R:DSAT Chapter 145: Fighting Till the Last Gasp

(T/N: lit. translation of title = “no death, no rest.” Meaning is the same as Shakespeare’s “fight till the last gasp.”) 

(T/N Reminder: please read the warning tags on novelupdates before proceeding!) 

    Luo Wei had a feeling of powerlessness. Long Xuan’s tone did not have even a hint of mockery, but his words were the greatest taunt. Luo Wei turned, wanting to leave. He didn’t want Long Xuan to see any fraction of his dissatisfaction with the Crown Prince. He didn’t care how naive the Crown Prince was right now–as long as he could ascend to the throne, his Luo family’s life would be better. He just had to endure for a time. 

    “Luo Wei.” Long Xuan watched Luo Wei as he walked away, took a few steps forward, and grabbed Luo Wei’s left wrist.

    “Your Highness still has some matters?” Luo Wei shook Long Xuan’s hand off and took a few steps back, as if Long Xuan was a great scourge. (T/N: “great scourge,” lit. idiom: “severe flood and fierce beasts.”) 

    “Are you so afraid of me?” Long Xuan pressed on, walking close to Luo Wei to ask.

    “His Highness is a descendant of dragons. Luo Wei is only a humble servant. How can a humble servant dare to be unafraid?” Luo Wei continued to back away. 

    Long Xuan reached out and grabbed Luo Wei’s wrist again, and brought Luo Wei into his arms.

    In Long Xuan’s arms, Luo Wei almost couldn’t breathe. Only then did Luo Wei discover that he was still afraid of Long Xuan. This person had always been his nightmare. He wanted to forget the past; in front of this person, he would involuntarily remember.

    “Why are you surnamed Luo?” Long Xuan asked Luo Wei. (T/N: This sentence can either mean “why do you want to be surnamed Luo,” or “why are you surnamed Luo.”) 

    Luo Wei replied, “Sorry, Your Highness, I was born surnamed Luo.”

    Long Xuan turned around. After a few steps, he pressed Luo Wei against the trunk of that pine tree. “Luo Wei, I’m telling you. The things I want to obtain, I must obtain them.” 

    “This country?” (T/N: lit. = rivers and mountains, fig. = one’s country.)

    “Yes.”

    “This humble servant will wait and see.”

    “But you want to block my way.”

    “His Highness wants to tell this humble servant that the one who blocks his way shall die?”

    Long Xuan raised Luo Wei’s chin and looked at his exquisite face. “I still like the way you used to be,” he said to Luo Wei. “In the past, you only smiled at me, unlike now. What is it that’s within your eyes?” Long Xuan pressed a finger against Luo Wei’s left eye, “You hate me?”

    Luo Wei remembered that scene in the pleasure compound. Long Xuan flew into a rage and, with his own hands, dug out one of Luo Wei’s eyes. “What?” Luo Wei asked Long Xuan. “Your Highness wants to take out this humble servant’s eye?” Finishing this question, Luo Wei felt the finger above his left eye lose strength. 

    “How good would it be if you were not surnamed Luo?” Long Xuan unwaveringly stared at the face in front of him.

    Luo Wei laughed loudly, “Your Highness, even if in the future Your Highness has this country in his hands, you still cannot control reincarnation right? What’s more, at this moment Your Highness still does not have this country within his grasp!” 

    “I don’t actually want you to hate me,” Long Xuan said, “I don’t want it at all.”

    “You almost put my second brother to death!” Luo Wei finally couldn’t restrain the anger filling his heart, and shouted at Long Xuan, “You still hope I won’t hate you?! After all is said and done, what kind of a person are you? No matter how cruel the tiger, he won’t eat his own child. Even your own…”

    Long Xuan kissed Luo Wei’s lips, blocking the sounds of Luo Wei’s angry rebuke. 

    Luo Wei was stunned, and after that passed, he vigorously pushed at Long Xuan.

    “Let go of the young master,” Wei Lan said coldly. The ice-cold tip of his sword rested at the back of Long Xuan’s neck.

    Long Xuan released Luo Wei. The tip of his tongue had been bitten by Luo Wei while Luo Wei struggled. He spit blood upon the snow.

    Wei Lan put Luo Wei behind him, staring coldly at Long Xuan.

    “Wei Lan?” Long Xuan looked at Wei Lan with amusement. “You dare to hurt me?”

    “Whether Wei Lan dares or not, Your Highness can give it a try,” Wei Lan replied. The Qilin Shadow Guard supplied people with playthings, but was also a sharp murder weapon. Wei Lan had long ago forgotten how many people he had killed, though he had never killed a prince. However, for Luo Wei’s sake, he did not mind one more life falling beneath his hands.

