Zhang Da Fo Ye

On the edge of the Songhua River, thousands of miles of ice covered the ground. The cold air emanating from the icy river rushed to the embankment, seeming to freeze everything in its path.

There was also a thin layer of ice on the embankment. Maybe it was the condensation of the water that had rushed up, or maybe it was the remnants of the previous snow that had been shoveled away.

Zhang Qishan was dressed immaculately from head to toe. He wore a black coat, but still felt as if his body temperature was being drawn into the river relentlessly.

I haven’t returned to this land for a long time. I can’t believe I’m a little unaccustomed to the weather here.

“Maybe we should go back?” Old Dog Wu said from behind him. He felt that he was going to freeze to death like a stray dog. People like me shouldn’t come to places like the northeast.

“I’m leaving tomorrow. I’ve been here for half a month and haven’t gotten a chance to walk around. If I don’t do it today, I don’t know when I’ll be back here,” Zhang Qishan said. “If you can’t stand it, you can go back yourself.”

“Well, that’s not possible. You haven’t brought anyone else with you. If I go back alone, your subordinates will kill me,” Old Dog Wu said as he trotted along. “It’s alright. I’ll tag along. We’re leaving tomorrow anyway. It’s not like I’m really going to freeze to death.”

Zhang Qishan ignored him and suddenly saw a small black spot on the surface of the river. He knocked his cane on the ground and figured that it could probably be used as an alpenstock (1), so he walked toward the river.

“Hey, hey, hey, hey. Fo Ye, where are you going?” Old Dog Wu ran after him.

“Someone is ice fishing in the distance,” Zhang Qishan replied. “Let’s go and see how he’s doing.”

Old Dog Wu looked up and saw that the black spot was far downstream from them. He instantly became speechless, feeling as if the cold went down his throat and almost froze his intestines.

No wonder he’s Fo Ye. His temperament is so unpredictable, he thought to himself. Zhang Qishan was different from Er Ye, who was romantic and could talk about everything and nothing. But Zhang Da Fo Ye always seemed to treat them like children, so it was difficult to communicate with him. Among the Mystic Nine, Er Ye was the only one who could hold a conversation with him. It was difficult for others to know what he was thinking.

As Old Dog Wu tripped and slipped on the ice the whole way, he felt fortunate that he had started his business in the south. If he had come to the north with his skills, he would’ve been killed a long time ago. He would’ve even had to learn how to walk in the north.

When they made it to the place where the person was ice fishing, Old Dog Wu already felt that he would definitely die on Songhua River. At this time, he found that an old man had made six or seven holes in the ice and was fishing. He wanted to go up and ask how many fish he had caught, but Zhang Da Fo Ye stopped him.

They stood a dozen meters behind the old man and watched him for ten minutes before Zhang Qishan turned and said to Old Dog Wu, “Let’s head back.”

“How are we going to know how many fish he’s caught if we don’t ask him?” Old Dog Wu asked.

“Who said it’s necessary to know how many fish he’s caught?” Zhang Qishan smiled and patted Old Dog Wu on the back.

Old Dog Wu was puzzled, but also delighted that they could go back, so he immediately followed Zhang Qishan.

“Old Wu, what are you doing in the northeast this time?” Zhang Qishan took a few steps and seemed to suddenly remember something. He asked Old Dog Wu as he walked, “I remember you’ve also stopped what you were doing, right?”

“I’m not doing anything in the northeast. I just can’t stay in Changsha anymore,” Old Dog Wu said.

Zhang Qishan paused. He knew what had happened to Old Dog Wu. “Then why are you in the northeast?”

“Because you are in the northeast. I have to ask you something,” Old Dog Wu said. “Once I know the answer, I’ll go to Hangzhou. I might never come back to Changsha again. But if I don’t know the answer, I won’t feel at ease when I go to Hangzhou. What if I somehow trouble others even though I’m off the hook now? I can’t fail those people. You know that.”

Zhang Qishan sighed and started slowly walking back. “Since you want to ask me something, why didn’t you ask your questions a few days ago? Why now?”

“Some questions are difficult to ask,” Old Dog Wu said. He had been hesitant to ask before, but since Zhang Da Fo Ye had suddenly mentioned it, he thought it was better to just go ahead and ask.

On the one hand, he came to the northeast because it was winter, which made it easier for him to hide. On the other hand, he really needed an answer.

Zhang Qishan stopped and stood in the center of the Songhua River. He looked around before saying, “Then ask me now. It’s only the two of us here.”

“Why?” Old Dog Wu asked. “Why didn’t you let them go? If only you had done something, Changsha wouldn’t have been that miserable. You’re not a ruthless person. Many of those people were your underlings, yet you just watched them die? They’re really dead. Can’t you see that? They are absolutely dead this time.”

Qiu Dekao left Changsha and disclosed the names of all the tomb robbers. Zhang Qishan knew all the inside information and personally supervised the matter without showing favoritism to anyone. The tomb robbers in Changsha City were all dead, and many of them were Zhang Da Fo Ye’s own underlings. (2)

What agonized Old Dog Wu the most was that when Zhang Qishan’s people showed up to capture the underlings, no one resisted when they saw who it was. Everyone thought that Zhang Qishan would help them survive, so no one wanted to embarrass him.

However, they were all dead now. As they were being shot at the execution ground, many people still couldn’t believe that Zhang Qishan was behind it.

Zhang Qishan didn’t speak, but thought for a long time before eventually asking Old Dog Wu, “Do you hate me?”

“It’s not about hate,” Old Dog Wu said. “I don’t know what you’re trying to accomplish. I only know that the underlings saw you as a god. It was really easy for you to save them, but you did nothing. Er Ye’s wife, Black Back the Sixth, and your underlings all lost their lives. What exactly are you after?”

Zhang Qishan silently looked at his boots that were about to freeze on the ice and said, “Go to Hangzhou. Forget about these things.” Then he turned and walked towards the shore.

Old Dog Wu didn’t follow him, but after Zhang Qishan took more than a dozen steps, he shouted at him, “Why did you do that?! You can just give me a perfunctory reason. Any excuse will do!”

Zhang Qishan waved his hand, feeling very calm deep down. Did he feel any guilt? His heart could probably no longer store something like that.

No one knew that on the night he gave the arrest order, he held a pistol to his temple. He really wanted to be like the opera singer who could easily say something like, “I’d rather fail the world than fail the beauty.” He also wanted to be like the beggar who could sleep peacefully as long as he held a knife in his arms.

Unfortunately, he couldn’t.

Yes. I do have a reason. But even if I tell you about it, nothing will change.

When Zhang Da Fo Ye walked onto the embankment, he looked back towards the center of the river.

Old Dog Wu was always the happiest and most willing to let things go. He was someone who really didn’t want to hate others.

He probably came to the northeast to find a reason not to hate me.

“Someone must take the role of being hated,” Zhang Da Fo Ye muttered to himself as he closed his eyes.

“We’ll never see each other again.”

<Opponents><Table of Contents><The Mystic Nine Memories>

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TN Notes:

(1) A long wooden pole with an iron spike tip, used by shepherds for travel on snowfields and glaciers in the Alps since the Middle Ages. It’s the antecedent of the modern ice axe. More info here.

(2) Relevant information can be found in Sand Sea, Chapter 206.

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Tiffany’s Notes: This is so sad. I feel bad for Fo Ye. (⋟﹏⋞) Wu Xie is a lot like his grandpa. They all loved asking questions and were just precious cinnamon rolls in general. (ಥ﹏ಥ)

Translated by: Tiffany X
Edited by: merebear226