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Chapter 230: Back To That Key Moment ⑥

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TL: Resonance

    “小楼主，赶紧给我上一壶解忧茶！”一名满脸颓丧的修真者趴在石桌上，有气无力地对尚可喊道。

“Little Owner, quickly bring me a pot of Relief tea!” A cultivator with a depressed face laid on the stone table, shouting weakly to Shang Ke.

    随着茶寮的名气提升，熟客们都开始称呼尚可为“小楼主”。

As the teahouse’s reputation grew, regular customers began to address Shang Ke as “Little Owner”.

    “今日不提供解忧茶。”尚可微笑招呼。

“We don’t serve Relief tea today.” Shang Ke greeted with a smile.

    “那有什么？”

“Then what do you have?”

    “容光焕发茶。”

“Radiant tea.”

    “那就来一壶容光焕发茶。”修真者情绪低落，也不在乎喝哪种茶。

“Then let me have a pot of Radiant tea.” The cultivator was depressed and did not care what kind of tea he drank.

    不过片刻，尚可将热茶送上。

A short moment later, Shang Ke served the hot tea.

    修真者望着茶水中盛开的那朵菊花，冷漠脸：“这就是容光焕发茶？”

The cultivator looked at the chrysanthemum blooming in the tea and asked indifferently, “This is the Radiant Tea?”

    “是的。另外附赠醋酸黄瓜一份。”

“Yes. A complimentary serving of vinegar marinated cucumber is also included.”

    修真者面前出现了一盘排列成心形的脆黄瓜，旁边还点缀着一朵野菊花。

A plate of crispy cucumbers arranged in the shape of a heart appeared in front of the cultivator, with a wild chrysanthemum adorned at the side.

    修真者感觉心情更加郁悴了。他过来是为了散心的，这段时间被伴侣抛弃、被同门欺辱、被师傅冷落，人生简直一片灰暗。结果到了这座被众多修真者视为“心灵港湾”的世外茶寮，依然受到了一万点伤害。

The cultivator felt even more depressed. He had come here in order to relax. During this period of time, he had been abandoned by his partner, bullied by his fellow disciples, and neglected by his master, and his life was simply bleak. Yet when he came to this out-of-this-world teahouse which is regarded as a “heart harbor” by many cultivators, he was still greatly hurt.

    “花落水流红，闲愁万种，无语怨东风。”修真者一边黯然神伤地念着怨词，一边落寞地品茗。

“The falling flowers cause the water to turn red. The falling flowers felt their unwillingness to fall from the branch, as they silently complained about the wind that blew them to their fall.[1]” The cultivator aired his grievance in a dejected manner while tasting the tea desolately.

    一口入喉，甘苦犹存；二口下肚，芳香绕鼻；三口润气，灵韵自生。

The first sip entered his throat and bittersweetness remained. The second sip entered his stomach and the fragrance lingered in his nose. The third sip permeated his qi and his spiritual energy grew.

    修真者暗淡的眼神，骤然闪过一抹明光，黑沉的脸色晶莹透亮，浑身灵气流转，经脉通畅。整个人在菊花和黄瓜的双重抚慰下，容光焕发。

The cultivator’s dim eyes suddenly flashed, his dark expression became bright, his spiritual energy started circulating all over his body smoothly through his meridians. Under the double comfort of the chrysanthemum and the cucumber, his whole percome became radiant.

    小楼主，你真是好人！这间茶寮确实是咱们修真者的心灵港湾！

Little Owner, you’re such a good person! This teahouse is indeed a heart habour for us cultivators!

    “小楼主，麻烦给我们上一壶好茶。”茶寮中，又走进几名风尘仆仆的修真者。

“Little Owner, please bring us a good pot of tea.” More cultivators who seemed tired from their journey entered the tea house.

    “好的，马上就来。”

“Yes, right away.”

