They hadn’t expected Xi Xiuran to actually recognize that character; it was their own understanding that had been one-sided. And since this fact was pointed out by the Alliance’s Jian Feichen of all people, the Straight-Alpha Cancer researcher suddenly felt his face burning with a slap.
Professor Zhou’s expression was also a bit unnatural, but his thoughts were quickly occupied by the alternative meaning of “wing” (翼). So it also means ‘feathers and wings’… then… Various thoughts flashed rapidly through Professor Zhou’s mind. Many places in his previous interpretations that hadn’t made sense suddenly clicked. He hastily opened his terminal and began recording his new inspiration.
It wasn’t just Professor Zhou; many Empire researchers who had studied the character “翼” also showed expressions of sudden realization.
“He actually recognized it?” An Empire researcher who had a good relationship with Ying Huachi was incredibly surprised. He couldn’t help but nudge Ying Huachi and ask quietly, “Didn’t you say he was an uneducated, good-for-nothing idiot? Professor Zhou studied that character for a long time before he roughly figured out it meant ‘direction.’ And he actually recognized another meaning with just one glance? He’s got some real skill.”
Ying Huachi glanced at Xi Xiuran, who was standing in front of the holographic screen and catching everyone’s attention. Feeling inexplicably uncomfortable, he said casually, “It’s just one character. He probably just guessed it by coincidence…”
“Just one character? Then how many do you recognize?”
Xi Xiuran’s sharp ears caught this. His gaze turned icy as he directly confronted Ying Huachi: “Since Major General Ying understands so much, why don’t you come up here and decipher it together to win glory for the Empire?”
To be honest, Xi Xiuran had been putting up with Ying Huachi for a long time. When he was reading the novel, the outrageously brain-dead plotlines made him desperately want to hammer this dog of a man to death. He had tolerated him time and time again earlier, and had even actively tried to avoid him, purely because he didn’t want to affect the main plotline. But right now, they weren’t in the main plotline at all, so why should he keep giving way?!
Drop dead, grandpa!
Ying Huachi didn’t expect Xi Xiuran to suddenly snap at him. He froze for a moment before saying, “I’m not a researcher, what would I go up there for? Xi Xiuran, stop being unreasonable and throwing a tantrum.”
Xi Xiuran laughed. “You’re not a researcher, so why are you talking so much? Is this a place where you can just speak? Do you think this is military headquarters? Don’t pretend to understand if you don’t. Do you not know this is a serious diplomatic occasion? Even if I just guessed it by coincidence, at least I recognized one character. Why don’t you try recognizing one?”
As everyone knows, if the world only had one language, or if all languages shared a single origin, trying to decipher a completely new script without any reference and lacking a sufficient sample size is nearly impossible. And Chinese is universally acknowledged as difficult—between simplified, traditional, handwritten, and cursive, you might as well wash up and go to sleep.
For the researchers of the Alliance and the Empire to decipher the meaning of a handful of Chinese characters using only a few pages of wing data and an operations manual was honestly incredibly impressive.
Ying Huachi had never had any contact with this field; there’d be a ghost if he could recognize any of it.
Ying Huachi was speechless, but Xi Xiuran didn’t stop.
Xi Xiuran casually pointed at the character “劍” (Sword) and invited, “Come on, Major General Ying. Since you dared to open your mouth, you must have the confidence to back it up. Come up here and explain to everyone what this character means and how to pronounce it in the Ancient Civilization tongue. You are an outstanding graduate of the First Military Academy, a top student! You couldn’t possibly not recognize such a simple character, right? No way, no way, no way! This is the simplest character; I knew how to write this when I was three.”
The veins on Ying Huachi’s forehead throbbed. He said angrily, “…Xi Xiuran, what kind of crazy fit are you throwing?!”
Jian Feichen couldn’t help but snort with laughter. Xi Xiuran shot him a glance. “What are you laughing at? Do you recognize it? Here, I’ll give you the mic, you pronounce it.”
Jian Feichen choked.
F\*\*k! Where did that obedient, soft little Omega who was standing next to Shi Xingzhou just a moment ago go?!
How the hell does it feel like he changed into a completely different person!
The hall instantly fell silent.
