Ostentatious Zhao Yao ~ Ch 75: Side Story

Ostentatious Zhao Yao by Jiu Lu Fei Xiang

《招摇》 作者: 九鹭非香

Ch 75: Side Story: Shi Qi – Affinity of a Lifetime (Beginning)

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Hello dear readers!

So I found the side story to Shi Qi on the interwebs. Apparently there’s 2 different versions of 《招摇》”Ostentatious Zhao Yao,” so that made it super confusing.

Anyways, enjoy away!

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“Because you are Qin Qian Xian.” 

After Qin Qian Xian ascended, Shi Qi was depressed for a long time. Zhi Yan said that she probably took a liking towards her big uncle. 

“Yes.” Shi Qi admitted, “I like him. He saved me before and later saved my sect leader. He helped me a lot, so of course, I like him.” 

After hearing these words, Zhi Yan was silent for a long time. In the end, she let out a sigh and patted Shi Qi on the shoulder. She did not say anything else and continued to work. 

Zhi Yan thought to herself, in fact, she did not need to talk to Shi Qi so forwardly. Anyways, Qin Qian Xian had ascended, and went to another world that not even a second person could ever understand. Even if Shi Qi understood her feelings for Qin Qian Xian, it was of no use. 

It was better to let her live her life in a simple and muddle manner, and it may not be long before she would forget Qin Qian Xian.

… At that time, that was what  Zhi Yan had thought, but she was wrong. Shi Qi was not only simple-minded and muddle-headed, but the greatest characteristic of her personality was her persistence. 

So after Qin Qian Xian left, her gloomy mood had never alleviated. 

In the end, it was Lu Zhao Yao, who was immersed in happiness, who had returned to the mountain, she saw it and casually said: “If you’re looking forward to seeing him again, then work hard to cultivate the immortal path, strive to ascend, and go up to heaven to find him and play.” 

Shi Qi took it seriously. 

From then on, she followed Lu Zhao Yao and traveled the world together. Shi Qi was indeed simple-minded and persistent. From the moment when she heard about working hard to cultivate the immortal path, she put aside her gloomy mood and started to greedily cultivate it from dawn to dusk. 

However, with such a physique, she was helpless. No matter how hard she worked, her cultivation base could not even be compared to the results obtained by a low-level demon cultivator. 

She also did not think that there was anything bad, she had hope in her heart. Although her cultivation base was lacking, she had a long life! 

Day after day, she cultivated, day after day, she practiced, even if there was only the tiniest bit of progress per day, it was still hope! 

Harboring expectations of ascending, the simple-minded Shi Qi felt that she was living a very fulfilling and satisfying life every day. 

Before going to bed at night, she would always pursed her lips and laughed. Again, today had ended and again, there was a little progress today. She seemed to be one step closer to the unattainable Qin Qian Xian, who was in heaven. At this time, when she was about to fall asleep, she seemed to see that in the vast void, there seemed to be someone chuckling in her ear.

While she was working hard to cultivate, the affectionate married life between Lu Zhao Yao and Mo Qing also went a step further — Lu Zhao Yao became pregnant with a baby. When she was pregnant up until the tenth month, Mo Qing calculated that the baby might be born within the next few days, so he entrusted Shi Qi to go find someone who delivers babies in the nearest town. 

After Shi Qi left, she came upon two low-level demon cultivators who were making things difficult for the midwife and her family. She stepped forward and was about to beat them up, but on second thought, she had cultivated the immortal path in the small courtyard for such a long time, and normally, both Lu Zhao Yao and Mo Qing would not spar with her. Shi Qi knew in her heart that, in terms of cultivation base, it was very difficult for her to catch up to the two of them with her cultivation of the past few years. Therefore, she did not have the inclinations to swap pointers. 

Now that she saw two low-level demon cultivators, it was time to test it out. She planned to fight these two people with her magic. However, Shi Qi did not expect that under Lu Zhao Yao’s many years of careful teaching, when she fought these two with her magic, she unexpectedly did not even gain the upper hand with these two low-level demon cultivators combined attacks! 

The magic barrier that she condensed was easily shattered, and the magic of the opposing demon cultivators penetrated into her body. Naturally, the opponents’ weak magic could not even cause her any type of harm. 

However, this was enough to hurt her self-esteem. 

After so many years of desperately practicing, it was… It was still for nothing? Even defeating two low-level demon cultivators was impossible. Wanting to ascend, it was easier said than done… 

Even if she had a long life, it probably would not even work out. 

Shi Qi felt extremely disappointed. The two low-level demon cultivators did not understand her disappointment, so they laughed at her wantonly and sarcastically, and then, they even wanted to get fresh with her. 

