Ostentatious Zhao Yao ~ Ch 76: Side Story

Hello dear readers!

So here’s your second surprise! The last chapter to Shi Qi’s side story!

Enjoy away!

~ Sonrisa t.n.t

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Ostentatious Zhao Yao by Jiu Lu Fei Xiang

《招摇》 作者: 九鹭非香

Ch 76: Side Story: Shi Qi – Affinity of a Lifetime (Ending)

Editor & Translator: Sonrisa t.n.t

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Although Xu Zhao was still young, his education and environment since birth had made him too precocious. However, when he looked at the person before him, he still felt that… He could not keep up with her thoughts… 

“Why?” Xu Zhao asked her, “Why me?” 

Why was it him? 

“Because you are Qin Qian Xian.” 

This name had resurfaced again. 

In the past few days, he was sick and was in a daze. Things were so chaotic that Xu Zhao did not have the time to think about the person with this name. Now that he thought about it, it was not hard for him to think of Qin Qian Xian, the immortal who ascended to heaven more than ten years ago…

Was there any past between that ascended immortal and Eastern Mountain Lord? 

He looked at Shi Qi: “So, you’re treating me like I’m him?” 

“You are him.” 

In the face of such a persistent person, Xu Zhao finally had to bow his head and smile. He no longer tried to explain and only said: “Send me back to the palace.” 

“Okay.” Shi Qi answered without anymore nonsense. Then she immediately said, “But I’m very curious, are you really the favored crown prince? Then why did your people from Northern Qi follow you here and still haven’t done anything to save you?” 

Shi Qi said, looking into the distance. In an area that was more than thirty feet away, there appeared to be a startled bird flying away. If no one paid attention to it, then no one would notice the abnormality. 

Xu Zhao raised his head to take a look, then he lowered his eyes. He was well aware of the situation: “My imperial father has been sick for many years, and my third brother is unwilling to stay at the sidelines. So, you should understand it when I say it like this.” 

“I understand. He wants to take advantage of the disruption in the pond that I made and take this opportunity to seize power.” Even though Shi Qi was simple-minded and straightforward, but she was not stupid, “Don’t worry, with me here, they can’t even touch a single hair on your body.” 

For Xu Zhao, it was his first time to be protected like this. He smiled and propped himself up against the tree trunk, wanting to stand up. But Shi Qi crouched directly in front of him: “Where do you want to go, I’ll carry you there.” 

Looking at Shi Qi’s back, Xu Zhao was stunned for a moment, but out of courtesy, he did not decline it and climbed up on her back. However, when his hand passed through Shi Qi’s neck, it hooked onto her hair, and he saw a scar on the back of her neck. Xu Zhao was silent. There were many guards around him. All of them were strong in martial arts, and every person with strong martial arts would be injured more or less, but Xu Zhao had never seen a woman with such an injury. 

The meandering curve started from the top of her lapel and spreaded down to her back. When she was injured, she must have been drenched with blood… It must have been very painful. 

However, as he thought about it, she was the Eastern Mountain Lord of Wan Lu Sect, so she could not lack these “heroic battle scars.” 

“The Imperial Palace of Northern Qi.” Xu Zhao said. 

“Okay.” 

When Shi Qi was about to move, at this moment, the people on the other side suddenly made a move. 

As noises of “clink-clank” sounded, steel chains  came from all directions and a metal net was woven in midair about thirty feet away from Shi Qi and Xu Zhao. Shi Qi let out an “oh.” “So they’re Immortal cultivators. These people want to trap us and don’t want you to return to the palace.” 

Xu Zhao’s eyes glinted frostily, and then he asked Shi Qi: “Can you deal with them?” 

Shi Qi smiled, the smile was full of the savageness that an Eastern Mountain Lord should have: “Just hold onto me tightly.” 

As Xu Zhao held onto Shi Qi’s neck tightly, he saw her figure dash forward and a chain from the metal net above them immediately flew towards Shi Qi. Shi Qi did not try to evade it, instead she dashed straight towards that metal chain. 

Xu Zhao was stunned. When he saw a sharp thorn-like tip on the steel chain coming really fast towards them head-on, so fast that he subconsciously closed his eyes. However, in the next moment, he only heard a “clack.” Shi Qi had grabbed the steel thorn-like tip with her bare hands, and broke it off without any explanation. The steel thorn-like tip was connected to a metal chain, and the metal chain was followed by the large cage-like steel net woven by the immortal cultivators. 

