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Chapter 228: Back To That Key Moment ⑥

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TL: Resonance

    “我说华塍兄，早说你走错路了，你还不信。”丁七余抹了抹额头上的汗，无奈地抱怨。

“Brother Hua Cheng, I already told you that you were going the wrong way, but you still don’t believe me.” Ding Qiyu wiped off the sweat from his forehead and complained helplessly.

    华塍不好意思地笑道：“抱歉啊，我本想抄近路，早点进城，结果……”

Hua Cheng smiled apologetically, “I’m sorry, I wanted to take a shortcut and enter the city earlier, but I ended up…”

    两人刚刚经历了一场战斗，体内灵气几乎耗尽，急需进城休养调息，谁知却在半路迷失了方向。若灵力充沛，他们大可御剑飞行，或用灵识查探路线。然而此次受伤颇重，一时半会难以恢复，偏偏还迷路了。

The two of them had just gone through a battle, and their body’s spiritual energy was almost exhausted. They urgently needed to enter the city to recuperate. Who knew that they would lose their way while heading there. If they had sufficient spiritual energy, they could have flown with their swords or used their spiritual sense to check the route. However, their injuries were so serious it would be difficult for them to recover for a while, and they just had to lose their way.

    正当两人大叹倒霉之际，不远处隐约传来一串清脆的风铃声。

Just as they were sighing about their misfortune, the clear sound of wind chimes could vaguely be heard from not far away.

    “咦？莫非这里还有人家？”丁七余疑惑地看向华塍。

“Huh? Could there be someone staying here?” Ding Qiyu looked towards Hua Cheng in doubt.

    华塍摸了摸脑袋，嘟囔道：“我也不清楚，过去看看吧。”

Hua Cheng touched his own head and muttered, “I’m not sure, let’s go over and take a look.”

    两人于是循着风铃声，缓缓朝那边走去。

The two of them followed the sound of the chimes and slowly walked towards the other side.

    越过一片翠竹林，首先出现在眼前的是一座别致的竹楼，竹楼外挂着一串风铃，在风中轻轻摇摆，发出叮叮咚咚的声响。门口竖着一只风帆，上书：安闲茶寮。院子中摆放着几张石桌椅，每张桌子上都放置着一套茶具，泉水潺潺，片片花瓣漫天轻舞，带来阵阵花香。

After passing through a green bamboo forest, the first thing that appeared before them was a distinctive bamboo building, outside of which hung a string of wind chimes that swayed gently in the wind, letting out a tinkling sound. A sail was erected at the entrance with the words “Resting Tea House” written on it. A few stone tables and chairs were placed in the courtyard, and a tea set was placed on each table. Spring water flowed and flower petals were dancing lightly in the sky, bringing in the fragrance of flowers.

    华塍和丁七余深吸一口气，只觉得心旷神怡，一身疲倦仿佛都烟消云散。

Hua Cheng and Ding Qiyu took a deep breath, only to feel refreshed and their fatigue seemed to have vanished.

    他们走进茶寮，随意选一张石桌落座。不待他们喊话，竹楼中已然有人迎了出来。

They walked into the teahouse and chose a random stone table to take a seat. Without waiting for them to shout, someone already came out of the bamboo building.

    那是一名俊俏的白发少年，笑容温煦，气质脱俗，让人一见便忍不住心生好感。少年走到近前，提起茶壶，为两人斟上两杯热茶，手指修长，仿若玉石，甚是赏心悦目。

It was a handsome, white-haired young man with a warm smile and a pure temperament that made people have a favourable impression at first sight. The young man approached, lifted the teapot, and poured two cups of hot tea for the two of them. His fingers were slender and long looking like jade and very pleasing to the eye.

    “两位远道而来的客人，请用茶。”对于半个多月才迎来的第一波客人，尚可表示十分欢迎。

“Two guests that came from afar, please have some tea.” Shang Ke greatly welcomed the first wave of guests who had come after more than half a month.

