《一世真》中英翻译 CH. 16
持续撒糖，下章要进入剧情模式啦~~
----------------
“Do you still remember that one time when you pushed me into the freezing river while we were playing?” asks Lin Shu.
Jingyan cocks his head and answers honestly, “What I remember is you wanted to kick me but slipped and fell into the river yourself.”
“Yeah, that's the one! Anyways I've always been so healthy yet even I was sore for a long time after that,”he coughs to cover his embarrassment, then mumbles irritably, “Can't believe you still remember it so clearly, it was so long ago!”
That earns a chuckle from Jingyan-- true, for someone who has lived through a whole life, it really has been a long time since then.
“Before coming back to the capital, I made a stop at the country mansion to see Auntie Jing and Auntie Chen,”he puts his entire weight on kneading the oil into Jingyan's back, which still bears the faint scars from those slashes years ago, "she gave me the medicated oil.”
“......How are they?”
“Everything is fine; she and Auntie Chen are living a very tranquil life there, they just miss you and Brother Qi,” says Lin Shu softly.
“Brother Qi is due to come back tomorrow,” Jingyan reaches for the emerald vial that contains the medicated oil, holding it tightly in his hand.
The movement has not escaped Lin Shu's eye, he hurries to change the topic. Glancing around the room, he suddenly catches sight of the go game set and exclaims, “Isn't that…?”
Jingyan eyes it briefly, “The Royal Tutor gave it to me before he retired.”
“Gave it to you??”
“Why?” Jingyan asks.
“That's favoritism! He knew I loved it!” Lin Shu protests. The thought of the retired Tutor triggers a bout of sadness, yet he does not resent him for the choosing to leave the court.
The truly wise ones have aspirations outside the court, and are more free doing so.
“If you like it, I'll give it to you,” Jingyan offers without hesitation.
“Nah, it was a gift specifically for you, how can I take it?” he caresses the wooden game board with longing, then says, “I still have a few hours before I have to return home, let's play one game!” He says as he settles comfortably behind Jingyan, still rubbing his back with oil.
“Hey, sit on the other side,” Jingyan turns around to protest, only to be smeared faceful of oil by a laughing Lin Shu.
“My hands are covered in oil, you wouldn't want me to spoil your precious go pieces right?" Lin Shu reasons mischievously, “I'll tell you where I want them placed.”
Being far away from home those past years has rounded Lin Shu's edges, he's no longer that yapping, overbearing brat in his youth, yet somehow when he is with Jingyan, he cannot help but try to tease the other man into more squabble.
During those years, Lin Shu has always kept the capital and its people in mind, even though he's rarely come back.
Yet Jingyan truly does not wish to see him. The Vice Commander of the Chiyan army is still his radiant self, resplendent in his silver armour, but he-- Xiao Jingyan-- he is already knee-deep in a quagmire that threatens to swallow him whole; he can only look at his friend with his head raised, afraid to taint that purity with his muddy hands.
“Now you've got a nice board, we'll see if your skills are any better,” says Lin Shu, “I'll tell you where to go.”
Lin Shu has comfortably plastered himself on Jingyan's back, reaching over the other man's shoulders to point at the board. “We should make a bet, whoever loses will accept whatever punishment the winner doles out,” knowing that Jingyan's skills are no match for his, Lin Shu is just taking advantage of the situation with childish glee, his hot breath raising little hairs on Jingyan's neck.
Jingyan picks up one of the black pieces and puts it on the game board after a brief hesitation, conceding, “Alright.”
------------------------------
“Strategizing is like the game of go.”
In his memory, the blue-robed man softly smiled as he swirled around the tea in its cup, a lingering fragrance of plum blossoms around them. He continued slowly, “When you are playing against a strategist, do not think about what he is planning, instead, focus on what he thinks you are planning. At the end of the day, what a strategist does is to lure you into his trap. As long as you can be one step ahead of him in the trap, you win.”
“So what I need to do now is to think about what Sir Su believes will be my next move,”replied Jingyan. He was never keen on the game nor was he very skilled, since Lin Shu never had the patience to practice with him. Later, when he took in Tingsheng, he would occasionally spend the evening teaching the game to the child, only then did he slowly pick up the practice and derived some enjoyment from it.
