016 Power Bank, WeChat, Flowing Cloud Sect
“Qin Ren… what time did you get back last night…”
“1 a.m.”
“What about the milk tea…”
“It’s toast.”
“?”
Luo Yao didn’t know what “toast” meant, but seeing how tired Qin Ren looked when she woke up in the morning, she didn’t pursue the matter of the milk tea.
“What do you want to eat tonight?”
“Fat pot meat.”
“It’s twice-cooked pork. Aren’t you afraid of it being too greasy at night…”
But it was understandable. A Pixiu, after all, had basically no dietary restrictions.
So, after work in the evening, Qin Ren went to a nearby Qian Dama store and bought a small, discounted piece of second-cut pork. He sliced it into thin pieces in a few swift motions. Just as he stir-fried them in the wok until they curled up like lantern sockets, he turned his head to find Luo Yao holding the tablet, pointing it at him.
“What are you doing?”
“Recording.”
This was a function Luo Yao had recently taken a great liking to.
On the Myriad Demon Continent, never mind recording images, even a spirit stone that could record sound cost a fortune. She never expected it to be so common on Earth.
“Don’t record too much. You’ll run out of memory.”
“What’s memory?”
“Memory is…”
…
Qin Ren explained as he tossed the wok. The finely chopped Pixian doubanjiang, fermented soybeans, and sweet bean sauce stirred up a rich, savory aroma.
When the time was right, he deftly sprinkled in a handful of green garlic sprouts, stir-fried them a couple more times until just cooked, and while the wok’s heat was still rolling, he plated it. The moment it was placed on the dining table, the Spirit Beast’s sweet saliva began to pool in her mouth.
Gulp…
She swallowed, then sniffed with her little nose, and impatiently tossed the tablet onto the sofa and sat down at the chair.
Smack—
Qin Ren tapped the back of her hand with his chopsticks.
“Did you wash your hands?”
“Qin Ren, you’ve changed.”
“?”
“You’re disgusted with this eminence.”
“Cut the crap. Wash them, then come back.”
What on earth has this kid been watching on the tablet all day…
“Oh, right, Yao.”
“Hm?”
Mentioning the tablet, Qin Ren thought of something the junior from last night had said, and became thoughtful.
“This tablet, how come I feel like I’ve never seen you charge it?”
“Charge it?”
Luo Yao thought for a moment.
“It doesn’t seem to be out of power, so I’ve never charged it.”
Not out of power?
How is that possible!
A tablet that had been used for nearly a month without being charged once?
And this was a second-hand one he’d bought on Xianyu. If it had such heaven-defying battery life, would other competitors even be in business?
Connecting this to Luo Yao’s very weak electricity-discharging ability, Qin Ren already had a rough guess in his mind. To verify it, after dinner, he sat on the sofa with Luo Yao and swapped his phone for her tablet for a while.
…
Half an hour later.
“50%? It was 47% just now…”
Qin Ren glanced at Luo Yao’s hands and found that not only had his phone’s battery increased, but the case, which was usually hot, was not hot at all.
The latter, Qin Ren could understand. Luo Yao’s constitution was special, after all. Her skin was always cool, so it was normal for it to cool down a phone.
But charging a phone was amazing!
Although it charged very slowly, it was at least wireless. You could charge it anytime, anywhere, just by placing it in her hand, and it wasn’t limited to a specific device.
She was simply the best human power bank in the world!
Qin Ren was very excited about this, but Luo Yao wasn’t very interested. Anyway, that was about all the talent she had. Qin Ren could develop it however he wanted; she was only responsible for eating her fill.
“Qin Ren.”
“What?”
Luo Yao snuggled into Qin Ren’s arms, found a comfortable angle to lean against his arm, and pointed to a green icon on the phone.
“Why doesn’t this eminence’s tablet have this?”
“That’s WeChat. Little brats don’t need it.”
“This eminence is not a little brat. This eminence is 18.”
Luo Yao emphasized, then tapped open WeChat to take a look. She pointed to a pinned profile picture.
“Who is this [Jing Ke]?”
“My sister, Gu Qing. The one you talked to on the phone.”
Qin Ren had a sister. This wasn’t the first time Luo Yao had heard of it. She swiped her finger and pointed to the second pinned person.
“What about this one?”
“That’s Sister Yun.”
“You have two sisters…”
Luo Yao mumbled, her voice a little muffled and sullen.
“No, she’s my boss at the company. I just call her ‘sister’.”
“Oh, oh.”
