Chapter 122.1: [President's Story Extra 1] Unforgettable Yearning (Nian Yue X He Feng) (1)
T/N: This extra is 5.5k words long so this chapter will be split into 3 parts 🙂
Nian Yue turned around to face the mirror and examine her attire, appearing extremely satisfied with the way she looked.
She had shoulder-length hair and an English beret on her head. She donned a white blouse and a vest on top while wearing capri pants and long stockings for her bottoms. For shoes, she put on a pair of shiny leather boots, seeming agile and spirited.
"What do you think? It seems like girls from human colleges wear this kind of attire. And, it doesn't look too bad on me either." Aside from her, the room was also occupied by a Dragon Li cat(1) that was lazily curled up on the sofa.
Dragon Li Cat
"The human world is too chaotic. There's danger lurking in every corner. If you choose to experience it this time, you need to be more careful about keeping your life."
"Don't forget our clan's rules. During this journey of yours, you're not allowed to use your demonic powers. Otherwise, when you return, you'll receive severe punishment. You already saw it before with your own eyes."
The Dragon Li cat tried to douse her enthusiasm, but Nian Yue wasn't the least bit fazed and waved her hand without concern. "I already cultivated five tails so even if I die several times, it won't be a problem." Moreover, she was the Nine-Tailed Cat Demon Lord's successor. How could some insignificant humans stand a chance against her? Five glossy black cat tails swiftly moved behind the girl, appearing fluffy and adorable, yet peculiar at the same time.
"If I continue locking myself up here, I'm going to go mad~" Nian Yue grumbled.
Ever since she was born, a lot of expectations had been placed on her shoulders. Her natural aptitude was extraordinary. Furthermore, even though she had a mischievous nature, Nian Yue was still able to turn into a 5-tailed cat demon at such a young age, proving herself to be one of the most outstanding prodigies of her generation.
However, after the freedom-loving and imaginative Nian Yue had read several books about humans in the clan's archives, she had become even more interested in the outside world. Now that she had successfully advanced her cultivation, she couldn't hold herself back from applying for practical experience. She looked forward to the complicated yet brilliant human world described in the books. Nian Yue felt extremely curious about the sentimental love shared between humans. In the cat clan, when one reaches an appropriate age, they would seek someone from the opposite sex to mate with. However, the clan only looked at this practice as a way to produce descendants. They didn't care about love at all.
What was love exactly?
For the first time, the naive Nian Yue held expectations of her own.
What she didn't know, was that she would soon be covered in bruises and step into hellfire due to these kinds of feelings.
Nian Yue stepped into the human world with a light heart. And during this period, China was in the midst of a war.
Nian Yue walked alone in the middle of the road. Her exquisite clothes stood out among the people around that dressed so shabbily. However, she was too immersed in her happiness of arriving in the human world, that she didn't realize how eye-catching she was.
Curiously looking around, she found an unusually bustling teahouse and excitedly dashed over.
There was a stage inside the teahouse and the storyteller on stage was currently holding onto a gavel while eloquently narrating the story of 'Journey to the West'(2). Nian Yue hadn't read it before, so she soon became entranced by the profound and wonderful storytelling.
Journey to the West is one of the four great classical novels in Chinese literature.
She looked around and noticed that all of the scholars looked the same. With a pot of Longjing tea and a plate of melon seeds and other dried food, they sat at the main hall eating while keenly listening to the story.
"It was said that the six generals came out of the cave and traveled to the SouthWest on foot. One of the travelers secretly thought to himself that he wanted to ask the old king to eat his master. He was sure that the old king must be the Bull Demon King. In the old days, they got on quite well and were the best of friends." (2)
(2) T/N disclaimer: This translation of Journey to the West line is taken from Wu Cheng-en, found online. If you want to read the whole story, click this
Nian Yue's eyes grew bigger as she became more enthralled. However, she didn't expect a sound to come from the upper floor. And more so, a person dropping from above, bringing along with him pieces of broken wood railings, falling onto the stage.
When the audience heard the commotion, they started panicking out of sheer fear, with all of them rushing towards the door. The storyteller on stage was also clearly terrified by this unforeseen event, quivering as he headed backstage.
"Hey! Don't go!" Nian Yue frantically yelled out. "You haven't finished the story yet! What happened to Traveller Sun(3)?!" Everyone around her regarded her as a fool. A gunfight was about to ensue and this person still wanted to listen to storytelling?
(3) Traveler Sun refers to Sun Wukong who is also known as the Monkey King, a main character from the classic literature, Journey to the West.
