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Chapter 69: No, I want you.
When Shen Qiao and Yan Wushi returned to the royal capital of Tuyuhun, it was already winter. There were a lot fewer merchants who stopped by on their way to the western countries. The entire city looked somewhat lonely and desolate, completely different from when they first left.
“But this is only temporary,” said the peddler selling sugar figurines on the street. “It’s quite difficult to travel west during winter, so many caravans set off in autumn and come back next spring. There will be more people once winter is over!”
He was a member of the Han ethnic group. More than ten years ago, he met a Tuyuhun girl while passing by with a group of travelling merchants. Ever since then, he settled down and established his family here.
Shen Qiao seemed to have a kind of natural attraction or affinity that would make anyone around him extremely comfortable as if they were bathing in a spring breeze. Yan Wushi had stood in front of the stall for quite a while just now, but the peddler didn’t speak to him. However, when Shen Qiao came up and asked a few questions, the peddler immediately started chatting casually with him as if they were old friends.
“There were actually quite a lot of Han people in the city. Even the royal and noble Tuyuhun families can speak the Han language and wear Han-style clothes. It’s just that this place is too far to the west after all, and most people won’t leave their hometowns easily.”
Shen Qiao smiled, “That’s true. Your wife must be a very wise and beautiful lady to be able to make you stay. Also, I can tell from the way you talk that you must be a scholar who reads a lot. But because of her, you are willing to stay in this place that is thousands of miles away. The deep love between you and your wife really makes others jealous!”
After hearing Shen Qiao’s praise, the peddler scratched his head. Looking both proud and a little embarrassed, he said, “I am very flattered. I only went to a few years of private school when I was young and am not worthy of being called a scholar! Where did you come back from? You look quite travel-worn. Did you come back here with a travelling caravan to spend the winter?”
Shen Qiao said, “We have been travelling west for a while. Now seeing that the weather is getting colder with each passing day, we dared not continue, so we came back. We heard that there was a Coiling Dragon Fair in the capital city a few days ago. It must have ended by now, I assume?”
The pedder replied, “It ended a long time ago, and people are already gone. However, it was quite crowded this year. So many martial artists came, but since I mainly sell sugar figurines, my business did not do much better. On the contrary, after those people arrived, many people drew their swords against each other on the street during those days. I was so scared that I went back and hid in my home for a few days!”
Shen Qiao asked, “Are you saying that there are no more pugilists in the city now?”
The peddler said, “Yep. They all left not long after the fair ended. Do you see those inns? All of them were once fully booked. But now, they can’t get enough customers even with discounts! Anyways, I heard that Zhou destroyed the country of Qi. Who knows if we will have even fewer travelling merchants from the east next year because of it!”
Shen Qiao was originally worried that if the news of Yan Wushi’s “death” spread out, Yu WenYong’s life would be in danger. However, he did not expect that a huge incident like this would happen within the few months since they left Chang’an. He couldn’t help but glance at Yan Wushi beside him.
The latter was wearing a veil, so others couldn’t see his expression clearly.
Shen Qiao asked, “Country Qi was destroyed? I didn’t expect it to be this fast. Was there not any resistance?”
The pedder sighed, “Who knows. Perhaps the Zhou army was too strong. Now that I think about it, my hometown is in Qi. Even though I have been living in this faraway place in Tuyuhun, I sadly still hear news of the muddle-headed country leader for the past many years. But I never thought that a large country like Qi would disappear just like that!”
Shen Qiao replied, “The unification of the Northern countries is still a good thing to the people. Once everything quiets down, there will only be more caravans travelling back and forth between the Western Regions, not less.”
The peddler broke into another smile, “That’s true. I’ll take your words then. I’m still waiting for the Central Plains to become truly peaceful one day, so I can take my wife and my son back to see my hometown!”
His conversation with Shen Qiao lasted for quite a while. He wished to continue, but upon seeing Yan Wushi stand silently beside Shen Qiao, seemingly taking an interest in the sugar figurines, he suddenly remembered that he still had a business to run. He laughed hurriedly, “This lady must be your wife. Is she also from Tuyuhun?”
