江湖路弯弯: Jianghu Road is Curved! Chapter 35

_{(translated by anniaxx)}

^{(edited by xia0xiao1mei)}

CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

Fairy From Heaven

Pang Wan has been a little bit bored these two days.

Gu Xi Ju has been really busy recently, busy for preparing Wu Lin’s Thirty-Sixth Representative Assembly, he used to have Bai Xiao Sheng helping him, but since that fellow is now lying on bed like a corpse every day, many miscellaneous things had fallen onto his shoulders.

Nan Yi has also been weird, ever since the day when he clutched her neck, he has not come finding her again, other than treating Bai Xiao Sheng with acupuncture at set time each day, he disappears in all other times. Even though he says that he is collecting medicine, Pang Wan feels he definitely cannot be trusted, this person has always been scheming and vicious, he is probably doing some bad things.

Her sixteenth birthday is in seven days, Pang Wan has planned for a long time and has decided to celebrate it with Gu Xi Ju, it would be the best if they can declare their love with one kiss or secretly promise to be together all their lives on that day, thus eliminating any possibilities of undesired outcomes.

She thinks up of an excuse, and excitedly runs to Gu Xi Ju’s courtyard, yet unexpectedly sees Maid B dressed in thin garment, rushing out from the door, her face vaguely reveals an expression of embarrassed anger.

——What?! Could it be that the scene of head mistress fighting guileful concubine is about the start? But I am not the head mistress yet, nor is that Maid B Gu Xi Ju’s concubine?^[1]

Pang Wan just feels a strong premonition, as her brain boils up, she leaps into the room.

Then she is immediately shocked.

In the enormous main hall, there fully stands more than ten beautiful girls, some in glamorous makeup and outfits, some are as elegant as fairies, every one is peerless beauty of national and heavenly quality.

Several adult men sit trapped in Ba Xian chairs^[2], appearing to be judging the girls, Gu Xi Ju sits on the highest master seat, face tensed and eyebrows frowning. Everyone seems to be struggling with some trouble, suddenly hearing a sound, and looks toward the door all at once.

“How come you came?” Gu Xi Ju is clearly surprised when he sees Pang Wan.

“This, this is a pageant for selecting imperial princesses?”

Pang Wan’s little face is all paled, her voice sightly shaking, “So, so many beauties……” Could it be that Gu Xi Ju wants concubines?

Gu Xi Ju observes her clearly being nervous to the extreme yet still striving to appear calm, he naturally lifts up the corners of his lips.

“No, we are selecting dancers for the Grand Wu Lin Assembly.”

His voice is very gentle, comforting her within a second, “Do you want to look as well?” He asks.

Pang Wan is just about to smile and say yes, but suddenly hears an unfamiliar voice in a corner sound, “Supreme Chief, I think she can!”

Gu XI Ju’s eyebrows quickly frowns.

Pang Wan is still dumbfounded when that person says again, “Supreme Chief, many people have high dance skill, but I’m afraid that right now only Lady Wan Wan can qualify for the ‘Fairy from Heaven’ dance!”

Pang Wan is a person who really cannot handle compliments, she obediently runs to Gu Xi Ju and stands straightly right beside him, could not close her mouth because of her irresistible smile, “What is the ‘Fairy from Heaven’ dance?” She tilts up her face and eagerly stares at him full of hope.

Gu Xi Ju sees her enraptured look, sighs, and vividly explains it to her.

Formally every Grand Wu Lin Assembly in recent years all had a special opening performance, the “Fairy from Heaven” dance, this dance is not that much of a big deal, it’s just having a young lady coming down from the sky, creating a celestial fairy sense with Dun Huang goddess postures.The dance is not difficult itself, but the performance location is on an extremely steep cliff of a barren mountain, a single mistake can makes the dancer falling off the precipice. Furthermore, the dancer not only needs to finish the whole dance at the cliff, but also needs to straightly leap off from the cliff in the last moment, pulling open a banner of “Wu Lin Assembly Grandly Begins”, attempting to create a peaceful atmosphere showing that heaven blesses the Supreme Chief.

“Who thought up of this twisted dance?” After hearing Gu Xi Ju’s description, Pang Wan opens her eyes super wide.

Behind, there are people protesting, “This kind of dance with beauty and danger coexisting, its inventor is of course the peerless Fairy Sang Chan!”

Pang Wan unhappily twitches her lips, turns to Gu Xi Ju, “Then why is she not dancing it herself?”

Gu Xi Ju is speechless for a second, then somewhat difficultly replies, “Ever since the farewell in the Black Bamboo Forest, junior sister is angry at me for not honoring my promise, so……” It can be easily seen that he is trying his best to painstakingly select the words to say.

