Hullo~ I promised to update this weekend and here it is. This chapter is somehow a bit harder to translate, but I'm quite satisfied with the end result. Hopefully you guys find it enjoyable. Happy reading!
Original fanfiction author: 少葱
Disclaimer: I do not own anything. The characters belong to priest and the original fanfiction belongs to 少葱. This translation is for entertainment purposes only. Please do not repost. Thank you~
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Shen Wei has lived for a very long time.
That period felt like endless abyss. In the flash of an eye, he was overwhelmed to the point of suffocation. The pressure felt like the weight of a thousand mountains. Except for the things related to Kunlun, he seemed to have forgotten everything else.
There was nothing worthy to be remembered anyway.
However, he repeatedly mulled over everything related to Kunlun along his long journey, deeply engraving every single stroke in his heart.
Even if he merely passed by in a hurry and saw him from afar before turning around and leaving.
Just a quick glimpse of the other man was enough to support his thoughts for a long, long time.
Shen Wei was like a loyal gentleman who abide by the rules. For thousands of years, he never stopped at one place for too long, never brave enough to step forward.
That year was the same as this year. It snowed heavily.
Zhao Yun Lan was still a naughty kid who loved bringing headaches to his parents. He wore a wool hat. It wrapped his head perfectly tight, only revealing a frozen red face.
Shen Wei came in time as he watched that small toddler standing in the middle of the snow from a distance. The whirling snow enveloped that small body, nearly hiding that pitiful child in a thick blanket of snow.
Because Shen Wei couldn't see clearly, he decided to take several steps ahead while relying on the stroke of luck.
The sound of crunched snow broke the silence as Shen Wei trod across the snowy ground. That anxious kid who was twisting the corners of his own coat abruptly lifted his head up.
When that child caught sight of Shen Wei, his round and glossy eyes brightened up in an instant. He even snorted his snot back.
Shen Wei was stuck in a daze. The seething snowstorm ruffled his robe. He turned around with the intention to leave. But just as a thin seam split open from black fog behind him, that kid had charged towards him like a cannonball.
His sudden movement startled Shen Wei. Thus, he unconsciously retreated a few steps back and as a result, that child jumped at empty air and directly fell hard to the ground. As he rolled on the ground, his whole body was covered with snow. Luckily, the layer of snow was thick. Even though he tumbled, it didn't hurt much. The child quickly climbed up from the ground and hugged Shen Wei's leg tightly. The child started to rub an entire face of snow on Shen Wei's robe.
When the soft, squishy kid attached himself on Shen Wei's leg, the older man suddenly felt like he was dealing with a formidable foe. Shen Wei tried to evade, but that child seemed to possess an unshakable determination to hold onto his legs. The kid firmly glued himself to other man and followed his movements. And just like this, the dignified and majestic Soul Slayer was unexpectedly backed into a corner by a mere child. Shen Wei had even started to sweat cold bullets from his forehead.
That child recklessly hugged at Shen Wei's thigh. He stretched his small hand upwards and slipped inside Shen Wei's robe, straining himself to grasp at the hidden hand beneath the sleeves. When the child's soft fingers touched Shen Wei's hand, the hand which had balled into a fist trembled for a moment before it suddenly unclenched. That small hand then grabbed one of Shen Wei's fingers and held it tightly.
Now that it had come to this point, Shen Wei could no longer retreat.
"Uncle, uncle." The child pulled at his hand, the tip of his nose was bright red. That tiny face which had just experienced a roll in the snow looked like the child just emerged from a glacier. He was too young and couldn't speak clearly. Combined with his anxiety, he only knew to call Shen Wei 'uncle'.
Shen Wei opened his mouth, yet the words died in his throat. He only opened his mouth again after staying silent for a long time. When he spoke, his voice was hoarse, as if a pile of gravel had streak across his vocal chords, "What do you want to say?"
That child was looking up at Shen Wei. When he heard this question, his face immediately wrinkled into a crumpled paper. His earlier impulse which propelled him to leap at Shen Wei like a leopard had completely disappeared. His lips quivered and curled, clear signs that he was about to cry. The child appeared to be awfully upset as he cried for his parents with unclear words.
It was only then that Shen Wei took notice of their surroundings. This alley was remote and quiet, the cemented road was covered with several inches of snow. However, aside from the messy trail of those small footprints, there was no trace of other people.