    两人的注意力很快被桌上的茶水吸引，玉白色的茶杯中，茶叶一根根悬浮在水中，茶水澄澈，雾气缭绕，清香扑鼻。

Their attention was quickly drawn to the tea on the table. In the jade-white teacups, tea leaves were suspended in the water. The tea was clear, the mist lingering, and the fragrance entered their nose.

    华塍端起茶杯，先闻了闻茶香，而后轻饮一口，顿时感觉气息舒展，仿佛有一道暖流充斥肚腹。

Hua Cheng lifted the cup and smelled the tea fragrance first before taking a sip. He immediately felt himself relaxed, as if a warm current had filled his belly.

    “好茶。”华塍赞了一句，末了又强调一次，“真是好茶！”

“Good tea.” Hua Cheng praised. Once he finished praising, he emphasized again, “It’s a really good tea!”

    丁七余品尝之后，同样露出赞许之色。不过片刻，他眼中闪过一丝惊讶，不知是否是错觉，体内原本凝滞的灵气，隐隐出现了聚拢之势，身上的疲乏也消减了许多。

After tasting it, Ding Qiyu also expressed his approval. But after a few moments, a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes. He didn’t know if it was just an illusion, but the originally stagnant spiritual energy in his body faintly appeared to be gaining momentum, and his fatigue was also greatly reduced.

    他看了看手上的清茶，又看了看身边的少年，脸上露出若有所思的表情。

He looked at the tea in his hand and then at the young man beside him, a thoughtful expression on his face.

    华塍却是大大咧咧，丝毫不以为意，问道：“小郎君，你这茶寮可有什么吃食？”

Hua Cheng, however, was carefree and didn’t seem to care about it. He asked, “Gentleman, what can we eat in this teahouse?”

    “今日提供的菜肴都写在了木牌上。”尚可朝另一侧摆了摆手。

“The dishes served today are written on the wooden sign.” Shang Ke waved his hand to the other side.

    两人转头望去，只见不远处立着一根木柱，柱子上挂着两串木牌，左边单独一块，写着“雾影茶”三个字，右边挂着五块，分别写着“竹筒饭”、“松茸汤”、“竹笋烧”、“野蔬蛋”、“杨梅酿”，每种菜肴标价都是一两。

The two turned around and saw a wooden pillar standing not far away, on which hung two strings of wooden signs. The lone piece on the left side had the words “Misty Tea” written on it, and the five hanging on the right side had the words “Bamboo Tube Rice”, “Matsutake Soup”, “Roasted Bamboo Shoots”, “Egg with Wild Vegetables”, and “Bayberry wine” written on it, each dish priced at one tael.

    “一两？会不会太贵了？”华塍暗暗咋舌。

“One tael? Isn’t it too expensive?” Huacheng was inwardly speechless.

    “物超所值。”尚可笑眯眯地回道。

“It’s worth the price.” Shang Ke replied with a smile.

    “你还差这点银子吗？”丁七余斜了他一眼，随即对尚可说，“全部给我们上一份。”

“Are you short of this amount of silver?” Ding Qiyu gave him a sidelong glance, then said to Shang Ke, “Give us one of each of them.”

    “好的，请稍等。”尚可愉快地去了。

“Okay, please wait a moment.” Shang Ke went happily.

    他的动作很快，不过片刻便将菜肴上齐。

He acted quickly and all the dishes were served in just a few moments.

    华塍和丁七余开始享用他们的美食。最初华塍还会时不时赞上两句，但吃到一半时，他的话逐渐变少，最后和丁七余一样，兀自安静地品尝。

Hua Cheng and Ding Qiyu began to enjoy their food. At first, Hua Cheng would still say a few words of praise from time to time, but halfway through the meal, his words became fewer and fewer, and finally, like Ding Qiayu, he tasted quietly.

