How To Survive as a Villain

Chapter 183: Descending To The Depths Of The Yellow Springs.

It’s said that after death, people can see a kind of ferry transport, Ox-Head and Horse-Face¹; and Meng Po² in the Yellow Springs.

But as soon as Xiao YuAn opened his eyes, the only thing he was able to see was a white and foggy chaos. As he stood in place, he looked around in a daze.

Suddenly, someone ran past him in a hurry. That person was Xie Chungui.

Xie Chungui kept shouting ‘wait for me, wait for me’ over and over. Then, a figure appeared in front of him.

That man slowly turned around. He had dignified facial features, but the smile on his face was quite silly. He held Xie Chungui, who had stumbled while running, and said: “I’m waiting, don’t worry. I’ve been waiting all this time.”

Xie Chungui’s eyes slowly turned red. There was a trace of grievance on the face of General Xie, who was known for being intrepid on the battlefield. As he choked slightly, he said: “General Li, I…. I failed to protect the Northern Kingdom…. I couldn’t save my Xiongdi….”

Li Wuding stretched out his hand to rub his hair: ”You, ah, how old are you? You’re always trying to act like an adult, always carrying all the burdens on your shoulders. Why didn’t you come back to me as an 80 years old man? What was the hurry? I’ve been waiting for you all this time, haven’t I? Come on, stop crying. Our Xiongdi are waiting ahead, we can’t let them see you like this. It’s enough for me to know that you look like this.”

Xie Chungui wiped away his tears, and nodded heavily: “Yes.”

Li Wuding laughed and rubbed his hair until it became a mess, then said a few words to him. He then turned around to look at Xiao YuAn.

Xiao YuAn looked at him, and whispered: “I’m sorry….”

Li Wuding shook his head and replied with a smile: “Your Majesty, sometimes it’s more painful to keep living. Do you think that it would be better to live with the conscience of treason, or to die for your Country? Moreover, when you removed the treacherous Ministers for the sake of the common people, we all saw it with our own eyes. Protecting the Monarch and the Country was the path chosen by the Xiongdi themselves. So, what are you blaming yourself for?”

After Li Wuding finished speaking, he clasped his fists and gave a military salute to Xiao YuAn. Then, he turned around and left side by side with Xie Chungui. The two of them gradually disappeared into the white fog in the distance.

Xiao YuAn couldn’t help but chase after them for a few steps, when suddenly, he heard someone calling him: “Your Majesty.”

That voice was so familiar, that Xiao YuAn’s body trembled as he turned around abruptly.

She was exactly the same as the first time he saw her, with her hair styled in a bun and a green pigmented robe. Her voice was as gentle as he remembered, and with a smile on her face, she saluted Xiao YuAn: “Your Majesty.”

Xiao YuAn’s eyes widened in surprise: “Hong Xiu….”

“Your Majesty, it’s me. What can I do for you?” Hong Xiu asked with a smile on her face.

Xiao YuAn looked at her smile, and said with a hoarse voice: “I…. I’m not the Emperor of the Northern Kingdom. I…. I’m not your Emperor….”

‘I’m not the Monarch of the Northern Kingdom. I wonder if Hong Xiu, who gave her life for the Emperor in the past, has ever regretted it?’

Hong Xiu was puzzled. She thought for a moment, and then asked: “When I was sick, the one who took care of me and made me laugh, was it you?”

Xiao YuAn was stunned for a long time before he replied: “It was me….”

“The one who allowed me to go out of the Imperial Palace to visit my sister, and also personally wrote an Imperial edict so that I could take the Imperial Physician with me without any problems. Was it you?”

“It was me…”

“The one who gifted me a carefully selected red hairpin, was it you?”

Xiao YuAn nodded slowly: “It was also me….”

Hong Xiu smiled, turned to look at Xiao YuAn, and firmly called: “Your Majesty.”

Xiao YuAn suddenly burst into tears like a spring.

Hong Xiu stepped forward and gently wiped away Xiao YuAn’s tears: “What happened, Your Majesty? Is something wrong?”

Xiao YuAn burst into tears and his voice choked with sobs. Unable to say a single word, he only shook his head incessantly.

Hong Xiu smiled and said with a soft tone of voice: “Your Majesty, I hope that you can have a good life. Take good care of yourself, and don’t take your own life lightly, alright?”

Xiao YuAn sobbed and nodded his head. Hong Xiu held his shoulders and pushed him in the opposite direction: “Your Majesty, someone is still waiting for you. Go quickly.”

After the sudden push, Xiao YuAn opened his eyes.

Man, the way I cried while translating this chapter 😭😭😭😭 the part of XCG and LWD destroyed me, and then Hong Xiu appeared… I was ugly sobbing 😭😭😭

Footnotes

1. 牛頭馬面 niú tóu mǎ miàn; They are two terrifying guards of the Underworld in Chinese Mythology. These two deities are responsible for guarding the Naihe Bridge (奈河桥 nài hé qiáo; the entrance and exit to the Underworld in Taoism and Chinese Myths). Ghosts who had commited crimes in life, will be pushed off the bridge to be devoured by the poisonous snakes and monsters underneath.
2. 孟婆 mèng pó; A figure from ancient mythology who is based at the Naihe Bridge. She’s responsible for providing the Meng Po soup to all spirits who are on their way to reincarnation, in order to erase their memories of their past lives, so that they can reincarnate with a peace of mind.