#*transl

[ruanbaijie]

During the Republican Era, Shen Zhiheng, a member of the Tianjin gentry who happened to be a vampire, offended the Japanese and became the target of an assassination attempt. He was saved by a blind young lady, Mi Lan, and his best friend Situ Weilian. When he went to repay Mi Lan for saving him, he discovered the terrible family situation that Mi Lan was in, and so began to pay more attention to her. Meanwhile, Shen Zhiheng’s plan to take revenge on Li Yingliang, the mastermind behind his assassination, fell short of success thanks to Li Yingliang’s Japanese superior, raising suspicions about his identity. Since then, Li Yingliang and the Japanese were in hot pursuit of Shen Zhiheng, determined to dig out the truth about his secret.

Please do not repost this anywhere else or retranslate it!

MAIN DIRECTORY ☾ PREVIOUS CHAPTER

Mi Lan did not know how long she spent running after Situ Weilian. She was in a daze the entire way, and it was only when a bright light from a fire ahead shone that her consciousness returned. She freed herself from Situ Weilian’s grip with force. Normally, she already rarely spoke; now, she was even more silent, only widening her eyes and glaring angrily at Situ Weilian.

The flames cooked the air until it was boiling hot, and the tips of her hair were even beginning to curl. Situ Weilian pointed at the inferno that blocked the path, and hollered, “The fire has been burning here for so long, this means that the air is sufficient, there must definitely be an air vent here.”

Mi Lan shook her head at him.

Situ Weilian said angrily, “Stop giving me trouble! If you’re afraid of fire, I can protect you. This little fire won’t kill us, we can charge through!”

Mi Lan opened her mouth and said, “I want to go and find Mr. Shen.”

“Why do you want to find him? He’s already dead!”

Mi Lan suddenly shouted, her voice sharp, “Then I’ll die too!”

“You–are you crazy? Or have you fallen in love with him?”

“Love?” Mi Lan seemed as if she had suddenly become confused by his question. “Love?”

“Now that it’s still not too late, you’d better stop dreaming! How old are you, how can you know what love is? Besides, you’re immortal now, as long as you’re willing to escape with me, there’s a whole world of men out there, you can love whomever you want! You can even fucking love someone random for a few hundred years! Do you understand?!”

Mi Lan seemed as if she had just awoken from a long dream. “Oh…”

Situ Weilian thought that she had come through, and was about to pull her forward to dash through the flames. He did not expect her to pull her hand out of his. She took a step back, and as if she had suddenly gained enlightenment, she nodded at him.

Then, she turned around and ran back.

Situ Weilian chased after her and caught her hair, forcing her to turn around and look him in the eye. However, Mi Lan had been prepared for this. The moment she turned her head around, she spread out her five fingers and clawed at his face. Caught off guard, he let go and shrunk back, hearing Mi Lan say loudly at the same time, “Don’t stop me, I only love one man, and that is Mr. Shen!”

Then, she spread her long legs, and just like a fawn, she dashed into the darkness that they had come from.

Situ Weilian took two steps to chase after her, and then stopped. He stood on the spot in a daze, before finally gritting his teeth and turning around to dash into the fire. If he had known earlier than Mi Lan would be so useless, he would have saved his efforts and carried Shen Zhiheng to escape. If he had managed to escape from the dungeon before Shen Zhiheng took his last breath, his living expenses for the next few decades would have been covered.

However, it was too late for regret now. It was better for him to escape first, and then think of what to do next. In any case, no matter what happened, he would always have a way to continue living on.

The same moment that Situ Weilian and Mi Lan were parting ways, Li Yingliang was still waiting to die together with Shen Zhiheng.

He did not really have a peace of mind, for Shen Zhiheng had suddenly become silent. When he touched his head and face, he realised that his face still bore some warmth, but line after line of blood vessels had swelled up on the surface of his skin, forming a web that spread up from his neck. He could not see what Shen Zhiheng looked like, but based on what he felt, he concluded that he must look very terrifying now.

At this moment, he suddenly heard a voice talking.

That voice was very low. It was a woman’s voice that sounded familiar, and she was speaking Japanese. It was Kuroki Rika.

Over the phone call, Li Yingliang had already inferred Kuroki Rika’s intentions. To her, he most definitely belonged to Yokoyama’s group, and even death was too easy a way out for him. However, this was a huge misunderstanding. The one he was loyal to was the commissioner, he did not care whether the word after “Commissioner” was Yokoyama or Kuroki, he would be equally loyal to them. How could Kuroki Rika not understand such a simple logic? Moreover, besides his loyalty, he also had his own men under him. He was not surrendering to the Japanese as a freeloader; he had his own power and could do things!

