so attached to her Second Uncle, but then she slowly grew distant from him. Perhaps it was the year when she was five, and Second Uncle had to leave the sect for an entire year to carry out orders ….

“It’s just what?”

“It’s just that Second Uncle is Second Uncle, and Papa is Papa, they’re not the same.”

“But the way Second Master treats you is exactly how a father would treat his daughter. What’s the difference?” Even a bystander like her could easily see Bai Yun He was overflowing with fatherly love. She couldn’t believe that Red Bean would be so obtuse and not realize this.

“I … I don’t want him to be my Papa!” Red Bean retorted without thinking, she looked away from Pity Me’s questioning gaze and grumbled, “I already have three Papas, and that’s more than enough …. And honestly, I also really like Second Uncle, but he just looks so weak, like a person to needs to be protected.”

She must be joking! If the Civil Judge can be called weak, then she’s not sure what to make of everyone else in the Hell King Sect. Deadbeat rice buckets?^[2] Pity Me thought to herself with a chuckle.

“If we’re talking about the strongest person in the sect, it’ll have to be Big Papa. And Big Papa’s really kind to you, so he must treat you really well.” Red Bean said enviously. Big Papa not only treats big sister Pity Me as his bodyguard, he even personally instructs her in practicing martial arts. She even accidentally saw him kissing big sister Pity Me that one time.

Pity Me humphed disapprovingly. Red Bean seems to have forgotten that during Yan Luo’s last special training session, she broke three ribs, sprained her left arm, and was bedridden for seven days!

“And Big Papa gave you such a nice-sounding name! Pity Me, what a lovely and pretty name. Unlike mine, Red Bean, Red Bean!” Red Bean scrunched up her nose and complained discontentedly. She’s especially mad after finding out that she was given the name because Second Uncle just so happened to be drinking red bean soup that day. If somehow Second Uncle ended up drinking taro soup that day, then she would have been named “Taro”!

Little Papa even said to her with a weird look on his face, that she’s lucky Second Uncle wasn’t drinking “tiger penis soup,”^[3] otherwise her name would be way more unappealing. Although she has no idea what a penis is, she assumed it’s nothing good by the sound of it.

“If I could choose, I’d much rather have been brought here by Second Master.” And not that arrogant Yan Luo, her nightmare of a lifetime.

“Why?” Red Bean’s puzzled gaze met with Pity Me’s dark yes, not able to understand the melancholy flickering within Pity Me’s pupils.

Pity Me shook her head, with no intention of answering Red Bean’s question. In an attempt to divert Red Bean’s attention, she pointed to the approaching Martial Judge in the distance, coming from the direction of the square. “Looks like Forth Master has finished his lesson with the underlings.”

“Oh no, he’s coming over here! That means I’m next on the list for his ‘special training’!” Red Bean immediately prepared to slip away. Recently, due to the martial arts advancement test at the sect, Little Papa has been forcing her to do special training with him whenever he had the time. He seemed actively hellbent on practicing with her until she broke every bone in her body. There is no way she’ll let Little Papa catch her again.

Failing to watch where she was going as she anxiously escaped, Red Bean bumped headfirst into the person in front of her, bouncing backwards into Shi Yan Guan’s arms.

“Trying to escape, are you? You little unambitious red bean!?” Shi Yan Guan’s booming voice rang in her ears, its loudness dizzying her. “We’re practicing another set of fist routines during today’s special training.”

“Little Papa, can you please be quieter? I’m going deaf.” Red Bean grumbled girlishly, covering both ears with her hands, and lifted up her head to see which of the underlings had a deathwish and dared to block her escape route. Don’t they know the famous saying, “good dogs don’t stand in the way, bag dogs get thunderstruck”?

Just as she opened her mouth to shout, her gaze met with that of the “bag dog’s,” and it suddenly turned into a soft whimper. “Second Uncle ….” Oh, woe is her ….

Bai Yun He gave Red Bean a small smile, and rubbed her hair with his broad palm, causing her to grumble in protest.

