Ostentatious Zhao Yao ~ Ch 81: Side Story of Mo Qing (2)

Ostentatious Zhao Yao by Jiu Lu Fei Xiang

《招摇》 作者: 九鹭非香

Ch 81: Side Story of Mo Qing (2)

Translator & Editor: Sonrisa t.n.t

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During the dawning light, on the mountain’s peak came the sound of people searching for someone. On Chen Ji Mountain, it was a noisy and lively night. The banquet of the demon sect at Wu E Palace and the big bonfire display that reached the moon’s peak had spread all over Jiang Hu. However, in front of the mountain gate, the absurdity and madness that no one knew about belonged only to the two of them.

Mo Qing hung the only thing connected to his identity around Lu Zhao Yao’s neck, a small silver mirror. While she was asleep like she was in a deep coma.

In his heart, he was extremely perturbed. He wondered how he should face a clear-headed Lu Zhao Yao. If she recalled what had happened tonight, how would she handle him? Would she keep him or… Expel him?

If it was the former, then it was the best choice that he could hope for. If it was the later…

He saw Sima Rong leading people to find Lu Zhao Yao and then took her still-sleeping form away. Mo Qing had no choice but to hide inside his baggy cloak like usual, stepped back to one side, and silently watched them leave.

In the days that followed, it was arduous, as if he was waiting for a verdict. However, Mo Qing did not expect that after Lu Zhao Yao had slept for half a month, she woke up and forgot all about that crazy night that took place half a month ago.

She was not pretending because from that day on, Mo Qing discovered that the silver mirror that he had always carried with him from a young age was capable of spying on the thoughts of others.

He saw into Lu Zhao Yao’s heart. She truly did not remember, from the big banquet on Wu E Palace, to the big bonfire display that reached the moon’s peak, to the moment she went down the mountain, and then crazily grappled with him all night long. She forgot every detail.

Therefore, naturally, there was no need to mention how to handle Mo Qing.

He did not know whether to cry or to laugh.

That incident made him uneasy for so many days, but for Lu Zhao Yao, it was like a dream… Maybe not even comparable to a dream.

Anyway, what else could he do, she was Lu Zhao Yao. He was fond of her.

Therefore, that incident was dismissed, while on the other hand, the Spying Heart Mirror that he gave to Lu Zhao Yao made him a little sad. He knew that he should not have let Lu Zhao Yao wear the Spying Heart Mirror around her neck all along, because even when he was guarding the spell formation before the mountain gate, he sometimes heard her lamentations in Wu E Palace: “Ah, Yuan Jie, this old man talks too much, one day I will have to find a reason for him to go somewhere, and not come back for the meeting. Sima Rong brought up the incident when I was drunk again, so bothersome. I should tell Shi Qi to stitch his mouth with Yuan Jie together and be done with it. Oh, it seems that recently, Shi Qi’s chest has grown a little; I need to make her wear a dudou now… ”

And just like this, he accidentally smiled while facing the whistling windy fire of the murderous spell formation.

He should take the mirror back because Lu Zhao Yao definitely would not like others to spy on her thoughts.

The problem was, how should he ask?

‘Sect Leader, give me back the token of love that I gave you.’ These words, he was unable to explain and unable to utter them. Additionally… Every day, Mo Qing could hear Lu Zhao Yao’s inner voice. For him, being dried up from guarding the mountain gate, it was…

Extremely fascinating.

This was like being blessed by the heavens, so that he could touch Lu Zhao Yao at such a close distance. He sat in front of the mountain gate, his eyes off into the distance, but his heart was silently and secretively peeping as if he was a thief. He felt extremely guilty but was unable to control himself and continued to observe the inner heart of the person that he could not reach or touch.

He became more and more addicted to this and it also became increasingly difficult to extricate himself.

He loved Lu Zhao Yao very much, therefore, no matter whatever thoughts or ideas she had; he thought they were all adorable. So adorable that he always wanted to embrace her and kiss her. If it was possible, he vowed to take all the beautiful things that she wanted and offer them to her.

As long as she was happy.

However, that time when Lu Zhao Yao brought Qin Qian Xian back to Chen Ji Mountain, Mo Qing realized that he actually could not tolerate all the things that she liked.

For this reason, he became very angry, but after just a moment of madness, he suddenly woke up. In fact, he realized that he did not have the right to be angry.