    饭后，华塍似乎打算将尚可叫过来，却被丁七余阻止了，而后留下银两，拉着他离开了这间茶寮。

After the meal, Hua Cheng seemed to be planning to call Shang Ke over, but was stopped by Ding Qiyu, who left behind the silver taels and dragged him out of the teahouse.

    “感觉如何？”走出一段距离后，华塍忍不住问道。

“How do you feel?” After walking some distance away, Hua Cheng couldn’t help but ask.

    “灵力恢复了三成。”丁七余眼中精光闪闪。

“Spiritual energy has recovered by thirty percent.” Ding Qiyu’s eyes were sparkling.

    “哈哈，没想到深山老林里还藏着这样一间茶寮，实在是不虚此行。”华塍兴奋道，“刚才你为何阻止我？难得遇上隐士高人，何不好好结交一番？”

“Haha, I didn’t expect that there was such a teahouse hidden in the deep forest, it has been a worthwhile trip.” Hua Cheng excitedly said, “Why did you stop me just now? It’s rare to meet a great hermit, so why not make friends with him?”

    “他既然将茶寮开在山中，自是不希望被外人打扰，我们日后多光顾几次，一来一往总会相熟，不急于一时。”

“Since he opened his teahouse in the mountains, he naturally didn’t want to be disturbed by outsiders. We can patronize it a few more times in the future, and we’ll naturally get acquainted once we get to know each other a few more times, there’s no need to rush.”

    华塍闻言，点头认同：“还是你想得周道。”

Hua Cheng nodded in agreement: “You’re still more thoughtful.”

    一杯清茶，一顿山珍，成功收获两名食客。

A cup of tea and a mountain meal successfully gained him two patrons.

    尚可将柱子上的木牌取下来，换上新的菜名。

Shang Ke took down the wooden sign on the pillar and replaced it with new dish names.

    “今天全是素菜，明天加一道荤菜好了。”尚可思索片刻，在木牌上写上“小鸡炖蘑菇”，然后将它挂在柱子上。

“Today it was all vegetarian. Let’s add a meat dish tomorrow. Shang Ke pondered for a moment and wrote “Chicken and Mushroom Stew” on the wooden sign, and hung it on the pillar.

    一个错眼，却见刚刚挂上去的木牌不见了。尚可转头，发现木牌被身旁的阎戮抓在了手上。他以为这家伙只是好奇，也没在意，另外又写了一块新的挂上去。

In a blink of an eye however, the wooden sign he had just hung up was now gone. Shang Ke turned around and found that Yan Lu, who was beside him, had grabbed the wooden sign. Shang Ke thought that he was just curious, so he didn’t care. He wrote a new one to hang up.

    结果下一瞬间又被阎戮给摘走了。

In the next instant, Yan Lu took it off again.

    “怎么了？”尚可疑惑地看向他。

“What’s wrong?” Shang Ke looked at him in confusion.

    阎戮举起手上的木牌，生气地说：“蘑菇是我的！不卖！”

Yan Lu raised the wooden sign in his hand and said angrily, “Mushroom[1] is mine! Not for sale!”

    尚可：“那就……小鸡炖山菇？”

Shang Ke: “How about… Chicken and Mountain Shroom Stew?”

    阎戮满意了，只要不是蘑菇就好。

Yan Lu is satisfied as long as it wasn’t mushroom.

    尚可：呵呵。

Shang Ke: Haha.

    晚上，尚可拉着阎戮在自制浴池中泡澡，顺便研究药膳和药浴配方。虽然以他目前的实力，无法提升阎戮的修为，但是依靠药物调理他受创的灵体应该还是没问题的。

In the evening, Shang Ke dragged Yan Lu to take a bath in their homemade bath and studied the recipe for medicinal meals and baths along the way. Although he can’t improve Yan Lu’s cultivation with his current strength, he should still have no problem relying on medicine to condition Yan Lu’s damaged spiritual body.

