Realms In The Firmament

The former owner of this body was a real weirdo, and so was his friend… Look at this fellow with an indisciplined personality, wearing a thick hat on a sweltering day, actually considering himself romantic with an immensely proud attitude…

“Come on let’s go! Last night before I left, I put some drugs into Zuo Wu-Ji’s drink. I have to check on him in any case.” Lan Lang-Lang laughed loudly with a grimace, “That bastard has always been opposing us. He’s too rebarbative really. After he lost the jade ruyi [1] of his father, he had been put under house arrest for like centuries. He has been released recently and I will never let this chance slip by…”

“I am not going… Wait. There is the possibility…” As Ye Xiao was worried about the poison being difficult to eradicate, how could he be interested in hanging out with this guy. Then he cheered up. In his memory, this Zuo Wu-Ji was one of of his disreputable friends that was drinking with him the night before, so he could be the guy who had poisoned him.

This Zuo Wu-Ji, as far as he could remember, was also a weirdo. Although he was called ‘one of the three lords‘ in town alongside Ye Xiao and Lan Lang-Lang, he always opposed the other two, fighting against them every time they met. It was hard for them to make peace.

‘The three lords in town’, was of course a derogatory term.

There was a even a doggerel created describing them:

The three lords in town, how wonderful; they were short in businesses, but good at squandering their family fortunes; they had gold, and silver too, but gave it out for mirth; they had no faces, but they were foppish. The Northern General, he had a son named Xiao; a dog mothered by tigers, was such a punk. In the Southern General’s House, was like a rough sea; the man who named Lang, was a black sheep; The minister Zuo was talented, with a son named Wu-Ji, who had mortgaged the jade ruyi; what he used the mortgage for was food, drinks, toys and gals; he was such a lord, the top of the three!

There was something about a jade ruyi mentioned in the doggerel. Several days ago, Zuo Wu-Ji had squandered so wantonly that he ran out of money. And in desperation, he actually mortgaged a jade ruyi of his father’s collection when a bunch of his friends egged him on. The jade ruyi might not be very rare, but was a treasure nonetheless worth at least 500 kilograms of gold. Zuo Wu-Ji squandered it for a measly 50 kilograms of silver. Later, he was nearly beaten to death by his father, and became the No.1 black sheep in the Kingdom of Chen.

This great Lord Zuo stood out within the three lords, which included Ye Xiao and Lan Lang-Lang, and became the champion black sheep in the group. He could really despise all others and turn up his nose at them.

He exchanged something worth 500 kilograms of gold for just 50 kilograms of silver, and spent it completely in just three days… The way he squandered and dissipated the family money was really second to none.

“Come on!” Lan Lang-Lang was so excited that his crossed eyes spread. He pulled Ye Xiao outside the house feverishly.

The two dandies got on the carriage. Ye Xiao had not yet gotten used to this luxurious life, while Lan Lang-Lang was glancing left and right enjoying the scenery through the raised curtain with his crossed eyes. He rubbed his lips and whistled loudly. The loud whistle scared the women and girls on the street causing them to flee.

While the carriage was proceeding, Ye Xiao suddenly felt something. This feeling made his heart beat with a bounce.

It was an exclusive ability which he had used a lot of times, but had never understood how he came to posses it. This ability was used to detect treasures and items of value and when such items were nearby he would feel his heartbeat rise.

He didn’t expect to posses this ability even after rebirth. This should be a massive advantage in this new life.

However, Ye Xiao felt confused. This was the mortal world. What was this treasure that could actually make the great Xiao Monarch use his ability?

As the they moved further, the feeling got stronger.

When they stopped, he felt that the treasure was right beside him, within his reach.

When he got off the carriage and looked up, he saw three words Zuo Xiang Fu [2] written in gold on the gate of the House of the Minister.

The feeling was actually coming from inside this house!

……

“Lan Lang-Lang! You bastard!” Zuo Wu-Ji shouted abusively, “Did you drug me last night? Fxxk you! You nearly got me killed!”

Zuo Wu-Ji started with the abuse as soon as he saw them.

Obviously, the grudge this guy held against Ye Xiao and Lan Lang-Lang had been deeply engraved into his bones, unable to be erased.

They fooled around with each other all the time and no one had admitted defeat yet. Although, he too had set traps for Ye Xiao and Lan Lang-Lang, it was merely playful… he couldn’t believe that they actually drugged him …

Besides, the three lords used to be neck and neck, but now he had claimed the title for the biggest loser, much to the delight of the other two. Zuo Wu-Ji now couldn’t help but grind his teeth every time he saw them.

However, Ye Xiao didn’t pay any attention to Zuo Wu-Ji. All his energy was used for observation. He focused at a table in the living room of the house again and again.

On the table, there was only a white jade bottomed case, and on top of this case there sat a white stone. The surface of the stone was rough, making it look ordinary. It was totally bland except for a pair of fully spread wings engraved on it.

It seemed that this was just one of the ordinary ornaments in the House of the Minister and it was never regarded as a treasure.