He slowly turned his head to look at Shen Zhiheng beside him, and thought that he now possessed an even more extraordinary piece of news about Shen Zhiheng, Mi Lan, and Situ Weilian. Could it be that Kuroki Rika was truly not the least bit interested?

Kuroki Rika’s voice rang out again, and it was even drawing closer.

Li Yingliang said softly, “Wait here, I’ll go and take a look.”

Then, without waiting for Shen Zhiheng to reply, he crawled forward, until he reached the dim flickering light at the end of the corridor. The air grew hotter, and he was not only exhausted but also thirsty. If he really died here, then the moments before his death would definitely be extremely painful. He extended his head out beyond the corner at the end of the corridor, and a shiver ran through him.

A group of armed soldiers walked out from the junction ahead, led by Kuroki Rika. Li Yingliang knew that she wanted to kill him, but as if he had been possessed by a ghost, he slowly crawled out, until he entered her line of sight.

Then, he knelt down and raised his hands in a picture of surrender. “Section Head Kuroki, it’s me, Li Yingliang. I’ve caught Shen Zhiheng. I’ve been waiting for you to come over so that I can present him to you, to atone for my past mistakes.”

Kuroki Rika was already lost in this dungeon, and just when her inner thoughts were growing increasingly tumultuous, she had suddenly seen Li Yingliang. She had very nearly raised her gun and emptied her clip at him. It was only upon hearing Li Yingliang out when she first froze, and then became ecstatic.

“Where is he?”

Li Yingliang wanted to stand up, but his legs were soft and could not support his weight. He could only turn around on his knees.

“Please follow me. He’s heavily injured, and no longer has the strength to fight back.”

Li Yingliang walked like an animal, crawling to Shen Zhiheng’s side.

A few flashlights shone through this half of the corridor, allowing Kuroki Rika to clearly see Shen Zhiheng, who was sprawled on the ground.

Li Yingliang lowered his head and knelt beside Shen Zhiheng, mumbling softly as if to himself, “I’m sorry. But you’re about to die anyway, and instead of dying for nothing, you can save me this once.”

He then lifted his head, and noticed that Shen Zhiheng was still conscious, and was even using his one unharmed eye to look at him. The raised black blood vessels formed a web, enveloping his face. His appearance was no longer that of a human, and only that one eye still hid the slightest human emotion.

This emotion very nearly caused Li Yingliang to puke out blood.

After confirming Shen Zhiheng’s identity, Kuroki Rika raised a gun to his head and said, “Chairman Li, this time, you’ve made a great contribution.”

Li Yingliang moved backwards slowly, not wanting to see Shen Zhiheng’s head be blown apart, as he mumbled, “You flatter me, you flatter me, as long as you’re aware of my loyalty, I’m satisfied.”

Kuroki Rika took a deep breath and hooked her finger onto the trigger. She was about to pull it, when a sharp pain suddenly burst at her neck.

One second later, she heard the startled cries of her subordinates.

She raised her hand to touch the point where it hurt, but what she felt was a solid and hard metal rod. That metal rod had already pierced through her neck, and its other end was sharp and dyed with blood. She slowly turned her head and saw a young girl standing at the end of the corridor, who was panting heavily as she stared at them. Li Yingliang recognised her; it was Mi Lan.

That metal rod that had pierced through Kuroki Rika’s neck was the walking cane she had used to search for a path not too long ago.

No one had noticed when she had run over, and no one had noticed where she had picked up that thin metal rod from, and least of all, no one knew that she actually had so much strength, that she could actually throw that iron rod like a javelin and pierce it through Kuroki Rika’s neck.

After a short period of silence, the soldiers started firing at Mi Lan in unison. Mi Lan immediately dodged and hid from the bullets, while Kuroki Rika took a step forward, the expression on her face still one of shock. She did not know if she was about to die, because even at this point, she did not feel that much pain. She thought that she had to leave and immediately go to a hospital, perhaps, the doctors would find a way to remove this metal rod.

However, she soon also realised that she could not leave.

Li Yingliang’s broken sobs came from behind her. That sound was trapped in his throat, and it sounded bizarre and weak at the same time. At the same time, her subordinates looked around to find the source of the sound, before suddenly shouting and dispersing.

A large hand fell onto the top of her head, its five fingers drawing together and catching hold of her skull tightly, before twisting violently to the back. Kuroki Rika’s head was instantaneously twisted one hundred and eighty degrees, and in that last moment of her life, she saw Shen Zhiheng. Shen Zhiheng seemed strangely tall and imposing, as if he were levitating in mid-air. The blackness in his pupil spread out like a smear, turning his pupil into a piece of obsidian: cold and hard, shining with light, but without any emotion.