“Oh, that’s right, this year’s main examiner is the Black Impermanence.” Bai Yun He said to Pity Me, as she stood quietly on the side. “I think it shouldn’t be too difficult for you.” Of all the underlings in the Hell King Sect, very few could exchange more than ten blows with Geng Jie, while Pity Me’s martial arts skills are equally matched with Geng Jie. Pity Me is a shoo-in for the position of the White Impermanence.

“It means that Number One didn’t want to give the underlings too hard of a time, so he’s asking Number Three to just test everyone’s skills out.” Shi Yan Guan added. He was originally supposed to be the main examiner. However, the biggest drawback to that was him not knowing how to control himself. He would always go all out and won’t stop until blood is drawn. Often when the competition is over, there are countless numbers of people injured and disabled. In contrast, Number Three’s temperament is much milder, and usually won’t push things too far and won’t go further than necessary during a sparring match. This, of course, makes him the ideal candidate.

“If he’s really not trying to give the underlings too hard of a time, then he should have made Second Uncle the main examiner.” Red Bean chimed in.

“You really want to see Second Uncle get beaten up and bruised, eh?” Bai Yun He pinched Red Bean’s soft cheeks, not intending to clear up her misunderstanding.

Red Bean laughed dryly and declared, “I’ll go easy on you.” However, she can’t speak for the other underlings. If Second Uncle isn’t particularly well-liked by them, then he might get beaten up pretty miserably.

“As if! With your current lacklustre performance, you won’t even be able to touch your Second Uncle’s sleeves.” Shi Yan Guan bellowed and bonked her on the head with his fist.

He’s never seen someone who was so lacking in natural talents, having practiced martial arts for six years now but still can’t even use a single move. Aside from Red Bean’s acupressure^[4] and Qinggong^[5], which aren’t total embarrassments, she has nothing else to show for. Her performance has really put his title as the Martial Judge to shame.

“That’s not true! Last time I sparred with Second Uncle, I knocked him out in only a few turns!” Red Bean flung her head up proudly and looked over at them.

“While you were dreaming, right?” Shi Yan Guan teased.

“No, it was for real!” Red Bean stomped in protest, annoyed that her Little Papa was looking down on her. “Tell him, Secon Uncle, tell Little Papa!”

Her “defeated opponent” nodded as she had hoped, but the look in his eyes showed a weak, forced smile.

“Second Uncle, failure isn’t shameful, but refusing to admit defeat is.” Red Bean pridefully patted him on the shoulder, satisfied with his honesty. Before she could sing more praises, Shi Yan Guan held her up by the collar, and she found herself dangling midair. “Let me down, Little Papa!” Red Bean yelped.

“Since your martial arts skill has since grown so ‘profoundly,’ then you won’t mind if I want to see for myself.” She’s got to be joking, he himself can’t even win against Bai Yun, not to mention his wee little student Red Bean.

“I don’t wanna! Your hit super hard! No—”

Her wails trailed off in the direction of the training ground.

The pair of clowns drew a smile on Bai Yun He’s face. Alas, Red Bean has really taken on 100% of Yan Guan’s temperament.

“Have Second Master really been defeated by Red Bean before?” Pity Me believed their words and now had a strange look on her face.

“It was just a game, no need to take it seriously. You and I are both well aware of how far Red Bean’s skills stretch.” Bai Yun He chuckled lightly.

“Sparring, as a game?” Pity Me was perplexed. From the day she started learning martial art from Yan Luo, she gave it her all whenever she was up sparring against him. Because if she lost, there would be different penalties imposed upon her.

“Of course, it’s not about life or death, so winning or losing is of no importance.” Bai Yun He answered leisurely.

“Will Second Master care for a match where it’s not about life or death, so winning or losing is of no importance?” Pity Me gave a fist-palm salute^[6] and bowed. She had always wanted to witness the Civil Judge’s abilities for herself but never gotten the opportunity.

“Really now? You’re planning to take part in the competition with fresh wounds?” Bai Yun He asked with a gentle smile. “The Black Impermanence is no easy opponent.”

