The Door Dividing Liu Shan Men and the People at the Centre

After hearing my reason for taking my bag, she didn’t comment. Instead she opened her beautiful eyes wide, and asked: “You want to go to Liu Shan Men?”

“I just want to go and see what it’s like.” I felt like that wasn’t convincing enough, so I added: “If it’s boring, I’ll come right back.”

“So you’re saying you won’t come back if you find it interesting?”

She scanned me from head to toe, and before I could say anything to break the awkward atmosphere, she narrowed her eyes, and said:

“Then I’m coming too.”

“I want to see if Liu Shan Men really is that interesting, so interesting that they managed to lure my sect"s next successor in.”

Hey! That topic is taboo!

I never promised to be the successor!!

She wouldn’t listen to me at all, so all I could do was keep silent and bring her with me to Nan Jing.

Luckily, my run-down house is only half-a-day away from Nan Jing, so we were able to enter the city before sunset with our speed.

I intended to sneak out and go register, but instead saw my G.o.ddess -junior s.h.i.+yi waiting for me at the lodging’s door.

“I knew you would try and sneak away. Let’s get going or we’ll be late.”

How are you so beautiful…?

We talked and laughed with each other along the way until we reached our destination. We saw the big lacquer red door with a sign that said “Liu Shan Men’s Nan Jing Headquarters” which was easy to understand and displayed facing the crowd.

“They really mean business. Look at the way they present themselves. Working for the government is the best choice you can make." I wasted no time trying to hypnotise my junior s.h.i.+yi.

She blinked a few times, and then asked: “So you’ll come back and become the sect leader if I get people to re-paint our door?”

“Pfft, what use is a big door?”

“Then what does this door prove?”

“……”

How come I’ve never won an argument since her since I was a kid?

She stroked her smooth snow-white chin and put on a hesitant expression.

“Haa~ you’re the only disciple of your master that can work independently. You’ve never been at ease since there are so many disciples on the mountain. I don’t understand why you aren’t willing to become the sect leader. Without you, no one in the wulin would even know of Mount Daluo.”

Oi, oi, that’s because there’s no one else who’s willing to accept that position, isn’t it? If someone was  willing to take on that s.h.i.+tty job, I’d have been thrown out moons ago. I never would’ve even been offered a chance.

Seeing her pretend to be pouting and sulking, I decided to tease her.

"I’ll accept the position on one condition.”

“What?”

Her eyes lit up, as she said: “As long as it’s reasonable, I’ll agree to anything.”

"Marry me."

"Get lost!"

Her small white face looked fl.u.s.tered, and she said: “Hmph, I knew you were going to be a smarta.s.s. Listen, part of the reason I came looking for you was because your s.h.i.+fu asked me to. He told me to bring you back and complete the succession ceremony if you weren’t doing anything and just messing around.”

He said that!? He definitely got some household name hero’s daughter or a pair of sisters pregnant, otherwise he wouldn’t call a loser like me back in such a hurry.

“I certainly am not messing around. I’m looking for work right now, aren’t I?”

She smiled as though she knew what I was thinking.

“I know what you’re thinking. You just don’t want to go back, am I right? In that case, enjoy your retirement here.”

My entire heart was filled with warmth… She treats me so well… Better than my own s.h.i.+fu.

“However, if this places turns out to be trash, I’m going to drag you back. If you disobey me, I’ll break your legs.”

She definitely treats me better than my s.h.i.+fu. I remember the last time I refused to succeed the position as sect leader, he threatened to break all three of my legs…*

We spoke over each other as we entered the first examination location.

“Where’re you from? Can’t you see we’re conducting examinations here? Go line up.”

We were pointed to the line where the examinees wearing casual clothes were lined up. The line was long enough to go around the entire place once.

That long? Well, nothing we can do about it.

This is work after all, so everyone is treated equally, and everyone will get a chance. I’ll just see what everybody else is like then.

Junior s.h.i.+yi and I went and stood at the back of the line sharing the same thoughts, as we watched the examinees.

A young man entered and formally greeted them.*

“My name is Su Xiao.”

I looked and him and instinctively said: “Oh? That guy doesn’t look too bad.”

Junior s.h.i.+yi also looked in his direction, and whistled like a thug. She then said: “I agree.”

Together we added: “He doesn"t look too shabby”***

Glossary

*In Chinese, your third leg is your ding-a-ling

**He greeted them by forming a fist in one hand and wrapping it with his other palm ( I didn"t translate it like that because it"s essentially a greeting, and you as readers may not know what that means, plus it would be a literal translation which is for amateurs.

***They"re referring to his appearance there