Shen Qiao said, “She is my little sister.”
Yan Wushi interrupted, “Wife.”
Shen Qiao: “…”
The peddler: “…”
Shen Qiao reckoned that Yan Wushi probably said it intentionally because he was unhappy about having to wear women’s clothing, but he couldn’t say anything in front of an outsider, so he only coughed and quickly explained, “She is my cousin. She’s a little stubborn, so please do not take it as an offense.”
The peddler wouldn’t think much if Shen Qiao hadn’t tried to explain. But as soon as he did, the other person immediately started picturing two cousins eloping to a land thousands of miles away because their family could not accept their love. He quickly nodded, “I understand! I understand!”
Shen Qiao, however, was at a complete loss and thought to himself: What do you mean you understand? I don’t even understand it myself.
On the other side, Yan Wushi pointed a finger to the sugar figurines and said, “I want this.”
His voice was deep and low and didn’t sound like a woman’s voice at all, but the peddler did not question it. After all, due to the sand and wind outside the Great Wall, some Tuyuhun girls also sounded hoarse.
After hearing Yan Wushi’s words, the peddler’s spirit was immediately uplifted. “What shape would you like? I can make just about anything!”
Yan Wushi said, “Horse, cattle, sheep…”
Shen Qiao found it both funny and awkward, “One should be enough. What are you going to do with so many of them?”
Yan Wushi said, “I’ll have just one then.”
The peddler laughed, “Alright! Would you like a horse, a cattle, or a sheep?”
Yan Wushi pointed to Shen Qiao: “I want him.”
The peddler stared blankly at him. “What?”
Yan Wushi said, “Make him.”
Even though Shen Qiao was never involved in a romantic relationship, after the misunderstandings from earlier and seeing the mild, ambiguous glance from the peddler, it was impossible for him to not understand what the other person must have mistaken.
He said to the peddler, “She’s just joking. How about making a sheep then?”
Yan Wushi objected, “No, I want you.”
He then asked the peddler, “Is it okay?”
The peddler, as if he had sensed the burning glaze through the veil, hurriedly said, “Yes, of course!”
Shen Qiao held his forehead in desperation.
The peddler’s skill was definitely not bad. In less than a minute, a realistic-looking sugar figurine had already appeared in his hand.
All in all, figurine was made of sugar syrup. It was impossible to show clear facial features, but the figurine man’s pose of walking forward while carrying a cloth bag on his back definitely resembled some of Shen Qiao’s grace.
Shen Qiao laughed, “Difference in profession really makes one feel worlds apart. Looking at this handcraft of yours, I’m sure this level of skill can only be obtained with years of practice!”
The praise made the peddler quite happy, and he let out a laugh: “You flatter me!”
Yan Wushi took the sugar figurine and brought it behind the veil, snapped off its head with his teeth, and started crunching it.
Shen Qiao: “…”
To avoid attracting too much curiosity and attention from the peddler, Shen Qiao quickly paid the money and pulled Yan Wushi away.
Zhou’s successful elimination of Qi meant that the North would soon be unified. Chen and Tujue undoubtedly would not want to sit and watch Zhou grow stronger. It was certain that they would think up every possible way to lay their hands on Zhou, for the crown prince of Zhou, Yuwen Yun, currently showed no traits of a wise ruler. Therefore, as soon as Yuwen Yong was dead, Zhou would be left without a leader and be scattered like a box of sand.
Yan Wushi must appear in Chang’an as soon as possible. He must show up next to Yuwen Yong and let everyone see that he was still alive.
By proving that he had survived safely and soundly under the attack of the top five martial experts, Yan Wushi’s reputation and status would surely rise to an even higher level. Whether this kind of fame was a good thing or not, everyone would hesitate in taking action against Yuwen Yong for fear of Yan Wushi.