His five fingers opened, and Kuroki Rika fell to the floor.

And the massacre began.

No longer seeking any protection, Li Yingliang crawled forward along the wall. His two legs no longer had any strength left in them, and he could only frantically drag himself forward with his two elbows. Wave after wave of blood-curdling screams echoed from behind him, and like rivers, fresh blood flowed across the floor at an even faster speed than him. At this moment, he had neither thoughts nor schemes, he no longer had anything, and only had the slightest desire to live driving him and making him crawl forward.

At the end of the corridor, a pair of bright red legs appeared before his eyes. These legs were skinny and nimble, and wearing a pair of white canvas shoes. They had once been white, but were now already stained red with blood. Following this pair of legs and looking up, he saw Mi Lan.

He wanted to beg her to spare him, but his lips were trembling and he could not speak a single word. The two legs before his eyes suddenly moved away as Mi Lan cleared the path for him.

Mi Lan did not bear him any personal grudges, and also still remembered that winter night, when he took pity on her, a young girl walking on the street against the wind and snow, fetching her home in his car. His only problem was that he always wanted to harm Mr. Shen, and this made him detestable. However, at this moment, she did not want to take revenge on him, and since she was not in the mood to do so, he could go as he pleased!

She was currently obsessed with Shen Zhiheng who was before her.

The world before her was one where blood and pieces of flesh were splattering everywhere, but in her eyes, the difference between splattering blood and fresh and bright sunshine, was that one world had blood and flesh, while the other had sunshine.

When the last soldier fell, the only two people left alive in the corridor were her and Shen Zhiheng. Shen Zhiheng walked towards her, soaked in blood, and she knew that at this moment, he had lost his mind. Yet, she had completely no thoughts of escaping.

She would not escape. She had returned specifically for him, and now that they had finally met again, even if she were struck by lightning, she would not escape. If he attacked her, then she would return the attack. She had to take him away. It would be best if they could live together, but if they could not, then dying together was fine as well.

Because she loved him!

However, Shen Zhiheng walked halfway through the corridor, and suddenly fell down into a seated position. Casually pulling a corpse towards him, he bent down and took one bite, and started sucking its blood.

Following that, he fell forwards head first and lost consciousness. 

Mi Lan carried Shen Zhiheng and walked through the corridor. Since Shen Zhiheng was too tall, his two legs dragged along the ground, leaving long, bloody trails. And about ten metres behind them, Li Yingliang chased after these trails of blood, crawling arduously.

Mi Lan paid no attention to the pursuer behind them. Simply based on her memory, she walked along the path that Situ Weilian had gone. The air rapidly became burning hot, and she once again saw that familiar fire. The flames had weakened considerably. Stopping, she shifted Shen Zhiheng further up her back.

“We’re going!” she let loose a holler of self-amusement.

Then, carrying Shen Zhiheng, she rushed into the inferno, rushed through it, and rushed out of it.

After crossing the inferno, she walked through an unfinished passageway, and detected the smells of the wilderness.

She held her head high, her body brimming with immeasurable strength. Most of her long hair had been burned to a crisp, and her calves were decorated with blisters. Amidst her pain, she walked forward fiercely and in exhilaration. She was a schoolgirl, she was a young bride. Saving him was precisely what she liked; she had saved his body, and he had saved her soul.

She did not know which path Situ Weilian had taken, and she could not be bothered to care. The end of the corridor was before her, and a metal ladder was lined along the wall. She walked to the ladder and looked up, noticing the metal points lying messily all over the place above her, and above them the shining stars.

Mi Lan did not find any rope, and so she removed the pants of that Mr. Shen of hers. His pants were fairly sturdy and were enough to tie her and Shen Zhiheng tightly together as one. Stretching out her two hands, she grabbed onto the ladder and started climbing up one rung at a time.

When she climbed to the surface, she looked around, feeling that this place looked a little familiar. Suddenly, with an “aiya”, she saw a messy, shallow ditch not too far from her. If she remembered correctly, that should have been the mouth of a vertical shaft, which she had first fallen into. Shortly after they had fallen into it, the Japanese soldiers had exploded the shaft.

Mi Lan was on the verge of laughing: her luck was too good. The paths ahead were all ones she had walked before, and whatever path she had walked even once, she could remember completely!