“If it means I could spar against Second Master, then it’s worth it.” A bright spark ignited within her usual cold stony eyes.

Bai Yun He nodded in agreement.

“We’ll use swords.” A desire for blood flashed across his languorous eyes. “Because I’m the worst at using swords.”

✧    ✧    ✧

The advancement test takes place over three days. The groups are divided up according to their original ranking, and the top achiever for each group will be promoted to the next position.

The arena is in the centre of the lake. The match ends if either side falls into the water or abstains.

Red Bean has been steadily holding her place in the lowest rank for years, and it seems like this year will be no different. Meanwhile, Pity Me is in the fifth rank, only needing to win one more round to face up against the Black Impermanence Niu Geng Jie.

“You look worried Number Four.” Niu Geng Jie grabbed the pacing Shi Yan Guan and sat him back down on his seat. So his hulking figure won’t block the sight of his fellow sworn brothers.

“No shit! I’m not asking for much here, I’m just hoping that Red Bean would advance to the second rank.”

“You call that not asking for much?” Niu Geng Jie snickered. Asking for rain would have been easier than asking for Red Bean to be promoted.

“Aren’t you also supposed to be her Papa? Can you at least be a little bit worried about her?” Shi Yan Guan complained.

“It’s better for Red Bean if she doesn’t get promoted. Otherwise, if she was sent to carry out an assassination, she’d only lose her own life.” Niu Geng Jie would much rather Red Bean stay lazing around inside the Hell King Sect forever, than for her to leave on two legs and be carried back as a body.^[7]

“I agree with Number Three. Red Bean certainly lives up to her reputation as a martial arts idiot.”^[8] Bai Yun He chimed in.

“Yeah, martial arts idiot.” Shi Yan Guan rolled his eyes. “If only she had half as much natural talent as Pity Me.”

“Now that you mentioned it, Pity Me is acting strangely today.” Niu Geng Jie said in a low voice while stroking his chin. “Her movements look a bit strained. It’s as if she’s … injured.”

“Maybe she’s too nervous?” Shi Yan Guan shifted his attention and began to discuss with Niu Geng Jie.

Yan Luo sat quietly in the middle seat, his stern gaze drifting over to Bai Yun He.

“Did you spar with her a few days ago?” Yan Luo asked, his voice low and emotionless.

“Just a small match.” Bai Yun He smiled harmlessly, his hands busy pouring tea.

“You almost destroyed her right hand.” Yan Luo’s tone turned ice cold.

Bai Yun He could hear the anger in Yan Luo’s voice, he shrugged, a look of innocence on his handsome face.

“I originally wanted to stop before things get out of hand, but she was way too stubborn and pushed hard for a win, disregarding my moves.” He stated briefly, narrowing his thin upward tilting eyes and said with a smile, “rest assured, the White Impermanence” position is hers for sure.”

“In the future, you are not to spar with her without my permission.” Yan Luo’s dark green eyes swept over at Bai Yun He.

“Is this another form of protection? Only you are allowed to hurt her, but other people are forbidden to even lay a finger on her?”

A cold piercing glace shot over to Bai Yun He, a futile attempt to scare him. Bai Yun He continued to sip away at his tea while giving Yan Luo a mocking smile in return.

A trace of awkwardness flashed across Yan Luo’s cold hard face, but he was unable to refute the pain in the ass who was able to see through him.

“Number One, Number Two! It’s Red Bean’s turn now!” Shi Yan Guan bounced around in happy nervousness.

“It’s about time to end this discussion and focus on watching Red Bean’s match, because in the blink of an eye, her opponent’s going to knock her into the lake.” Bai Yun He was in a good mood and teased the little Red Bean.

Of course, standing in the area Red Bean couldn’t have heard hear the conversation in the distant stands, she did, however, sneeze abruptly.

Was someone badmouthing her behind her back? Red Bean wondered, not letting it stop her from swiftly jumping into the arena.

Her opponent was Huang Liang^[9], who was two years her senior.

