Chapter 123: Back To That Key Moment ②
Translators: Sarah and SnowTime
After the New Years, several visitors arrived at their snowy location. They were the original companions who sealed the Devil’s Tree together with them and was headed by Kaiser. There were a total of five people and more than twenty guards. One of the girls had a special identity. She was Tylor’s sister, the little princess of the Holy Empire, and Kaiser’s fiancee, Ticia.
After sealing the Devil’s Tree, Kaiser and the others were awarded the title of “Hero” by Holy Empire and became famous throughout the continent. Ticia fell in love with Kaiser at first sight during the Hero Honouring Ceremony. When he graduated, the King announced their marriage.
The purpose of their visit was to invite Tylor to Kaiser and Ticia’s wedding ceremony.
However, before this, Kaiser hadn’t known that Shang Ke was still alive. When he walked into the small courtyard of the bamboo house, he found Shang Ke making tea on a stone table in the snow, and his shock was palpable.
“Shang— Shang Ke!” Kaiser watched with disbelieving eyes as Shang Ke slowly walked towards him. His memories began to emerge bit by bit of the time they had lived together three years ago. Each scene came to mind, leaving only a bloody ending in the end. The man who was supposed to be sleeping under the ground was now alive and whole in front of his eyes.
“How are you?” Shang Ke smiled at him happily.
Kaiser dashed up to him with a lunge and hugged the man tightly in his arms, “You’re alive! You’re still alive!”
His warm body temperature, steady heartbeat and familiar smell made Kaiser feel not only the joy of recovering something he had lost, but also a sense of security.
Suddenly, a strong force tore Kaiser apart from Shang Ke and Tylor stared at him with an unwavering gaze. He had his suspicions of Kaiser’s feelings for Shang Ke in the past, but now he could confirm it with his own eyes.
Kaiser hadn’t recovered from his excitement yet when he saw Tylor holding Shang Ke’s waist, and his eyes flickered slightly.
“Second brother.” The little princess Ticia stepped forward and said her greetings to Tylor softly. Her eyes scanned Shang Ke from head to foot once.
“Your wedding date has been fixed?” Tylor emphasised on the word “wedding date”.
Shang Ke was not surprised by Kaiser’s marriage to Ticia since according to the information provided by the system, Kaiser did marry the princess. As the “main character” of this world, he would have a fruitful career and love, and his future would be smooth-sailing.
Just then, the voice of the system abruptly spoke in his mind: 【”Main Character” conversion, the world’s main character has converted from Kaiser to Tylor. 】
Shang Ke’s eyes flashed with a trace of surprise. Main character conversion? Why?
The system did not give an answer. In worlds, there are characters that are vital to the fate of the world. Sometimes there are side characters in the world that outshines the main character and essentially take their place. In this world, Kaiser held a portion of the fate of the world and had the chance to become the real “main character”. If Shang Ke had fallen in love with him, he would have replaced Tylor and became the real “main character”. But then, he would have followed Shang Ke and swallowed his role in the world as well. The moment he succeeds, he would completely take over the world’s fate as the destined character.
TL Note: I took liberties to expand on the raws so it makes more sense, so it doesn’t completely match up word for word.
In the previous worlds, there had been a number of secondary people with the chance to become the main character. But Shang Ke had always recognized the original and did not allow the secondary to gain power and allow for them to contend for the spot of destined character.
The difficulty of the task depended on, not only on the task itself, but also on Shang Ke’s decisions in life.
“Yes, the wedding date is in three months.” Ticia smiled slightly. “Second brother, you won’t miss your sister’s wedding, will you?”
“I will go.” Tylor replied, standing upright in the courtyard. He had no intention of inviting anyone to come in and sit down in the house.
“It’s freezing.” Shang Ke called out, “Come in and have a chat. It’s just that the room is very small so I’m afraid I’ll have to let the others rest in the yard.”
“Thank you for the kind gesture Lord Osari.” Ticia responded politely then glanced at Kaiser nearby.
Tylor reluctantly let them in. Shang Ke poured them hot tea and sent some refreshments to the guards in the courtyard to warm them up.
Ticia noticed how Shang Ke worked in an orderly manner and had a good impression of him. It was just that he and second brother lived together in the same room, had a close relationship, and Kasier’s attitude towards him… Ticia had a bit of a problem with that.
Shang Ke told Tylor to catch up with his sister while he went to the kitchen to prepare their meals. But after a while, Tylor came in and told him there was no need to work. The visitors were going to leave very soon.
“They came all the way here and you don’t want them to have a meal?” Shang Ke asked, looking puzzled.
“Making for twenty or thirty people is too troublesome.” Tylor leaned in and kissed his face. “Reserve your delicious meals for only me and Pupu.”
Shang Ke shrugged and didn’t insist.
When the two sent them out, Kaiser seemed he want to talk to Shang Ke alone but he never spoke a word.
After a few more turns, Ticia was very surprised to see the neat and orderly vegetable plots and gardens, the exquisitely designed amusement park nearby, and the children who were playing in it. Shang Ke’s wisdom and ingenuity and Tylor’s calm and quiet demeanor surprised her. The once majestic and refined Prince Tylor was now willing to live in seclusion with a man in the mountains.
缇希心中叹息，也不怪缇落寒心。在他成为半魔人后，没有一个人支持他，接纳他，委婉地说着让他在僻静之所休养，其中惧而远之的意思，缇落又怎么会不明白？
Ticia sighed in her heart. She couldn’t blame Tylor for being bitterly disappointed with them. After he became a half devil, no one supported him or accepted him. They just politely told him to rest in a quiet place. How could Tylor not understand their fear and the meaning of distance?