With both Ying Huachi and Jian Feichen suffering successive defeats, everyone finally realized that this little Omega didn’t seem as obedient and easy to bully as he looked.
Xi Xiuran didn’t care what everyone else thought, as long as his Golden Thigh didn’t mind.
Xi Xiuran tilted his head and glanced at Shi Xingzhou. Seeing the smile lingering at the corners of his mouth, looking like he was in a rather good mood, Xi Xiuran was instantly encouraged and grew even more energetic.
He flashed Shi Xingzhou a sweet smile, then turned back to Ying Huachi, his expression instantly turning icy. He mocked coldly, “Since Major General Ying doesn’t know, I suppose I’ll have to say it. By coincidence, I recognize this character too.”
“Pronounced in the Ancient Civilization tongue, this character is read as ‘Jiàn’ (Sword). It is the name of a double-edged cold weapon from the ancient civilization. The ‘Sword’ culture of the ancient civilization is profound and expansive. I won’t go into detail—anyway, even if I did, you wouldn’t understand. After all, just as Major General Ying said earlier, we are not people from the same world, so there’s no need for me to waste my breath.”
The crowd: “…”
How does this person have two faces, and how does he switch between them so naturally?
Being roasted by Xi Xiuran, Ying Huachi’s face turned pale, then green. He opened his mouth, just about to say something, when Shi Xingzhou swept a glance over him. He instantly froze in place.
“Major General Ying, please watch your words.” Shi Xingzhou nonchalantly curved the corners of his mouth and said slowly and deliberately, “My Consort can speak because he understands the Ancient Civilization language. Do you, Major General Ying?”
Hearing this, Ying Huachi’s face turned completely white.
“Ahem…”
Professor Zhou coughed lightly, stood up, and bowed solemnly to Xi Xiuran. “Earlier, I judged a book by its cover and slighted you, Little Mr. Xi. Please do not take offense. The matter of the Ancient Civilization Heritage is of utmost importance. Please continue your decryption, Little Mr. Xi, and help the Empire retain this batch of Ancient Civilization Heritage.”
Recognizing the character “翼” (Wing) could be a coincidence, but what about two characters?
Coincidentally, the character “劍” (Sword) was exactly the one Professor Zhou had deciphered. This was because he possessed a collection piece—a double-edged cold weapon from the ancient civilization—and carved right onto it were the three characters: “??劍”.
Xi Xiuran actually had a very good impression of Professor Zhou. He had appeared twice in the original novel; he was an authoritative bigshot who had made outstanding contributions in many fields, and the field of Ancient Civilizations was only one of his areas of expertise. For such a highly respected, venerable old professor to apologize and admit his mistake so frankly to a junior—this demonstrated the old man’s true character and broad-mindedness.
Xi Xiuran didn’t dare to be slow. He hastily returned the bow and said it was fine.
Since the old professor had spoken, Xi Xiuran felt too embarrassed to continue roasting people and seriously began his “decryption” work.
But he truly didn’t want to decipher it. It was too f\*\*king cringe-inducing!
No wonder the dog author had to delete and revise this later; this is way too “chuunibyou” and unhinged!
Who could have imagined that the text the Empire and the Alliance had spent ten years studying was actually like this? The first half was relatively normal; the dog author had directly copied some official lore/specs for the “Freedom Gundam” from the internet and converted it to Traditional Chinese. But the second half? The dog author completely let loose, filling it with insanely cringey, off-the-charts chuunibyou dialogue.
Things like: The sharp sword of the blue skies, the wings of freedom!
Things like: I hold one sword, capable of cleaving the heavens!
Things like: With mecha in hand, I roam the cosmos!
The most shameful part was the so-called “Spatial Lock” the dog author created—which was actually the password lock to start up this “Freedom Gundam.” It was nothing more than the simplest acrostic poem! You took the first character of each line from a completely nonsensical doggerel poem, and combined, they read: In the heavens above and the earth below, I alone am supreme. The Great Author is the eternal God.
Xi Xiuran covered his face: …This is too f\*\*king ridiculous.
It was completely normal that the Empire and the Alliance couldn’t figure this out after ten years of research. How could any normal person possibly come up with this kind of crap?!
