R:DSAT Chapter 211 – Lost Beads

T/L: Translated by Cyrrene and edited by Uhei. Odd chapters of RDSAT from 213 onwards will be translated by Uhei and even chapters from 214 onwards will be translated by Cyrrene.

Luo Wei avoided confronting Long Xuan’s gaze and said, “I am merely someone with no accomplishments. (I) fear your Highness overestimated Luo Wei. Even if Luo Wei wants to help your Highness, my abilities will still fall short of your expectations.”

“You are the Senior Chancellor’s¹ third son and my imperial father’s disciple,” While Long Xuan restrained the smile at the corner of his lips, his manner towards Luo Wei appeared to be jesting. He said to Luo Wei, “Are you still worrying you will lack accomplishments in the future?”

“Can familial status simply be exchanged for fame?” Luo Wei also seemed to be joking and said, “If I had known this was so, then would I have needed to study? Luo Wei still vividly recalls those days spent attending the Study².”

Luo Qi saw that these two were again about to exchange this kind of banter which he could not interpret as either sincere or disingenuous. Just when he felt his scalp becoming numb³, he lifted his gaze and noticed Ning Fei standing outside the door. Luo Qi hurriedly said as if he had seen a savior, “Why did Zizhou come?”

Ning Fei had just arrived at the doorway to the central room to report. When he heard Luo Qi asking him, he entered the room and said to the three people within, “Grandmaster Fu Yi has arrived bringing several monks.”

“He arrived quite quickly,” Long Xuan said.

“The Grandmaster⁴ came to summon the spirits back to their homeland,” Luo Qi told Luo Wei, who had not known anything. “Our Great Zhou’s officers and soldiers who perished in battle at Black Frost City in previous years can return home.”

“So that is how it is,” Luo Wei said, “Grandmaster Fu Yi is an accomplished, eminent monk. To have him summon the spirits is surely for the best.”

“You should all go welcome him,” Long Xuan stood up and said.

A delegation left the city to welcome Grandmaster Fu Yi.

Grandmaster Fu Yi still wore a half-aged monk’s robe with a tranquil expression upon his face. He saw Long Xuan, Luo Qi, Luo Wei, and several people welcoming as they approached, and chanted the Buddha’s name. Afterwards, his gaze swept towards them. At last, Grandmaster Fu Yi’s gaze landed upon Long Xuan and he said, “This time your Highness’s ill-karma from killing has become much more serious.”

Long Xuan heedlessly replied, “Since this war, who among us has not incurred any ill-karma from killing?”

Grandmaster Fu Yi shook his head slightly and said, “This humble monk is saying some people should not die.”

Long Xuan said with amusement, “Grandmaster is a monk⁵ with a merciful heart. In the grandmaster’s view, how could anyone deserve to die?”

Grandmaster Fu Yi could only chuckle, then chanted the Buddha’s name.

“Grandmaster, please enter the city,” Luo Qi said.

Grandmaster Fu Yi and the flock of Buddhist monks had all arrived on foot, so Long Xuan and the others had to abandon their carts and horses, and accompany Grandmaster Fu Yi on foot into the city. Grandmaster Fu Yi looked towards Luo Wei who was walking behind Luo Qi, and suddenly asked Luo Wei, “Third young master, do you still have the Buddhist beads given to you by this humble monk?”

Luo Wei touched his wrist; there was not even a trace of that string of black jade and colored glaze beads. If Grandmaster Fu Yi had not asked, he would not have remembered  having such an object himself. “Lost,” Yet Luo Wei did not feel regret, and said to Grandmaster Fu Yi, “I have been in a hurry throughout this journey, I do not know where I lost it.”

“You lost the prayer beads used for safeguarding that the grandmaster gave you?” After Luo Qi read the letter from home, he also knew about this string of black jade and colored glaze prayer beads. According to their mother Fu Hua, Luo Wei safely returned due to the prayer beads blessing and protecting his life. Luo Qi was a little anxious. Few people who were enlisted in the army believed in supernatural beings⁶, but this concerned Luo Wei’s life. Luo Qi would rather believe in it, and asked Luo Wei a barrage of questions, “Think back carefully, where did you drop it? How can you be so careless, that you can just lose something?”

Luo Wei was lectured like a child by Luo Qi in public, so embarrassed that his lips twitched, unable to say anything.

Luo Qi also looked towards Wei Lan walking beside Luo Wei and asked, “What about you Lan? You also have not seen Xiao⁷ Wei’s prayer beads?”

Wei Lan meticulously dealt with issue after issue along the journey. He also forgot that Luo Wei had been wearing prayer beads. At this moment he recalled, Wei Lan also became anxious and said, “Perhaps it is in the luggage. I’ll look for it in a while.”

“It’s just a string of prayer beads,” Luo Wei was afraid that Luo Qi would pester Wei Lan, and interjected, “If it is lost, let it be. Isn’t it alright if I just get another string?”

“Don’t be so foolish in the presence of the grandmaster!” Luo Qi slapped his palm onto Luo Wei’s head.

Off to the side, Long Xuan asked Grandmaster Fu Yi, “Is it dire if Yunqi lost the Buddhist beads?”

