Don’t Pick Up Boyfriends From the Trash Bin Chapter Ch153.2 - System vs. System (3.2): Mermaid, black snake, son of luck

Chapter Ch153.2 - System vs. System (3.2): Mermaid, black snake, son of luck

Translator: kiribold
editors: yoantlers, sarah
But after all, the little merman had been practicing alone in the back mountain. His only long-term playmate, the little black snake, was too lazy, which caused the little merman to be more offensive but defensively insufficient. In a moment of inattention, he was struck from behind in his acupuncture point, and he passed out.
When the little merman woke up, he was lying on Yan Jinhua’s back, who was walking with him through the mist, advancing step by step.
As soon as the little merman woke up, he remembered the battle situation. “Yan-da ge, how is it? Did you get the sword?”
Yan Jinhua turned back to reveal half of his face, which had a slash of blood from the sword energy, making his fair and beautiful face look a little ferocious.
But he smiled and raised his right hand.
The little merman looked intently and saw he was holding a sword that could be regarded as a divine weapon at first glance.
The sword’s hilt was made of ancient jade, but the blade appeared newly cast, radiating like rippling water. What was it if not the legendary sword in the stone?
The little merman was overjoyed, a thousand times more ecstatic than if he had won the sword himself.
He self-indulgently put his ear against Yan Jinhua’s back, thinking, if he were stronger and could help Yan-da ge more, that would be great.
Suddenly, he seemed to catch the faint voice of a third person.
Merpeople’s ears were naturally keen. He felt that the voice was a bit strange, and the tone was stiff, but he looked around and couldn’t find who was talking. He worried for his Yan-da ge the entire way, fearing that someone would jump out of the sky and snatch Yan Jinhua’s divine sword.
The fact that Yan Jinhua successfully obtained the sword in the stone shocked the world.
His spiritual roots were long considered mediocre among his peers, and he was also lazy and had overindulged for so many years. Why would the sword in the stone recognize him as its master?
But the exact reason was unknown. The sword in the stone’s thousand-year hidden intent had already been integrated into Yan Jinhua’s body, making his spiritual roots grow like a withered tree in spring. He broke through cultivation shackles one after another, rushing to the sixth rank Nascent Soul stage, surpassing even Chi Yunzi. He became the most promising young man of his generation to cultivate the Dao and the first to ascend to immortality.
Everyone could say that there wasn’t a need for others to covet. Destiny was like this. Not everyone could have it.
As for how he won, Yan Jinhua kept his mouth shut to others, but he didn’t refrain from telling the little merman. He took out a precious pearl to show him.
It was an extremely beautiful Dinghai Pearl that contained the spiritual energy of heaven, earth, and the sea. You could feel pure spiritual power diffuse into your body like a mist of water just by holding it in the palm of your hand.
Yan Jinhua said that he picked it up when he was playing outside and that it could change your position and image at will. He relied on this pearl to directly break through the seven layers of the great array, arriving in the vicinity of the sword in the stone.
The little merman’s first reaction to hearing this was, isn’t this cheating?
But soon, he was genuinely relieved.
Yan-da ge loved to play around, but he had gained this pearl for some reason. It seemed that Yan Jinhua was destined for this sword in his life, so there was no need for others to have a say.
After the Jingxu Sword Meeting, Yan Jinhua took the little merman as his disciple.
Since it was time to cross the Ming road, the little merman’s past nickname couldn’t be used anymore. The merman’s family had taken Duan as their surname, but his parents died before giving the little merman a name.
On the day of accepting his disciple, Yan Jinhua stroked the little merman’s long black hair, which was tied up by a strap band, and said, “You have no father or mother. As your Shifu, I have the responsibility of giving you a name. From today onwards, you’ll be called Duan Shujue, okay?”
…Duan Shujue.
Yan Jinhua said this name readily as if it had been repeated in his heart a hundred thousand times, and now it belonged to the little merman.
The little merman raised his head to stare intently at his Yan-da ge.
Yan Jinhua lowered his voice and asked him for his opinion. “I thought about this name for a long time. Do you like it?”
Duan Shujue, who had always been cold, slightly raised his eyebrows, crossed his hands, and bowed deeply. “Duan Shujue thanks Shifu.”
Since becoming Yan Jinhua’s disciple, Duan Shujue became more diligent.
However, he didn’t know if it was due to his merman body’s physical limitations, but improving his cultivation became more and more difficult as time went by. Even if Yan Jinhua supported him with divine resources day by day, it was still challenging to progress. The momentum of his development was even far less than the Yan Jinhua of the past who played all day long.
There were rumors outside saying it was a pity that the disciple of the future Mountain Master of Jingxu Peak was a useless waste.
