#mdzs in translation

[uhcasual]

All illustrations for The Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation: Russian Edition Exclusives, Volume 5

Finally got my hands on the russian истари/Istari publication volume 5 for Mo Dao Zu Shi, so here are high resolution scans of the art exclusive to this particular edition. The art here portrays events that occur in the post-storyline extras.

Full resolution available for download here (tumblr compresses images a little)

Illustration Artist: Marina Privalova (Baoshan Karo)

[Vol. 1] - [Vol. 2] - [Vol. 3] - [Vol. 4] - [Vol. 5] (part 1)

[fluff-crt]

MDZS Donghua: "Happy 6th anniversary!"

Source: https://weibo.com/5406119222/5054165426372772

[doufudanshi]

ON GHOSTS AND DEMONS: Wei Wuxian's "demonic" cultivation?

There are a few big misconceptions I have repeatedly seen in English-speaking fandom about things that are fundamental to the story of MDZS. One of them is this—

Wei Wuxian is not a demonic cultivator.

To prove this, let's take a deep dive into the original Chinese text of MDZS.

(Adapted from my original gdoc posted on Twitter on May 27, 2022. All translations my own unless otherwise stated.)

Demon vs. ghost

Let's start from the very basics. In addition to orthodox cultivation using spiritual energy and a golden core, there are two other forms of cultivation that are mentioned in the novel:

魔道 (mó dào), or “demon cultivation/path.”

鬼道 (guǐ dào), or “ghost cultivation/path.”

To be clear, 魔 mo "demons" and 鬼 gui "ghosts" (and thus their respective cultivation/paths) are not interchangeable because of the in-universe worldbuilding within MDZS. Using the characters in the term 妖魔鬼怪 "monsters," MXTX created four distinct categories of beings, each of which has a strict definition in the novel. From chapter 4 (jjwxc ch 13):

妖者非人之活物所化; 魔者生人所化; 鬼者死者所化; 怪者非人之死物所化。 Yāo (妖) are transformed from non-human living beings; mó (魔) are transformed from living people; guǐ (鬼) are transformed from the deceased; guài (怪) are transformed from non-human dead beings.

And of course, WWX hoards all the ghost-type pokemon monsters at the Phoenix Mountain tournament, and he only exerts control over corpses, spirits, and the like (aka people who have already died). (As opposed to Xue Yang, who appears to have been actively trying to make 魔 "demons" out of living people with those "living corpses" of his, perhaps.) (And, ironically, in order to avoid showing necromancy / zombies on screen, CQL technically does show WWX practicing demon cultivation because everyone is "supposedly alive" even when they're corpses? Which is, funnily enough, far worse morally in the MDZS universe, lol.)

So, intuitively at least, we know that WWX must be practicing ghost cultivation—now let's look at some concrete examples from the book.

Running the numbers

1) 魔道 (mó dào) means “demon cultivation.” As such, it must use living humans.

魔道 appears one (1) time in the novel.

Yes, once. The only time it appears is in the term 魔道祖师 modao zushi, or the namesake of the novel, in chapter 2. This is a title the general public has given him through rumors:

魏无羡好歹也被人叫了这么多年无上邪尊啦、魔道祖师啦之类的称号，这种一看就知道不是什么好东西的阵法，他自然了如指掌。 Wei Wuxian wasn’t called titles like “The Evil Overlord,” “The Founder of Demon Cultivation,” and so on over the years by others for nothing—he knew these sorts of obviously shady formations like the back of his hand.

2) 鬼道 (guǐ dào) means “ghost cultivation.” As such, it must use dead humans. 

鬼道 appears 12 times in the novel.

Here is the first instance that 鬼道 appears, which I believe is the first time Wei Wuxian's method of cultivation is properly introduced. From chapter 3 (jjwxc ch 8):

蓝忘机 […] 对魏无羡修鬼道一事极不认可。 Lan Wangji […] had never approved of the fact that Wei Wuxian practiced ghost cultivation.