Shi Qi raised her eyes and a murderous glint flashed in her black eyes. She did not use magic again. She just relied on her previous methods, she lifted her hands and ripped the two of them into pieces. As the blood splashed all over her body, the two arrogant demon cultivators became lumps of flesh littered on the ground. She kicked away the corpses on the ground and walked towards the already frightened midwife and her family: “My family’s master is going to give birth soon, you have to go help deliver the baby.”

The midwife complied hurriedly and followed Shi Qi back to the house, trembling and quivering along the way. 

When they arrived at the house, Mo Qing saw Shi Qi covered in blood, but did not comment on it. He only instructed her to go to the back and clean herself up, then he took the midwife to see Lu Zhao Yao. 

A basin of cold water poured down her head. At that moment, it was the cold of winter. As she raised her head and sighed, the warm breath from her body flew out like the soul in her body, fluttering around and floating up to heaven.

She probably would not be able to see Qin Qian Xian again during this lifetime. 

Shi Qi thought it was so. 

After Li Ming Ge was born, for many times, Shi Qi had hid behind the door to watch Mo Qing tease Li Ming Ge. The aura that both the father and daughter unconsciously emitted was probably something that Shi Qi could not cultivate within ten years or even several decades. 

In the end, she had to admit that she probably did not have the talent for cultivating the immortal path. 

There were so many people in the world who cultivated the immortal path, and yet there were only a few who genuinely ascended to heaven. 

This was the first time Shi Qi felt disappointed by her physique. Maybe the world was exactly like this, there would always be things that she was destined to be unable to do. 

During this period of time, when she fell asleep, the corners of her lips no longer smiled and her ethereal laughter seemed to have turned into a shallow sigh. 

Shi Qi thought that she was going to give up cultivating the immortal path. She had stopped meditating and reading books about cultivating the immortal path. However, at such a time, she suddenly had a dream one night, and the scene in the dream was so real that she did not dare to believe it. 

She seemed to have walked into a misty bamboo forest. In the forest, someone in white moonlit clothes sat quietly, playing go against himself. 

That person was none other than the person she longed to see again in her heart, Qin Qian Xian. She laughed. “Living Buddha.” She called out to him, but after calling out to him, her mood suddenly turned gloomy again, “I can’t cultivate the immortal path, so this must be a dream. I can only see you in my dreams.” 

She sat cross-legged on the praying mat at the other end of the game of go, and quietly stared at Qin Qian Xian, who was looking down at the game of go. Qin Qian Xian let her stare for a while and then, he said: “Recently, I may have to descend into the Lower Realm to undergo a calamity.” His tone of address was familiar, as if it was yesterday that they were still sitting together, just chatting. 

Shi Qi asked him: “Oh, you have only ascended for a few years, and you’re about to descend into the Lower Realm to undergo a calamity? Doesn’t the folk literature say that the immortals undergo a calamity once every hundred years or thousand years? You’re so beautiful, do you have to undergo a calamity more than other people?” 

As the hand holding the go stone paused slightly, Qin Qian Xian finally raised his head to look at Shi Qi. His expression was naturally indifferent, but there was a slight smile in the corners of his eyes. In his black eyes were Shi Qi’s figure. He said: “I still have some more wishes that I haven’t finished yet.” 

“Oh.” Shi Qi nodded. She did not quite understand what wishes Qin Qian Xian had, but, “Don’t be afraid.” She patted her chest and promised, “There’s no way I can see you in heaven, but once you’re down here, I will go find you. I will definitely protect you and absolutely will not let others bully you.” 

Qin Qian Xian placed the go stone down with a slight smile: “Thank you for your trouble, Shi Qi.” 

“It’s okay, I like you, so I will definitely help you.” 

Qin Qian Xian finally let out a laugh, “You’re still so straightforward.”

However, Shi Qi had already changed the subject. She looked at Qin Qian Xian’s chessboard: “Are you playing go against yourself?” 

“Mhm.” He narrowed his smile and placed a black stone down. 

Shi Qi watched on for a while: “The black is going to win.” 

“Yes.” Qin Qian Xian nodded, seeming to sigh just a little, “Originally, I wanted the white to win.” 

Shi Qi puzzled: “You play go against yourself, and you want the white to win, so how did you still lose?” 

Qin Qian Xian was silent for a moment: “It could not withstand against the Will of Heaven.” 

In the wake of his words, Shi Qi slowly woke up, but it was almost afternoon when she woke up. She happily went to find Lu Zhao Yao, saying that she had just dreamt of Qin Qian Xian, he was going to the Lower Realm, and she was going to look for him. 