    随着来往客人增多，幽静的茶寮逐渐变得热闹起来。每人都端着一杯菊花茶，吃着酸黄瓜，各个容光焕发，一脸陶醉。

As the number of guests increased, the quiet tea house gradually became lively. Everyone was holding a cup of chrysanthemum tea and eating sour cucumbers, each with a radiant and intoxicated face.

    竹楼中的阎戮站在窗边，默默看着尚可悠然地在院子中穿梭，招呼着远道而来的茶友食客。

Yan Lu stood by the window in the bamboo building, silently watching Shang Ke leisurely moving around the courtyard, greeting guests who had come from afar.

    这群来路不明的家伙，凭什么让小蘑菇好吃好喝地伺候着？还吆来喝去，放肆调笑。

This group of people of unknown background, why should the little mushroom be serving them with good food and drink? And they even order him around and are all laughing so wantonly.

    阎戮眼中寒光凌厉，心中充斥着杀戮的欲望，似乎有一个声音正在不断叫嚣着：杀、杀、杀！

There was a cold glint in Yan Lu’s eyes, and his heart was filled with the desire to kill, as if a voice was constantly shouting: Kill, kill, kill!

    阎戮身形一闪，从窗口一跃而下，杀气腾腾地落在院子当中。

Yan Lu’s figure flickered. He leapt from the window and landed in the courtyard with great murderous intent.

    众人背脊一寒，心生警惕，同时朝阎戮所在的方向望去。此人丰神俊逸，气质出尘，一双深邃的眼眸仿佛蕴含着无穷天地，世人在他眼中，仿若蝼蚁一般。

Everyone felt a chill down their back. All of them grew vigilant and looked towards the direction of Yan Lu at the same time. The man was handsome and elegant, with an outstanding temperament, and a pair of profound eyes that seemed to contain an infinite world within. The people of the world seemed like tiny ants in his eyes.

    在场众人不乏元婴期以上的高手，但在他面前，竟然生不出丝毫反抗之力，其实力之强，令人胆颤。

There was no lack of experts above the Yuan-Ying stage amongst all the people here, but they could not even put up the slightest resistance in front of him. This person’s strength was so strong that it made people tremble.

    院子中陷入一片诡异的死寂，仿佛被人施了定身法，连空气都凝滞了。

The courtyard fell into a strange silence. As if someone had cast an immobilizing spell even the air stagnated.

    “小鹿。”正在这时，一个清灵的声音打破了院中的死寂。

“Little Deer[2].” At this moment, a clear and spirited voice broke the silence in the courtyard.

    阎戮深色的眸子中泛起点点波澜，光芒流转，浓郁的杀意在顷刻间烟消云散，杀神秒变萌童。

Yan Lu’s dark eyes flickered with light, and the strong killing intent vanished in an instance, turning the killing god into a cute child.

    众人不约而同地松了一口气，油然生出一种重见天日的感觉。

The crowd breathed a sigh of relief in unison, and they all felt as if they survived to see a new day again.

    “怎么了？”尚可走到阎戮身边，顺手递给他一根黄瓜。

“What’s wrong?” Shang Ke walked over to Yan Lu and handed him a cucumber.

    阎戮一边嘎嘣嘎嘣地啃黄瓜，一边认真地想了想，实在想不出自己打算干嘛，只好闷声道，“他们太吵。”

Yan Lu gnawed on the cucumber as he thought hard, but he just couldn’t figure out what he was going to do, so he said, “They are too noisy.”

    在场无不是耳聪目明之辈，闻听此言，纷纷擦了一把冷汗。原来只是嫌他们太吵，还以为他准备大开杀戒呢。

The people present here were all perceptive. When they heard his word. All of them wiped away their cold sweats. It turned out that it was because they were too noisy, they had thought he was ready to mass slaughter.

    “去后院吧，让兔子帮你种蘑菇。”

“Go to the backyard and let Rabbit help you with growing mushrooms.”

    “兔子只会吃，不会种。”阎戮不满地抱怨。

“Rabbit only knows how to eat, not grow.” Yan Lu complained in discontent.