However, the problem was that even if Yan Wushi did not die, he was severely injured and the flaw in his Demonic Core had not been cured yet. Additionally, not only had his temperament changed drastically, but he had also split into multiple personalities, some of which even spoke ill of himself. They might be able to trick ordinary people, but it would be very hard to get past the smart ones, especially geniuses like Dou Yanshan and Duan Wenyang —— they could easily see through it.
While Shen Qiao was mulling over the situation, Yan Wushi had already finished gnawing the waist portion of the sugar figurine and started moving towards its thighs.
Seeing the way he looked right now, who could believe that this person was Yan Wushi? If he acted like this in front of Duan Wenyang and others, he would probably be beaten up so badly without even ashes left.
Shen Qiao couldn’t help but heave a long sigh. He dragged Yan Wushi into an eatery. After they sat down, he asked, “You heard what the person just said. Do you have any thoughts?”
Yan Wushi lifted up the veil and shoved the rest of the figurine into his mouth. He stared at Shen Qiao expressionlessly, his cheeks moving up and down as he crunched on the candy.
Even Shen Qiao who was extremely good-mannered could not help but feel the corner of his mouth twitching slightly upon seeing this, “Even though you are Xie Ling right now, you should be able to understand what I said, right?”
Yan Wushi replied with an affirmative sound.
Shen Qiao asked, “What’s your plan then? Should I take you directly to your disciples in Chang’an?”
Yan Wushi said, “No.”
He seemed unwilling to talk and even frowned slightly. After quite a while, he finally said, “Send them. A message.”
Shen Qiao nodded, “That works too. We can wait for Bian Yanmei to receive your message and come meet you first, then you two can discuss the next best thing to do. The Cleansing Moon Sect has quite a big influence in Qi. Once we get to Qi territory, we should be able to find the sect members, right? How should I contact them?”
Yan Wushi said, “I don’t remember.”
He meant “Xie Ling” didn’t remember.
Shen Qiao felt the impulse to sigh again, “Nevermind. This can wait till we get back to Northern Zhou.”
While they were talking, the waiter had already brought the food over. The place was much nicer than the town they stayed at previously, and they could order a lot more than just lamb soup and oil pancakes. In fact, they could even find Manchurian wild rice on the plate, which was very rare during the winter.
The eatery was located at the center of the market. They sat next to the window on the second floor and could see many people doing small businesses down below —— vendors hawking their wares and customers bargaining for better prices. Right below them was a man dancing with a giant brush made of weasel bristle in his hand. As he flipped and jumped, the brush would leave an elegant and agile water trace on the ground. Looking closely at it, he was actually copying the Preface to the Poems Collected from the Orchid Pavilion, the famous calligraphy work of Wang Xizhi from the East Jin Dynasty.
The show was unique and amusing and soon attracted many people to gather around him. Not all these locals were literate enough to understand what he was writing, but the performer’s moves were so light and graceful that people cheered with every stroke.
Seeing that Yan Wushi was watching attentively, Shen Qiao also threw a glance. However, when he saw the writing that the brush left as it moved across the floor, it plucked a string in his heart, and he suddenly felt enlightened by it.
The man’s performance couldn’t even be considered as martial arts. They were just some rough street fighting techniques. But the man was smart. He combined them with Western Regions style dances, so he looked like he was dancing as well as juggling while doing calligraphy in between the gaps. In the other people’s eyes, the performance was rather fresh and amusing. Even if the rich ones gave only a few copper coins, the money would be enough to support the performer’s livelihood.
But the man didn’t skimp out on his work just because the others were only expecting some light entertainment. Even though the Preface to the Poems Collected from the Orchid Pavilion written on rough ground with a giant brush wasn’t good —— if it was in the Central Plains, countless experts would immediately express their disdain. The man wrote each stroke with complete focus as if he was too absorbed with his own dance that he had already forgotten about his own existence. He stared fixedly at the ground, fully focusing on the strength applied to each stroke and the structure of the characters, refusing to show any carelessness.