Lu Zhao Yao did not stop her, and Shi Qi got on the road again with hope in her heart. However, in a vast world such as this, it was not going to be easy to find someone. In the end, who would be Qin Qian Xian? Where would he be born? What would he look like? Shi Qi did not even know whether he was going to be a male or a female. 

The only thing Shi Qi knew was that Qin Qian Xian had once been someone who had ascended, so even if he was born in the Lower Realm, it would be extraordinary when he was born. Shi Qi spent some time searching the world alone, but later felt that doing it alone was really not the way, so she returned to Chen Ji Mountain and asked Zhi Yan to help her search. 

In the vast world, she was looking for children who were born extraordinary. 

In the time of ten years, she heard countless legends and found countless children. Some true, some false. Among them, three of them were personally kidnapped by Shi Qi. When she returned with them, Shi Qi’s intuition told her that they and Qin Qian Xian were nothing alike. Therefore, she let them go. 

Later, she heard the legend of the Crown Prince of the Northern Qi Dynasty. At the beginning, Shi Qi did not believe it. After hearing so many false stories and legends, she actually had some doubts about these things. She doubted her dream and doubted whether there was a calamity that he had to undergo in the Lower Realm. 

However, even if she had doubts, she still wanted to go. What could she do, she could not cultivate the immortal path, so she could not ascend. If even Qin Qian Xian went to the Lower Realm and she could not find him, then there was really no chance of seeing him again in this life. 

No matter what, she still had to try. 

On the day of the Crown Prince of Northern Qi’s twelfth birthday, the Emperor of Northern Qi held a big feast for the entire dynasty. During the daytime, he ordered the crown prince to go to Su Tian Pagoda to pay homage to heaven and earth, and their ancestors. In front of Su Tian Pagoda, there was the most spacious and straightest road in all of Northern Qi, which led directly to the imperial palace and was a place for the royal family to worship. 

While on Su Tian Pagoda, there was a spire that could reach the sky. Shi Qi stood on this spire, quietly watching the crown prince, who was supported by a crowd of immortals, sitting in a majestic palanquin, coming forward slowly. 

The face of the person in the palanquin was hidden, so Shi Qi could not see him. As the immortals, who were protecting him, were about to walk to the front of Su Tian Pagoda, someone noticed her. 

Someone even knew her: “It’s East Mountain Lord! The East Mountain Lord of Wan Lu Sect!” 

“Lu Shi Qi, it’s Lu Shi Qi!” 

Everyone panicked. 

They did not know what she was here for, but layer upon layer, they guarded the palanquin. 

When the person in the palanquin heard the commotion, he opened the curtains, poked his head out, and looked upward. Even a glance from afar was enough for Shi Qi to confirm. There was no mistake, it was him, it was Qin Qian Xian. 

His appearance was different, there was an extra cinnabar mole between his eyebrows, and his facial features still had not yet fully grown, but Shi Qi knew this person, knew this kind of look, this innate indifference. She only knew of that one person. 

At that time, Su Tian Pagoda was ablaze by the scorching sun, hanging high up in the sky. Therefore, Shi Qi could see the crown prince very clearly, but standing below, the crown prince could not see her. He could only see a dark shadow standing in the dazzling brilliance. It was the outline of a woman, but the aura did not have the same depth like the palace women he had known since childhood. 

She smelled of blood and evil, but she was also very clean and transparent. 

“Crown prince, be careful.” At this time, the attendants around him gave him a reminder. Then suddenly, a black shadow fell down from the sky like a falcon. It leapt forward, smashed directly into the magic array formed by those immortal cultivators, broke into his palanquin, and stood before him. 

The space in the palanquin was small and blocked by decorations. The people outside were afraid that the crown prince would be held hostage by Shi Qi, so they did not dare to act rashly. Besides… 

Regarding the former East Mountain Lord, even if they did act rashly, the immortals present would not even be enough to deal with her altogether. 

Shi Qi stood before him and raised her hand. Without any politeness, she poked directly at the cinnabar mole between his eyebrows with her finger: “Qin Qian Xian, this rebirth of yours made it so hard for me to find you.” 

As the crown prince was poked, he looked dazedly at the person before him. 

Her mannerisms made people think that she was familiar, it even… Made him a little bit nostalgic. 

However, he could not put into words why he thought that she was so familiar and caused him to become nostalgic. 

He had heard of Wan Lu Sect. It was a demon sect in Jiang Hu, but in recent years it had become no different from the immortal sects. However, its actions were a little extreme and weird. He also knew about East Mountain Lord. Under the former Wan Lu Sect Sect Leader, Lu Zhao Yao, there were four mountain lords. They were more famous than the prime ministers and generals of any country. 