    Long Xuan was not afraid. “If you kill me, your young master’s entire family must pay with their lives.”

    “There are no others here,” Wei Lan said.

    Long Xuan looked at Luo Wei behind Wei Lan, “I thought you would take a fancy to a clever person, but he’s actually so stupid.”

    “Let’s go,” Luo Wei pulled at Wei Lan’s hand. “It’s not the right time.”

    “But I don’t want to let him go!” Long Xuan had already unsheathed the sword at his waist. The sword’s blade was so bright and clean that it could be compared to a mirror; it was even thinner than the thin blade in Wei Lan’s hand. Long Xuan didn’t wait for the two people in front of him to react, and slashed at Luo Wei with his sword.

    Wei Lan pushed Luo Wei away with one hand, grasped his sword with the other, and blocked Long Xuan’s double-edged blade.

    The two swords met; a crisp sound rang out.

    Long Xuan and Wei Lan took a step back at the same time. The thin sword in Wei Lan’s hand was a good sword that Luo Wei had found for him, but it had nicked itself on Long Xuan’s blade. 

    “Kung fu isn’t bad,” Long Xuan commented, and then stepped forward while at an advantage. The sword in his hand was like a spirit snake, each strike slipping towards Wei Lan’s vital parts.

    Luo Wei stood to the side. He wanted to remind Wei Lan to be careful, but was afraid to distract him. Wei Lan’s martial arts were not bad, but Long Xuan was a master of both pen and sword. He had sparred with elder brother Luo Qi before, and neither had the upper hand. Could Wei Lan be Long Xuan’s opponent? 

    As soon as Wei Lan and Long Xuan crossed blades, Wei Lan knew that the prince wanted to kill him. The sword in his hand was not as good as that in his opponent’s. Wei Lan could only carefully dodge Long Xuan’s sharp sword. The Qilin Shadow Guard’s qinggong was unrivalled in the land. Relying on this qinggong, Wei Lan could only then come to a draw with Long Xuan. 

    An imperial bodyguard had been placed within reach, but Long Xuan disdained to use him. However, this Wei Lan–with one glance he saw half of that Mandarin duck buckle at his waist.  Long Xuan suddenly wanted to kill this person. Mandarin ducks formed pairs. If one person died, how could you both form a pair? 

    “Your Highness?” Fu Yun brought others with him and found Long Xuan. He didn’t know what was going on over there. He only saw Long Xuan sparring with someone from afar, and he hurriedly shouted, bringing people to rush forward. 

    Long Xuan stopped his movements. He didn’t know if his Emperor Father’s spies were among the people Fu Yun brought. Wei Lan’s life could not be taken today.

    Wei Lan reappeared at Luo Wei’s side in a flash. 

    “Are you all right?” Luo Wei hurriedly asked with deep concern. 

    “I’m all right.” Wei Lan looked Luo Wei up and down, fearing that Luo Wei had been injured.

    “I’m also fine,” Luo Wei said. “Let’s go.”

    “Luo Wei,” Long Xuan sheathed his sword and shouted once.

    Luo Wei looked at Fu Yun and his group coming ever closer. He gestured with the proper courtesy at Long Xuan and said, “This humble servant congratulates His Highness on being able to leave the capital, finding himself a field of activity.” (T/N: “a field of activity,” literal translation “a piece of heaven and earth.”) 

    Long Xuan raised his hand at Fu Yun from afar, and Fu Yun and the people he brought came to a halt. 

    “If Your Highness insists on having this country, then we…” Luo Wei suppressed the fires of anger in his heart. Of course he could also see that Long Xuan even wanted to kill Wei Lan. Luo Wei couldn’t find suitable words to express himself for a moment. 

    “How do you want things to be?” Long Xuan asked with his hands clasped behind his back.

    “Let’s see to whom the deer falls.” (T/N: ie. who will emerge victorious). The forest was silent, and Luo Wei’s voice resounded, both awe-inspiring and gloomy, “Your Highness, then we can only fight till our last gasp!”

    Long Xuan watched Wei Lan support Luo Wei as they walked far away, and watched as two pairs of footprints staying strictly close together formed coupled paths in the white snow. Long Xuan opened his mouth. The blood at the tip of his tongue had stopped flowing, but now he began to feel pain. Fighting till the last gasp? Long Xuan laughed soundlessly. 

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In case anyone forgot, Long Xuan ate vinegar when he saw Wei Lan and Luo Wei buying that Mandarin duck buckle together in his store. 

Really wish the author would hurry up and do a timeskip. I know Luo Wei is technically 30 and ancient Chinese people die at around 40, but his pimply teenaged self is so unappealing to read about when he gets kissed or other such things… maybe I’m just too old

Still high quality drama all around though