This child had lost his way. He was not sure why this child could get stranded to this empty alley. That small child was aggrieved and scared. Since it was not easy for him to bump into Shen Wei, he discarded any other thoughts and clung onto the older man, unwilling to let him go.
Shen Wei immediately undid his robe. He then bent over to scoop the child into his arms and wrapped him with the robe.
The child immediately twined his arms around his neck like an octopus. It was as if the warmth of his breath passed through millions of years, carrying a chilly wind with it. Shen Wei was suddenly caught in a trance. As buried memories of numerous verdant, luxuriant mountains sprang to his mind, a deep wave of sorrow instantly engulfed his heart.
The child buried his small, icy face into the side of Shen Wei's neck and started to shed anguished tears.
When he realized that his mom had disappeared, he didn't cry. When he turned round and round but couldn't find a way out, he also didn't cry. When he miserably fell face-first to the ground, he also didn't cry. Instead, when this black-clothed man brought him into his embrace, he finally couldn't control himself any longer and burst into tears.
Those thick and broad arms weren't actually warm, but the cloak around his body managed to block the incoming blizzard.
All of a sudden, he was not afraid anymore.
The only thing he didn't understand was, why does this uncle that held him shake so badly, as if he felt very cold.
Shen Wei knew the location of Zhao Yun Lan's home. As long as he was willing, he could send this child home in the blink of an eye.
But he hugged the child in his arms tightly. Shen Wei cradled him as he a long time walking in the midst of the heavy snow. The snow dyed his hair white and gradually piled up on his shoulders, yet not a single piece of snow fell on the child in his arms.
That child was warm and tender. Not long after, he fell asleep in Shen Wei's arms, nestled against the older man's chest, melting Shen Wei's frozen blood and frigid spirit after staying too long in the underworld.
During the past thousands years, Shen Wei only dared to watch him from afar before hastily going back to his own place.
He had never been this close before, never this warm before.
As Shen Wei traveled the long road, a selfish desire suddenly struck his heart. He simply wanted to take this small Zhao Yun Lan away and keep this child beside him, take good care of him, and protect him.
However, that selfish desire immediately vanished, scorching his worried heart to burn in deep shame.
When Shen Wei sent Zhao Yu Lan back, the child's anxious parents immediately rushed over and scolded the wandering child for quite some time. But just as they were about to thank the kind man for sending their child home, that man had long disappeared.
All living beings have greed and Shen Wei is no exception to it.
With this one accidental encounter, that patience he had suppressed for thousands of years was entirely swept clean by the underlying magma. He could no longer sit around in the underworld and guard that endless ice-cold river.
I've only watched you from afar, never getting close. All this time, I've only watched silently.
He clutched at the soul fire hanging on his chest. And just like that, he stayed beside Zhao Yun Lan for more than twenty years.
Until they meet again. And this time, it will no longer be a brief encounter.
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Thank you for reading and have a pleasant weekend! See you next chapter~ ヾ(o◕ω ◕)ﾉ
Kunlun and Shen Wei:
Whispers of Sienna's Heart: (You can ignore this)
When I'm in China, I once loved a guy. I can say that out of all guys I've been close with, I care for him the most, my feelings run the deepest for him. How to say it, because of him, I realized that I've not lost the ability to love someone romantically. I fell for him, hard.
It's such a pity that nothing came out of the relationship. We were close for several months. I sacrificed things that I usually wouldn't sacrifice. Being with him, I feel alive. Loving him, heals something inside me. Talking with him, broadened my world views. But in the end, we are just not meant to be.
The thing that hurts me the most is probably how our not-relationship had ended so abruptly, without any goodbyes, without any explanations. Thoughts like: where did we go wrong, did I do something wrong, and other what-if's often popped into my mind. But in the end, these questions remain unanswered. I didn't have the courage to ask him all these why's and what-if's.
Love is a strange thing you see. It brought you up so high when you're in love, but when you're not, you just feel hollow as your heart shattered into million shards. Up until now, certain things, certain songs, certain scents would remind me of him. I miss him, I really do. It's been hard going through the days without him. It feels awful when I couldn't feel those emotions. Despite all these, I don't hate him, I can't. I wish I can, at least my heart won't feel so empty.
I know I shouldn't stay like this for too long. But for the time being, I just want to cherish our moments together. The times spent with him are some of my happiest memories alive. I have faith that I will heal and find another love. Perhaps not the same kind of love, but nevertheless, it will evoke the same feelings in me again, perhaps even stronger. I am healing, slowly but surely, I am.
Posted: 10 November 2018