As Shi Qi grabbed the metal chain in the back, she gave a vicious pull and the entire net of metal chains trembled with her movements. 

The immortal cultivators behind the metal net were all shocked, and when they waited to wave the metal net again, Shi Qi released a low growl. With her own brute force, she immediately dragged the entire metal net supported by magic from midair. She pulled the metal net and whirled it, creating an arc. The arc destroyed the surrounding big trees, and knocked down some of the immortal cultivators who were hidden in the woods. Together with the trees, she swept them up and threw them straight into the sky. 

There were many screams in the air. 

Not only Xu Zhao, but the immortal cultivators who were still on the ground were also stunned. The immortal cultivators who had just escaped the net, one by one, stood up from the already baren woods, looking at Shi Qi in astonishment. 

It was known that Wan Lu Sect’s Eastern Mountain Lord’s strange power was astounding, but no one had ever thought that her strange power would be so astounding… 

Regardless of magic, regardless of common sense, just directly win by brute force… 

Xu Zhao leaned on Shi Qi’s back and looked at her silently in disbelief. As the sounds of “pop-pow” sounded, Shi Qi had already popped her knuckles twice. She did not say a word, and walked straight towards the remaining immortal cultivators. 

When one of the closest cultivators saw this, he knew that it was not a good sign, so he quickly used the Teleportation Technique and his figure disappeared in the blink of an eye. Shi Qi’s eyes narrowed. Without moving her feet, she stretched out her hand and grabbed him out of thin air. The old cultivator immediately appeared in Shi Qi’s hands, staring at her in surprise. Shi Qi squeezed his neck tightly, and just when he was about to enter the tiger’s den, Xu Zhao said: “It’s okay.” 

As Shi Qi loosened her hand, she tilted her head slightly and her lips immediately twitched: “Sure enough, you’re the same as Qin Qian Xian. You always stop me, saying that it’s not good to kill.” Without a care, she threw the old cultivator away, withdrew the sword at her waist, and rose up on the sword. At this time, suddenly there was a brilliant light coming towards her back, but she was already carrying Xu Zhao. 

So she turned around and used her body as a shield to block that ray of light. 

At first, she just thought it was magic, but she did not expect that there was a dagger wrapped within the magic. The brilliant light from the magic melted into Shi Qi’s body and did not cause her any harm, but the dagger pierced directly into her heart. 

When Shi Qi suffered this blow, behind her, Xu Zhao unexpectedly felt an indescribable pain in his heart. 

He was not injured, but he… 

Actually felt pain for Shi Qi. 

However, Shi Qi did not feel that it was painful. Even though her immortal cultivation did not succeed, the skin and flesh of her body could not be gravely injured by such a little immortal cultivator with such a small cheap trick. 

She lifted her foot and ruthlessly kicked the young immortal cultivator in front of her. The man fell back towards the ground. Still unwilling to resign, he gritted his teeth and scolded bitterly: “Lu Shi Qi! You witch! You killed my father! If I can’t kill you today, then I’ll just be a ghost! I will not let you go!” 

Xu Zhao kept his silence. 

Shi Qi did not speak either. She had killed too many people in her life. It did not matter to Shi Qi who this young man was or who his father was because she did not remember them. It was just that she turned her head slightly to look at Xu Zhao next to her, and then scratched her head. 

Without any discomfort, she drew the dagger out from her chest and threw it on the ground. She did not even care that her blood smeared the clothes on her chest. She just glanced at the young man. She did not bother to explain nor did she go in for the kill. Just like before, she rose up on the sword and left. 

She sent Xu Zhao into the imperial palace, but soon realized that the Imperial Palace of Northern Qi was already filled with enchantment barriers. It was a sure thing that she could break in, but Xu Zhao could not. If Xu Zhao could not get in, then it did not make much sense for her to go to the palace. After lingering above the barrier for a while, the sky was already dark. 

Shi Qi first took Xu Zhao to the outskirts near the lake and planned to spend the night, thinking about countermeasures along the way. 

“It looks like your third brother is about to seize power.” She lit a bonfire and said to the pale Xu Zhao next to her, “Shall I go and kill your third brother?” 

Xu Zhao did not answer her, instead he quietly stared at the blood on her chest. 

Shi Qi became uncomfortable and blocked it from his sight: “Mhm, I’m going to the lake to clean up first.” She believed that this Qin Qian Xian, who was the living Bodhisattva’s reincarnation, must not like seeing slaughter. 