Red Bean wore red knee-high pants, her dark black hair woven into two thick braids hanging down the front of her chest. At first glance, she indeed looked a bit like a proper heroine.

“Please enlighten me with your guidance.”^[10]

Both parties bowed to each other and prepared to make their move.

Huang Liang made the first move. The boy had a solid martial arts foundation and attacked Red Bean straight on with each move. Shi Yan Guan worriedly watched as Red Bean struggled to dodge Huang Liang’s strikes.

“I think Red Bean’s done for this round …. Oh no! Careful Red Bean!” He urged the girl to sidestep an attack, but he was unfortunately too far away.

“They are just sparring, it’s going to be fine.” Bai Yun He reassured him calmly.

“But ….” Seeing Red Bean focus entirely on defence, Shi Yan Guan couldn’t help but feel nervous for her, almost wishing he could go and fight in her place.

All of a sudden, Red Bean smiled deviously, her petite body lept over the top of Huang Liang’s head, quickly jumping behind him using her Qinggong, and jabbed him on the back with acupressure.

The tables have now turned, Huang Liang, who had previously dominated the match, is now left unable to move, his face red with anger. “YOU!”

“Hohoho … no one said we weren’t allowed to use acupressure.” Red Bean lifted up her feet and unceremoniously kicked Huang Liang in the buttocks, the sound of him falling into the water was mixed with her wildly arrogant laughter.

The taste of victory sure is sweet! She looked over toward the stands and gestured in victory.

“Embarrassing, so utterly embarrassing.” Shi Yan Guan covered his face in shame. She won using a dirty trick and dared to laugh with such arrogance ….

“Number Four … is this the special training that you’ve been giving to Red Bean?” Niu Geng Jie asked, also with a shameful look on his face. Usually, one would only resort to using acupressure when they realize they cannot beat their opponent.

“I won’t admit to being her teacher ….” Shi Yan Guan began to wail.

“Outsmarting an opponent is also a martial arts strategy, Red Bean is able to think on her feet. However, this kind of cleverness is only going to be useful once, what follows ….” Bai Yun He did not directly reveal the tragedy that lies ahead for Red Bean.

Sure enough, in the next round of the competition, within a short period of time, Red Bean was knocked into the lake by Qing Xiao^[11] with a spin kick. Turning her into a bona fide “Red Bean Soup.”

“It’s good that she went into the water early, saves her from further embarrassing herself.” Shi Yan Guan watched from the stands, comforting himself as he wiped his face. Thank goodness for Qing Xiao’s spin kick, ridding him of the root of all his shame.

Niu Geng Jie nodded rapidly in complete agreement.

Despite his many complaints about Red Bean, his fatherly love still prevailed over everything. Shi Yan Guan felt sorry for Red Bean after seeing her soaking wet in the lake, and decided, “I’ll go and tell the cook to make a bowl of ginger soup, wouldn’t want Red Bean to catch a cold.”

“Why don’t I go Number Four.” Bai Yun He stopped him as he was leaving, leaning over to say, “The disciples are still in the middle of the competition, it’s best if the Martial Judge doesn’t miss out on it. Don’t forget, you’ll have to give them individual guidance according to their performance in a few days.”

“You’re right.” After weighing the situation, Shi Yan Guan had to sit back down on his seat. But still carefully instructed Bai Yun He, “Remember to really heat up the ginger soup! And, Red Bean doesn’t like spicy foods, so it’s best to bring her a piece of pastry to eat along with the soup. Red Bean’s favourite is the—”

“Number Four!” Bai Yun He interrupted Shi Yan Guan, not sure whether to find him funny or annoying, “You are acting more and more like an old man.” Nagging so much at the ripe old age of twenty-two, one can only imagine what the future holds for him.

“Alright, alright! Get going!” Shi Yan Guan urged.

Before leaving, Bai Yun He patted Niu Geng Jie on the shoulder and said, “No need to go easy on her, let the underlings see what the Black Impermanence is made of.” He looked over at Yan Luo with a meaningful glance, a cunning smile on his lips.