The Way of martial arts was rather profound. It required talent, diligence, and most importantly, it required the ability to comprehend. One could very likely train hard for many days or even many years without seeing any progress. However, if they could find that occasional light of truth, they would suddenly comprehend everything and immediately enter a whole new realm.
Now, as Shen Qiao watched the performer’s movements, a picture naturally appeared in his head.
In that picture, the performer became Shen Qiao himself, and he was no longer holding a brush but a sword in his hand.
The highest good is like water.
Water gives life to all creatures yet it does not strive;
It flows in places men reject ——
It is like the Way.
The waves of the ocean,
The jaggedness of the mountains ——
All are like the great Way,
They match their subtle beauty and share their dust.
The sword danced in his hand, moved and flowed like clouds and water. The moves were very similar to those of the Azurewave Sword Arts of Mount Xuandu, but Shen Qiao knew they were different. It was a set of techniques he created himself.
The set of sword arts slowly took form inside his mind. Shen Qiao almost forgot everything around him, forgot the fact that he was still inside a tavern, and that Yan Wushi was still next to him. He immediately jumped to his feet and rushed towards the city outskirts so fast that it almost looked like he was gliding through without touching the ground.
He could not wait to test out this new set of sword techniques!
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Thank you for your hard work! Happy New Year <3
Thank you for the update!
Thank you for the new chapter! Much appreciated. Looking forward to a final development in SQ and YWS’s relationship. Very curious to find out what will trigger the change on SQ’s attitude towards YWS. I can’t wait!!
Thank you for the food :3
thank you ~
Oh, oh, oooh, enlightened again? And this time it worked? :3 I hope he paid for the food beforehand or that YWS has money with him lol
Thx for the ch ٩(｡˃ ᵕ ˂ )و
And a very belated HNY (ﾉ•ヮ•)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧
Omgggg you don’t know how happy I was when I saw the update!!!! I literally giggled and squealed like a little girl! Thank you so much for the chapter! Happy New Year!
Yan Wushi eating up the Shen Qiao figurine lol next time he’ll be eating up the real deal fosho
Omgggg you don’t know how happy I was when I saw the update!!!! I literally giggled and squealed like a little girl! Thank you so much for the chapter! Happy New Year!
Yan Wushi eating up the Shen Qiao figurine lol next time he’ll be eating up the real deal fosho
Thank you! OMG SQ hhaha so obsessed:)
Thank you for the translation!
Thank you so much! I’ve been waiting for the update. So happy.
He left his poor wife/cousin/sister behind, how bad~
LMAO yan wushi will probably throw a wifey fit because of it
Ohhh he got some progress!! That’s good. But Yan Wushi Will be mad for being left behind.
Thanks for the chapter!
He’s so cute, running in excitement after he created new sword arts
and Yan Wushi crushing sugar Shen Qiao’s head with poker face ahahahah
So thankful for an update! I heard about the Audio drama being out. I’m so jealous I don’t speak or read Chinese!
Someone posted the first three episodes of Season 1 of the audio drama with English subtitles in YouTube. Here is the link https://youtu.be/YcqJb2UFvJo. Hope you will enjoy it! The quality of audio drama is just amazing! The voice actors for Shen Qiao and Yan Wushi did a fantastic job! 🙂
Someone posted the first three episodes of the audio drama with English subtitles on YouTube. Here is the link to episode 1 —>https://youtu.be/YcqJb2UFvJo. The quality of the audio drama is amazing! The voice actors for Shen Qiao and Yan Wushi both did a fantastic job!
Uwu. I’m so glad to see new updates, brought me to tears, thank you so much. After finally rotting for waiting, I say I’m satisfied for their interaction here, so subtle flirt. Keep going!!
Thank you for this wonderful update! I’m obsessed with this story, and your marvelous translations. I’m so excited to see SQ and YWS’s relationship develop further.
I just saw that Tencent Animation on YouTube just posted the first episode of a computer generated animation of Thousand Autumns. Thought I’d mention it here. Thanks for the chapter!