Some people refuted, so what if he was a waste? Wasn’t Yan Jinhua also a waste who squandered his talent in the eyes of everyone before? However, chance favored him overnight, taking one step to the sky.
Some people scoffed at this remark. Serendipity wasn’t a cabbage. If everyone could easily obtain it, why would it be called serendipity?
The mixed conversations entered Duan Shujue’s ears, as well as his heart.
He wholeheartedly wanted what was best for his Shifu, what was best for his Yan-da ge. If others scolded him, he might not mind, but Duan Shujue couldn’t bear it when Yan Jinhua was scolded.
Just like when he saw Shifu waving his feather fan as he gossiped with female disciples, Duan Shujue felt like his heart was being pierced.
He had always been good at restraint. Even if it was uncomfortable, he wouldn’t easily tell his Shifu. He only secretly extended the time and intensity of his cultivation practice and even practiced until he fainted several times. After being discovered by Yan Jinhua, Yan Jinhua took him to the spiritual springs to recuperate and help him balance the rampant spiritual energy in his body.
When Duan Shujue woke up from exhaustion, he saw Yan Jinhua sitting beside him, his feet dipped in the pool, his hands flipping through trivial storybooks.
Seeing that Duan Shujue was awake, Yan Jinhua carelessly waved his hand. “I’m just soaking my feet. You can do as you please.”
Duan Shujue leaned over on the shore, carefully using his tail to reach Yan Jinhua’s ankle to quietly wrap around it. He then asked, “What is Shifu looking at?”
Without changing expressions, Yan Jinhua turned a page of his book that contained all kinds of colorful figures and lied casually, “Profound sword techniques. You can’t read it now at your level, but when you get better, I’ll teach it to you.”
Duan Shujue believed it.
Four years passed, and Duan Shujue had become an elegant young man in blue and white clothes. With a sword on his back, he already had the demeanor of a gentleman with upright moral conduct.
His swordsmanship had reached a state of perfection. Unfortunately, his spiritual power was still insufficient, and he couldn’t maximize the power of his swordsmanship. Even his golden core hadn’t been established.
Feeling that he was a mature merman now, Duan Shujue thought he could go and see those “profound sword techniques”.
So, when Yan Jinhua returned to Yuguang Pool, what he saw was Duan Shujue, who hadn’t even taken off his outer robes, curled up in the pool and trembling while reciting the heart sutra.
Duan Shujue’s cheeks were flushed, the corners of his eyes red. After reciting a section, he had to grit his teeth to endure. His legs trembled and transformed into a fishtail. As he kept writhing, his tail turned back into a pair of taut legs, rubbing together intolerably.
…When the merman wasn’t familiar with human affairs, his temperament was cool and he had no distractions.
However, once his emotions were stirred, it was like heavenly thunder triggering fire, violently attacking every once in a while, requiring immense relief.
Yan Jinhua was slightly surprised when he saw this and approached before realizing what was happening. His expression changed a bit, looking like he wanted to turn around and leave, but after hesitating for a moment, not only did he return, he also came closer to Duan Shujue, step by step.
Duan Shujue gritted his teeth and gasped, “Shifu, hurry up and leave, I… this disciple…”
Instead, Yan Jinhua took off his clothes, letting them drift in the water. “If I leave, what are you going to do?”
Yan Jinhua hugged Duan Shujue, his fingers sliding down his spine, leaving a string of mind-numbing, tingling electric sparks on Duan Shujue’s back. Duan Shujue said with a smile, “I’ll listen to Shifu…open the scales there.”
It was also Yan Jinhua’s first time doing such a thing, so Duan Shujue couldn’t help wanting to let out breathy whimpers of pain, but he kept holding back and didn’t utter a single sound.
His benefactor, his Shifu, his…
The shame and pleasure of this immoral behavior nearly drove him crazy.
Deeply moved by this affection, a tear slipped from the corner of Duan Shujue’s eyes. He grabbed Yan Jinhua’s sleeve and whispered, “Yan-da ge.”
The tears fell into the water, which turned into bright white and dewy mermaid pearls that sank into the bottom of the pool.
Duan Shujue’s face was full of tear stains. He felt ashamed to have been thinking about his Shifu after reading the “sword manual,” and it was unbelievable that this dream came true.
He said hoarsely, “Shifu, I have you in my heart.”
Yan Jinhua held his hair that had been soaked in ice water, carefully managing to reply, “Shifu also likes you.”
Yan Jinhua’s love, he never dared to hope for it.
But once he received it, Duan Shujue wanted more.
Were merpeople always so greedy and insatiable?
The ordinarily self-disciplined Duan Shujue gave up on himself and, on the other hand, also secretly felt warmth in his heart.