Nian Yue had never seen a gun before. The human world that she knew of was set in a feudal period. So there were multitudes of new concepts and inventions that she had never even heard of before. This naturally goes without saying that she didn't know that the loud sound that echoed through the teahouse before, was of a deadly gunshot. Her feelings right now were only of displeasure, caused by her fun being rudely interrupted.
She wasn't someone who had a good temper, so when someone had dampened her spirits, she quickly climbed up the stairs that led to the rowdy second floor.
One person was currently rolling down the stairs, producing thumping sounds as his head dripped with blood. Even as a woman, Nian Yue's expression didn't change as she kicked him off to the side and continued her way towards the second floor.
There were only two people left upstairs in the middle of this confrontation.
One was standing, while the other had collapsed on the corner.
The person's face, who was on the corner, was indiscernible with a glance. He was firmly pressing a hand on his injured waist as blood continuously gushed out through the seams of his fingers, staining his ash-grey dress shirt.
The skinny man standing at the side held up a gun and looked at the other with an expression full of resentment.
"Well aren't you clever, He Feng? To think that you would hire someone to plot against me?"
"As someone who has been your loyal brother for so many years, you can still do this kind of thing huh?"
The man on the ground snorted coldly. "I also never imagined that this 'loyal' brother would become a lowly mutt for the Japanese!"
"What would you know?! In this world, in the chaotic ways of this world! You think that some bullshit patriotism is going to help you survive?!"
"Heh, I'd rather die than wallow in the mud with a traitor like you and live without purpose!"
Nian Yue became impatient from listening to this exchange. She didn't understand what a traitor was or what the chaotic ways of this world meant, but she knew that these two people had destroyed her entertainment. Therefore, they should at least compensate her for it! "Which one of you knows how to tell a good story!?"
Currently, it was most likely that only the three of them remained in the teahouse. As such, Nian Yue could only settle for the next best thing, instead of looking for a professional.
"What?"
The gloomy and skinny man didn't seem to think Nian Yue was a threat. "Little girl, if you don't want to die, then scram!"
He dismissively waved the gun in his hand as if he were shooing a pesky fly away.
Nian Yue raised a brow. It had been a long time since someone had dared to underestimate her.
However, the injured man on the ground showed some concern. "Young Lady, you best leave now." He turned to warn the man holding the gun. "Wu Yong. This is a private grudge. Don't involve unrelated bystanders to this mess!"
The man called 'Wu Yong' smiled and simply turned the safety bolt.
"You already called me a traitor, so might as well do something traitorous. It shouldn't be a problem right?"
The hair on Nian Yue's back suddenly stood on its end, her sixth sense informing her that she was currently in danger.
"Bang———" Nian Yue immediately moved to the side to avoid the bullet when the gunshot rang. However, a gash had still appeared on her arm.
"Hiss."
Nian Yue raised her arm and licked the wound.
"Alright...You've successfully...angered me."
Wu Yong sneered at her remark. Wasn't she just some delicate young lady trying to be brave? If he didn't think that she was some bigshot heiress, he would have just easily dealt her a fatal blow instead of issuing her a warning shot.
But at the next second, he couldn't keep his smile on any longer.
The gun in his hand flew in the air after being unexpectedly kicked. And at some point during this debacle, three slashes had suddenly appeared on the man's chest. In just a few short minutes, the skinny man had been rendered powerless, completely being overwhelmed by the woman's attacks.
It was only until Wu Yong had become unconscious that Nian Yue stopped attacking him. She strolled forward, picked up the little black Browning(4) and toyed with it as she pleased.
(4) Browning is a US firearm brand.
It was a surprise to her that this small object was able to raise a sense of danger within her.
As expected, the human world was far more interesting than she had originally thought.
"That——"
He Feng who had witnessed the entire ordeal, finally spoke up. "Lady, you should be careful. The safety bolt of the gun is open, so be careful of misfiring it."
"So this little plaything is called a gun?" Nian Yue swung it around recklessly.
Pointing it to the man, she asked, "Big Oaf, can you narrate 'Journey to the West?' If you can, I'll spare your life. If you can't.... I'll use you to test out this little plaything's power."
He Feng who was called 'big oaf' helplessly nodded and bitterly smiled. He was left with no other choice but to do it. Even if he couldn't, he still needed to do so.
It was his first time meeting such an unconventional woman and was coincidentally rescued by her. He Feng's heart felt a bit muddled in this situation.
Although the man narrated the story poorly, taking into account the injuries he had sustained, Nian Yue tolerated it and spared him.
Halfway through the story, the man was unable to continue speaking due to losing too much blood. So in front of the teahouse boss's shocked face, she pressed the powerless He Feng down on a chair and fiercely ripped off the man's clothes. Then, she used her tongue and licked every single wound.
T/N: Get yourself a girl who knows her priorities like Nian Yue lol XD