    “你教它。”

“You teach it.”

    “它那么蠢，怎么可能学得会？”种蘑菇可是一门高深的技术活。

“It’s so stupid, how is it possible for it to learn?” Growing mushrooms is an advanced skill.

    尚可：呵呵。

Shang Ke: Haha.

    两人渐行渐远，留下一群刚从鬼门关转了一圈还不自知的修真者们。他们对阎戮的身份十分好奇，开始热烈讨论起来。只不过这次下意识压低了声音，生怕吵到那位高手。

The two of them went further and further away, leaving behind a group of cultivators who were still unaware that they had just passed by the gates of hell. They were very curious about Yan Lu’s identity and began to discuss it enthusiastically. However, this time, they subconsciously lowered their voices for fear of disturbing that expert.

    阎戮销声匿迹了几十年，当年见过他的人，不是已经死了，就是因为重伤而闭关修行。修真界的新秀，大多只闻其名不识其人。

Yan Lu had disappeared for decades, and those who had seen him before were either dead or in closed-door cultivation due to serious injuries. Most of the newcomers in the cultivation world only knew him by name but not by person.

    至于尚可，身为妖修，自然瞒不过高手的眼睛。但摄于杀神余威，如今修真者们对妖修都格外客气。阎戮的伴侣就是一名妖修，任何伤害妖修的人，都是他击杀的首要目标。虽然他已经消失几十年，但没有人敢以身试法。

As for Shang Ke, being a yao[3] cultivator, he naturally could not hide it from the eyes of experts. However, due to the residual power of the killing god, nowadays, cultivators are extremely polite to yao cultivators. Yan Lu’s partner was a yao cultivator, and anyone who harmed a yao cultivator was his primary target for killing. Although he has disappeared for decades, no one dares to try it.

    在场众人无论如何都想不到，他们刚才所见的男子，便是让人闻风丧胆的杀神阎戮。而那位给他们端茶倒水的的小楼主，则是引发修真界百年动荡的源头。

No matter what, the people present wouldn’t have guessed that the man they have just met was the frightening killing god Yan Lu. And the small owner who served them tea and water was the cause of a hundred years of turmoil in the cultivation world.

    结束一天的营业，尚可照例享受他每日一泡的蘑菇汤。

After the day’s business ended, Shang Ke enjoyed his daily mushroom soup as usual.

    阎戮坐在尚可身边，前一刻还在玩他的大蘑菇，下一刻突然转过头，沉声问：“小蘑菇，你为何要开茶寮？”

Yan Lu sat beside Shang Ke. One moment, he was still playing with his big mushroom, and the next moment, he suddenly turned his head around and asked in a deep voice, “Little Mushroom, why do you want to open a teahouse?”

    尚可花了几秒时间适应他的变脸，回道：“山中冷清，开茶寮可以增加一些人气。”

Shang Ke took a few seconds to get used to his transformation and replied, “It’s deserted in the mountains, so opening a tea house can add some life to this place.”

    “人心险恶，谁知道他们会不会暗中使坏？”阎戮语气阴森，目光凛凛。

“People’s hearts are sinister, who knows if they will do evil things in secret?” Yan Lu’s tone was gloomy and his eyes were cold.

    “虽然防人之心不可无，但我们不能永远避世不出，只有让自己强大起来，才能立于不败之地。”尚可侧身抱住阎戮，仰头笑道，“我答应你，不多管闲事，不招惹是非，安心隐居。”

“Although it is important to stay cautious against others, we can’t hide ourselves from the world forever; only by making ourselves strong can we remain invincible.” Shang Ke hugged Yan Lu sideways and smiled up at him, “I promise you, I will not meddle in other people’s affairs, I will not stir up trouble and will live in seclusion.”

    阎戮高冷地“嗯”了一声。

Yan Lu gave a cold “hmm”.