While Lan Lang-Lang and Zuo Wu-Ji were busy quarreling, Ye Xiao was observing it with all his heart.

As he observed it, he could not stop himself become delighted!

“YES! It is! I couldn’t be wrong! That’s the Pure Heavenly Crystal [3]!! It’s actually the treasure!”

He couldn’t believe that he had found such an incredible treasure so soon after reincarnating.

The Pure Heavenly Crystal is something which exists in the legends with no doubt. It takes 10 thousand years to shape up and then another 1000 years to grow 1 inch. It is something which only exists in the tales of old. People of the Qing-Yun Realm may only dream of encountering this crystal, let alone the people of the mortal world!

In the Qing-Yun Realm, a tiny piece of this stone had caused a massive war between the factions. They fought crazily and caused countless deaths.

Ye Xiao was puzzled about such a large piece of this crystal appearing in a mortal world such as this. And somebody had actually carved spread wings into it?!

“This… this is such a fxxking waste of resources, it’s infuriating”, He thought.

If anyone from the Qing-Yun Realm saw this situation, they would certainly pass out with heartburn. And if said person had a short temper, it would be a very easy decision for him to kill every resident in the city and burn everything down.

Take our Xiao Monarch for example, he was frozen solid after witnessing such a colossal waste.

It was like a pie that suddenly fell from the sky into the hands of a starving man.

He needed to consider his actions which would enable him to take a bite. He didn’t need to be greedy, just one bite will do…

There must be something over the surface of the The Pure Heavenly Crystal, covering its true exterior.

And, according to where it was placed… they truly seemed to treat it as something trivial…

“Only if they can give it to me… no, not necessarily give the whole piece to me… just only one bite, even if I just scrape a bit powder for myself, it will be enough to cure me and be the bedrock of my super power, at once!” Ye Xiao murmured, while being completely thrilled.

What a treasure!

It was good to be the son of a privileged government official.

But what should he do to get this thing?

Such a challenge!

Sensing the high security in the House of the Minister, Ye Xiao was agitated… His body was as weak as a drugster, so either stealing or robbing… was not a possible option for him.

“Ye Xiao!” Lan Lang-Lang and Zuo Wu-Ji were yelling at him, “What are you smirking for, you fool? What beauties are you imagining?”

No wonder they were astonished.

They had quarreled fiercely for quite a while. They even had spit a bit when they quarreled and had become really thirsty. And when they turned around, they found Ye Xiao was smirking, daydreaming and even drooling…

“What’s wrong with him?” Lan Lang-Lang and Zuo Wu-Ji both felt weird, “Why is he suddenly smiling with a goatish look…”

“Wake up dude!” Zuo Wu-Ji waved his hand in front of Ye Xiao’s eyes.

“WHAT?” Ye Xiao settled back, annoyed.

“Come on my dear Lord Ye, this is my house…” Zuo Wu-Ji, looking at the ‘fool’, eccentrically said, “What the hell are you planning? Do me a favor all right? Don’t make the satyr-like look again. We don’t have any women here!”

“Well, there are still guys. I think Lord Ye might be interested…” Lan Lang-Lang laughed wretchedly, eyes rolling around. What he said just now had drawn the fury of Zuo Wu-Ji.

Ye Xiao also scolded him while rolling his eyes. Suddenly, he came up with an idea.

“Oh hey, Zuo Wu-Ji, I heard that you had sold the jade ruyi recently. Is it true?” Ye Xiao asked, blinking.

“Shit…” Zuo Wu-Ji rushed forward and covered his mouth tightly, with a panic stricken face, spoke with a low voice, “Damn you! Fxxk you dude! How dare you talk about this thing… How could I know it was worth that much? I was really out of money that day and I just took whatever was nearby to get some. Then I was enjoying it with a bunch of people for days… I didn’t know it was my dad’s treasure and was for some medical use until I got home a few days later… Come on man I have been through a rough time for it… The whole family treated me like a sandbag… Don’t even mention it man, please. It will get me killed…”

“Hmm… hmm…” Ye Xiao’s mouth was covered. He struggled quite hard to free himself. He planned something in his mind and said, “It was said that there will be an auction in Ling-Bao Hall the day after tomorrow, and… there will be a jade ruyi in the auctions… hah, it even looks just like your father’s, no, it’s of even better quality…”

“Yes! Yes! There will be one.” Lan Lang-Lang nodded unceasingly, “In the auction the day after tomorrow. I will be there, to enrich my experience.”

——————

[1] ruyi: a curved decorative object that serves as a ceremonial sceptre in Chinese Buddhism or a talisman symbolizing power and good fortune in Chinese folklore.

[2] Zuo Xiang Fu: The Chinese pronunciation of 左相府, which means the House of the Minister - the house of the Minister Zuo.

[3] The Pure Heavenly Crystal: An extremely valuable stone, only with which our character Ye Xiao could have chance to get his super power back and become a cultivator once again