Here's another quote from chapter 15 (jjwxc ch 71) for funsies:

蓝忘机看着他，似乎一眼就看出他只是随��敷衍，吸了一口气，道：“魏婴。” Lan Wangji looked at him as if he saw through his half-hearted bluff. He took in a breath, then said, “Wei Ying.” 他执拗地道：“鬼道损身，损心性。” He stubbornly continued, “Ghost cultivation harms one’s body, and harms one’s nature.”

3) 邪魔歪道 (xiemowaidao) means heretical path/immoral methods/evil practices/underhanded means/etc—e.g., lying, cheating, stealing, bribery, and so on.

It appears ~24 times in the novel.

I mention this last term because it is often used to refer to Wei Wuxian's cultivation, but as a pejorative. Every instance of 邪魔歪道 is said by or to quote someone looking down upon Wei Wuxian’s cultivation (Jin Zixun, Jin Ling, etc.) and referring to it derogatorily, whereas every instance of 鬼道 guidao/ghost dao is said by someone discussing it neutrally and/or factually (Lan Jingyi, Lan Wangji, Wei Wuxian himself, random cultivators at discussion conferences, the narration, etc.). Here is a pertinent example with Jin Ling (derogatory) and Lan Jingyi (neutral) in chapter 9 (jjwxc ch 43):

金凌怒道：“是在谈论薛洋，我说的不对吗？薛洋干了什么？他是个禽兽不如的人渣，魏婴比他更让人恶心！什么叫‘不能一概而论’？这种邪魔歪道留在世上就是祸害，就是该统统都杀光，死光，灭绝！” “We are discussing Xue Yang,” Jin Ling said angrily. “Am I wrong? What did Xue Yang do? He’s scum that’s lower than a beast, and Wei Ying is even more disgusting than him! What do you mean ‘don’t make sweeping generalizations?’ As long as those practicing this kind of demoniac, heretical path are alive, they’ll continue to bring disaster. We should slaughter all of them, kill all of them, annihilate them once and for all!” 温宁动了动，魏无羡摆手示意他静止。只听蓝景仪也加入了，嚷道：“你发这么大火干什么？思追又没说魏无羡不该杀，他只是说修鬼道的也不一定全都是薛洋这种人，你有必要乱摔东西吗？那个我还没吃呢……” Wen Ning shuffled around. Wei Wuxian gestured at him to stay still, only to hear Lan Jingyi also cut in loudly, “Why are you getting so riled up? It’s not like Sizhui said Wei Wuxian shouldn’t have been killed. All he said was that people who practice ghost cultivation aren’t necessarily all like Xue Yang. Do you have to go around breaking things? I didn’t even get to eat any of that yet…”

Tl;dr—Wei Wuxian does not 修魔道 practice demon cultivation. When Wei Wuxian’s craft is discussed in a neutral and factual manner, it is referred to as 鬼道 ghost dao. 

In fact, Wei Wuxian’s imitators are also referred to explicitly as 鬼道修士 ghost cultivators.

魏无羡早就听说过，这些年来江澄到处抓疑似夺舍重生的鬼道修士，把这些人通通押回莲花坞严刑拷打。 Wei Wuxian had heard a while back that over the past few years, Jiang Cheng had gone around snatching any ghost cultivator suspected of being possessed or reborn, detaining them in Lotus Pier to interrogate them using torture.

So why the confusion?

Of course, there is the matter of the novel's title, which I will get into in a second. But the real issue is a matter of translation.

The idea that WWX uses "demonic cultivation" is a misconception in English-speaking fandom due to issues with the translation of terminology. Of note, EXR actually did translate 鬼道 guidao as "ghostly path" most of the time, though there were at least 3 instances of "demonic" and 1 instance of "dark," especially regarding the first few.

However, this misconception was perpetuated (and arguably worsened) by 7S's official translation, which not only mistranslated additional terms as "demonic cultivation/path" (at least in book 1), but also consistently mistranslated every instance of 鬼道 as "demonic cultivation/path."

So why is this book called 魔道祖师, commonly translated as "Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation?"