Luo Yao’s voice perked up a bit.
“Then what about this [Orange]?”
“…”
“And this [Little Orange]? Ah, there’s a red dot… Qin Ren, why are you ignoring [Little Orange]?”
“Alright, alright, are you planning to ask about every single one?”
Luo Yao didn’t notice that when Qin Ren saw the ID [Orange], his expression had already changed. A trace of gloom flashed across his eyes, but it was immediately followed by a sense of helpless exasperation when he saw [Little Orange].
——————————
There was no walk after dinner tonight because Qin Ren’s few college roommates, including Zhou Chi, had managed to find time for a rare gaming session together.
“Damn it! I haven’t played mid in a year!”
“Ah, it’s all the same, Brother Chi. Our company is way worse than yours and Ren’s. We work overtime until we’re shitting our guts out.”
“Hehe, I’m guarding the drawings at the company while playing right now.”
“Damn, you’re a beast, Brother Fei. What’s the plan? A round of happy wind man?”
“Sure. Qin Ren, you haven’t forgotten your signature move, have you? Smart Malphite, bring it out.”
…
Listening to these familiar voices in the voice chat, Qin Ren smiled.
It was a long-lost, heartfelt smile, as if he had temporarily returned to the laughter-filled Dorm 213.
Is this the legendary “my youth is back”?
“So, the system at our company is just ridiculous…”
“Hey, we’re starting, we’re starting. Let’s not talk about work. Ren, you’ve got top lane. I’m helping bot this game.”
“No problem.”
Although it was a rare gaming session nowadays, Qin Ren was still sharp. He started a new account and went on a killing spree in the Silver division on the Ionia server.
“Brother Ren is on fire today. That last move had at least ten layers of mind games.”
“Not ten thousand layers?”
“To be honest, the R-Flash was slick.”
“You flatter me, you flatter me…”
Qin Ren was being modest, but to be honest, he had indeed made a great contribution. If his Malphite hadn’t used his ultimate and flashed to escape in time just now, the opponent would have been godlike.
He’d have to find time to submit a clip of that hand speed to a Top 10 Plays compilation.
…
Gaming sessions after starting work were naturally not as long-lasting as in their student days.
The four brothers agreed to play three games and no longer made flags like “one win and we’ll sleep.” In short, as soon as the three games were over, they all started saying they were tired and would play again next time.
In those slightly self-deprecating words, there was a faint bitterness, but also a sense of calm acceptance of reality.
In fact, it was evident from the entire gaming process that everyone’s feelings for the game itself were not the same as before.
In the voice chat, there were few analyses of enemies and tactics, but a constant stream of complaints about their work units and bosses.
Actually, this wasn’t just happening in the game. The guys in the WeChat group had been like this for a long time. In their chats, the proportion of games and girls was getting smaller and smaller, while keywords like “overtime” were becoming more and more frequent.
However, there were also those like Zhou Chi who were forever young at heart, who would regularly send a few lewd pictures to the group in the morning, noon, and night to refresh and de-stress the brothers.
…
Regardless, Qin Ren had a lot of fun with his brothers tonight. But three consecutive ranked games were enough to make him, who had worked a full day, feel tired. After a quick shower, drowsiness washed over him, even stronger than usual.
“Still playing? Time for bed.”
“Just a little while longer.”
After getting into the bedroom and into bed, the Pixiu beside his pillow was still holding the tablet, her eyes sparkling. Qin Ren had never seen her so serious.
“What are you watching? Didn’t I say no food videos at night?”
“It’s not that.”
Luo Yao shook her head, her eyes still glued to the screen. Qin Ren leaned over to take a look.
“Journey to the West?”
Luo Yao was watching the most classic version, and it was at the Lion-Camel Ridge part.
Could she be homesick?
Thinking of this, Qin Ren casually asked.
“Luo Yao, isn’t it only the demon race that cultivates on your Myriad Demon Continent? So is the Flowing Cloud Sect similar to this Lion-Camel Ridge?”
“Of course not.”
Luo Yao pointed at the screen with disgust.
“These little tigers, little elephants, little whirlwinds, a motley crew. On what grounds can they establish a sect?”
A motley crew…
Not bad, she used an idiom correctly for once.
Qin Ren was intrigued.
“So your Flowing Cloud Sect is a clan? Meaning, from top to bottom, there’s only one race, like all little tigers, for example?”
“Little tigers are too weak.”
Luo Yao pondered for a moment.
“And they’re not tasty either.”