However, Jiang Hu was Jiang Hu, it had nothing to do with the mundane, secular world. So why did she look for him, and why did she call him…Qin Qian Xian? 

“You’ve found the wrong person. I’m the Crown Prince of Northern Qi, Xu Zhao.” He was still sitting where he should be sitting, without the slightest confusion in his heart. Although he was young, his strength of character, the ability to still remain calm under absolute suppression, was somewhat similar to Qin Qian Xian. 

Shi Qi looked at him for a while: “It’s you, no doubt .” After she said that, the immortal cultivators outside were chanting a spell. They planned to trap Shi Qi prisoner here, while the imperial guards surrounded her and each and every one of them pointed their sharp spears at her. 

Shi Qi’s eyes swept around: “It’s not good to talk here, I’m taking you away.” 

“Wait…” 

When Shi Qi handled work, she became very quick tempered. As soon as the words faded, she took a hold of Xu Zhao’s waist and put him over her shoulders. Xu Zhao immediately stopped moving while he was on her shoulders. 

Upon seeing this, the imperial guards and immortal cultivators outside used all of their forces to stop her. Shi Qi directly kicked the side door of the palanquin, and like a thief, she carried Xu Zhao and jumped ten feet high. The citizens of Northern Qi cried out in surprise when they saw this. The emperor and empress were also alarmed inside the palace. In the distant imperial court, they ran outside, looked up at the sky and screamed. 

*ten feet = 10 Chinese feet is 3.3 meters

The immortal cultivators took out all sorts of magic weapons to stop Shi Qi. Shi Qi casually pulled at a sword that was passing by, and flung it back around. Only to see that the sword turned into a boomerang, and made “whoosh-whoosh” sounds in the air. Every magic weapon belonging to the immortal cultivators were shot down to the ground. 

As the long sword flew back, Shi Qi took advantage of being in mid-air and placed the sword under her feet. She mobilized the minute amount of magic residing in her body, and traveled by sword. Her abandoning figure from behind looked like a chicken flying or a dog hopping. 

Within a few days, the news that the Crown Prince of Northern Qi was kidnapped by Wan Lu Sect’s East Mountain Lord, Lu Shi Qi, had spread all over the world. 

In Northern Qi’s territory, even the mountain woodsmen who had just entered town were also talking about this shocking event. When Shi Qi was in the mountains getting spring water, that was when she suddenly heard that the monarchs of Northern Qi was trying to arrest her, she could only rub her little nose.

She actually…

She really just wanted to talk to Qin Qian Xian’s reincarnation in another place… 

At that time, during the fight, she did not notice that this Xu Zhao turned out to be so weak. He fainted the moment she carried him on her shoulders. She was fighting so fiercely and no longer paid attention to Xu Zhao. However, the people around her saw that their crown prince had fainted because of her; no wonder why they wanted to beat her up so desperately. 

Now that this matter had spread to these woodsmen, it had already changed to Lu Shi Qi went on a killing spree, killing immortal cultivators all over the capital during the crown prince’s birthday party and ritual ceremony. With each step she took, she slaughtered people one by one, blood flowing all over the fields and countless corpses lying on the ground. The woodsmen’s words were so convincing that they made Shi Qi believe that she really did go crazy at that time and committed that kind of disaster. 

She finished getting water and returned to the grove. 

As Xu Zhao sat leaning against the tree trunk, his complexion was pale. When he saw Shi Qi handing him water, he did not refuse. He took it, took a sip, and asked her: “You captured me, why?” 

“I wish to talk to you.” 

“Talk about what?” 

Shi Qi actually did not know what to talk about. Seeing the familiar and unfamiliar expression of the person in front of her, she absolutely did not know where to start. If they talked about the past, he did not know anything about Qin Qian Xian’s past. If they talked about the future…There was nothing to talk about. 

“Let’s talk about you.” Shi Qi finally decided and said, “Do you like me?” 

“…” 

This question came too suddenly. Xu Zhao was still a teenager and even if he calmed down, his entire body was still stunned. 

“This… Where do I start…” She wanted him to say that he likes the person who kidnapped him when they first met and caused him to feel unwell? 

“I like you very much.” Shi Qi crossed her legs and sat down in front of him, “I like you at first glance. Don’t worry, I won’t hurt you. If you want to go back to Northern Qi, I will send you back. If you don’t want to be the crown prince, I will take you away. Whatever you want to do, I will help you do it.” 

These words… Came even more suddenly than those previous words.

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Enjoy your reading pleasure!

Please do not copy my English translations. You are welcome to link back to my website. Much appreciated.

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