Thank you for translating! I’m waiting for the next chapter 🙏🏻
I read this story in one go for three days and WOAW. Really thank you for translating it, I cannot wait to read the rest!
Man, I seriously love this story as it keeps me coming back to you. Jia you!
Hi! I got to know of QQ from the donghua and couldn’t help myself but to start reading the novel right away ‘cause YanShen’s dynamics are *so* good. I caught up with it and would like to express my biggest thanks to you for bringing us this novel with your beautiful translation. Thank you so, so much for your continuous effort and time. 🙏🏻🙏🏻✨ Hope you are well and happy! 😊
Thank you so much for your hard work in translating this wonderful story. 🙂
Thanks for the up date
Thanks so much for your efforts! I am looking forward to the next release.
Thank you! I love this novel so much 😍
Thank you for translating!!
Hey.
First of all, thank you so much for translating this amazing novel.
Secondly, do you translate the simplified chinese version or the traditional chinese version? I heard that the simplified is censored and the traditional isn’t, so I’d really like to know what version do you translate?
Tysm 😍😍😍
Hey, first of all thank you so much for translating this amazing novel,
Secondly, Ice read that the simplified chinese version of the novel is censored while the traditional chinese version of the novel is uncensored, so I’d really like to know what version you translate…
TYSM 😍😍
Your translation has been one of the most flawless tl i’be read. Due to the uprising popularity due to it’s donghua, many are so thankful, including me 🙂
finally we met Ah Qiao and Ah Ling againnn 🤣😍
xie xie for the updateee *bows🙏🙏🙏
I can’t stop being giddy with their little interactions hshssh thank you for your hard work! can’t wait for the next update
Can’t wait for the next chapter! Thank you for your amazing work at translating this novel <3
finally caught up, thank you so much for all the hard work put into the translations.. looking forward to what comes next
👏👍
Thank you so much for your amazing hard work at translating this novel!! I can’t wait to see what comes next… waiting for updates!!!
i’ve read through this novel within a few days until this latest update!! it’s so good i’m obsessed, thank you for your hard work translating this novel so amazingly♥️✨
Thank you for translating! Thank you for your trouble! Looking forward to the next chapter, yes i am! ❤❤
I watched the 3D animated Donghua on Youtube and started reading this novel. Thank your for the good translation! I’m looking forward for more! The story is getting more and more exciting. 😀
Thank you for the translation 🙂
I just finished binge reading all the available chapters and I’m completely in love with the characters and the story telling! The translations are done so well I hope that new chapters come soon!
Thanks for translating the story! I’m wondering though if ch70 is already up of not? It says ch70 but there is nothing there….
Thank you so much for your amazing job at translating.
Thanks for your hard work!!😊
Okay thanking for the translation… but I see it hasn’t been updated since January? Seriously? I know translators have their own life and so on, but if you publish just a single chapter in a month and then you don’t update for ages, how can readers go on? I’m sorry if I sound provoking, but I really love this novel and it’s already hard for me having to wait for a month, let alone knowing you didn’t update since January and who-knows-when will you update again. I’m crying T.T
I feel the same way! Like it’s about to be half a year already and not a single chapter? It’s worse because they’re the only ones who translate this novel, so there’s not alternative translator to go to as well T^T
Hi. I know how excited everyone is for the update but let me remind you that these are fan translations that are done in their free time. Everyone is frustrated but we are in no way whatsoever entitled to speak in that tone. The best way is to email directly or comment to motivate. We wouldn’t even know about Thousand Autumn if it weren’t for them fan translators. Anything can happen in real life, if they decide to drop or continue, we will hear from them. At the mean time, pls be patient. I’ve seen a few translators giving up because of this pressure.
On youtube look up bl by lin. It’s a robot reading a good translation. They’re up to chapter 103. And there’s other mxtx stories.
He is the wife’s sister’s cousin 🤥🤥🤥😂😂
YWS is being ditched for a change even tho its not the full YWS
Thank you so much for your time and hard work to bring the novel to us through your beautiful translation.