Never mind about the former Qin Qian Xian. He was originally from Jiang Hu. So, no matter how he practiced the Bodhisattva Path, in order to protect himself and what he wanted to protect, his hands had to be stained with blood. Therefore, Qin Qian Xian understood her past. 

However, Xu Zhao was different. 

He was still young. Kindness still existed in his heart, so he could not see her killing people like that. Besides… He would not understand the bloody vendetta she carried in the past. 

Shi Qi walked to the lake and took off her clothes. She stepped into the lake, washing her body. As she washed, she pondered. It appeared that he was a bit disgusted with her, what should she do? Should she go buy him a candied hawthorn stick and coax him? 

When Shi Qi thought about these things, she was really focused. Therefore, she did not expect Xu Zhao, who was sitting by the bonfire behind her, to tilt his head slightly towards her side. Under the moonlight, among the shimmering lake, Shi Qi stood naked with her back towards him in the lake. Even if he had seen her strange power and the methods she used in the daytime, at this time, looking at her graceful figure, there was no difference between an ordinary woman. 

Upon closer inspection, he found that there were indeed a lot of scars on her back. 

Lacerations from swords, burns from flames, stab wounds from arrows, all kinds, she seemed to have tasted all the torture in hell beforehand to have such a scarred and mottled body. 

However…

“Ay.” Shi Qi turned her head and slightly blocked her chest from view, “You’re watching me take a bath.” 

In short, all the pity, heartache, and remorse in Xu Zhao’s mind completely turned into embarrassment and awkwardness. So, he quickly turned his head away. He was still young after all, so his cheeks instantly turned red: “No…I…I …” 

Sounds of “swoosh-splat-splat” sounded, it was Shi Qi who had come ashore. She stood glisteningly naked beside Xu Zhao. As Xu Zhao glanced sideways, his face burned instantly and his head immediately dropped. This time, he buried his head in his knees and did not lift it up for a long time: “Eastern… Eastern Mountain Lord… You need to put on your clothes first…” 

“Just call me Shi Qi.” Shi Qi squatted down beside Xu Zhao, “Will you be happy watching me take a bath?” 

“…” 

“If it makes you happy, then let’s bathe together, so I don’t have to think of other ways to coax you.” 

“…” Xu Zhao’s blush reached the base of his neck. After a long time, he murmured in a low voice like a mosquito, “Why do you want to… Coax me?” 

Shi Qi blinked, looking at him: “Don’t you dislike me?” 

Xu Zhao was startled. He was very bright, he understood that Shi Qi was afraid that he would criticize her for her past bloody vendettas. He wanted to explain, but as soon as he was about to look up, he immediately remembered Shi Qi’s appearance without her clothes and quickly reburied his head. After a long time, he was able to calm the fervent emotions down and softly said: “I don’t… Dislike you.” 

Her hands might be really bloody, but her heart was actually…Purer than anyone else. At least it was much purer than those other women in the harem. 

Seeing Xu Zhao like this, Shi Qi obediently put on her clothes: “It’s great that you don’t dislike me. I just want to protect you and be with you for the rest of my life. If you feel that I’ve done something that you don’t like, then just tell me. I don’t want to have a conflict with you.” She fastened her belt, walked to Xu Zhao’s side, and patted his shoulder, “I’m dressed now. If you don’t like seeing me naked, then from now on, I won’t be naked in front of you.” 

“It’s not that I don’t li-…” 

Forget about it. It was better to not say anything, just in case she would want to take off her clothes again… 

After seeing the Shi Qi’s appearance, sleeping next to the bonfire, Xu Zhao was full of helplessness. After his helplessness passed, he only shook his head and smiled. 

So this was the Eastern Mountain Lord of Wan Lu Sect. She was much more interesting than anyone he had ever seen. 

The next morning, when Shi Qi woke up from her sleep, she regained enough energy. She moved her body around, and then stretched her hand out to Xu Zhao: “Let’s go.” 

“Where to?” 

“I’ll take you back to the palace.” 

Xu Zhao frowned: “But the barrier above the palace, I can’t…” 

“Yesterday, I thought about it in my sleep. You can’t get in through the barrier from the top, but there’s always a gateway in the barrier. Let’s go in through the entrance, and whoever tries to stop me, I’ll beat whoever up.” 

Xu Zhao pondered for a moment. Eventually, he had to go back to the palace. His third brother was ruthless, so if he was not kept in check, then he might do something rebellious and unfilial to their imperial father and his imperial mother. So, Xu Zhao must go back to the palace, even if it was extremely dangerous to go there directly…

Soon, Xu Zhao realized that he was overthinking it. 