A moan came from behind her, and this made her quicken her pace. Mr. Shen was always worried about not losing face, and she thought that he definitely would not be happy to find himself running around the wilderness with her, while his buttocks were bare. She definitely had to leave this place before he became clear-headed.

While Mi Lan was running wildly with Shen Zhiheng on her back, Li Yingliang also saw the sky.

He had chased Mi Lan until he could no longer keep up, and had no choice but to crawl blindly based on feeling, before finally actually finding a way out. Before finding his way out, he had bumped into Kuroki Rika’s remaining troops. They were two Japanese soldiers who were on the verge of insanity, and upon seeing Li Yingliang, they had wildly fired at him, prompting Li Yingliang to shoot back at them. His pistol had only two bullets left, and this time round, he had used them both completely.

It was only in such a situation when he finally dared to kill the Japanese.

The Japanese soldiers were dead, while he had been shot twice. Besides these two gunshots, he had earlier crawled through a fire, which had probably already burned through most of its fuel, and had only been left as a few weak tongues of flame. However, tongues of flame were still fire, and they were enough to scorch his exposed face and hands.

However, he was still breathing, and he could still crawl. After crawling through a long flight of stairs, his head had bumped into a set of metal grilles, which had then come loose after that bump. He had bumped into it a few more times, before knocking out a small hole, allowing him to extend his head through.

The outside was a patch of wild grass, and just like a snake, he had continued crawling out, twisting his body in all sorts of bizarre shapes and his joints cracking continuously in pain. Without a single care, as if he had been possessed by a devil, he had continued squeezing himself out. Even if he had squeezed himself into broken pieces, it was still better than dying in that dungeon.

After squeezing himself towards the outside for some time, he finally depleted all of his strength, and was stuck in that hole, unable to move.

He closed his eyes and waited to die, but someone walked by, lowered his body, and asked, “Is this Mr. Li?”

Li Yingliang’s eyelids moved. He could hear that it was Situ Weilian.

Situ Weilian’s voice was light and a little weak. “Have you seen Mi Lan?” He hit Li Yingliang’s head with force. “Are you also about to die?”

Then, he straightened his back and stuffed both of his hands into his pants pockets, mumbling to himself, “Why are all of you dying one by one? Can’t someone alive come out? I’m still waiting for someone to show me the way home. Just where is this place?!”

After saying this, he squatted down again, and noticed the gunshot wounds on Li Yingliang’s shoulders. He extended his hand and rubbed those wounds once, then pulled it back and sucked on the taste of fresh blood. Seemingly thinking that it was not too bad, he stuffed his hands under Li Yingliang’s armpits, and without caring if he was dead or alive, he stubbornly pulled him out from that small hole. Then, he crossed his legs and sat down. Hugging Li Yingliang, he bent over and bit down straight into the artery at the side of his neck.

At this moment, Li Yingliang used the last breath left in him and opened his mouth, “Turn me into the kind of person that Shen Zhiheng is…”

Situ Weilian froze. “What?”

“I’ll repay you… I’ll be your dog, listen to your orders… I’ll sell my life to you… forever repay you…”

There were still tens of thousands of things that he wanted to promise, but the warmth in his four limbs was rapidly draining. A single teardrop slid out from the corner of his eye. His death was not one of peace.

As the last breath exhaled out of him, he waited for death to descend upon him. But what descended instead were Situ Weilian’s soft lips and sharp teeth.

[metamorphesque]

fyodor dostoevsky (the brothers karamazov), charles bukowski (a vote for the gentle light)

[omenalehto]

koiranputket, kissankellot, leinikit, hiirenvirnat

[filurig]

julslakten

--

as folke's blade released a flood of warm crimson onto the ground beneath, juhani only stood by and watched, endlessly curious about his friend.

despite the callous act - folke's tears ran, just like the blood which pooled in front of him.

--

happy holidays ^^

[airenyah]

Episode 6: FadelStyle vs. Beginnings and Endings

In the past one and a half-ish weeks we've discussed at length just how good the last scene at the diner is and how Style drawing tears on Fadel at the rock concert was foreshadowing to Fadel ending the episode crying real tears. What I haven't seen discussed yet, however, is how that ending scene is actually a counterpart to Fadel and Style's conversation after the rock concert. And I think that makes the scene in the diner even more poignant. And it also makes the scene at the rock pub even more painful as well. Because they are basically the same scenes, just flipped. And I desperately need to talk about it or else I'll explode.

Part 1: "Tonight I am very happy"

In this scene Style knows something that Fadel doesn't: This will most likely be their last chance to be happy together like this. Tomorrow Fadel will go on his mission where the police will be waiting and then Fadel will be taken away from him.