Between him and Lu Zhao Yao, there were not only ten thousand steps that span across Chen Ji Mountain. She was the moon in the sky. She did not belong to any person, and most definitely could not belong to him. He stood on the steps in front of the mountain gate, and his eyes gazed into the distance. In front of him were wind and fire, thunder and lightning, with murderous aura on all four sides. However, inside his mind, Lu Zhao Yao experienced a calm that had never been seen before.

At this moment, she was admiring Qin Qian Xian and pondered how could there be such a beautiful person in this world?

Mo Qing lowered his head and the black cloak covered his face.

He looked at the tight black pattern on the back of his hand; he coldly smiled. Look, how ugly he was.

The next day, Qin Qian Xian was released, and Lu Zhao Yao ordered the Shadow Night Guards to take him down the mountain. The spell formation before the mountain gate was extinguished, and it opened a wide, wide path for Qin Qian Xian to leave.

Mo Qing stood in the corner and saw him, his clothes made from white silk, his expression indifferent, as if all the dust in the world could not touch his heart. With just a glance, Mo Qing understood why Lu Zhao Yao admired Qin Qian Xian.

When Qin Qian Xian left, he did not look at anyone else but only glanced at Mo Qing from the corner of his eye. Many years later, Mo Qing recalled that look from Qin Qian Xian, he realized, perhaps at that time, Qin Qian Xian discovered that he was not ordinary. However, after Qin Qian Xian returned, he immediately gave birth to an inner demon; he became busy, and no longer bothered with the outside world.

After that day, Chen Ji Mountain continued its daily life. And as before, Mo Qing guarded the mountain gate and cautiously and carefully spied on Lu Zhao Yao’s inner thoughts.

This secret belonged to only him, just like that night with Lu Zhao Yao; he was the only person who knew. At that time, Mo Qing used to think he was a demon cultivator with low cultivation skills. His life expectancy was destined to be much shorter than that of other demon cultivators. When his time ended, he would take all these secrets to his grave, even Lu Zhao Yao would not know.

Yet, an unexpected incident happened that Mo Qing could not have anticipated. One day in the future, Lu Zhao Yao would leave the center of his life first.

The news of Wan Jun Sword appeared.

At this time, Sima Rong was caught up in his feelings and fell deeply in love with Yue Zhu.

Sima Rong had a lot of friends in Wan Lu Sect, who was also extremely close to Lu Zhao Yao, but he only told the story of Yue Zhu to Mo Qing alone. Since the beginning that Mo Qing knew Yue Zhu was someone from Nan Yue Sect, he became suspicious of her in his heart. However, Mo Qing saw Sima Rong’s eyes were brimming with love; he could only remind him not to fall in too deep.

Additionally, the person who was the least qualified to advise Sima Rong was Mo Qing.

In fact, just like Mo Qing’s skepticism, Yue Zhu was the spy that Nan Yue Sect sent to assassinate Sima Rong. However, Yue Zhu also fell in love with Sima Rong; she could not bring herself to kill him, and so she was kidnapped back to Nan Yue Sect.

While Lu Zhao Yao led her army from Wan Lu Sect to the Sword Tomb, Sima Rong went to Nan Yue Sect to save Yue Zhu.

Mo Qing was worried about Lu Zhao Yao, so he left the mountain gate, and joined the other disciples to go to the Sword Tomb.

Outside the Sword Tomb, everyone obeyed Lu Zhao Yao’s command to stay outside and prevent disciples of other sects from going in. During the chaos, he relied on the Spying Heart Mirror to explore Lu Zhao Yao’s thoughts, avoided her attention, and secretly followed her into the Sword Tomb.

Suddenly, the immortal sects came out and ambushed her. Their entire attention was concentrated on Lu Zhao Yao. Mo Qing knew his cultivation was inferior, so when Lu Zhao Yao battled against the immortal sects, he silently hid himself. He looked at Lu Zhao Yao, who was gravely injured and forced to hide inside a crack in the stone, and then he knew what he needed to do.

He should go out, help Lu Zhao Yao distract the immortal sect disciples, and give her as much time as possible for her to win the Wan Jun Sword, which she still wished for. Then she could continue her journey.

For Mo Qing, this life of his was picked up by Lu Zhao Yao. If, in her most critical time of need, he could be useful to her, there was nothing for him to regret. Suddenly, only at that moment did he want in his last moments for Lu Zhao Yao to see him. He wanted her to know that he had existed in her life, even if it was for a fleeting second.