    正在思索间，阎戮突然凑过来，整个人贴到他的背上，下巴枕在他肩头。

Just when he was pondering, Yan Lu suddenly leaned over and stuck his whole body to his back, resting his chin on Shang Ke’s shoulder.

    火热的气息将尚可包裹，熏得他有些晕眩。

His hot breath enveloped Shang Ke, making him a little dizzy.

    “别闹，我正忙着呢。”尚可用手肘推了推身后的男人。

“Stop messing around, I’m busy.” Shang Ke used his elbow to push the man behind him.

    阎戮岿然不动，兀自在他脖颈处嗅来嗅去，身体逐渐出现了某种本能反应。

Yan Lu held firm and continued sniffing around his neck. A certain instinctive reaction gradually appeared in his body.

    尚可回头看了他一眼，遗憾道：“抱歉，现在不行，等我的实力提升后，我们再来双修。”

Shang Ke looked back at him and said regretfully, “Sorry but I can’t do that now. We’ll do the dual cultivation after my strength increases.”

    “双修？”虽然不太明白，但貌似是一件好事，阎戮觉得自己一定会喜欢，所以，“我们来双修吧。”

“Dual cultivation?” Yan Lu didn’t quite understand, but it seems like a good thing. Yan Lu felt that he’ll definitely like it, so he said, “Let’s dual cultivate.”

    “说了不行。”尚可努力抗拒诱惑。

“I already said that we can’t.” Shang Ke tried to resist the temptation.

    “为什么？”阎戮一副“求解惑”的懵懂表情。

“Why not?” Yan Lu had a look of confusion.

    他应该怎么和一个智商只有五岁的男人解释什么叫双修呢？

How should he explain the meaning of dual cultivation to a man whose intelligence was only that of a five years old?

    最后，尚可用上了古今中外、四海皆宜的万能理由，语重心长地说：“等你长大以后就知道了。”

In the end, Shang Ke used the all-purpose reason, which is applicable to all time periods and places, and said in a profound manner, “You will know when you grow up.”

    阎戮：“……”莫名觉得自己的智商受到了一万点嘲讽……

Yan Lu: “…” He inexplicably felt that his intelligence has been greatly mocked… 

    “泡得差不多了，自己上去把水擦干，准备睡觉吧。”尚可催促道。

“I think you have soaked long enough, go up and dry yourself and get ready to sleep,” Shang Ke urged.

    阎戮依依不舍地放开他，慢吞吞地离开浴池，拿起木架上的毛巾，开始擦拭身上的水渍。不经意回眼，赫然发现刚才还在浴池中的尚可不见了！

Yan Lu reluctantly let go of him, slowly left the bath, picked up the towel on the wooden stand and began to wipe the water stains on his body. He inadvertently looked back and noticed that Shang Ke who was just in the bath was suddenly gone!

    “小蘑菇！”阎戮瞪大眼睛紧盯着水池，只见一棵白色蘑菇在雾气氤氲的池水中沉沉浮浮，翻滚着游到池边，然后蹭着池壁，一点点挪到岸上，接着蹦蹦跳跳蹿到床头柜上的花盆，把自己四平八稳地种在泥土中。

“Little Mushroom!” Yan Lu stared at the pool with his eyes wide open, only to see a white mushroom floating in the dense foggy water. It rolled and swam to the edge of the pool, then inch up the wall, moving little by little out of the water. Then, it jumped towards the flower pot on the bedside table, planting itself steadily in the soil.

    阎戮噔噔噔走过去，站在床头柜前盯着他看。

Yan Lu thumped over to him and stood in front of the bedside table, staring at him.

    尚可仰起蘑菇头，立刻看到了一根硕大的玩意竖在上方，仿若擎天柱一般。尚可见惯了某人的果体，但第一次以这种身形、这种角度、这种绝对压迫的姿势仰视它。

Shang Ke raised his mushroom head up and immediately saw a huge thing standing upright like a heavenly pillar. Shang Ke was already used to seeing a certain someone’s naked body. However, it was the first time he looked at it in his current form, at this angle and in this absolutely oppressive position.