He found that since the two had a love of fish and water, Yan Jinhua spent more time in Yuguang Pool. Although Yan Jinhua liked putting his arms around him to have fun most of the time, he would also sit down and watch him practice swordsmanship.
Coming from the errant Yan Jinhua, this was a rare gift.
Duan Shujue was a person who paid attention to fairness and etiquette. Yan Jinhua didn’t like boring sword practice, but since he always stayed with him, Duan Shujue felt that he couldn’t remain put and should accompany Yan Jinhua on his travels.
So, the two went out together and visited the Bashu area.
Who would have thought that when he arrived in Bashu, Duan Shujue unexpectedly met a familiar face?
Some people said that a black snake demon named Ye Jiming was rampant in the Bashu area. The nearby cultivators were helpless against him. He occupied the most beautiful, scenic mountain and often came down to catch people, but he didn’t eat them. After teasing them for a while, he would send the terrified people with ashen faces down the mountain perfectly fine, which was really detestable.
After hearing this description, Duan Shujue sensed that he might know this monster.
He went up the mountain with Yan Jinhua and knocked on the mountain gate.
Wasn’t the one leaning on the throne the little black snake, who never sat or stood properly?
He had long grown into a handsome and wicked young man, wearing a gorgeous black robe with an embedded dark golden snake pattern complementing his slender figure. He still held a smoking pipe in his hand, and there was a black scale pattern under his left eye, contrasting his pale golden pupils, which was stunning.
The two recognized each other at a glance.
The little black snake didn’t even look at Yan Jinhua. He had one hand on his chin and surveyed Duan Shujue. “Little fish, your skill has declined.”
“…Duan Shujue.” Duan Shujue announced his current name in a gentle and courteous manner, then pointed to the other’s left eye. “Did your scale not grow back?”
“Your scale didn’t grow back!” The little black snake, Ye Jiming, spat at him and tapped his scale twice. “It looks good! Don’t you know how to appreciate it?”
Duan Shujue said with a smile, “Yes, it is quite pleasing to the eye.”
Ye Jiming stared at the tips of his ears that moved a little when he spoke and the corners of his lips raised slightly, watching a little obsessively.
Yan Jinhua saw that the two were going back and forth, chatting warmly, so he took the initiative to interject, “Little black snake, do you remember me?”
Ye Jiming had been chatting happily with the little fish, but he was unexpectedly interrupted. His cold gaze swept across the person from the corner of his eye. “What kind of onion are you?”
Yan Jinhua, “…”
When Yan Jinhua came down the mountain, his expression wasn’t very good.
Duan Shujue said good things about Ye Jiming for a while before Yan Jinhua said in a resentful manner, “Things like snakes really can’t be raised properly!”
Duan Shujue couldn’t help laughing bitterly.
Yan Jinhua was like this. His temperament was volatile. Sometimes he was gentle and considerate with others, but sometimes he was childish. In the throes of pleasure, there were also many acts of mischief. He would pull Duan Shujue’s hair, make him repeatedly say his name, and force him to recite entirely, “I am Duan Shujue. I love Yan Jinhua.”
Duan Shujue was highly reserved by nature. He couldn’t easily say the word “love”, but Yan Jinhua held his body and heart in the palm of his hands, so he could only admit it. He learned to parrot him with a red face, say love, and declare he liked him.
Although Yan Jinhua was his da-ge and Shifu, once he reached adulthood, Duan Shujue took care of Yan Jinhua more, satisfying some of his strange whims.
Duan Shujue didn’t ask for too much. He just hoped that everything would be fine as usual.
However, things weren’t always about what people wanted.
The spiritual energy in Yan Jinhua’s body far exceeded Duan Shujue’s. Duan Shujue’s spiritual energy also rose from the potency of dual cultivation, so within two years, he had already broken through the Golden Core level.
He didn’t know who told Chi Yunzi, but people were saying that when Duan Shujue successfully cultivated a golden core, no red clouds gathered in the sky. Instead, the dark clouds were dense, and they suspected that Duan Shujue wasn’t a righteous person.
As a result, the rumors that Duan Shujue was a “monster” became more and more fierce. Gradually, everyone in the mountain spread the rumor, and the gossip finally reached the ears of the current Mountain Master, Chi Yunzi.
How could Yan Jinhua be the one to inherit Jingxu Peak in the future if his first disciple was a monster?
From childhood, Duan Shujue lived in the spiritual springs of the immortal peak and had no trace of evil aura in his body. The disciples, ignorant of that, surrounded them, sealing Yuguang Pool, and demanded Yan Jinhua to hand over the monster and give everyone an explanation.
Yan Jinhua kept Duan Shujue protected in the alchemy pavilion, warning him that he couldn’t go out casually.