Jingyan was never a match for Mei Changsu when they played, yet the other man had infinite patience to wait for his every move. Sometimes, Jingyan would contemplate on a move for fifteen minutes. Though the time it took to think of the next step was long, he was always steadfast with his decision. As he lifted his finger from the board, however, the laughing eyes of the man in front of him revealed that Mei Changsu saw right through his game plan. Much to Jingyan's annoyance, the other man would always try to cover his chuckles with coughs, saying that his throat was itching, oh no, he wasn't laughing at Jingyan's moves at all. Of course Jingyan always lost despite his painfully long deliberations.
“Why is that?”he had asked Mei Changsu.
“To those who do not know Your Highness well, your lack of a scheming mind is your sharpest sword. Please remember to sheath it well in front of those people,” his strategist replied with a light smile on his lips, “As for why I always win, it's only because I know Your Highness a little bit better than you think.”
-------------------------------------------------
After an intense two-hour match, Lin Shu stares at his remaining pieces scattered across the board, disbelieving, “I lost.”
Jingyan lowers his eyes. Mei Changsu said that his lack of scheming was his sharpest sword against those who do not know him. Yet today he has used that sword to defeat Lin Shu.
“The one who taught Nie Duo how to fight those naval battles was also Mei Changsu, right?” Lin Shu asks, more of a statement than a question. He uses “also", meaning that he's assumed that Mei Changsu taught Jingyan the way of the go.
“Actually I thought of a way to defeat the Chu navy that's very similar to Mei Changsu's idea,” the usually proud Vice Commander admits, his face despondent, “But I have to say, his strategy is much more detailed than mine and more tailored specifically for the Chu. He's better than me in strategy,” he pauses, “He's also better than me in go.”
“You just lack experience, that's all,” Jingyan says by way of cheering him up. Last time, the battle against the Chu happened many years later compared to this life, it was enough time for the person in front of him to accumulate years of wisdom.
Lin Shu frowns at the comment, “Isn't he around our age? What experience does he have?”
“He...is a bit older than us, and has gone into the pugilist world on his own from a much younger age, so he's much more experienced.”
Lin Shu pins his friend with his eyes, “You are always talking about Mei Changsu, is he in the capital now?”
“No.”
“Hmph, figures. Otherwise he wouldn't have left you all by yourself, swamped with so many things,” Lin Shu looks at the darkening sky, it's about time to go home. He gets up when he catches sight of a very familiar book on the table.
Three years ago when he last saw it, it was still very new. Now, however, it's showing signs of wear-- there are quite a few obvious crinkles on the pages, as if its owner fell asleep and didn't have time to close it. ‘How can a book like this be that interesting?’ Lin Shu mutters internally. After circling the room in agitation, he finally picks it up and flips through its pages. The first half is filled with his own handwriting, the second half, however, was Jingyan's. Those locations all sound like remote places he's sure Jingyan has never been to; he must have copied from memory everything that Mei Changsu told him. Word by word, Lin Shu can almost see Jingyan's diligent figure hunched over the book.
‘If he truly wishes to see those places, why did he refuse my offer to be stationed in a faraway place and travel with me?’ Lin Shu cannot help but think.
He pauses in his scanning when abruptly he comes across a familiar place. The book mentions an unnamed mountain in Jixian town, where the handwritten notes add that although the topography is harsh, a climb is worth the trek because one can see the extraordinary sight of a full rainbow dipping into the rivers below.
There is no mistake in the annotations, Lin Shu is shocked because he has been to that exact mountain and has seen the exact scenery. This mountain was no tourist spot, years ago he and his troops got lost on their way and wandered into it by mistake. Lin Shu is sure that he has never mentioned it to Jingyan, so this note must have come from Mei Changsu. How is it possible that this Mei Changsu person also happened to pass by this mountain on a day just after the rain and has seen the same phenomenon of rainbow in the valley? Lin Shu opens his mouth to question Jingyan, when the door is pushed open and Lie Zhanying rushes in.
“I.....I saw footprints coming from the outer walls so I thought.....” the poor man stutters but releases a sigh of relief when he sees it's just Lin Shu, and Jingyan is also safely tucked into the chair.
Lin Shu didn't even think about footprints in the snow, “Sorry, I should've considered that.”
“Vice Commander!” Zhanying calls after Lin Shu when the latter is about to step out of the room without a cape, “Your cape!”
Jingyan realizes with a start that during the massage, Lin Shu grabbed the nearest cape to cover his legs, afraid that he'd be cold. It turned out to be Lin Shu's own cape, now its fur collar is stained with the oil.
“I'm not cold, you should keep it,” Lin Shu smiles and waves at him, running into the snow in his thin robes.