Only then did Pang Wan recall the trouble that she has caused, suddenly her whole heart turns cold.

Sang Chan is angry and does not reveal her location, therefore, the problem comes, most girls who can dance do not have that kind of high light body skill; the girls who have high light body skills, are not necessarily beautiful young ladies.

“Which of the two kinds is the one who just ran out?” Pang Wan has not forgotten the angry and embarrassed Maid B.

“……the latter.” Gu Xi Ju initially wanted to reply “the former kind”, but he sees her angry look, then he uncontrollably changed what he was about to say.

Pang Wan’s dimples immediately show up with her smile, appearing very content and satisfied.

——Little Three _{(third party in a relationship)} will not have a future, because there will be Little Four and Little Five settling you for me. ^[3]

“To not proceed with this opening dance, would it have that big of an impact?”She carefully observes Gu Xi Ju’s expression.

“……the dance itself is not important, but……” Gu Xi Ju sighs, as if he does not want to say more.

“The‘Fairy from Heaven’ dance was made by Fairy Sang Chan that year to congratulate Supreme Chief for ascending the treausured seat, dancing it once every year, it has been continuously performed for three times till now, if no one performs it this year, I’m afraid……” The unfamiliar man behind continues to murmurs, sounding really worried.

Now Pang Wan understands: That year, Gu Xi Ju grasped hold of the treasured seat as a young man; to strengthen the power of her senior brother, Sang Chang thought of this “Heaven blesses the Supreme Chief” gimmick to help him win others’ obedience. If no one performs this dance this year, then Gu Xi Ju’s actually unstable Supreme Chief position will definitely be discussed by other people, such as is the Supreme Chief and Fairy Sang Chan against each other now, is the God in Heaven starting to abandon Supreme Chief, then these rumors will probably be used by some “ambitious people”.

So everyone is not worried about the dance itself, but the power of public opinion behind the dance, such public clamour that can confound right and wrong.

“Okay! This dance will be performed by me!” Pang Wan slaps the desk with determination.

Gu Xi Ju is shocked by her sudden verve.

“You rest assured, I will successfully fulfill this task.” Pang Wan turns to smile brightly at her beloved, secretly clenching her fists, warning herself that she must dance better than Sang Chan.

Pang Wan with her battle mode completely unlocked dives into intensive training.

The Grand Wu Lin Assembly’s opening date, just happens to be her sixteenth birthday, she dreams of herself using a fairy’s posture to perform this dance for Gu Xi Ju, then cuddling with him like a baby bird in front of everyone’s sight—— that moment the color of the entire Jiang Hu’s beauties will all fade, Pang Wan has three thousand worth of doting love all focused on her alone! How Mary Sue is that! It’s Mary Sue to the extreme!

Pang Wan senses the happiness and hope that she has never had before.

During the practices, Gu Xi Ju is very busy, yet he still takes out time to see her.

“Are you tired?”

“Is it difficult?”

“Can you still endure?”

He doesn’t say sweet words that much, only these several caring questions over and over again, Pang Wan’s body is very tired, but she holds her rule of “telling the happy things not the sad things”, every time she returns a comforting sweet smile, occasionally acts pampered to ask him wipe off her sweat or making her tea.

Whenever Gu Xi Ju is wiping off sweat for her, she would seize the opportunities to bury herself in his arms, then lifting her blushing cheeks, staring at him with eyes as gentle as water.

“As long as you are happy, are these difficulties even important?” She very obediently says.

Gu Xi Ju pauses, then lifts his lips.

“You are so understanding, don’t know how can I pay you back in the future?” He intentionally teases her.

—— Marry me as your wife! Swear that you will only love me all your life! Dote on me your entire life!

Countless ways to pay her back emerges in her heart like a raising tide, but Pang Wan knows, now is not the time she should open up her mouth, she wants to leave these requests to say on her sixteenth’s birthday, to achieve the most beautiful moment in her life.

So she just shyly smiles, stomps her feet and runs away.

---

[1] This is referring to a classic scene in 宅斗/house fight genre of C-Novels, which is about women in the same household fighting each other (a smaller scale of the imperial harem genre)

[2]八仙椅／Bā xiān yǐ: a traditional Chinese chair

[3]Little Three/小三／xiǎo sān: the third party in a romantic relationship. Pang Wan made up Little Four and Little Five to mean other people who are also trying to destroy the relationship. She thinks that Maid B will not be a threat to her relationship with Gu Xi Ju, because there are also so many other girls fighting to win his attention.