My Disciple Wants to Tease Me Every Day - Chapter 47

: The Old Boatwright’s Ink Rope
The ancient witch Xuan Ming was a water deity, a deity of the North. According to legend, in ancient times, the ancient witch Xuan Ming once led the witch tribe to settle in the Northern Sea. The witch tribe were large of stature, were born with six fingers, and could communicate with spirits. They had a talent for demonic cultivation, so their settlement was shrouded in demonic energy year-round.

After hearing what old man Zhang had said, Di Jiufeng had guessed that Gui Hun island was the territory of the ancient witch Xuan Ming.

“Ning Guang, I was going to tell you after I saw Gui Hun island with my own eyes, but since you’re asking, I can tell you now. There is a reason why your fate is so frightful, why you have a talent for demonic cultivation. You are the reincarnation of the ancient witch Xuan Ming.”

Hearing Di Jiufeng’s words, Ning Guang was frozen to the spot. Emotions roiled through her heart, surprised joy mixing with anger––

Di Jiufeng had known her identity as the ancient witch all along, but she had never turned her back on her. Ning Guang was overjoyed, she could embrace her Shifu and spin twice on the spot.

But though Di Jiufeng knew, she had never told her. Ning Guang had hidden it so securely, creating scheme after scheme, never able to let down her guard, all to prevent even a single hint from showing through.

But she had done it all for nothing, she had worried for so long. Ning Guang felt a bit stupid.

She sighed, helpless, but in her core, she was still happy. She could finally drop the heavy stone she had carried for so long. She couldn’t help herself from pressing their foreheads together and kissing the tip of Di Jiufeng’s nose. “A-Feng, if you already knew, why didn’t you tell me?”

Embarrassed by this sudden intimacy, Di Jiufeng’s heart skipped half a beat.

She shrank back, hands coming up to grab Ning Guang’s lapels. “I, I did not know what to say. After all, this identity only brings you disaster.”

Seeing her hide away, Ning Guang chased right after her, soft red lips brushing her cheek, making the breaths by her ear quicken more and more.

“If you are not afraid, then what do I have to fear? What does it matter if I am the ancient witch? As long as I can protect you, I will bear any kind of name.” Her hands slid down from the wall to hold Di Jiufeng’s waist. Ning Guang pulled, tugging her into her embrace. “A-Feng, you always have an opinion on everything. I never asked before, but now I have to know. We have a long journey ahead of us, take your time, how are you going to explain this to me?”

Ning Guang was very warm, her body as hot as a furnace, making Di Jiufeng start to burn from head to toe.

She was already unable to speak and shrank into Ning Guang’s embrace, trembling faintly, almost forgetting to breathe. “You, what do you want to know… I, I will… tell you everything in a bit, right now… let’s, let’s go find a ship.” Di Jiufeng was too embarrassed. Even if no one was nearby, she still shrank into a flustered mess.

Her cheeks were burning red, even her neck was dyed peach-pink. Her eyes were misty, dodging away, afraid to even look at Ning Guang.

Before, Ning Guang would always have let her run and hide, but now she never again would. Pulling up with force, she lifted Di Jiufeng off the ground. As Di Jiufeng threw her arms around her neck in fright, Ning Guang looked into her eyes and said, “A-Feng…”

“What?” Di Jiufeng looked down at her from above.

“I’ve discovered… that you’re quite short.”

Now she had lost interest, Di Jiufeng couldn’t continue down this path of conversation. Pressing a hand to Ning Guang’s face, she struggled free and jumped down. “You can call me stupid, but you can’t call me short, don’t you know? I can still grow.”

Ning Guang looked at her eyes, open round in irritation, even her cheeks were puffed up. She thought, then decided not to argue. “Right, you can still grow, you can grow until you’re three hundred years old.”

What to do with a rebellious disciple? Di Jiufeng was helpless, she could only huff at her and turn up her nose.

Di Jiufeng was angry, she was in a mood, there was no way to coax her now. She huffed vehemently and turned to run into old man Zhang’s house.

Old man Zhang was still sitting on the threshold, sucking on his pipe puff after puff. Seeing them enter, he slapped his thigh and said, “You’re back, you’re back. You left so quickly, I didn’t get the chance to tell you that the way to Gui Hun island is dangerous, normal ships cannot survive the journey. The last time, I had old Zhou make me a ship.

But it’s been so many years, that ship has already broken down. If you want to go to Gui Hun island, you have to get old Zhou to make you a ship first. He is the only one in the world who knows how to create an enchanted ship, only the ships he crafts can sail to Gui Hun island.

Unfortunately, he has been retired for many years. I do not know if he would give us this face.”

Old shipwright Zhou lived not far away. After exiting the alley, his house was only a left turn and three houses away. A small table was placed outside the door, covered in many delicate wood carvings.

Di Jiufeng walked up to the door and reached out to knock.

Soon, an aged yet robust voice spoke from inside. “Who are you?”

This was an old man who must have been in his eighties, thin and wizened, his hair all white.

But his eyes were not fogged with age. They were still piercing and clear, like they could pierce right through to one’s heart.

Seeing them arrive, the old man sniffed deeply, then said, understanding, “Did that foolish old man Zhang send you? He wants me to build a ship? You should go back, it’s not that I won’t, but that I can’t do it.”

Di Jiufeng said, surprised, “But old mister Zhang said that you were the best shipwright?”