“…”
As expected of a Pixiu. Heaven knows what else this kid has eaten.
“Yao, sometimes I feel you’re not a Pixiu, you’re a Taotie.”
“Taotie?”
Luo Yao tilted her head and pondered again.
“Also not tasty.”
“…”
Qin Ren’s face turned into a subway-old-man-with-phone.jpg.
Good grief. In Earth’s legends, the dragon has nine sons, and the Taotie and Pixiu are brothers. I thought they would at least be like sisters to Luo Yao, but I didn’t expect them to be considered as food and then criticized for not being tasty.
“Let’s get back to the Flowing Cloud Sect.”
Qin Ren waved his hand and continued to ask.
“What demon race does the Flowing Cloud Sect belong to?”
“The disciples of the Flowing Cloud Sect are all descendants of the Divine Jiao.”
“Divine intercourse?”
Divine intercourse can have descendants?
Qin Ren didn’t understand at first, but as he listened, it dawned on him.
“Oh, you mean snakes, right?”
“Yes. From the Sect Master to the disciples, everyone in the Flowing Cloud Sect is of the snake race. They excel at swordsmanship, using the sword to enter and comprehend the Dao. They only accept and teach the snake race.”
According to Luo Yao, the demon race was different from Spirit Beasts. Spirit Beasts could only take human form after reaching adulthood, while it was the opposite for the demon race. They were born in human form and had to cultivate to a very high realm to activate their bloodline and manifest their true form.
“Then the only difference between the demon race and humans is cultivation and bloodline?”
“Not entirely. The demon race doesn’t look the same as humans. Some look very similar, some not so much, but they’re never exactly the same.”
Luo Yao couldn’t explain it clearly, but she was very disdainful of the demons in Lion-Camel Ridge.
“The demons in Journey to the West are too ugly.”
“There are pretty ones too, like the White Bone Spirit.”
“Oh…”
Luo Yao was noncommittal. She didn’t have any feelings about whether they were pretty or not. Anyway, every time she heard that name, she would get quite hungry.
“Qin Ren.”
“Hm?”
“Can we have spare ribs tomorrow?”
“Sweet and sour or braised?”
“Mmm… is there that… what’s it called, sashimi?”
“I’d like to make you into sashimi…”
Translator’s Notes
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It’s toast (寄了): “Jì le” is Chinese internet slang meaning something is finished, done for, or hopeless. It’s similar to saying “it’s toast” or “it’s bricked” in English.
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Qian Dama (钱大妈): A popular chain of community fresh food markets in China, known for its slogan “Never sells overnight meat” and its progressive discounts in the evening.
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Pixian doubanjiang (郫县豆瓣): A famous type of fermented broad bean paste from Pixian, Sichuan. It’s a key ingredient in Sichuan cuisine, known for its deep, savory, and spicy flavor.
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Xianyu (闲鱼): A major second-hand e-commerce platform in China, owned by Alibaba, similar to eBay or Craigslist.
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Happy wind man (快乐风男): A popular nickname for the League of Legends champion Yasuo. He is known for being a high-skill, flashy champion that is fun to play (hence “happy”) but often performs poorly in the hands of average players, leading to his team’s loss.
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Smart Malphite (聪明石头人): A sarcastic nickname for the champion Malphite. His ultimate ability is a powerful, straightforward charge. “Smart” is used ironically because the champion is often played in a very simple, brute-force manner.
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R-Flash: A high-skill mechanical combo in League of Legends where a player uses the Flash summoner spell during the animation of their ultimate ability (R key) to instantly reposition it, catching opponents off guard. Qin Ren’s “R-Flash” to escape is a humorous subversion of this offensive technique.
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Subway-old-man-with-phone.jpg (地铁老人手机.jpg): A popular meme in China featuring a picture of an old man on the subway looking at his phone with a complex, hard-to-read expression. It’s used to convey feelings of confusion, bewilderment, or being utterly speechless.
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Divine Jiao / Divine intercourse (神蛟 / 神交): A pun. Luo Yao says “shén jiāo” (神蛟), meaning “Divine Flood Dragon.” Qin Ren mishears it as the homophone “shénjiāo” (神交), which means “spiritual communion” or “a meeting of minds,” often with platonic or intellectual connotations.
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White Bone Spirit (白骨精): A famous demoness from Journey to the West. Her name literally means “White Bone Spirit.” Luo Yao’s hunger upon hearing the name is a pun on “bone” (骨, gǔ), which is part of the word for “spare ribs” (排骨, páigǔ).