One possibility is one posed in Chinese-language meta online, which often cites that WWX himself is a sort of 魔 demon. While this may be true—after all, he can hear the voices of the dead—it doesn't quite explain the fact that the title sets him up to be the 祖师 or "founder."

My take is that this novel is very much concerned with hearsay vs. truth. This is one of the many monikers WWX is given by the public, who collectively view him as evil. (Also of note is that the non-cultivator public is not aware of all the nuances that cultivators learn re: distinctions between the 妖魔鬼怪 monsters.) In the quote from earlier, note that the first title we're given is actually 无上邪尊 “The Evil Overlord,” then 魔道祖师 "The Founder of Demon Cultivation." Like, what can that be other than MXTX telling us, "please take both of these with a HUGE grain of salt, lol."

(And not only the title, but the very first line—"魏无羡死了。" / "Wei Wuxian is dead."—is a lie.)

I think the title is genius, honestly. It intentionally makes readers come into the novel with preconceived notions that Wei Wuxian practices 魔道 demon cultivation and evil techniques—just like the public in the novel. What better way to tell a story warning about the dangers of how easy it is to fall for misinformation and jump to incorrect conclusions?

(Though, in our case, perhaps it worked a little too well.)

[mdzs-mangatranslation]

CHAPTER 3 ✨

Bato ◦ Mangadex ◦ Download .CBZ ◦ Chapter index

The wait is finally over! The manga has officially launched now. New chapters to be released every two weeks.

Feel free to join the Discord server, where you can discuss the chapters with others and find other content like translated posts and updates related to the manga.

Support the manga by buying the original Japanese releases at cmoa.jp!

[lotuslate]

the strength your strength gives me

[mxtxfanatic]

While flipping through mdzs to verify some stray thoughts of mine, I happened to fall into a translation discrepancy that I feel really, really emphasizes how important it is to have a proper grasp on the language you are translating before translating for a public audience.

Now before we get too deep into this, I want to reiterate that I am someone who does not understand Mandarin in any form but has been reading translations (both by humans and machines) for a few years now. However, because I have been reading translations that tend to follow the Mandarin more closely in grammar and because I haven't shied away from reading machine-made or bad human translations, I have noticed some places where mistranslations from Mandarin to English are common: pronouns, verb-subject matching, negatives, prepositions, and conjunctions. For this post, we will be focusing on the latter two.

In the lead-up to the Wen invasion of Lotus Pier, we are given a scene where Madam Yu whips Wei Wuxian, and in this scene, we are given a glimpse as to Madam Yu's average punishments towards the young ward.

While Madam Yu always pelted him with hostile words, she’d never really hit him hard before—two or three lashes at most, or being made to kneel or confined indoors, and it never took Jiang Fengmian long to release him from that.

—Vol. 3, Chapt. 12: Sandu: The Three Poisons, 7seas

In the past, although Madam Yu had always come at him with harsh words, she had never truly been cruel to him. The most that he’d been through were two or three strikes and being grounded. He’d also be let out by Jiang FengMian soon later.

—Chapt. 57: Poisons, exr

Reading these back-to-back, it should be very clear that though the same section is being translated from the same exact source, these translations do not say the same thing. The official stresses that Madam Yu had never hit Wei Wuxian "that hard" before, as well as saying that his punishments were a few lashes OR being made to kneel OR being confined, three separate punishments never taken together according to this diction. The exr translation, however, states that Madam Yu had "never truly been cruel to him" (emphasis mine) and that him being whipped was in addition to being confined. The emphasis on the strength of her lashings is absent, but an emphasis on the intent behind her actions—that she never meant to be honestly cruel to her ward—is established in its stead. (While this section as translated by exr does not mention kneeling, later scenes reflecting on Wei Wuxian's childhood in Lotus Pier do.)

Both of these translations... are wrong.