But Style already loves Fadel, he is already worried about him and he really does not want to lose him. So he keeps trying to subtly talk Fadel into staying home from the mission and spilling the beans about the mission so he can explicitly ask Fadel not to go. But Fadel keeps his mouth shut. And as happy as Style is together with Fadel this evening, he is also very upset. He doesn't want the night to end, but there's no way around it. For Style this is a goodbye.

And for Fadel? Fadel went from I'll tell her this will be your last job to Ruerat is the last jerk we have to kill. After that, we can live however we want. Even in this episode, right before he goes to the concert with Style, Fadel tells Bison "Once we're done with Ruerat, I'll talk to Mother again", when Bison says it's time for them to quit. Fadel is on the same page as Bison now. Ruerat is their last victim and after that Fadel wants out. For Fadel, this is the last night where he's still stuck in his hitman life, but once he is done with his mission the weight will be off his shoulders and he can finally truly be with Style. For Fadel this is the opposite of a goodbye.

In the words of my mother: For Style, when the night is over life will end. For Fadel, when the night is over life will begin. Style is ending something and Fadel wants to begin something.

And another thing my mom pointed out is how they're standing in front of a pink sky:

And at what time of the day is the sky pink? Either at dawn or at dusk. The beginning of the day or the end of the day. And for Fadel this scene is only the beginning of the day while for Style this scene is the end of the day.

Part 2: "I think I already love you"

In this scene Fadel knows something that Style doesn't: Style has played him, has made him lower his protective walls, has made him fall for him only to turn around and betray him.

Style told Fadel he hoped that Fadel wouldn't get any more scars and yet here Style is, stabbing Fadel right in the heart and jeopardizing his life. Here Style is, bursting Fadel's bubble that he's finally started daring to dream about, a dream of a future where he wasn't lonely, a future where he was happy and himself with someone, Style, by his side. But Style is a danger to him. Style can't stay. As happy as Fadel has been together with Style, he needs to let go of him. For Fadel this is a goodbye.

And for Style? He has just spent a full week worrying sick about Fadel after his mission went wrong and went completely MIA. Style has likely (definitely) spent a week checking the restaurant every single day for any sign of Fadel's return, not giving up hope of seeing him again. And then Fadel is back. Style is overjoyed. The heavy metal concert wasn't their last day together, Fadel is pulling through on his promise to have many more nights like that with each other. The concert may have been the end of the day, but now against all odds a new day has come. For Style this is the opposite of a goodbye.

And so we're left with the exact opposite situation from what we had at the concert: Fadel is ending something and Style wants to begin something.

Conclusion

These two scenes go together, they're flipped parallels of each other.

At the concert, Style is internally saying goodbye to Fadel because he thinks their relationship will be over when Fadel gets arrested at the mission and the police take him away. At the diner, Fadel is internally saying goodbye to Style because he thinks their relationship is over now that he "knows" that none of it was real on Style's part since in reality he was working with said police.

At the concert Fadel is truly happy, because once his mission is over he'll talk to mother and when he's managed to convince her that him and Bison will be out, then Fadel can go and start a new life, a new future with Style. At the diner, Style is overjoyed because he thought he was about to lose Fadel, but Fadel has come back and now Style gets a second chance at a future with Fadel.

At the concert, Fadel is happy and he can tell something is kinda off about Style ("What's wrong? You act like we're not going to see each other again."), but he has absolutely no idea that Style is in the process of bidding him farewell. At the diner, Style is happy and he can tell something is kinda off about Fadel ("You were just calling me out for being affectionate. Now you wanna be romantic?"), but he has absolutely no idea that Fadel is in the process of bidding him farewell.

It's brilliant writing, really. And both scenes were flawlessly performed by both boys.

[cuntholicism]

[funboxsupreme]

I am kinda glad Erda is the way she is in canon because i find that most concepts of Mother of the Primarchs take a very "The Emperor's Loyal Tradwife" angle; which unfortunately are very uninteresting.

[chrisbangz]

Department Chief Bang Chan

[nai418]

punch out family au

(orphan scrappy kid) little mac managed to get in the gym unoticed

(doc dosent exist in this au)

This is the last one I’ll do at least for a while, but here, Don and Aran found him. Well you only see Don and Little Mac though cause I didn’t like how Aran looked

[bromcommie]

Мы столько убили Не родивши себе

[ruanbaijie]

During the Republican Era, Shen Zhiheng, a member of the Tianjin gentry who happened to be a vampire, offended the Japanese and became the target of an assassination attempt. He was saved by a blind young lady, Mi Lan, and his best friend Situ Weilian. When he went to repay Mi Lan for saving him, he discovered the terrible family situation that Mi Lan was in, and so began to pay more attention to her. Meanwhile, Shen Zhiheng’s plan to take revenge on Li Yingliang, the mastermind behind his assassination, fell short of success thanks to Li Yingliang’s Japanese superior, raising suspicions about his identity. Since then, Li Yingliang and the Japanese were in hot pursuit of Shen Zhiheng, determined to dig out the truth about his secret.