    “……要么给我穿上衣服，要么躺到床上去。”尚可语气不善地提醒他。

“…Either you put some clothes on for me[2], or get on the bed.” Shang Ke reminded him with an unkind tone.

    “哦。”阎戮左右看了看，然后找来一块手帕，小心翼翼地将小蘑菇的身体裹住。

“Oh.” Yan Lu looked around, then found a handkerchief and carefully wrapped it around the little mushroom’s body.

    尚可呆了两秒，随即反应过来，无语道：“我是让你穿上衣服，不是让你给我穿上衣服！”

Shang Ke remained stunned for two seconds before he reacted and said speechlessly, “I’m asking you to put on your clothes, not asking you to help me put on clothes!”

    阎戮忒委屈：刚才明明说的是“给我穿上衣服”啊……

Yan Lu felt very wronged: Just now, he clearly said “put some clothes on for me”… 

    尚可将身上的手帕抖下来，命令道：“衣服也别穿了，上床，盖好被子，睡觉！”

Shang Ke shook off the handkerchief on him and ordered, “Forget the clothes. Get on the bed, cover yourself up with the blanket and go to sleep!”

    阎戮听话地躺上床，盖上被子。

Yan Lu obediently lay down on the bed and covered himself up with the blanket.

    烛火熄灭，房间陷入黑暗，只有窗外的星辉悄然洒落。

The candle flame was extinguished and the room was plunged into darkness, with only the radiance of the stars outside the window shining in.

    “晚安，阎戮。”

“Good night, Yan Lu.”

    “晚安，小蘑菇。”

“Good night, Little Mushroom.”

    山中无日月，尚可和阎戮的小日子过得十分舒心。茶寮在接待过第一批客人后，每隔两三天都会有新的客人上门。人数虽然不多，却也为清幽的茶寮增添了不少人气。

One can’t really tell the date when living in the mountains.Shang Ke and Yan Lu’s ordinary days were very comfortable. After receiving their first customers, the tea house would receive new customers every two or three days. Although the number of customers weren’t many, they added life to the peaceful and quiet teahouse.

    随着客人增多，尚可的安闲茶寮逐渐成为附近一些修真者们闲时聊天品茗的最佳场所。他泡制的清茶、烹饪的美食，虽然无法提升实力，却可以安定心神，补充灵力，治疗内伤，甚至能在一定程度上驱逐心魔，再加上色香味美，毫无意外地获得了众多修真者们的喜爱。

As the number of customers increased, Shang Ke’s Resting Teahouse gradually became the best place for some nearby cultivators to chat and drink tea in their spare time. Although the tea he brewed and the food he cooked couldn’t improve their strength, they could calm their minds, replenish their spiritual energy, heal their internal injuries, and even expel their inner demons to a certain extent. To add on, the food tastes just as good as it looks. It’s no surprise that it was liked by many cultivators.

    不过尚可开茶寮的目的并不是为了服务大众，只是单纯地调剂生活。而且上等材料难得，不可能无限供应，所以尚可在茶寮外布置了一个阵法，每个月开启三次到五次不等，只有阵法开启时，茶寮才会对外营业。

However, the purpose of Shang Ke opening the teahouse was not to serve the public, but simply to spice up life. Moreover, quality ingredients are hard to get. He couldn’t possibly have an unlimited supply of it. Therefore, Shang Ke arranged a formation outside the teahouse, allowing it to open for about three to five times a month, and the teahouse would only be opened for business when the formation was opened.

    “小蘑菇！”阎戮从林子里钻出来，怒冲冲地喊道，“我抓到一个贼！”

“Little Mushroom!” Yan Lu came out of the forest and shouted angrily, “I have caught a thief!”