If we give exr the benefit of the doubt by virtue of being the original completed English translation of mdzs, then the official 7seas release should automatically raise red flags for the ways it seems to directly contradict the narrative that has existed for a few years before the novel was licensed. It doesn't help that the official has been riddled with many mistranslations and omissions from the very first volume, lowering any credibility it would otherwise have to stand on. But if we were to examine the rest of the exr translation, then the emphasis on Madam Yu's intent also rings false given the fact that we are told over and over again in this same translation that 1) Madam Yu is, in fact, unnecessarily, illogically, and erratically mean-spirited and cruel, and 2) Wei Wuxian knows this even at this time in his life (shoutout to the Lotus Pod Seeds extra) and understands her actions as targeted cruelty. What does the actual text say, then?

Although Madam Yu always spoke ill of him before, her hand had never been this viciously cruel. At most, she whipped him two or three times and ordered him to kneel down and be confined to his room, and he would be released by Jiang Fengmian sometime later.

—@jiangwanyinscatmom (emphasis mine)

Madam Yu has never been "as cruel" as in that moment when whipping Wei Wuxian, because normally she only whips him 2-3 times. She would whip him a few times and send him to the ancestral hall to kneel and be in confinement, which matches up to the memories that Wei Wuxian reflects on in other parts of the novel. This translation gets rid of the character inconsistencies that the other two translations create. So how did we get here? Remember how I pointed out those common Mandarin-to-English translation mistakes? Well, both the exr and 7seas translations fall into the trap of confusing conjunctions and prepositions. That's how we get a list of punishments rather than an order of events for a singular punishment type. That's how we get "not truly cruel" instead of "not as cruel." That's how we get these sections contradicting what we know about Madam Yu's personality and behavior from the rest of the novel through those two translations. Unfortunately, both translation teams just happened to flub in the same area in slightly different ways, and while I'm willing to give a multi-lingual grade-school student translating in their spare time the benefit of the doubt, a paid translator with a translation team hired by a professional publishing house should have better quality control than a spare-time hobbyist.

Also, just in case anyone wants more proof on what mxtx meant for us to take away about Madam Yu's treatment of Wei Wuxian from this scene, it was also apparently so important to mxtx for readers to know that Madam Yu was truly cruel to Wei Wuxian during his childhood that the act of her routinely whipping him whenever he was in her presence was something that was added into the revised mdzs. It was not in the original unedited version of the novel.

In the past, although Lady Yu always insulted or patronized him, she never laid a hand on him. At worst, she’d make him kneel for prolonged periods of time, but he’d always get bailed out by Jiang FengMian after a while.

—Chapt. 57. Act 12: Sandu/Three Poisons, Part 2, qinghe-nie

[vivernt]

wangxian beach au 2.0

[yingandzhan]

A lot of stuff floating around about the Chinese concept of hun and po souls in reference to MDZS at the moment, as well as the usual stuff concerning WWX's cultivation, yet again.

Very, very brief explanation on hun/po: When a person dies po souls stay with the dead body and eventually go back to the earth. The hun souls go up to the heavens to face retribution and eventual reincarnate.

Firstly, before I continue, this is not the same for all xianxia novels and beliefs around hun and po. But, from what I can see in the Chinese text, MXTX has it that the hun souls that usually go off to eventually reincarnate when someone dies are trapped on the earth and form ghosts/various types of moving corpses when they possess resentment. Hun is mentioned in a number of places and the most compelling evidence I've found is the name of the Gusu Lan's "evocation" song which is aptly named 招魂 (zhāo hún) - this is the song they play when they are trying to contact a restless spirit using a part of it's body or a beloved item.

This shows us that it is not the po souls they are trying to save or suppress, but the hun souls - they are actively trying to help people move on, unless they have to suppress or even destroy them (preventing them from reincarnating ever again) if they refuse to see reason and pose a threat to the living.