Please do not repost this anywhere else or retranslate it!

MAIN DIRECTORY ☾ PREVIOUS CHAPTER

When Shen Zhiheng woke up, the first thing he saw was Mi Lan.

He was lying on his back on the grass and looking up at the sky, while Mi Lan was kneeling across his chest. Her skirt, which had first been completely drenched in fresh blood which had then dried on it, was now stiff and heavy. With her hair loose and in a mess, she was currently fixing his buttons for him with her head lowered.

He was awake, but he still had not come to his senses, and did not know where he was or when it was. Raising her eyes, Mi Lan exchanged glances with him, but she did not say anything, only staring straight at him, as if she could not get enough of a look.

Shen Zhiheng slowly turned his head and saw the green grass beside his face, and even saw the moon and stars in the night sky. Above the green grass and beneath the moon and stars was a young girl in clothes stained with blood, Mi Lan.

“Did we escape?” he asked softly.

Mi Lan nodded her head. “Mm.”

“Were you the one who saved me?”

Mi Lan replied, “Of course it was me.”

Shen Zhiheng smiled. “You always save me.”

Mi Lan opened her mouth, “I…”

It was not that she was hesitant to speak, she simply had not thought of what to say next after “I”. She would save him forever, accompany him forever. If he died, she would go and die too. There were so many things to say, which should she start with? And then which one next? She had always been taciturn, and if words could not properly express her meaning, then from where should she start speaking again?

So, she might as well say nothing. She wouldn’t say anything now, and when she thought of it properly in the future, she would say it then.

Mi Lan helped Shen Zhiheng up, and it was then when he noticed that he had changed into a clean set of clothes. It was just that the measurements were wrong. A section of his ankles and wrists were exposed, and the shoes were too small. He took one step, holding on to Mi Lan, and felt that he had some strength, and belatedly asked, “Mi Lan, did I… kill a lot of people?”

“Yes.”

Shen Zhiheng changed the topic, “Where did you get these clothes from?”

“The chauffeur.”

“The chauffeur?”

“That day, to find you, I hired a car and tailed Li-shushu, but the chauffeur wasn’t willing to wait here for me, so I sucked all of his blood.” She raised her hand and pointed to one side, “The corpse is there. When I found him just now, his flesh had not gone bad yet, so I removed his clothes and gave them to you to wear. The car is behind that big tree, you know how to drive, let’s go home!”

Shen Zhiheng was finding it hard to believe her. “You killed someone?”

Mi Lan looked at him calmly and quietly, with no intention to explain any further. She had long completely accepted her identity as something that was not human. She killed people, just like how a human would kill chickens, ducks, geese, pigs, dogs, or cats. There was no important goal behind it; it was simply to satisfy a craving to have a bite of meat, or to have a piece of pelt.

Shen Zhiheng did not criticise her; he had neither the position nor right to do so. When he was famished, he would go on a killing spree, and would be even more uncontrolled and violent than her. He suddenly thought, he had lived so difficultly for more than a hundred years, was it now time that he acknowledged his fate?

Shen Zhiheng got into the car, where he found a towel and a bottle of water. Dipping the towel with water, he meticulously cleaned the specks of blood and dirt on his face, and then washed the towel and tore it into strips that he wrapped around one half of his face. If passers-by happened to look at him, they would assume that he was simply a patient with a head injury.

Mi Lan was curled up in the drunk, as her bloodied clothes simply could not be hidden, and whoever saw her would be given quite a huge fright.

As the sun was about to rise, rays of sunlight shone faintly along the edges of the sky. Shen Zhiheng started the car. Now, he no longer cared about Situ Weilian or Li Yingliang. Situ Weilian should still be alive, but he no longer had anything to do with him, and he had not even asked Mi Lan where he had gone. Li Yingliang was probably dead. The last memory he had of this little brat was of him kneeling before Kuroki Rika, selling him out.

This last memory made him thoroughly disappointed in Li Yingliang. It was not hatred or fury, just disappointment. If Li Yingliang had followed Situ Weilian then and escaped together, he probably would not have been as disappointed.

