Zither Emperor

[C83] ZE Chapter 21.3

Chapter 21 – Eastern Dragon Sect of Painting (III)

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Ye Yin Zhu said, “That was Zi, my friend. I actually don’t know how powerful he is. Since we signed an Equal Contract, I’ve felt that my power has seemingly increased in strength. That’s also why I was able to summon him at that time.”

Sura’s gaze towards Ye Yin Zhu suddenly became a bit strange. “Equal Contract? You went as far as to sign an Equal Life Contract? Yin Zhu, you and that Zi won’t be able to come back from this mountain.”

“Come back from this mountain? What mountain?” Ye Yin Zhu looked at Sura with surprise.

Sura unhappily said, “Just forget about it. Don’t listen to my words. Last time, you said that I was the second person you promised to protect; that first person wouldn’t happen to be Zi, right?”

Ye Yin Zhu nodded and replied, “Yes!”

Sura’s voice trembled slightly. “Don’t tell me that you… you really like him?”

Ye Yin Zhu earnestly said, “I naturally like Zi very much. We have been together for ten years. Since I was six years old, he has accompanied me by my side, listening to me play the zither. We grew up together and even left the Desolate Jade Sea together in order to come here. He was my only friend back then.”

“Is he truly just a friend?” Sura asked with a strained voice.

Ye Yin Zhu nodded his head and said, “Why are you saying ‘just a friend’? We’re certainly friends.”

Sura unhappily answered, “A friend that you signed an Equal Life Contract with; are you insane?”

Ye Yin Zhu said, “What does that have to do with anything? I wanted to be able to see him at any time, so we signed the contract. If worst comes to worst, I just can’t have a magical beast.”

“You…, Ye Yin Zhu, I find that speaking to you is really like playing a lute to a cow!” Sura’s body shivered once more, only with anger this time.

“Playing the lute to a cow? I have been playing my zither for a long time; could it be that playing the lute to a cow is a new zither cultivation method? Strange! You are part of the Assassin division, so how can you know cultivation methods of our Divine Music division? Hey, Sura, don’t leave. Wait— I…”

Sura quickly walked away. Ye Yin Zhu started to follow him, but Sura had already vanished behind the curve of the path back to the institution. Ye Yin Zhu knew he was definitely returning to the dormitory. The amount of stamina the battle had drained from him wasn’t small, however, so he simply couldn’t chase after Sura. He unhurriedly walked back to the Divine Music division’s residential district by himself.

Entering the Magic Department section, he didn’t walk very far before he came across an acquaintance. Provoking him on the first day he entered the institution and later losing to him in a match, it was the genius mage of the Wind division—Rolande.

Rolande held a bag of food behind her back, her eyes unexpressive. The last time he had seen her was 10 days ago; Rolande had become plumper by a size. Her good-looking face had already become somewhat circular.

Ye Yin Zhu stared at her and she at him. “It’s you.” Her voice instantly became chilly, as though she practiced Ice Magic.

“Oh! Hello, Rolande.” Ye Yin Zhu warily looked at her. After all, their relationship wasn’t friendly at all.

“It looks as though you’re very pleased with yourself. I heard you defeated Nesta of the Heavy Cavalry division,” Rolande said, already walking up to stand in front of Ye Yin Zhu. Her eyes were shooting flames at him. As she glared at Ye Yin Zhu, her anger rose to its boiling point.

Since she was a child, she had lived a life of luxury. At the same time, thanks to her outstanding gift for magic, she had reached the Yellow Rank realm by the age of 16 and had a Green Dragon by her side. For a long time now, she believed that she was the most powerful person of the younger generation, even as powerful as her elder brother. After her battle with Ye Yin Zhu however, her confidence had been completely smashed to pieces. For her, it wasn’t just a simple loss; it had been a challenge. In the end, the one to lose was her.

This feeling of humiliation… she couldn’t bear it. These days, she couldn’t move on from the pain and thought of ways to retaliate against Ye Yin Zhu. It was a fair match, however, and that reason along with her pride prevented her from utilizing her clan’s influence. This conclusion had possibly made her drown out her grief and indignation with food. The food she ate had only settled her heart temporarily. Even though she was fully aware that she was already beginning to put on weight, she still continued to repeatedly stuff her mouth. Now that she was looking at Ye Yin Zhu, the anger and hate in her heart almost made her lose control of herself.