This could be regarded as… His own justification to himself.

He appeared in front of Lu Zhao Yao, she rose to fend for herself, but after she saw him clearly, her eyes lit up: “Mo Qing.” She immediately called out his name.

Just like that day at the foot of Chen Ji Mountain, before the spell formation, she laid on his chest, and softly called out his name. In the blink of an eye, Mo Qing’s heart became soft and limp, and he rubbed it to a bitter ache.

Her sparkling eyes stared at him intently: “Do you like me?”

When she suddenly uttered this question, Mo Qing was taken aback by surprise. However, very quickly, he heard Lu Zhao Yao’s inner thoughts through the Spying Heart Mirror. Lu Zhao Yao was normally heartless, but in reality, she was a very intelligent person. She could see the will of others clearly; therefore, based on his behavior, she saw through his thoughts.

She knew the desire hidden deep within him, his desire for her to remember him. However, because Lu Zhao Yao was a really heartless person, at that time, she only saw him as a disciple, her pawn. Therefore, after seeing his desire, she smiled and stared at him: “You like me. You would not let me die here, right?”

She wanted to use him.

Mo Qing lowered his eyes down to the small silver mirror resting on her chest. Even in this moment, he still felt that her small trembles and quick-witted self were absolutely adorable. Even if she wanted to play with his life.

“I will give you this silver mirror as a token of trust. If today, you can safely protect me to leave this place, then in the future, I will promote you before the Demon Realm as a prideful, outstanding hero.”

Then, she started to paint him a beautiful picture.

He had peeped into her thoughts for so many years that, in fact, there was no need for the Spying Heart Mirror. Mo Qing could understand her thoughts clearly.

“You don’t have to give me anything.” He pressed down on Lu Zhao Yao’s hand to prevent her from taking the small silver mirror off. “You keep it and keep it well.”

Lu Zhao Yao did not need to know where this little silver mirror came from. Nor did she need to know what it meant to Mo Qing. In fact, she did not need to know anything because these things only needed to be left for him to bear alone.

As for Lu Zhao Yao, she just needed to continue to live ostentatiously, look at the small silver mirror occasionally, and remember that there was once someone like him in her life.

For him, it was enough to comfort those secretive feelings that had been hidden in his heart for so many years.

Lu Zhao Yao looked at him and smiled. She tried to make herself appear more benevolent: “Help me attract the attention of those immortal sect disciples away, okay?”

How could he say, ‘no’, when he saw her huge smile thorwn towards him. In the end, Mo Qing could not control his emotions. He raised his hand and softly caressed the intoxicating dimple on her cheek. It was as if he had drank three thousand cups of wine that somewhat entranced his mind: “Sect Leader, I can give up everything for you, just as long as you are well.”

Perhaps this was the most unveiled confession he could utter from his lips to tell Lu Zhao Yao about his feelings.

However, Lu Zhao Yao did not think so; her heart was contemptuous; she thought he could throw it all away because he originally had nothing.

Her thoughts made him suddenly return to himself.

That was right, except for this life he had nothing left to offer to Lu Zhao Yao.

Originally, she picked up this life of his, so it should die for her.

Mo Qing held his sword and went out. He used all his strength to lure the other immortal sect disciples to follow, but the situation was not optimistic. He knew, even though he risked his life here today, with such a low cultivation, he had no way to protect Lu Zhao Yao and for her to safely leave. His only hope was inside the Sword Tomb.

He just fought back and forth and eventually retreated to the side in the Sword Tomb. As he risked his life and climbed up the Sword Tomb, one of his leg’s tendons was severed. He did not even have time to scream in pain. He grabbed the Wan Jun Sword from inside the ground; fresh blood flowed down his hands and onto the sword’s hilt. Suddenly, there were countless air currents that emitted sharp-like blades that made him feel the pain of a thousand cuts. The agony ripped his soul apart. It made him unable to endure and restrain himself any longer. He risked the last strands of his life and screamed resoundingly as he pulled the entire Wan Jun Sword out from the Sword Tomb.

Something immediately happened at that moment!

The demonic energy inside the Sword Tomb violently shook; it carried the power to destroy the ancients and extinguish the earth for thousands of miles. Inside the fierce energy, there were countless people of the immortal sects that did not have time to cry out and then quietly turned to ashes.