    “那么你呢？”尚可话锋一转，问道，“你是否可以答应我不要妄动杀念？”

“What about you?” Shang Ke turned the conversation around and asked, “Can you promise me that you won’t kill?”

    阎戮沉默不语。

Yan Lu was silent.

    “你虽有无尽寿命，但杀孽太重，恐遭天谴。我竭尽所能回到你身边，可不为了看你魂飞魄散。”

“Although you have an endless life span, you have killed too much and I fear you will be punished by heaven. I did my best to return to you and it wasn’t for seeing your soul scatter.”

    阎戮将头埋在他的颈窝，感受着他温热的气息，低声承诺道：“不会的，绝对不会。”

Yan Lu buried his head in Shang Ke’s neck and felt his warmth, and promised softly: “No, it definitely won’t happen.”

    惟愿永生永世，不离不弃。即便天地不容，他也要留在这个人身边。

He only wishes to live with Shang Ke forever and never leave. Even if the world doesn’t tolerate it, he still wanted to stay by this person’s side.

    “我们来修炼吧！”阎戮突然抬起头，目光炯炯。

“Let’s cultivate!” Yan Lu suddenly raised his head and his eyes were bright.

    好好的气氛都被某人破坏了！修炼个毛，今晚不修！

The good atmosphere got all ruined by someone! What cultivate, we’re not cultivating tonight!

    尚可背过身，打算洗洗就睡。

Shang Ke turned his back on him, intending to wash up and go to sleep.

    阎戮挨过来，在他耳边轻声道：“今天打算用后进式吗？”

Yan Lu came next to him and whispered in his ear, “Are you going with doggy style today?”

    火热的触感从下身传来，暧昧的气息在耳畔萦绕。

Hot touches could be felt on his lower body and the ambiguous breath lingered in his ear.

    想到那天不太圆满的修炼，尚可有些犹豫，如果他中途又精分了怎么办？

Thinking about the not so completed cultivation training that day, Shang Ke felt a little hesitant. What if he changes personality again halfway through?

    阎戮却没有给他考虑的时间，借着温水的滋润，慢慢从后面挤入，一点点向前推进，进到一半时突然用力，整根吞没。

But Yan Lu did not give him time to consider. Using the warm water as lubricant, he squeezed in slowly from behind and pushed forward bit by bit. When he was halfway in, he suddenly put in his strength and the whole thing was swallowed.

    “……不，不是说修炼吗？”尚可双手撑在池边，承受着来自后方的攻击。

“… Did, didn’t you say that we are cultivating?” Shang Ke supported himself by placing his hands on the edge of the pool and withstanded the attack from behind.

    “先热身。”

“Warm up first.”

    水面震荡，激起层层波澜，泛开一池春色……

Ripples formed on the surface of the water, stirring up many waves and revealing the scenes of spring.

    这次阎戮没有精分，一直做到月落梢头，才开始帮尚可修炼。

This time round, Yan Lu’s personality did not switch and he kept doing it until the moon set before he began helping Shang Ke with his cultivation.

    尚可很快在阎戮的神力滋养下入定，对外界事物毫无所觉。

Under the nourishment of Yan Lu’s divine energy, Shang Ke soon entered the state of cultivation  and became oblivious of the outside world.

    不知过了多久，修炼中的尚可突然感觉身体一阵晃动，随之而来的是一波波熟悉的快感。尚可正处在关键时刻，所以没有脱离入定状态，任由汹涌的热浪将自己淹没。

It was unknown how long had passed, but Shang Ke who was cultivating suddenly felt his body shaking, followed by waves of familiar pleasure. Shang Ke was at a critical stage, so he didn’t leave this focus state and allowed himself to be overwhelmed by the raging waves of heat.