Duan Shujue was still calm. “Shifu, it’s all right. I have a clear conscience, and I am willing to accept grandmaster Shifu’s interrogation.”
Yan Jinhua said, “They’re on a warpath, how could they allow you to defend yourself? Don’t move, sit down, and heat this furnace of elixir pills. Don’t worry, I’ll give you an explanation.”
After that, Yan Jinhua stepped out of the alchemy pavilion and casually added another seal to it.
Duan Shujue turned forward to face the pill furnace. He stoked the fire as his ears listened carefully to the movement outside.
Unfortunately, there was a seal, making it difficult to hear what was happening outside the pavilion from the room. Only Chi Yunzi’s angry accusation was vaguely discernible. “Did you know that he was hiding his identity?”
He didn’t know what Yan Jinhua said, but Chi Yunzi angrily said, “He concealed himself for many years. If the demon deliberately infiltrated, what would you do? How could you be this kind of Shifu?”
Yan Jinhua said something indistinctly, and Chi Yunzi’s anger quelled. “Since you’ve said it this way, I’ll wait for your explanation!”
After a while, the door opened again. Yan Jinhua strode in and closed the pavilion door behind him.
Duan Shujue stood and asked, “Shifu, how is it?”
He was afraid that he would drag Yan Jinhua down. He undoubtedly had an infinitely bright future as the future master of Jingxu Peak. He…
Before he could finish his train of thought, Yan Jinhua quickly walked up to him, hugged Duan Shujue, and kissed the tip of his ear.
Duan Shujue blushed.
Because of this kiss like a dragonfly grazing water, he failed to immediately notice a strange wave of heat from behind him.
——The doors of the burning Bagua Dan furnace quietly opened.
They were the gates of death.
The moment Duan Shujue was pushed into the pill furnace, death’s door closed, and he was completely sealed between the flames surrounding him.
…He had just added a few handfuls of spiritual wood to the pill furnace.
All of this happened so suddenly. Duan Shujue was dumbfounded for a long time, blazing flames burning his body. The pain was unbearable, but he couldn’t make a sound.
Because he heard the voice of Yan Jinhua loudly exclaiming, “Fellow disciples, I didn’t know that the evil disciple Duan Shujue was a wolf demon! This creature deliberately deceived me and snuck into the mountain. The wolf’s ambition is to be punished! I am guilty of negligence, so I have personally killed the sinful disciple with my own hands. I hope that Master will administer justice and make an example of me so that all disciples learn not to easily trust others again!”
Wolf demon? What wolf demon?
…why?
Why?
Yan-da ge, Shifu, it was you who brought me into the mountains, it was you who raised me in Yuguang Pool, and you clearly knew that I was…
Countless questions suddenly flooded into Duan Shujue’s mind.
At that moment, he realized many suspicious things that he had never noticed before.
The place he and his parents lived had always been a secret. How had it been discovered?
Why did he crash into a fishing net full of barbs? Although he was panicked, he still maintained basic caution. At that time, he clearly observed his surroundings very carefully…
Why was Yan Jinhua coincidentally there?
Why did Yan Jinhua pick up the severely injured him, bring him back to the mountains without question, and raise him for many years, but never let others know about him?
Was it because he was afraid his identity would be exposed and cause criticism?
Then why did he propose to let him participate in the Jingxu Sword Meeting when he came of age?
Why did Yan Jinhua, who always played around frivolously, win the sword meeting in one fell swoop and come out on top?
Why did his cultivation stall significantly when he became an adult, practically becoming half a waste?
Why could he sleep with him without a problem and kill without guilt?
These questions were interrupted suddenly by a strange sound.
Mature merpeople’s ears were sharp, especially on the eve of death, becoming even more sensitive.
He heard a rigid voice.
…he had heard this voice before.
The moment after Yan Jinhua pulled out the sword in the stone, he heard it in the mist.
It just wasn’t as comprehensible as this time.
“Beep, congratulations to the host Yan Jinhua! The progress of the mainline has been 100% completed, and the achievements ‘Luck Plunderer’ and ‘Crazy Collector’ have been achieved.
Item inventory: Obtained the sword in the stone from the original novel, The Mermaid Immortal’s ‘Child of Luck,’ Duan Shujue x1, the Dinghai Pearl x1, mermaid tears x10, the Junshan sword manual x1, the Xiang river sacred wood x1, and the Longevity Mermaid Pill refined from Duan Shujue’s body x1.… excuse me, do you accept the transmission?”
It was also the last voice Duan Shujue ever heard.
His body swayed, submerged into the fire, and disappeared forever.
The white clothes he wore burned, and his heart broke.
A tear slid down from the corner of his eye and fell into his black hair. Amidst the raging flames, a half-scorched mermaid tear rolled down.