Enduring the intense cringe, Xi Xiuran walked up to the control console under the expectant gazes of the Empire and Alliance researchers, especially Professor Zhou. He directly pulled up a holographic writing pad, used his finger as a pen, and began to write.
Is he going to unlock it directly?
In just this short amount of time, he’s already finished deciphering the document and found the password?
How is that possible!
Under everyone’s disbelieving and nervous gazes, Xi Xiuran swiftly wrote down the first phrase: “In the heavens above and the earth below…” (天上天下)
The moment he finished the final stroke, a brilliant light erupted from the Ancient Civilization Heritage. Out of its ten wings, the bottommost pair of blue wings bloomed with an azure radiance. A cold, electronic voice echoed from within the ancient machine, reading aloud with deep emotion and a cadenced rhythm: “In the heavens above and the earth below.”
Xi Xiuran’s hand trembled. “…”
F\*\*k, why the hell does it read it aloud with such deep emotion?!
“It lit up! It lit up! The wings lit up!”
“My god, is that what the pronunciation of the Ancient Civilization tongue sounds like? For some reason, I can feel a sense of magnificent grandeur from it.”
“The pronunciation is so strange, but it has a unique charm to it.”
The crowd of researchers sprang to their feet, letting out gasps of amazement. For ten years, they had constantly tried inputting various mysterious symbols, only ever managing to make the wings quiver slightly. Only Jian Feichen had managed to input two characters correctly in a row, causing a single wing to emit a faint blue glow.
And now, Xi Xiuran had continuously inputted four characters correctly.
Four!
A pair of wings lit up, and the Ancient Civilization Heritage even produced a voice!
The eyes of the researchers burned with fiery passion. They all turned to look at Xi Xiuran, their gazes locking onto him, wishing he would write it out one more time so they could etch his every movement into their brains.
Professor Zhou held his breath, leaning forward, his eyes glued to Xi Xiuran’s fingertips as the image of him writing replayed endlessly in his mind.
For ten years, he had been delving into the symbols and texts of the ancient civilization, copying those characters countless times, and even trying to find the rules behind the strokes. But he had never seen anyone write them so smoothly and naturally, as if those writing habits were carved into his very bones.
Writing habits?
Professor Zhou froze. He suddenly remembered the words Xi Xiuran had used to mock Ying Huachi earlier.
Could it be that Little Mr. Xi wasn’t spouting nonsense, but that he genuinely started learning the Ancient Civilization script at three years old? If so, wouldn’t that mean the Ancient Civilization text is incredibly simple for him, and he can decipher it effortlessly?
Professor Zhou was shocked speechless by his own deduction.
A moment later, recovering from his shock, Professor Zhou looked at Xi Xiuran with an unprecedented, fiery gaze.
I still have several pages of Ancient Civilization literature at home. I wonder if I can ask Little Mr. Xi to help decipher them? But wouldn’t it be inappropriate to show up at his door so abruptly?
Thinking of this, Professor Zhou couldn’t help but glance at Shi Xingzhou. It seems I might not be entirely without a reason…
Shi Xingzhou looked at the youth standing confidently and composedly in front of the holographic screen and realized he had still underestimated Xi Xiuran.
His Consort was truly becoming better and better at giving him surprises.
Just as the crowd was still immersed in the shock of the two wings lighting up, Xi Xiuran directly turned off the holographic screen and walked briskly toward Shi Xingzhou without a word of greeting.
Jian Feichen, who had been listening with great interest, paused and subconsciously asked, “Why did you stop suddenly?”
At this moment, Xi Xiuran was so embarrassed he was practically clawing out a castle with his toes, especially with the crowd occasionally letting out gasps of amazement and some even imitating that “deeply emotional” reading.
Suddenly called out by Jian Feichen, Xi Xiuran shot him a cold look and said icily, “There’s no need.”
Jian Feichen froze, snapping back to reality. The other party had made two wings light up; his progress had clearly surpassed the Alliance, who had only lit up one.
The decade-long contest between the Empire and the Alliance over the Ancient Civilization Heritage had actually ended in this manner.
Xi Xiuran quickly returned to Shi Xingzhou’s side. Disregarding everything else, he buried his head in Shi Xingzhou’s chest and said rapidly, “Don’t ask anything, don’t say anything, just let me recover for a moment. That password is just too f\*\*king shameful…”
Ahhh, dog author, you will die a terrible death!