    醒来时，已经是第三天的午后。不知不觉间，竟然入定了两天。体内灵力充沛，气息浑厚，俨然已经跨越了两个境界，顺利渡过化形期，达到凝魄中期。

When he woke up, it was already the afternoon of the third day. Unknowingly, he had been in a state of concentration for two days. The spiritual energy in my body was abundant and vigorous. It seems like he had already crossed two realms, successfully passing through the transformation stage and reaching the middle stage of soul condensation.

    “我升级了！”尚可一把抱住阎戮。

“I had a breakthrough!” Shang Ke hugged Yan Lu.

    虽然不知道小蘑菇在高兴什么，但不妨碍阎戮跟着开心。

Although Yan Lu didn’t know what Little Mushroom was happy about, it didn’t prevent Yan Lu from being happy along with him.

    “今天给你做好吃的。”尚可在他嘴上亲了一口，然后穿上衣服，欢脱地跑出房间，完全没注意阎戮又变成懵逼儿童。

“I’ll make you something delicious today.” After giving him a kiss on the mouth, Shang Ke put on his clothes and ran out of the room happily, completely unaware that Yan Lu had become a silly child again.

    阎戮摸了摸留有余温的嘴唇，想起自己不久前偷偷对小蘑菇做的“坏事”，忍不住抱着他的大蘑菇抱枕嘿嘿傻笑起来。

Yan Lu touched his lips which still had Shang Ke’s trace of warmth, then remembered the “bad things” he had secretly done to Little Mushroom not long ago, and couldn’t help but hug his big mushroom pillow and giggle.

    轻松惬意的日子如梭而过，随着修为的提升，尚可开始炼制更高级的茶饮和料理，根据效果不同，逐步分为滋补，凝神，驱邪，游境等等几种类型。其中游境最为稀有，能够让人在幻境中体验更高一层的境界。

The relaxing days went by quickly. As Shang Ke’s cultivation increased, he began to refine higher-grade tea and cuisine. Based on the different effects, they were gradually divided into several types, such as nourishment, concentration, exorcism, and traverse realm etcetera. Among them, the traverse realm type cuisine is the rarest and allows one to experience a higher level realm in their illusion.

    境界的高低决定修真者的进阶潜力。很多修真者的修为之所以停滞不前，大多因为境界不够，无法突破瓶颈。若让他们亲身体验一次更高的境界，突破瓶颈不过顿悟之间。

The level of the realm determines a cultivator’s potential for advancement. The reason why many cultivators’ cultivation is stagnant is mostly because the level of their realms is not enough to break through the bottleneck. If they were able to experience a higher realm themselves, breaking through the bottleneck would only be a matter of enlightenment.

    当游境第一次出现时，众人并没有在意，只当小楼主又有研制了什么新品，标价同样是一两。

When the traverse realm cuisine first appeared, the crowd did not care much about it. They just assumed that the small owner had developed something new. The price was also one tael.

    有人抱着尝鲜的心理点了一份，谁知刚刚吃完，便毫无意识地进入了幻境。周围其他人见他突然如木雕一般呆坐不动，还以为食物有什么问题，差点就要闹场了。

Someone ordered a share with the thought of trying something new, but just after eating it, he unconsciously entered the illusion. The other people around saw him suddenly stopped moving like a wooden sculpture and thought there was something wrong with the food, and they were so close to making a scene.

    结果不过半个时辰，原本呆坐的修真者，突然爆发出一股宏大的灵力，气劲四溢，威势惊人，眨眼间，竟然从心动后期进阶为金丹前期。

But in just an hour, the cultivator who was sitting still suddenly burst out a grand spiritual energy which was so powerful that he advanced from Xindong(4) late stage Jindan(6) early stage in the blink of an eye.

    这名修真者当时就傻了，围观众也傻了。

The cultivator was dumbfounded and so were the people around.

    “哈，哈哈，老子突破心动期了！”修真者内流满面，“我在这个境界已经停留了十年！没想到今天居然突破了！哈哈哈！”

“Ha, haha, I’ve broken through the Xindong realm!” The cultivator was full of tears, “I have been stuck in this realm for ten years! I never thought I would break through today! Hahaha!”