“People will naturally obtain what they are fated to,” Grandmaster Fu Yi said, “All affairs in this world shouldn’t be forcefully pursued..”

These words uttered by Grandmaster Fu Yi, when heard by the few people present, were akin to saying nothing.

Luo Wei did not want Luo Qi and Wei Lan to be bothered over these immaterial things and interrupted the topic, “When has the grandmaster planned to perform the service?”

“At sunrise,” Grandmaster Fu Yi replied.

“After dawn today?” Long Xuan asked.

Grandmaster Fu Yi replied, “Yes.”

Luo Qi asked, “Then will you need to prepare? Will it be in time?”

“There is not much to prepare,” Grandmaster Fu Yi pointed to the monks behind him. “They all understand what they should do.”

Thereupon, Long Xuan and Luo Qi led a group of soldiers accompanying Grandmaster Fu Yi out of the city while Wei Lan drew Luo Wei back to their residence.

After Wei Lan returned to the residence, he opened both of their luggages, and chaotically searched for a while.

“Forget it if it cannot be found,” Luo Wei saw that  Wei Lan was becoming anxious, while he was not fussed himself, and even placated Wei Lan, “If you cannot rest assured, after I return to the capital⁸, I will go find the Grand Priest and request another string of beads.”

“Madam had said that these Buddhist beads must not be lost!” Wei Lan began to touch the corners of his clothes, and spoke with vexation, “Something so big–how did it get lost?”

“It will be fine as long as this is not lost, right?” Luo Wei walked over and showed Wei Lan his half of the mandarin duck buckle he was wearing, “You see, this is something that has never yet left my side.”

Wei Lan’s hands stopped moving for a bit, but soon after, he lowered his head to flip through his clothes.

“What about yours? Let me see,” Luo Wei snatched the clothes from Wei Lan’s hands into his own and nonchalantly tossed it aside.

Wei Lan untied the mandarin duck buckle he was wearing and placed it in Luo Wei’s hand.

Luo Wei fastened the two mandarin duck buckles together, placed them under the lantern, and let Wei Lan watch the shadow cast by the mandarin ducks on the ground. Wei Lan however was looking at Luo Wei’s hands. Luo Wei’s hands were long, slender, and fair, as if they were the same as jade. Two jade mandarin ducks in this jade-like hand, flowing with brilliance⁹, as if they were priceless¹⁰ treasures. “Will it truly be all right to have lost those Buddhist beads?” Wei Lan asked as he clasped Luo Wei’s hand.

“(We) lost the Buddhist beads, yet we still returned and survived,” Luo Wei laughed at Wei Lan, “We have such good luck, what else are you worried about? Rest assured, that Grand Priest has the tendency to say some things that people would find incomprehensible; no need to scare yourself. As long as the mandarin ducks are not lost, it will be alright. Everything else does not matter.” Luo Wei lifted the mandarin duck buckle in front of Wei Lan’s eyes.

“It is fine as long as you are safe, I won’t ask for anything else,” Wei Lan kissed Luo Wei’s hand.

The two fell onto the daybed embracing each other, however they were only kissing each other without doing anything further.

“Your body is still not well,” Wei Lan spoke next to Luo Wei’s ear, “It would be best ‘til after you recovered a bit more.”

Luo Wei lay in Wei Lan’s embrace, caressing the mandarin duck buckle in his hand with a slight red flush on his face. Wei Lan reached over, playing with the mandarin duck buckle together with Luo Wei, and one by one, rubbed the vein lines all over the two jade mandarin ducks. “If I lost something, I cannot let this be lost,” Luo Wei whispered to Wei Lan.

“En¹¹,” Wei Lan said, “Me too.”

“And you,” Luo Wei kissed Wei Lan on the cheek, “I cannot lose you either.”

Wei Lan pulled the quilt over and covered Luo Wei and himself. Luo Wei’s kiss was as soft as a feather, causing Wei Lan’s heart to throb. “Go to sleep,” Wei Lan also kissed Luo Wei back and said, “After sunrise I will wake you.”

---

1. 左相: Left Chancellor; since the original translators used Senior Chancellor, this translation will keep this.

2. 书房: This study room, if you recall from previous translator’s notes, refers to a private classroom set up for a prince and a few other noble children selected as his study companions.

3.头皮发麻: Chinese chengyu (idiom) similar to English phrases “getting goosebumps” or making one’s “blood run cold.”

4. 大师 and 国师 have both been used to refer to Master Fu Yi. The former is more like “grandmaster”, while the latter, literally “National Teacher,” refers to his position.

5. 出家人: literally means “a person who left one’s home/family.” Chinese Buddhist monks can be referred to this way because they leave their homes and family behind, join a monastery, shave their heads, and do not marry, etc.

6.鬼神: literally, ghosts and gods.

7. 小: used as a term of endearment (especially by a parent or elder) when used in front of a person’s given name.

8. 上都: we are simply referring to Shangdu as the capital while in the Zhou Empire.

9. 光华流转: originates from a poem, to mean that light refracts off jade as if in a liquid motion.

10. 价值连城: chengyu, literally “worth several cities.”

11. 嗯, a sound of agreement.