Mo Qing desperately held onto the Wan Jun Sword, he wanted to prevent the sword’s cruelty when it emerged.

Could not let it go any further. Zhao Yao was still here…

A “boom” sounded, the Sword Tomb collapsed and the place was completely destroyed. However, all the falling rocks that hit the force field around the Wan Jun Sword immediately turned into fine powder.

The sound of the earth’s rumble lasted for a long time; eventually, it slowly became quiet.

From inside the Sword Tomb, Mo Qing held the Wan Jun Sword and slowly stood up. He turned and looked at the chaotic scene, surrounded by piles of debris with mutilated limbs everywhere. It was impossible to distinguish who was who.

A great fear settled in Mo Qing’s heart and momentarily spread all over his body. The fear was like maggots eating at his bones; it drilled into every inch of his marrow, finally smashed its way up to his head, and caused his brain to scream.

He propped himself against the Wan Jun Sword, the world-famous demonic sword from the ancient times that finally recognized an owner. But now, he only considered it as a stick to support his shaking body, helping him to move forward.

Between the piles of rock and mutilated bodies, he kept searching: “Zhao Yao.” He emptily wailed these two syllables. Wan Jun Sword destroyed everything to the point where he could not even hear an echo.

“Zhao Yao…”

He did not know where she was; he only vaguely felt that she seemed to be standing here. He immediately knelt down and used his hands to constantly dig. He digged and searched for the whole day. Yuan Jie led the Shadow Night Guards over and saw the Wan Jun Sword discarded by Mo Qing lying in the middle of the rubble. While Mo Qing, who no longer had a sealed body, was still frantically digging through the rubble.

There was no time to ask any questions; Yuan Jie led the Shadow Night Guards and the disciples to search the Sword Tomb for three days and three nights. Almost all the stones in the Sword Tomb were moved out. Finally, at the bottom, they discovered a small blood-stained silver mirror.

Mo Qing looked at the silver mirror and did not utter a word.

Beside Mo Qing, Yuan Jie finally gave up the search for Lu Zhao Yao’s body. He sent someone to get the Wan Jun Sword to take back to Wan Lu Sect. At the same time, he found out that Wan Jun Sword already had an owner, it was Mo Qing.

Yuan Jie was furious and angrily questioned Mo Qing why did he harm Lu Zhao Yao.

Mo Qing only looked at the small silver mirror and said nothing.

He was carefully listening, but no matter how hard he tried to listen, he could not hear any voices coming from the Spying Heart Mirror.

The woman who wore this small silver mirror had already disappeared.

When Yuan Jie asked him, why did he kill Lu Zhao Yao, Mo Qing was speechless. The moment Yuan Jie angrily raised his Qing Gang Staff, Mo Qing did not resist. It did not matter if he died here. The precious person he hid deep within his heart, the one he wanted to give his all to protect, in the end, she finally died because of him.

He should use this life as compensation.

He deserved to die.

However, Wan Jun Sword rescued him.

Right at the moment, Yuan Jie was about to smash Mo Qing’s head with his staff, and then Wan Jun Sword interfered. It blocked the blow from Yuan Jie and floated in front of Mo Qing. It stunned everyone around him.

It was so ridiculous that Wan Jun Sword was protecting him. When he no longer needed any protection. When he was no longer afraid. The Wan Jun Sword unexpectedly protected him. If only it was possible to protect Zhao Yao like this just a moment ago…

He was taken back to Wan Lu Sect by Yuan Jie.  Yuan Jie wanted to take him to the Whipping Corpse Platform to be beheaded to avenge the Sect Leader. But Sima Rong, who returned from Nan Yue Sect with his broken legs, insisted on protecting him. Sima Rong said Lu Zhao Yao once claimed that anyone who could kill her would become the Sect Leader.

Sima Rong stood his ground and pushed Mo Qing into the position as the Wan Lu Sect Leader.

In fact, Mo Qing did not want to cooperate. It was only when he accidentally heard the words Sima Rong used to coax Shi Qi.

From the moment Lu Zhao Yao passed away, Shi Qi cried her heart to pieces. She wiped her tears constantly, almost going blind. Mo Qing was in the back and heard Shi Qi hoarsely questioned Sima Rong: “He killed the Sect Leader. Why did you protect him and help him become the Sect Leader? You are also a traitor. You are disloyal to the Sect Leader!”