Leaving behind his sworn brothers, Bai Yun He went into the kitchen and grabbed a piping hot bowl of ginger soup. Just as he was about to leave for little Red Bean’s room, he suddenly heard a subtle cry of pain coming from the flower garden.

“Red Bean?” Bai Yun He found the little girl squatting on the ground, soaking wet, her face a scary shade of pale white.

“Second Uncle ….” Red Bean struggled to open her eyes, her tiny body was curled up like a shrimp.

“What’s wrong?” He took her in his arms tenderly. Seeing the hand she had over her stomach and immediately realized it was from Qing Xiao’s spin kick earlier.

“It hurts a lot ….” She complained as her arm hangs loosely around Bai Yun He’s shoulder.

Bai Yun He carried her back to her room and prepared to change her wet clothes. Against a ten-year-old little girl, the idea of it being improper for men and women to have physical contact^[12] never even crossed his mind.

Peeling off her wet jacket, Bai Yun He frowned slightly at the sight.

A red bruised footprint was at the centre of Red Bean’s abdomen, the contrast against her milky-white skin made it all the more startling.

“Qing Xiao really gave it all with that kick.” Fortunately, he’s still young and weak, and didn’t damage any of Red Bean’s internal organs.

“I’ll help you apply some medicine, it won’t hurt anymore after.” He coaxed her patiently, his right hand holding her wrist with a reverse grip, feeding genuine Qi^[13] into her body to rid her of the chills, while his left hand applied medicinal liquor^[14], gently rubbing it evenly across her abdomen.

“Does it still hurt really badly?”

“It still hurts ….” Red bean closed her eyes and felt a warm sensation radiating from his palm as he rubbed away the sharp pain in her belly. She signed in relief and muttered, “That jerk Qing Xiao, kicked me super hard! He should have held back a little bit, being a boy and all ….”

“He was faced against a foolish girl who would jump behind people and take them by surprise, you are lucky he only kicked you once.” After he finished applying the medicinal liquor, Bai Yun He took out a clean white jacket and shirt and put them back on her one by one.

Having changed out of her red clothes, she looked just as fragile as the abandoned child in the snow whom he had first met six years ago.

“Straighten your arm.” Trying to put her arm through the sleeve, Bai Yun He adjusted her position, causing Red Bean to yell out in pain.

“No! Don’t move me.” She had finally found a comfortable position when Second Uncle moved her, her abdomen once again twitched with pain …. Red Bean hurriedly dove into Bai Yun He’s arms, stopping him from further movement.

“You aren’t cold?”

“No, Second Uncle’s hugging me, it feels super warm.” She mumbled and leaned on him with satisfaction.

She really missed this feeling …. Back then, Second uncle used to hug her and coax her like this all the time. He had a pleasant delicate fragrance about him that reassured her. Different from the stinky sweaty smell on Little Papa, Second Uncle smelled so good ….

Bai Yun He patted her on the back gently. Ever since she was young, anytime Red Bean wasn’t feeling well, she would always wrap herself around people and wine cutely, constantly wanting to be cuddled. Even as she sleeps, she’d hold on tight to the other person’s sleeve, lest they abandon her in the middle of the night. Perhaps it was due to being cruelly abandoned by her mother at a young age.

Before she turned five, she would always cling to him. During that time, they shared a bed almost every night. Little tiny Red Bean would startle awake crying in the small hours of the night, unable to fall back asleep.

After she had turned five, and he returned to the sect after completing his missions, the little crybaby Red Bean no longer clung to him like she used to. Instead, she had started following Shi Yan Guan around, which lasted to this day.

Seeing her now reminded him of the way she used to rely on him in the past.

“You haven’t grown up one bit, still acting like a baby.” Bai Yun He doted on her and continued to let her cuddle him, his free hands untied her braids and wiped her hair dry with his sleeves.

“Being a baby isn’t so bad, I have Papas and Second Uncle to dote on me.”