Before leaving, Ticia asked Tylor, “Second brother, do you really plan to be with Osari? You are both men and I’m afraid you’ll be criticized in the future. “
“Do you know why I became a half devil?” Tylor didn’t answer and asked a question in reply.
“Wasn’t it because of the devil qi?”
“It’s because of Shang Ke’s death.”
“He’s your weakness, so you want to be with him?”
Tylor was expressionless as he continued, “Do you know why I could get rid of the devil qi and return to normal again?”
“Why?”
“Because Shang Ke came back to me.”
So? Ticia stared at him with a puzzled face.
Tylor looked at Shang Ke standing not too far away. His voice was warm as he spoke, “Only the power of faith can dispel the devil qi. Shang Ke is my faith.”
Ticia looked at him in shock. It wasn’t uncommon to regard one’s lover as their faith but it required extremely persistent and pure deep feelings to transform this faith into a force strong enough to dispel devil qi.
Her second brother gave his everything to that man.
Ticia could not say in her heart whether she was sad or envious. Who in the world wouldn’t want to receive such a sincere and genuine love? Osari was really lucky.
“I understand.” Ticia smiled at Tylor. “Take Osari— No, take Shang Ke back to the palace. I’ll do everything I can to convince father and mother not to become an obstacle between the two of you.”
“Thank you.” Gentleness flashed through Tylor’s eyes toward her. Although he didn’t care whether he was approved by the family or not, he accepted Ticia’s kind offer.
Ticia shrugged her shoulders and helplessly said, “I am also doing this for my own future. My fiance obviously have feelings he shouldn’t be having for your man. Perhaps he himself has yet to realize it, but if I don’t break him away from those feelings fast, it will very likely affect my future with him. “
When Tylor heard this, his face sank. He responded coldly, “You’d better take good care of your fiance. If dares to have any ideas on Shang Ke, I will make him wish for death!”
“Don’t worry.” Ticia adjusted her dress gracefully and affirmed, “I’m still very confident in my skills. In less than two years, he’ll be hell-bent on me.”
The group of people came suddenly and also left very straightforwardly. For Ticia, since the goal was achieved, there was no longer a need to stay. Tylor always kept his word. When he said he would come to her wedding, he wouldn’t break his promise.
Sure enough, more than two months later, Tylor came to the capital with Shang Ke and Pupu.
Shang Ke was prepared to be criticized and ridiculed, only to find out that Ticia had taken care of everything. Even though there were still some criticisms, most people were expressing their support and blessing for Shang Ke and Tylor’s relationship.
A few years ago, the mission to seal the Devil’s Tree had caused quite a sensation throughout the mainland. As important members of the mission, Shang Ke and Tylor’s contribution were compiled into stories and widely circulated around Tulan.
However, what everyone was most interested in was not the heroic tale that people had heard for several years, but the love story that had just been recently spread out. It’s main characters were Shang Ke and Tylor.
The two of them possessed god-given talents. They were once called the “School’s Twin Stars” and were highly respected. However, Shang Ke was defeated in a duel and left without a trace. It was not until several years later that he quietly returned to the capital and made a living by selling lunch boxes. But if you thought selling lunch boxes was a sad profession, you were wrong. Even if he sold lunch boxes, Shang Ke did it with style. He sold an elegant demeanour, fame and taste, and was eventually known as the “Prince of Lunch Boxes”. It was only after accidentally tasting one of Shang Ke’s packed lunch that Tylor recognized his identity. The gazes of two men passed through a multitude of crowd buying lunch boxes. They stood on two sides of the crowd, facing each other. And from then on, their lives were tied forever.
When he heard this, Shang Ke couldn’t help ridiculing it. Did they dare not change the location of their romantic encounter? In a pile of sweaty people buying lunch boxes, who had the spare time to feel love?
Tylor was of the same mind, “That’s right, the author of this story is too uncreative.”
Then, the two men took part in the mission of sealing the Devil’s Tree together. The process was not without its twists and turns and the experience was full of mystery. It was simply tearful. Their feelings gradually evolved through various difficulties and obstacles, pledging an oath to never abandon each other.
However, it seemed the heavens intended to test their feelings. When they finally sealed the Devil’s Tree with the rest of their companions and prepared to revel in victory, they were attacked by traitors. Shang Ke, in order to protect his lover, used his body to block a fatal blow and died in Tylor’s arms, his blood soaking his body.
Tylor was devastated and heartbroken. He was eventually corrupted by the devil qi and became a half devil, a person without faith. In order not to endanger the lives of the people, he took Shang Ke’s body and lived in seclusion in the snowy mountains where he waited alone for three years.
Then, the most unbelievable and amazing miracle appeared! Shang Ke resurrected three years after his death, becoming the longest-living Familiar of God in history. He returned to the world with god’s blessing and came back to the human world, to Tylor’s side.
Tylor had achieved his oath of never abandoning his lover and Shang Ke broke the boundary between life and death. After many hardships, the two could finally spend the rest of their lives together.
Such a deeply in love couple, how could anyone have the heart to break them apart? Their romance was almost treated as a legend by the people and was spread throughout the lands.
“Shang Ke, you are my faith.”
Hand in hand we go, from young to old.
SnowTime: I decided to make the last line rhyme a little hehehe, people who can read chinese will notice it has special liberties taken o3o. Now time for me to go buy Pokemon and become even more broke.
Sarah: Ahhh it ended on a sweet note! I’m glad it finished without me needing to waste tissues lol next up, we’ll be back to a new arc!! sooo excited for that~ if you’d like to support me and my translations, you can buy me a ko-fi here (ﾉ´∀｀*)ﾉ: ko-fi.com/sarah_min