But Sima Rong said: “Zhao Yao met with an unfortunate ending. I know that he is more hurt than anyone else. I know that he did not deliberately do it. But now, he is the only one who can take over Wan Lu Sect and maintain the sect created by Zhao Yao. Aside from Li Chen Lan, who owns the Wan Jun Sword, there is no one left to pick. Do not cry. I know that there is an immortal herb overseas. You go help Zhao Yao look for it. I will wait until you find the herb and return… “

Naturally, Shi Qi was tricked, but Mo Qing also understood the reason why Sima Rong wanted him to become the Sect Leader.

As brothers for so many years, Sima Rong saw through Mo Qing’s long-standing secret hidden in his heart. He also knew about Mo Qing’s feelings for Lu Zhao Yao. Therefore, in order not to disappoint Lu Zhao Yao’s efforts and hard work to build Wan Lu Sect, Sima Rong gave him the position of the Sect Leader.

“Zhao Yao cannot fulfill her dreams anymore; you will help her finish it.”

As Sima Rong had said, Mo Qing held the Wan Jun Sword, so there was no way to refute his position.

This life of his was picked up by Lu Zhao Yao, if he could not die for her, then he would protect the things she left in the world until his strength exhausted.

Mo Qing possessed the Wan Jun Sword, the Demon King’s seal was broken, he regained his inherent strength, and the terrifying seal patterns on his body also disappeared entirely. He looked at his perfect face in the mirror and wondered if this appearance could be considered handsome. But whether it was or not, Lu Zhao Yao had already died. Even if he was even more handsome, it did not matter anymore.

With the exception of Lu Zhao Yao’s eyes, the view of others was insignificant to him.

He began to deal with Wan Lu Sect’s affairs, practiced using and controlling Wan Jun Sword, and learned how to adapt to the strength in his body.

He declared within three months, he would definitely slaughter Nan Yue Sect.

Three months later, he single-handedly stormed into Xi Nan and massacred Nan Yue Sect. From that battle on, he established himself in Jiang Hu; they said he was even more brutal than Lu Zhao Yao. However, when one of his hands was covered in blood and the corpses were laying on the top of Nan Yue Mountain, only he knew.

His heart was empty and cold. It was even more desolate than this dead place.

This world no longer held Lu Zhao Yao, so he was no different from the corpses on the ground.

That night was late, it was cold and the frigid wind felt like a knife.

No matter how much time had passed, when he looked back, it was always a moment of bloodcurdling, ghastly pain.

Mo Qing turned his head to look over at Sima Rong’s courtyard; Lu Zhao Yao was happily chasing Li Ming Shu. While Li Ming Ge was already pondering on how to reconnect the wooden pieces back onto Little Round Face Wooden Human’s hand.

Mo Qing could not help himself, his gaze became gentle.  He did not want to recall his past experiences, because all of the past could not compare to the beautiful moments in this present time.

However, once in a while, he reminisced, if only for a moment, was enough for him to cherish the life he had right now.

Sima Rong was under the tree and was deep in his thoughts for a long time. He thought about what Mo Qing just said and he recovered his spirit. He opened his mouth to ask: “Is Yue Zhu still here right now?”

“In the past she was, if nothing happened, she must still be here. It’s just that Zhao Yao cannot see her anymore.”

When Sima Rong heard that, he bowed his head with a bitter smile. However, his smile absentmindedly carried some degree of sweetness: “Yue Zhu is so stupid.”

At that moment, the wind picked up and swept through Sima Rong’s hair. Mo Qing looked at Lu Zhao Yao in the distance, softly said: “Yue Zhu is talking to you.”

Sima Rong nodded: “I heard it.” He lowered his head to look at his fingers, and his eyes trembled slightly. “She’s telling me that she feels very happy.”

Knowing that the soul of that person was around, he could speculate the meaning of a passing wind. In the past, Mo Qing was like that. Now, Sima Rong was the same way. It was not really painful, but it could be… Considered as a kind of comfort.

Just knowing that she existed here, even if she lived in solitude, life had become a little more interesting.

“Hey! Li Chen Lan!” Finally, Lu Zhao Yao caught up with Li Ming Shu, who kept on running away, “Your son is so mischievous. I can’t manage him anymore. Let’s throw him away. “

When Li Chen Lan heard that, he laughed: “Then throw him away. In the future, we will create another.”

How fortunate, even now, she and he could still have a future.

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