“Rolande, you seem plump.” Ye Yin Zhu didn’t know what he should talk to her about. He wanted to return to his dormitory, but Rolande was blocking the road. Thus, he automatically remarked this observation.

“Are you looking at me as a joke? All of this is your fault. If I turn into a huge fatty because I keep eating, then I will ruin you. For the rest of my life, I will torment you until you die,” Rolande exclaimed incoherently, on the verge of tears.

“Eh…” Ye Yin Zhu also didn’t know how to comfort her. Suddenly, he recalled the story his mother told him when he left the Desolate Jade Sea. “Rolande, a very fat girl is no good.”

“I don’t need your commentary.” In fact, Rolande didn’t know how to deal with Ye Yin Zhu. She knew she was unable to match him in a fight, but upon coming across him, she unexpectedly didn’t want him to leave.

“Let me tell you a story.” Ye Yin Zhu said as he quietly shifted to the side. “Once upon a time, there were two pigs, a male and a female. Every evening, the boar always keep watch on the gilt as he was afraid their master would grab the gilt while they were asleep to slaughter her. Day after day, the gilt increasingly became plumper while the boar became thinner.”

“Are you calling me a gilt?” Rolande abruptly became indignant.

“No, no. Let me finish.” Ye Yin Zhu continued, “Then one day, the boar suddenly heard his master meet with the butcher to talk about how much money he could get for selling the healthy gilt to the slaughterhouse. The boar grieved very much. As a result, the boar’s temperament from that day forward changed greatly. Whenever the master delivered food, the boar would always eat all of it. Every day, he would eat well before immediately lying down to sleep. He would then tell the gilt to keep watch instead. If he discovered that she wasn’t keeping watch, then he would ignore her existence.”

Hearing this, Rolande’s expression eased somewhat. She automatically asked, “What happens next?” Because of her violently fluctuating mood, she was somewhat spellbound and hadn’t realized that Ye Yin Zhu had already moved to the side and taken a step forward.

“Gradually the days passed, and the gilt began believing that the boar no longer cared for her. The gilt despaired while the boar nonchalantly lived a peaceful life. Very quickly, a month passed and the master and butcher arrived before a fat boar. He discovered that after a month, the boar had become fat, stout, strong, and glossy while the gilt didn’t have much meat left. At that moment the boar ran with all his might to grab the master’s attention. He wanted to make it known that he was the healthy pig. In the end, the butcher took the boar…

“…and dragged it outside the pen. At that final moment, the boar smiled and said to the gilt, ‘In the future, don’t eat so much.’ The gilt grieved, heartbroken. She tried her hardest to escape, but the master had already closed the pen’s gate…

“Pressed against the fence, the gilt watched the boar die, shedding glistening tears. That evening, the gilt watched on as the master’s family happily ate pork. The gilt, heartbroken, lay down in the area the boar had previously slept in. She realized that there was a row of words carved into the wall: ‘If I cannot convey my love to you with these words, then I will use my life as proof!’ The gilt was once more broken hearted upon seeing these words. Everyone who hears this poignant tale is emotionally moved without exception. Girls remember this romance in the future and begin to lose weight…”

Rolande continued to stand there, but she was already lifeless. Gradually, her lifeless eyes reddened, two teardrops quietly rolling down her cheek. “Such a good, pitiful boar! Must lose weight, must lose weight…” The bag of food slowly slipped out of her hand. She suddenly discovered her appetite seemed to have already disappeared.

“Yi, Ye Yin Zhu? Ye Yin Zhu, you…” She abruptly turned around, only to see Ye Yin Zhu’s figure reaching the end of the road and disappear. Upon seeing his behavior, Rolande seemed to be somewhat confused.

1. (Essentially, they can’t take back their actions; this choice is final; they screwed themselves over with this huge roadblock they’ve given themselves; etc.)
2. (AKA preaching to deaf ears)