Hi,I just started reading this novel since yesterday and I am absolutely in love with it.The plot and eloquence blendend well together and form such intricate and exhilerating feeling,it made me imagine it more clearly.Adding to the fact that I have not read a plot like this before,It feels quite refreshing.All the more reason I got obsessed with this novel.However I noticed that it has been quite a while since you updated I’m honestly a bit disappointed though I understand that every person have their own pace in doing things.I only hope we will be graced with your next update in the near future.I hope the presence of my comment will give further encourage you in translating this Novel.
Ehem.Please excuse my lack of eloquence and grammar.English is not my primary language.
Hi,I just recently read this novel and I am absolutely in love with it.The plot and eloquence blendend well together and form such intricate and exhilerating feeling,it made me imagine it more clearly.Adding to the fact that I have not read a plot like this before,It feels quite refreshing.All the more reason I got obsessed with this novel.However I noticed that it has been quite a while since you updated I’m honestly a bit disappointed though I understand that every person have their own pace in doing things.I only hope we will be graced with your next update in the near future.I hope the presence of my comment will give further encourage you in translating this Novel.
Ehem.Please excuse my lack of eloquence and grammar.English is not my primary language.Also,Everything was just typed out of my unexpected impulse and boredom.English is not my primary language.
Hi. I am not sure if you are aware, but you can find the full translation. Check novelupdates page, there are links to the rest of the novel (including extras).
Is it as good as this though? I haven’t read much of ch70 so I can’t tell but the layout of the page is so weird and it kinda put me off
Please update,I have already fallen deep in the abbys of this novel and I can’t stop falling deeper.
Oh wow, Shen Qiao making his own techniques. That’s awesome!
Thanks so much for your translations! They are a joy to read.
oh Shen Qiao and Yan Wushi are so interesting! Thank you for the translation!
Thank you so much for this! I was trying so hard to find one so well translated. I was wondering though, if this has been dropped or whether it’s just a break so I’m not sure whether to finish it somewhere else
I don’t think the translator was planning on dropping it but it’s been a year so I suggest you move on to diff translations
I read all available chapters in every moment I could for about 3 days straight . Thank you for the beautiful translation! I’m literally dying to read what happens next but I also understand translating something like this is no easy task. I wish you a happy new year and happy holidays. Cheers!
Thank you for your translations!! 💗🙌
I’m kinda sad knowing this is the end.. I love the way this was written & idk if other fan translations can live up to this :/
This work is refreshing but I do have a hang up about the inexplicable plot/power up of Chen Gong.
The author at one point says here
‘The Way of martial arts was rather profound. It required talent, diligence, and most importantly, it required the ability to comprehend. One could very likely train hard for many days or even many years without seeing any progress. However, if they could find that occasional light of truth, they would suddenly comprehend everything and immediately enter a whole new realm.‘
And yet Chen Gong vis a vis earlier chapters did not at all show signs of comprehension. Even if you grant him perfect memory and the mysterious nature of the Vermillion Yang, it seems kind of a hamfisted way that the author is moving that character along.
Hi Heilong, wonder if you have chapter 70-77? thank you
Thank you for translating the story this far! Your translation has been very enjoyable. I hope you will feel like picking it back up at some point, and if you do, I will certainly come back and read it! Meanwhile, I must search for another translation of the following chapters… Many thanks and much appreciation, and my best wishes for you and your family!
Huh, I see there’s definitely changes in SQ’s personality. I guess change is a theme in this story, so it makes sense even though I liked his personality even before…
Oh I must thank the translator for this episodes so far! I see there is no update and it’s been more than a year, so I should move on too! The novel was great! Thank you also everyone for the comments in other chapters because some made me laugh and understand better the story!
Thank you sooooo much for all the hard work translating this. I truly appreciate it and enjoying reading every chapter. I hope you are keeping well! >3
SQ is just like a tired husband excited to escape from his wife’s tiring antics and yws will probably be like “do you love your job (swords) more than me?”