    这名修真者兴奋得无法自已，长笑几声，连银子都忘了留下，便激动地冲出茶寮，回家报喜去了。

This cultivator was so excited that he couldn’t control himself. He laughed a few times and rushed out of the teahouse to go home to report the good news, even forgetting to leave behind the taels.

    茶寮中的修真者们全是一脸懵逼，十年都没有突破的境界，傻坐半个时辰就突破了？

The cultivators in the teahouse were all dumbfounded. A realm that hadn’t been broken through in ten years, he broke through after sitting still for an hour?

    静默了片刻后，终于有人意识到那人的突破可能与他刚才吃的食物有关。于是，众人纷纷将热切的目光投向茶寮的主人。

After a few moments of silence, someone finally realized that the man’s breakthrough might be related to the food he had just eaten. Hence, everyone turned their eager eyes towards the owner of the teahouse.

    尚可皱了皱眉，对其他修真者说道：“如果你们谁认识刚才那名客人，麻烦帮我带个话。”

Shang Ke frowned and said to the other cultivators, “If any of you know that customer just now, please help me pass a message.”

    “什么话？”一名长脸男子出声问道。

“What message?” A long-faced man spoke up and asked.

    “从今天起，他正式被列入安闲茶寮的黑名单。”

“From today onwards, he is officially blacklisted from Resting Teahouse.”

    “为什么？”长脸男子惊愕

“Why?” The long-faced man was astonished.

    “因为他吃霸王餐。”

“Because he dined and dashed.”

    “……”

“…”

    那位幸运晋级的修真者，既是游境的第一位受益者，也是第一位因为吃霸王餐而被列入黑名单的倒霉蛋。从此以后，他再也享受不到茶寮的饮品和料理了。唯一值得称道的是，他让众人亲眼见识了游境的超凡效果。

The lucky cultivator who broke through was the first person who benefitted from the cuisine, and also the first unlucky one to be blacklisted because he dined and dashed. From then on, he can no longer enjoy the drinks and food of the tea house. The only thing that is worthy of praise is that he let everyone witness the extraordinary effects of the traverse realm cuisine with their own eyes.

    不过，尚可每个月只提供一份，因为极其珍稀，更让无数修真者趋之若鹜。

However, Shang Ke only offered one serving per month. Because it was extremely rare, it made countless cultivators flocked to it.

    修真者们受益于尚可慷慨的馈赠，除了银两之外，还会留下一些药草、灵石或者灵器等物品。谁都知道，一两银子的定价，与茶寮提供的物品价值完全不成比例，并非所有人都喜欢贪便宜。

The cultivators benefited from Shang Ke’s generous gift. In addition to the silver taels, they would also leave behind some herbs, spiritual stones, or spiritual tools. Everyone knows that the fixed price of one tael of silver is completely disproportionate to the value of the goods provided by the tea house, and not everyone likes to take advantage of this.

    予人玫瑰，手有余香。

Giving can also make one happy. One may not necessarily be happy with just receiving without giving.

    尚可不知不觉中，收获了不少人的友谊和尊重，建立了属于自己的人脉，为不久之后的危难，创造了一线生机……

Shang Ke unknowingly gained the friendship and respect of many people, established his own connections, and created a glimmer of hope for the near future crisis… 

Footnotes:

[1] This sentence expresses this cultivator’s failed love. One party has the intention while the other party doesn’t, and nothing in the world is left never unchanging. The flowers have the intention, but the flowing water doesn’t and just washes the flowers that fell away. Please forgive my terrible Chinese.

[2] 小鹿 – This means little deer, and is pronounced as Xiao Lu, of which the ‘Lu’ sound similar to Yan Lu’s ‘Lu’.

[3] Yao – Yao are beings such as the fox demons. They are not exactly demonic cultivators nor are they classified as monsters, so I left it as yao. In Shang Ke’s case, he is a mushroom demon(?).

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