WWXs cultivation gives the souls trapped on earth another chance to move on if 'liberation' does not work. Rather than suppressing the soul and prolonging their time trapped on earth or completely destroying them as is the third and final option available to cultivators, he has invented a fourth option - to help the souls use up their resentment (in a safe and controlled manner) that allows them to move on and reincarnate also. WWXs cultivation method is NOT EVIL and does NOT DISRUPT the reincarnation cycle - he's helping the souls that would usually be suppressed or exterminated. He is saving hun souls by using guidao, he is helping them move on and live again where most cultivators would hunt and destroy them instead.

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

Why would you—That's not—I just wanted to ask for help, why did you have to go and make it awkward???

[First] Prev <–-> Next

[uhcasual]

My translation of Chapter 1 of Mo Dao Zu Shi's Japanese manga, which released yesterday (the 17th of August 2024)

Also loaded to the internet archive as a pdf (pretty big file size though)

You can support the official Japanese release and buy the Japanese manga at cmao.jp

it's pretty inexpensive, only around $2 per chapter!

Chapter - Chapter 2 - Chapter 3

Mangadex link

Pre-sfx version is still available at the archive.org website

Edit: I originally wasn't going to make any further edits but felt bad that someone could come across my initial rough translation and miss some details or nuance because of it. Made some changes, a changelog detailing everything and why is here. (I think) this is the final version

[fluff-crt]

MDZS Donghua: "Happy Children's Day!"

Source: https://weibo.com/5406119222/5040407279568025

[layzeal]

MXTX mentioning NMJ, NHS and JGY in the newest interview!

[doufudanshi]

朝暮 / Dawn ‘til Dusk

Translation of the MDZS Pinsin exclusive extra. Finished like 80% of this in one sitting almost 2 years ago and finally decided it's been gathering dust in my gdrive for long enough. Enjoy!

Feel free to let me know if you see any errors. Screenshots okay with credit. Do not repost.

Rating: E, nsfw 🔞

—————

Haishi had passed a while ago, yet he still hadn’t returned.

The paper lantern on the table hadn’t gone out yet, and Lan Wangji stared at its hazy light, unblinking. 

After a while, he rose and walked to the entrance of the Room of Tranquility, opening the wooden door. 

He stood there for a bit. He seemed just about to step over the threshold when a strange thump came from behind him. 

Lan Wangji spun around, only catching sight of the window, which had opened at some point. Its frame swayed slightly in the night breeze. A large, odd lump rose from beneath the thin blanket on the bed, as if something had broken in, rolled inside, and was now curled up underneath, quivering with a faint rustle.

He stayed silent for a moment, then gently closed the door and went back into the room. Blowing out the candle along the way, Lan Wangji shut the window and got into bed. 

He laid down beside that huge lump, silently pulled another blanket over himself, and closed his eyes. 

Not long after, something big and ice-cold burrowed under his covers. 

It squirmed and wriggled its way on top of him, plastered itself onto his chest, then cheerfully chirped, “Lan Zhan! I’m back~! Quick, give me a warm welcome.”

Lan Wangji wrapped his arms around him. “Why are you so cold?”

“I was in the wind all day. Let me warm up,” Wei Wuxian said.

No wonder he was covered in bits of grass and dirt. He must have taken the juniors of the Hidden Cloud Depths to terrorize the wild fauna and wicked beasts up in the mountains again. 

Wei Wuxian had rolled into his bed and burrowed under his covers while covered in dirt, yet Lan Wangji, neat and tidy by nature, didn’t flinch in the slightest. In fact, he only silently squeezed him tighter, holding him even closer. 

After warming Wei Wuxian up with his body heat for a while, Lan Wangji said, “Take your shoes off, at least.”

“Okay~” Wei Wuxian replied. He toed off his shoes, then shrunk back into the covers to press his freezing skin against Lan Wangji’s again. 

“Don’t mess around,” Lan Wangji said evenly.

“I’m literally in your bed, and you’re telling me not to mess around?” Wei Wuxian said. 

“Shufu has returned,” Lan Wangji said. 

Lan Qiren’s residence wasn’t far from Lan Wangji’s Room of Tranquility. He didn’t like Wei Wuxian much to begin with, so if he caught wind of any inappropriate activity, he may very well fly into a thunderous rage at Wei Wuxian again the following day. 