When Shi Qi took him into the palace, the situation was extremely dangerous. However, the danger was not for him and Shi Qi, it was for the other people who came to stop her… 

When Eastern Mountain Lord took the initiative to use her fists, she never reasoned with anyone in a fight. If she encountered a god, then she would kill the god. If she encountered a Buddha, then she would kill the Buddha. It was really just like she said, whoever tried to stop her, she would beat whoever up. 

All the way from the palace gate to Chao Tian Hall, Shi Qi strutted along without any obstruction while Xu Zhao followed behind her. Along the way, as he looked at the men who collapsed before him, he did not know whether he should laugh or cry. Since ancient times, some rebellions had always been suppressed, while some rebellions had always been outsmarted, but probably never like this… It was accomplished by just one person. 

Finally, when Shi Qi and Xu Zhao made it to Chao Tian Hall, the third prince clutched Xu Zhao’s imperial mother like a madman. He stood in front of the hall and held the sword against the empress’s neck. In order to save his life, he could only resort to this scheme: “Xu Zhao, if you let this witch take another step forward, I will…” 

Before he could finish speaking, the sword fell to the ground, and the third prince was punched which in turn, sent him flying. 

As the empress clenched her teeth tightly to steady her expression, Shi Qi was already beside her, supporting her up: “It’s okay, don’t be afraid. You’re Xu Zhao’s mother, so I’ll protect you, too.” 

The empress turned her head to glance at Shi Qi. For a long while, she did not know what to say. 

For this palace rebellion, Shi Qi forcibly suppressed it, just like that. 

The emperor heaved a sigh of relief. Shi Qi had taken the crown prince away, but she later returned the crown prince safe and sound. She even saved the empress and quelled the rebellion. So, it could be considered as she had offsetted her errors with her contributions. This was what the emperor declared, but as the person who was saved, the empress was even more grateful to Shi Qi, and only asked Shi Qi: “What is it that you want?” 

Without thinking, Shi Qi said, “I want to be with Xu Zhao forever.” 

As soon as these words came out, the emperor and the empress looked at each other with dismay. While behind Shi Qi, Xu Zhao could not help it but blush, but he did not say anything against it. 

Being able to build a relationship with someone who had a supporter like Wan Lu Sect, and this person was also the Eastern Mountain Lord, even if it was the royal family, it was impossible to ask for more. Who would not understand this concept; just relying on such a daughter-in-law like her; looking at the world from now on, who would dare to rashly invade their territory. 

However, in the end, the most ignorant person was still Shi Qi. When Xu Zhao turned sixteen, the Northern Qi Dynasty held a wedding banquet for the crown prince. 

On that day, in the bridal chamber, Shi Qi was dressed in festive red robes. She blinked and looked up at Xu Zhao who raised the red veil on her head: “Why should I marry you?” 

Shi Qi had been with Xu Zhao for the past four years. He had a strategy for everything, only when he was facing Shi Qi, he was helpless every time and did not know whether he should laugh or cry: “Don’t you want to be with me all the time?” 

“But my sect leader said that people can only marry the person they like the most. Although I like you, my favorite person is still my sect leader.” 

Well, as it turned out that not only Qin Qian Xian was his enemy, but her sect leader was his enemy, too. 

Xu Zhao coaxed her: “But the person I like the most is you.” 

Shi Qi thought about it for a while and felt that…It also made sense: “If that’s the case, then let’s do it.” 

Then Xu Zhao exchanged the newlywed cups of wine with her. After the cup of wine, he looked at Shi Qi’s face that was flushed pink by the reflecting candlelight, and his heart tickled like it was being swept by velvety grass. Shi Qi said that he was the reincarnation of Qin Qian Xian, and he had to come down to experience a calamity. 

He did not know whether it was exactly as Shi Qi said or not. 

He just felt that if that was the case, then Qin Qian Xian might not have come down to experience a calamity. Qin Qian Xian became him, probably just to finish an unfinished affinity. He became Qin Qian Xian, probably just to borrow this identity, so that he could say to Shi Qi, “the person I like the most is you.” 

It was because every time he confessed his heart to her, the emotions in his heart became uncontrollable. His heart brimmed with gentleness and tenderness. 

He was fond of her, so fond of her straightforward and adorable ways. As a result, he wanted to caress her gently, cherish her protectively, and empathize with her tenderly. So, he had to make her his wife. 

To watch over this lifetime of predestined affinity.

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