The Mystic Nine Memories

“Er Ye, we can’t do this without you. It’s for the good of the country.” A scholar with red-rimmed eyes grabbed Er Yuehong’s arm.

Er Yuehong looked at Ya Tou who was embroidering in the inner hall. “Do you see this woman?”

“Your wife—”

“In this world, she is the only person I want to protect. I can even sacrifice my life for her. Without her, the country and the people of our nation mean nothing to me.”

**

“Master, what do you think of this satin?”

“You can buy whatever you like.”

“I just want you to give me your opinion. There’s a war going on. Things are different from how they used to be. We can’t be willful.”

“Fair enough.” Er Yuehong put aside the letter in his hand and raised it over the candle to burn it.

“Why did you do that?” His wife was somewhat surprised.

“It’s not very good news. If I burn it, I’ll forget about it.” Er Yuehong suddenly smiled and said, “Oh, this satin is really well made.”

**

“Er Ye, how am I inferior to her? Could she go grave robbing? Was she as beautiful as me? Was she as good in bed as I am? I’m with you wholeheartedly, so why can’t you just look me in the eye for a moment?” The Huo family’s little aunt (1) tore off her cheongsam in front of Er Yuehong, exposing her body that was as white as ice jade.

Er Yuehong calmly put down his wineglass, took off his clothes, and put them on her. “Can you cook noodles? I’d like a bowl of plain noodles.”

**

“If we keep putting this matter off, I’m afraid things will be brought to their homeland.” Zhang Qishan pushed the candle holder away. “Er Ye is the only one who has the skills to enter this place. This fete (2) we’re holding is our last chance.”

Er Yuehong stood in the corner, listening to Zhang Qishan talking about his arrangements.

A young man on the side handed Er Yuehong a cigarette. “Er Ye, I’m sorry about your wife.”

“Xie Jiu, do you think it’s worth it?” Er Yuehong asked.

**

“I, Zhang Qishan, and my whole family are here. As long as you agree to help me, you can kill all of us after it’s over. Descendants of the Zhang family, kneel!” Zhang Qishan parted the hem of his changshan and both knees hit the ground.

Nearly a hundred people in the Zhang family all knelt down in front of Er Yuehong with unwavering eyes.

Er Yuehong looked at them, raised his head, and shouted, “Zhang Qishan, you’re insane. You’re really insane!”

**

“Fo Ye, you could’ve saved her. Why didn’t you do anything?!” Er Yuehong carried Ya Tou on his back and knelt in front of Zhang Qishan’s mansion.

He had been kneeling there for three days with his wife close to him, but her body was already cold all over.

“If this woman didn’t die, tens of thousands of people would suffer. I can protect all these people in our country at the expense of one person’s life. Even if this means that I’ll have to die thousands of times to compensate for this, I’ll still do it!” Zhang Qishan said calmly in front of Er Yuehong.

**

“Fo Ye, I’ll take you to Japan. The Emperor won’t forget the contributions you’ve made for us in China—” Before the Japanese colonel could finish his sentence, Banjie Li’s bayonet had already pierced his chest.

“You!”

“Don’t make a sound. Let me enjoy this moment.” The bayonet twisted inside the Japanese man’s chest. Banjie Li pressed his hand over the man’s mouth tightly. “Die slowly. You’re a good boy.”

“Old Li, let’s get back to our business.” Zhang Qishan swiftly slashed the colonel’s throat with a knife.

**

“Once it’s done, we’ll send the things to Chongqing. You must escort Er Ye out of the city now,” Xie Jiu whispered to a beggar on the side of the road. “Master Six, I’ll give you ten people. Ten silver coins for each person. Don’t spare any Japanese at the east gate.”

Black Back the Sixth raised his hand. The tip of his knife had already picked up the silver coins in Xie Jiu’s hands. “I’ll keep the silver coins. I don’t want those ten people.”

“Master Six!” Old Six pushed Xie Jiu away and stood up, humming and staggering towards the east gate.

**

At the Founding Ceremony of the Nation (3), Er Yuehong and Zhang Qishan stood by the entrance of the building.

As a plane flew overhead, there was a burst of cheers in the square.

Er Yuehong looked at the plane and asked, “Do you need me to accompany you upstairs?”

Zhang Qishan shook his head and lit a cigarette. “It’s not easy to get up there.  I can go up by myself.”

Er Yuehong looked at the square and asked, “Is it worth it?”

Zhang Qishan didn’t answer, but patted Er Yuehong and walked toward the building.

**

“We need to dig here. Make the space sixty-six square meters wide and half a meter tall.” Xie Yuchen instructed the craftsmen.

“This is weird. This isn’t traditional.”

“Grandpa Two insisted on it. Cut the crap. Do you still want to get paid?” Xiao Hua scolded.

No one refuted him.

Xiao Hua looked at the coffin on the other side. It had been waiting here for half a century. He smiled, “Take it easy. He’s coming soon.”

**

“Er Ye, look at me. Is my posture correct?”

“Yes. Now walk in a large circle.”

“No, I’m not doing it. Grandpa Two hasn’t given me a name (4). You promised my daddy that you’d do it.”

“Kid, you seem to always remember everything people say. Alright, I’ll come up with a name for you. Your dad is called Xie Lianhuan, and you’re called Xie Yuchen. How about Xie Yuhua?”

“What does it mean?”

“The flower that speaks is beautiful and delicate.” (5)

“I don’t understand. I don’t want it. Can you give me another name?”

**

“Dead. Everyone is dead.” In the Golmud sanatorium, Zhang Qishan looked at the letters on the desk and closed his eyes.

“Is it worth it?” Er Yuehong’s words echoed in his ears.

Zhang Qishan waved his hand and looked at the black and white photo of his wife on the wall. The radio broadcast outside was playing a sad song.

“General, what about these documents? Do we still need them?”

“Burn them.” Zhang Qishan took the picture frame off the wall, held it in his arms, sat down, and closed his eyes.

<Zhang Da Fo Ye><Table of Contents><Huo Lin – Blue And White Porcelain>

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TN Notes:

(1) From what we have learned from the Mystic Nine drama, this was Granny Huo’s aunt. She was the head of the Huo family before Granny Huo. 

(2) A fete is an elaborate festival, party, or celebration.

(3) The founding of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) was formally proclaimed by Mao Zedong, the Chairman of the Communist Party of China, on October 1, 1949. It was held at Tiananmen (Wiki link here). Before this, Zhang Qishan was a military officer during Republican Era (1912–1949). In the DMBJ universe, Zhang Qishan was still held in high esteem after the sovereignty changed.

(4) He means a stage name.

(5) The sentence is from a poem from the Song dynasty. The Chinese text is :解语花娇枝朵朵. The Chinese characters of Xie Yuhua are 解语花.

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Tiffany’s Notes: Shout out to Xiao Hua who didn’t understand Er Ye was saying that he was beautiful and delicate. Precious. ヾ(⁍̴̆◡⁍̴̆。)ノ

Translated by: Tiffany X
Edited by: merebear226