“It doesn’t matter if I’m a shipwright, I lost my ink rope.” Old shipwright Zhou stroked his whiskers and said with a sigh of regret, “Perhaps it was fate. After I made that ship for old Zhang that year, my ink rope disappeared. It was left behind by my Shifu, the vehicle to carry the secret technique to enchant a ship. Without that ink rope, I cannot create a spiritual ship. You should go back, let old Zhang put that idea to rest.”

Having spoken, old shipwright Zhou went to close the door, but right then, Di Jiufeng had a flash of inspiration.

Ink rope, the System store had an item called the old shipwright’s ink rope. If she had not guessed wrong, it was for completing this mission.

Having thought of this, Di Jiufeng stepped up and held the door open. “Wait a minute, elder. If I can find your ink rope, are you willing to craft a ship for us?”

“You can find the ink rope?” Old shipwright Zhou looked at her, and stopped trying to close the door. “If you really can find the ink rope, that means you are fated to reach Gui Hun island. This old man will not refuse those guided by fate, go ahead.”

Di Jiufeng pulled Ning Guang away to a secluded place, then called the System.

She did not plan to hide it from Ning Guang. She took this opportunity to explain, “Ning Guang, you know I have been raising a resentful ghost. This resentful ghost is quite old, it knows very many things, and has very many treasures. It was the one who told me your identity.”

The System had just emerged only to hear its host call it old, it was going to blacksceen in anger.

But it could not, because it was wrapped right in the ancient witch’s divine sense.

The System thoroughly cursed out this pair of women to itself, then rubbed its nonexistent face and smiled flatteringly. “Host, host, you came to find me.” Throwing up a projection of a stick figure, the System grovelingly ran up to Di Jiufeng on its short little legs.

Di Jiufeng thought it was very ugly. She took a step back to get further away.

“Is that old shipwright’s ink rope supposed to be used here? Give it to me.”

The System blinked its black bead eyes, dumbfounded, before it finally reacted. “Right, right, right. Honorable host is so smart, the old shipwright’s ink rope is precisely that old man’s, but, but…” It twisted around in midair, and carefully shot a look at Di Jiufeng. The System said, “I cannot retrieve the items in there at the moment, honorable host must think of a way herself…”

The System planned to play cute, but before it could even finish speaking, the ancient witch’s demonic energy began to press down.

The System shook in fear and prostrated itself, tears flying. “Boss, boss, I’m so young, don’t kill me…”

Ning Guang had seen this resentful ghost before. Stupid and clumsy and shameless too, Ning Guang disdained it very much. But at least it had its uses, so Ning Guang had not taken its cheap life.

“You cannot even retrieve an ink rope, what use are you!” Grey smoke roiled and pressed down, trapping the System in its midst.

The System trembled, eyes leaking like an open faucet, nearly drowning itself in tears. “Boss, boss, I really cannot retrieve it. I can think of ways to get any other item, but, but this, auntie will have to do it herself.” The System still had a few tricks up its sleeves, and this call of ‘auntie’ in a moment of desperation made Ning Guang very happy.

[T/N:大嫂, the word used here, is a respectful way to call an older married woman.]

She berated it, “Useless thing.” But the smile at the corner of her mouth could not be suppressed.

Ning Guang was happy, but now Di Jiufeng was carrying a dark cloud over the top of her head. She laughed ominously and looked at the System with a threatening gaze. “She is your ‘boss’, and I am your ‘auntie’? Ha, do you want to take a different master?”

The System looked at Ning Guang, then looked at Di Jiufeng. This was no dilemma at all. It flattered, “No, no, no, honorable host is the best in the world, this humble one is determined to follow you, but-but-but I am not wrong to say the great ancient witch is the boss, I am not wrong.” Feet moving like the wind under its short little legs, it ran behind Ning Guang.

Ning Guang was in a good mood, but she still snatched up the System with a sweep of the hand and delivered it to Di Jiufeng.

“A-Feng, this resentful ghost cannot speak properly, it deserves punishment. I’ve captured it for you, I will help you execute whatever punishment you desire.”

After suffering a violent beating, nothing left to live for, the System laid face-up on the ground, and silently cursed out this damn pair of hoodlums.

Daring to batter this grand honorable System, they must not know what it’s capable of! It promises, from now on it will, it will… try even harder to suck up to them and do everything they say!!

Done cursing out Di Jiufeng and Ning Guang, the System flipped to its feet.

On its short little legs, it bounced its way up to Di Jiufeng and said coyly, “Honorable host, I really cannot retrieve the items from that place, you can only trade for them yourself with fortune points. But I have already hacked the program’s code, so you can choose freely from the missions with rewards~”

The System played cute, considerately pulling up the list of missions.

Di Jiufeng swept her gaze over the list and decided on a mission that was simple yet gave many fortune points––teaching Ning Guang how to fish.

“Honorable host, please confirm your selection of this mission.” Seeing Di Jiufeng’s choice, the System’s gaze flickered. It chuckled to itself, but pulled up the confirmation screen, as proper as could be.

Di Jiufeng could not see anything wrong on its computer chip face, and clicked confirm, entirely unaware of the consequences of her decision.

Notes:

This chapter was translated by Lily.
Since it’s been a while since this name has come up, don’t forget that Xuan Ming (玄冥) is the ancient witch’s personal name! It was translated literally as ‘Deep Darkness’ in the two versions before I started, I am using the pinyin.
An ink rope is an ancient construction tool used to create straight lines. It was a rope dyed in ink with a heavy object tied to one end, and builders would let gravity pull it straight to check lines.