On the way back to the city, Shen Zhiheng’s luck was not that bad. They only met a few checkpoints of the Japanese army, and the inspections were also quite relaxed. The certificates of this car were also in order, and it had originated from a large car company in the city, so it was easy to muddle through the inspections.

 Seeing the streets full of people and cars, he was quite disoriented, up until when he drove back into the concession zone and returned home. He got out of the car and stepped through the doors, and saw Zhang Youwen before him.

Zhang Youwen had not seen Young Miss Niece for three days and nights in a row. He was so anxious that he had been about to slit his own neck, and he had become considerably thinner. Suddenly seeing Shen Zhiheng return, and in such a dishevelled state at that, he was startled, delighted, and afraid at the same time.

“Mr. Shen, you’re back? You’re fine? Are you injured? Do you want to go to the hospital?”

Shen Zhiheng replied, “There’s no need. I’m fine. They’re just flesh wounds.”

Zhang Youwen then said, “Mr. Shen, there’s one more thing, that is, Young Miss Niece. Young Miss Niece has gone missing!”

Shen Zhiheng was nonchalant and relaxed as always. “She is not missing, she will be able to return in a moment. Go out and buy some fruits and ice cream first, she can eat it when she returns.”

At once, a smile appeared on Zhang Youwen’s face, and he delightedly ran out. Shen Zhiheng hurriedly took the chance to open the trunk to let Mi Lan out. Without needing him to say anything further, she rapidly ran into the house to shower and change.

Half an hour later, Zhang Youwen returned with fruits in his hands, and really saw a brand new Young Miss Niece. Over these three days and three nights, Young Miss Niece had evidently suffered much. First of all, her once long hair had become short, reaching until her ears, with the hair at her temples tucked behind her ears. Dressed in a sports attire, it gave her the aura of a boy. Upon seeing Zhang Youwen, she was like a mute, not caring to explain where she had run off to these few days. Not wanting to lower himself to her level, Zhang Youwen turned his head and looked back again at Mr. Shen, and saw that Mr. Shen had also recovered his old appearance. The clothes on his body were layered and neat, and he did not seem to feel bothered by the heat. Snow white bandages were wrapped diagonally, covering half of his forehead and one eye, as well as a part of his face.

Sitting on the sofa, Mr. Shen seemed extremely tired, and he asked, “What is today’s date?”

“The twenty-fifth.”

Shen Zhiheng raised his head and looked at Mi Lan. “How fortunate, we can still make it for the ship tomorrow at dawn.”

Mi Lan stood in a corner of the parlour. “I’ve already packed all my luggage.”

Shen Zhiheng suddenly turned to face Zhang Youwen. “The situation in the north is too messy now, and I’m an enemy of the Japanese, so we now intend to head south to lie low. If you’re willing, you can stay behind and look after the house for me.”

Zhang Youwen immediately nodded. “I’m willing, I’m willing, as long as the boss trusts me.”

Shen Zhiheng continued, “I’ll leave a cheque behind for your living expenses, and you can continue staying here. I’ll occasionally make a long-distance phone call back to ask about the situation here.”

Upon hearing this, Zhang Youwen was delighted again. For no reason at all, he now had money to spend, and a Western house in the concession zone to live in. Besides, he did not have to work or put in any effort. Was there a better task than this on earth?

Shen Zhiheng then stood up and said to Mi Lan, “Go back to your room and rest. We have to wake up early tomorrow morning for a long journey, which will be another tiring one.”

Mi Lan did not say anything to Zhang Youwen, and quietly returned to her room to sleep.

She slept for a very, very long time, and when she woke up again, the sky outside the window was faintly light. It was already the dawn of the second day. While she had been fast asleep, Shen Zhiheng had consolidated their luggage and taken care of the car. When Mi Lan had washed up and walked out of her room, Zhang Youwen had already started the car and was waiting outside.

The atmosphere in the concession zone was still one of peace, and they smoothly reached the pier and boarded the passenger ship. There were too many passengers on the ship, and although Mi Lan was in a first class cabin, she still thought that it was very noisy, and that noise could last for an entire day.

At night, she lay down on the small bed, wanting to sleep but unable to fall asleep. Suddenly, Shen Zhiheng, who was on the bed opposite hers, sat up.

She asked in a small voice, “Do you also have insomnia?”

Shen Zhiheng answered, “The bed is too small, it’s uncomfortable if I lie on it for too long. I might as well go out and walk a bit.”

She got up as well. “I’ll walk with you.”