Bai Yun He chuckled softly. “Once you grow up and get married, you’ll have a husband to dote on you. When that time comes, you’d probably think your Papas and Second Uncle are being too naggy.”

“Only Little Papa is naggy, Second Uncle wouldn’t do that. Second Uncle won’t nag me … or cuddle me like before ….” Red Bean rubbed her sleepy eyes, her childlike voice reduced to a murmur.

“Doesn’t Red Bean hate it the most when Second Uncle nags you?”

“No, I … I don’t hate ….” Her voice trailing off into thin air, as Red Bean falls into a deep slumber.

“Red Bean?”

The only response he could hear was her subtly and steady breathing.

Bai Yun He laid Red Bean down on the bed and covered her with a cotton-wadded quilt. His large palm lightly brushing away the hair covering her face, the expression in his eye was that of self-mockery.

“Only Yan Guan’s personality could give you a happy childhood, had it been me and my gloomy disposition, you wouldn’t be the little Red Bean you are today.”

Even though Yan Guan can be reckless at times, and isn’t the most detailed oriented person, his easy-going and optimistic nature played a large part in shaping little Red Ben into the cheerful and lively person she is today. No one would be able to tell the childhood trauma she had endured.

This was what he wanted for her, but couldn’t provide himself ….

That year, Pity Me had lived up to everyone’s expectations and took away the position of the White Impermanence, accepting the Impermanence Token that represented her title and status from Yan Luo.

That same year, inside Bai Yun He’s warm embrace, Red Bean stepped out from the age of innocence and carefree days, experiencing the world’s sadness for the very first time.

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Translator’s Notes:

After MUCH deliberation, I’ve changed my mind and now Red Bean and Pity Me’s names will be a translation of their meaning as opposed to romanized Pinyin (which I’ve always used before). This is an intentional choice, made after A LOT of thought, so I do hope it pays off.

This was a lengthy chapter, almost 6500 words after all of my footnotes, which once again took around 1.5 hours to do. I’ve had to delay publishing for around 2 days to edit, format and write footnotes. The actual translation took around a week of my spare time, after work and drama watching.

For those of you who are confused by all the names of the four lord masters, I’ve made a quick reference list below

Sect Ranking: Number One
Position: Hell King
Name: Yan Luo/Yan Wang
Red Bean’s name for them: Big Papa

Sect Ranking: Number Two
Position: Civil Judge
Name: Bai Yun He sometimes referred to as Bai Yun or Second Master
Red Bean’s name for them: Second Uncle

Sect Ranking: Number Three
Position: Black Impermanence
Name: Niu Geng Jie sometimes referred to as Geng Jie or Third Master
Red Bean’s name for them: Third Papa

Sect Ranking: Number Four
Position: Martial Judge
Name: Shi Yan Guan sometimes referred to as Yan Guan or Fourth Master
Red Bean’s name for them: Little Papa