How is this any different from having your edgy internet username read out loud in front of the whole class? This is an absolute social death!
Suddenly having the youth throw himself into his arms, Shi Xingzhou paused.
He lowered his eyes and saw the youth’s ears—partially hidden by his deep blue hair—rapidly filling with blood. His entire face had turned burning hot and red, the flush spreading from his cheeks down to his neck, looking like some kind of overly ripe fruit that would break its skin and leak sweet juice with just a light touch.
Shi Xingzhou’s eyes darkened slightly.
His fingertips, resting by his side, couldn’t help but twitch. Finally unable to resist, he reached up and gently pinched that bright red ear tip, laughing in a low voice, “…Alright.”
Professor Zhou had originally wanted to press for the meaning of the password, but turning his head and seeing the two embracing, he instantly revealed an understanding smile. He even pulled back the young researcher beside him who wanted to go over and ask, “The newlyweds are whispering sweet nothings to each other right now. Don’t be tactless and disturb them.”
The young researcher: “???”
That’s not what you said at the very beginning! You practically accused Admiral Shi of letting a beautiful face ruin the nation![1]It refers to a ruler who becomes so obsessed with a beautiful concubine (a “femme fatale” or “bewitching beauty”) that they neglect their duties and cause the downfall of the … Continue reading jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_2121613_1_1').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_2121613_1_1', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });
“My god, he actually deciphered it! That’s insane! Brother Chi, look, the expressions on the faces of the Alliance folks have all changed. They look like their parents just died, it’s so satisfying! Let’s see if those Alliance folks ever mock our Empire as a bunch of battle-crazy warmongers again. I never expected it, truly never expected it—that Xi Xiuran is actually a hidden boss of Ancient Civilization Studies! F\*\*king awesome, absolutely f\*\*king awesome…”
Nelson, the researcher standing next to Ying Huachi, was going crazy with joy. After shouting for a long time without receiving a response, he finally remembered something, quietly checked Ying Huachi’s expression, and hurriedly shut his mouth.
Ying Huachi looked at the two embracing people, his jawline clenched tight, his face visibly cold and hard.
Following his gaze, Nelson also saw the two people holding each other. His first glance brought disbelief: Is that really Admiral Shi, who hates physical contact, and Xi Xiuran, who used to relentlessly stalk Ying Huachi? His second glance inexplicably felt a bit sweet: What a matching Alpha/Omega pair. His third glance… Uh, I feel a bit full from all this dog food.
Nelson retracted his gaze, looked again at Ying Huachi’s ugly expression, and suddenly had a thought pop into his head: Could Brother Chi be regretting breaking off the engagement?
He felt this thought was absolutely terrifying and quickly tossed it out of his head.
“Brother Chi, I know you lost some face getting roasted earlier, but our Empire won just now! Hurry up and smile a bit, and reel in your gaze.” Nelson nudged Ying Huachi and whispered a reminder, “Staring over there like that… if people didn’t know better, they’d think you regretted it.”
Ying Huachi glared at him coldly. “What do I have to regret? In my heart, there is only Mengchen. Mengchen is gentle, kind, well-bred, and proper…”
“Alright, alright, I know you only have Xi Mengchen in your heart. He is pure and clean, gentle and kind, the bright, untainted moon in the sky. I was just saying it casually, don’t get so worked up.”
Nelson chuckled a couple of times, glanced over at Xi Xiuran again, and couldn’t help but sigh, “What do you think is going on with that Xi Xiuran? Clearly, just a few days ago, he was stalking you relentlessly, but then he turned around and inexplicably married Admiral Shi. And he actually looks quite deeply in love with him. It’s truly too strange; I can’t figure it out.”
“Hey, if he actually still has lingering feelings for you and is deliberately using this method to attract your attention, now that would be interesting. Yup, that sounds exactly like the dog-blood melodramas my partner loves to watch.”
Whether it was Nelson’s illusion or not, after he said this, he found that Ying Huachi’s expression inexplicably improved a bit.
Nelson: “???”
I must be seeing things, right?
T/n: Please Vote on NU to support the novel. You can support the original author here. Happy Reading 💅
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