The two of them left the cabin and headed for the deck. Night had just fallen, and the gentle wind was quite chilly. Leaning against the railing on the deck, Shen Zhiheng lowered his head and looked at the waves below him, and so did Mi Lan. There was no one around them at all, it was just the two of them, standing in the middle of the winds of the vast ocean.

Blown completely awake by the wind, Mi Lan turned her head to gaze at Shen Zhiheng, and suddenly felt that now that fortune was smiling upon her, she could think properly. At this moment, the contents behind the word “I” that she had been unable to express clearly, were now clear to her.

She extended her hand and patted Shen Zhiheng’s arm. This time, she did not call him Mr. Shen, only calling him with a single “eh”.

Shen Zhiheng turned his head to look at her.

She was quite nervous, and with her fingers clutching his sleeve, she said, “I love you.”

The second those words left her lips, they were blown away by the ocean winds. Shen Zhiheng raised his eyebrows at her in confusion, and then shifted his ear closer to her lips, asking loudly, “What?”

Mi Lan pulled onto his ear, nearly pressing her lips onto them, and shouted loudly, “I like you!”

Shen Zhiheng was startled by her, moving slightly away. Raising his hand to cover his ear, he looked at Mi Lan and replied, “I know.”

Mi Lan stared at him, curling her hands around her mouth to form a trumpet, and she shouted against the ocean winds, “You don’t know! I love you! I want to marry you in the future!”

This time, Shen Zhiheng was truly surprised, so much so that he looked at Mi Lan, unable to say anything for a moment.

One midnight a few days later, Shen Zhiheng and Mi Lan arrived safely in Shanghai.

At the same time, thousands of miles away in Tianjin, Jin Jingxue, who was returning for the night, got out of the car in front of her mansion.

She had yet to call back the servants on leave, and the two maidservants she had left at home had not known to step out and welcome her home. She entered the house alone and was about to go upstairs to rest, when she heard someone knocking at the front door behind her. At first, she was startled, but nearly at once, her face lit up with joy. She turned around and ran over to open the door.

“Liang-gege?”

Outside was the dark, endless night. Immaculately dressed, Li Yingliang stood beneath the lamp at the door, and gave her a slight bow.

“I’m back.”

Full of joy, she was about to extend her hand and pull him in, but halfway through, she slowly stopped, for another tall and large figure had walked out from the darkness. It was Situ Weilian.

Situ Weilian walked to Li Yingliang’s side, and the two of them, standing shoulder to shoulder, started to smile at her together.

[apurpledust]

Junot crying for Napoléon in Montbard

This excerpt is from the Narrator’s POV . He was visiting Junot shortly after he was sent back home to “recuperate”. Narrator's name is Pierre.. based on the Monsieur Vial i assume.

— I see him decline too quickly my poor Alexandre*, and I am not wrong on the real cause of his unhappiness... At night I barely sleep i hear him sobbing during hours muffling his cries on his pillow. Sometimes he says « He doesn't love me anymore ! Its certain he doesn't love me anymore ! Everything is over between us! ... » « Toulon! my god, what a memory ! ... How could he forget Toulon! ...» I asked him about one of his meeting with the emperor, he told me : « The emperor told me : but I still love you my poor Junot ! » and this break me more than anything , because this sentence ....he told this in such a fake tone! » But what power have this man on him , he can kill or heal as he likes? It was like one of those wizards in Martinique that the empress Joséphine told us about.... *Alexandre was also a name Junot used

just a few pages after this, the author continues to write that due to Junot's deteriorating mental state, he had "believed himself to be the wife of Bonaparte" and says to Pierre "He loves me no more, because I am no longer beautiful…"

i skipped through the part about Albert de Permon being annoyed at his behaviour but seeing that nothing can console Junot, Pierre basically plays along and tells him:

— Patience, your husband will be back soon.

Junot proceeds to ask if there had been a courier from the Emperor yet but the answer is always no. This is one S-tier fic :)) reminder this was written way back in 1926 Naps is the top confirmed /jk

~~

In real life , i believe Junot has indeed uttered the line "He doesn't love me anymore" but in different variations. It’s a possibility that this line isn't completely fiction

in Laure's memoirs, Duroc had to yell to convince Junot that Naps still loves him after Russia:

in the book Wellington Against Junot by David Buttery he also mentions this anecdote:

*sobbing* see you guys in my next napjuno post🥲

[wingsofhcpe]

ok but @ greek moots have I ever shown yall my πάρα πέντε mug

[erkauberscream]

(how I feel after meeting toxic survs)

(original meme under the cut)

[lusias-posts]

[eyedruple]

i took a nap and had a dream that goob wasn’t available to play for 6 months because he was recovering from top surgery what the Fuck was that