As always, please like, comment, and follow if you’ve enjoyed reading!~ Ciao! ❤

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1 The character’s name is 怜我 lián wǒ, and read as Lien Wo. She has no revealed last name, and her given name very literally translates to “pity me.”^↩
2 The original term here was 饭桶 fàn tǒng, which is a slang term and an insult for people who are good-for-nothing, and the literal Chinese translation is “rice bucket.” Presumably, because people who are good-for-nothings just take up space and hold rice (in their bellies).^↩
3 Tiger penis soup or 虎鞭汤 hǔ biān tāng is nutritional supplement usually enjoyed by men in hopes of increasing male virility and sexual potency. I’m not sure how effective it is, but some people will literally eat the penis of many different fierce animals (bulls, tigers, horses, etc.) in order to invigorate their own organ …. If you ask me, maybe just maybe they are overcompensating for something ….^↩
4 点穴 diǎn xué is a fictional martial arts technique commonly mentioned in Wuxia novels, whereby attacking certain pressure points and meridians, a user is able to incapacitate or immobilize their opponent. I didn’t like it being called “the touch of death,” since it sounds too dramatic, so I chose the term acupressure, which is more commonly used in massage therapy.^↩
5 轻功 qīnggōng is a semi-fictional martial arts technique, the term translates literally to “light martial arts,” and the light here is referring to lightweight and nimbleness. In real-life practice, it’s almost akin to parkour, but in Wuxia novels, it’s more exaggerated. Qinggong in Wuxia novels allows people to move swiftly and lightly without a sound at superhuman speeds, and to perform gravity-defying moves. For example, running on water, standing atop thin tree branches, leaping 10 feet into the air, and scaling a vertical surface unassisted (think Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon).^↩
6 The fist-palm salute or 抱拳 bào quán was an ancient Chinese gestured used when greeting others or by martial art practitioners before a match. The gesture looks like one is hitting the palm of one’s left hand with a fist formed with the right hand (although there are some sayings about the directionality denoting other intentions, you can look into that on your own). If you watch any Chinese martial arts movies or shows set place in ancient times, you will be familiar with this gesture. Check out the link here —>LINK for a photo.^↩
7 The original saying is 竖着出去横着回来 shù zhe chū qù héng zhe huí lái, which directly translates to “walk out horizontal, come back vertical,” which is a rather morbid but also humorous.^↩
8 So there was originally a joke here that couldn’t be translated, the joke was that Bai Yun He referred to Red Bean as a 武痴 wǔ chī, and in normal wuxia novels, this would mean a person who was obsessed with martial arts and is usually exceptionally good at it because of this. The 武 wǔ is for 武功 wǔ gōng or martial arts, and the 痴 chī is likely for 痴迷 chī mí or obsessed. But in Red Bean’s case, the 痴 chī is for 白痴 bái chī or idiot. A good NORMAL example of someone who is a 武痴 would be 鸠摩智 or Jiumozhi from Louis Cha’s novel 天龙八部 or Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils.^↩
9 One of the very first named underlings at the Hell King Sect, his name is 黃魉 huáng liǎng, and he’s of no real significance. But, it’s worth pointing out that for all the underlings in the sect, all of the first characters in their names are colours, while all of the second characters in their names have the 鬼 radical, and 鬼 means ghost in Chinese. In this case, 黃 huáng means yellow, while 魉 liǎng means monsters. Also, all of the underlings’ names pretty much all mean ghosts, demons, monsters, spirits, and etc.^↩
10 The original words here were 赐教 cì jiào, these two words are commonly heard in Wuxia and Xianxia novels/TV shows before individuals fight with one another, while other times it’s after. It’s normally there to denote the respect each party has for one another and humbly wishing to learn something from the other through a sparring match. You might hear them being used in the following ways: 赐教，赐教了，请赐教，前辈请赐教，多谢赐教 and etc.^↩
11 The second named underling is 青魈 qīng xiāo, he is also not an important character. 青 qīng means green or blue, while 魈 xiāo is for 山魈 shān xiāo, which is supposed to be a legendary one-footed mountain spirit. Mandrills were given the name 山魈 because of their unique and startling face.^↩
12 The original Chinese here was 男女授受不亲 nán nǚ shòu shòu bù qīn. This belief stemmed from Confucianism teachings and was popularized in the Song Dynasty. If I’m making a bingo card with commonly uttered sayings in ancient Chinese dramas/novels, this is a big one I’ll include for sure.^↩
13 真气 zhēn qì or genuine qi is a Taoist and traditional Chinese medicine term that refers to unseen forces that run through one’s body, serving vital roles and can serve as one’s life energy. If you read Wuxia and Xianxia novels or watch TV series set in ancient times, you’ve likely heard about this already. Just know that it’s kind of like chakra in Naruto, or MP in RGP games, if you use up too much of it, you can’t use moves anymore, and that’s bad.^↩
14 药酒 yào jiǔ is some combinations of traditional medicine soaked in alcohol that is 75% or higher. It is presumed to have all the medicinal properties of traditional Chinese medicine, and the effectiveness is amplified by the warming properties of alcohol.^↩