    你抓到一个贼？尚可惊奇地转头望去，想瞻仰一下这位惨遭魔手的“贼”是何方神圣。结果发现阎戮提回来的并不是人，而是一只……兔子？

You’ve caught a thief? Shang Ke turned his head in astonishment wanting to see who was the mysterious “thief” that fell to this devil’s hand. It turned out that what Yan Lu brought back was not a person, but a… rabbit?

    兔子龇牙咧嘴，全身兔毛竖起，表情无比凶悍。

The rabbit grimaced in pain with all its fur standing and its expression incomparably fierce.

    尚可看着有些眼熟，貌似就是他刚刚化形时遇到的那只。

Shang Ke felt that it looked familiar. It looks like the one he had met when he first transformed.

    “它居然在我的蘑菇园里偷蘑菇！”阎戮义愤填膺地控诉它的罪行。

“It was actually stealing mushrooms from my mushroom garden!” Yan Lu was indignantly accusing it of its crime.

    “嗯，确实胆大包天。说吧，”尚可好整以暇地问，“你是打算红烧，还是清蒸？”

“Yes, it’s bold indeed. Tell me.” Shang Ke asked calmly, “Do you intend to braise it or steam it?”

    “红烧！”阎戮回答得斩钉截铁，毫不犹豫。

“Braise!” Yan Lu answered without any hesitation.

    兔子不挣扎了，泱泱地垂下四肢，如尸体一般吊在阎戮手上。

The rabbit didn’t struggle anymore, and drooped its limbs down like a corpse in Yan Lu’s hands.

    尚可暗想这家伙似乎有些灵智，于是转口道：“如果它愿意改过自新，可以暂时饶它一命。”

Shang Ke inwardly thought that this fellow seemed to be pretty intelligent. Hence, he changed his words and said, “If it is willing to change its ways, you can spare its life temporarily.”

    兔子立马精神了，双眼闪亮，拍胸蹬足。

The rabbit immediately became energetic. Its eyes shone brightly and it kicked its feet out.

    阎戮不情不愿地放开它。

Yan Lu let go of it reluctantly.

    兔子逃出魔爪，立刻跳到尚可腿边讨好地蹭来蹭去。

The rabbit escaped from the devil’s clutch and immediately jumped to Shang Ke’s leg and rubbed against him flatteringly.

    阎戮不爽地将它踢开，警告道：“这棵蘑菇和那堆蘑菇，你都不许碰！”

Yan Lu kicked it away in displeasure and warned, “You’re not allowed to touch this mushroom nor that pile of mushrooms!”

    兔子朝他龇了龇牙，然后转身蹿进花丛中，眨眼间就不见了。

The rabbit bared its teeth at him, then turned and leaped into the flowers, and was gone in the blink of an eye.

    当晚，院子角落便多了一个兔子洞，它似乎决定在这里定居了，也不知道是为了尚可这棵人形蘑菇，还是为了阎戮种在园子里的那堆色彩斑斓的蘑菇……

That night, there was an additional rabbit hole in the corner of the courtyard. The rabbit seemed to have decided to settle here, either for Shang Ke the human-shaped mushroom or for the colorful pile of mushrooms Yan Lu had planted in the garden… 

Footnote:

[1] 蘑菇 (Mushroom) – This is the general name for all mushrooms around, and also the word Yan Lu got triggered by. As long as the specific mushroom type wasn’t called as just ‘蘑菇 (Mushroom)’, Yan Lu was fine. Which explains why he wasn’t triggered by 松茸(Matsutake) and the 山菇(mountain mushroom). But since the direct translation for 山菇 has got ‘mushroom’ in it, I’m going with shroom to get the feeling across… 

[2] This sentence has double meaning which kind of got lost in the translation. Shang Ke had asked Yan Lu to put on his clothes and this is how people usually interpret the sentence. But Yan Lu’s intelligence is currently of a five year old, he thought Shang Ke asked him to help him (SK) put on his (SK) clothes.

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