And yet, Wei Wuxian stuck a knee between Lan Wangji’s legs, covertly and naughtily pressing against him a couple of times, making his stance quite clear on the matter. 

After a brief silence, Lan Wangji abruptly flipped them around so that Wei Wuxian was underneath him. 

His movements were too big, too forceful, and the two hit the bed with a thud. 

“Slow down, slow down, slow down—slow—down!”

Lan Wangji had pinned Wei Wuxian down onto the bed, penetrating him as easily as splitting bamboo, thrusting all the way inside. Only when his lower abdomen pressed against Wei Wuxian’s bare ass, when he couldn’t possibly go any deeper, did his body still. 

Wei Wuxian took in a couple of shallow breaths, head thrown back. Trying not to make any unnecessary movements, he only looked around and wriggled his hips slightly in discomfort, trying to get him out a bit. However, Lan Wangji realized what he was trying to do, and holding down his waist, promptly slid right back in. 

“Ah!” Wei Wuxian cried out. “Hanguang-jun!”

Lan Wangji bore it patiently for a moment, then said, “You brought this upon yourself.” He paused briefly, then began thrusting, again and again. 

Wei Wuxian was trapped underneath him—toes curled, hair splayed, face flushed, body jostled up and down with Lan Wangji’s movements. With every one of Lan Wangji’s thrusts, Wei Wuxian cried out in response. Though Lan Wangji immersed himself in his efforts for a while, he couldn’t let Wei Wuxian continue on like this. Straining against the breaths threatening to burst out of his chest, he quietly said, “Lower… Lower your voice.”

Wei Wuxian reached up and stroked Lan Wangji’s cheek. This thin skin of Lan Zhan’s is so strange, he thought. His face is clearly scorching hot to the touch, and yet it refuses to turn red, still white as snow. The elegant Lan Zhan will lose himself in his emotions, hardly able to hold himself back, yet only his earlobes will be dusted with the faintest of pink. 

Panting, he said, “Er-gege, you don’t want to hear me cry out?”

Lan Wangji: “……” 

It was too difficult to speak the truth, yet he couldn’t bring himself to lie. Watching this sentiment flit across Lan Wangji’s face filled Wei Wuxian with an indescribable delight—he wanted to just eat him up. 

“Afraid someone will hear me?” Wei Wuxian asked. “Easy. Just Silence me.”

Lan Wangji’s chest heaved, his eyes going slightly bloodshot. “C’mon!” Wei Wuxian taunted. “Cast Silence on me. Then no matter how you fuck me, even if you fuck me senseless, I won’t be able to make a sound—”

Before he could finish, Lan Wangji leaned down and sealed his lips.

After his mouth was stilled into silence, Wei Wuxian’s limbs wound around Lan Wangji. The two of them tumbled around on the bed, tussling together into a heap, blankets already on the ground. 

Generally, Lan Wangji didn’t change positions often when they were intimate. After an hour of being pressed down and thrusted into, Wei Wuxian had gone numb from his lower back all the way down to his ass and thighs. He had a high suspicion that they would stay like this for the rest of the night—and considering Lan Wangji’s current state, without the slightest indication that he planned to stop anytime soon, it really could happen. Thus, Wei Wuxian took the initiative and flipped both of them over. Straddling him and wrapping his arms around his neck, he moved up and down on his own. He bit Lan Wangji’s earlobe and whispered,  “Is it deep?” 

His voice was low beside his ear, breath hot and humid. Lan Wangji held onto his shoulders, then brought him down, hard.

The thrust was incredibly intense. Wei Wuxian cried out in surprise, arms tightening around him. Lan Wangji stroked the small of his back and asked, “Is it deep.”

Wei Wuxian’s lips wobbled, but before he could regain his bearings and respond, his face suddenly scrunched up. “Ah! Wait! P-p-pace yourself!” he cried.

One hand struggled in vain to protect his abdomen, while the fingers of his other hand dug into the firm muscle of Lan Wangji’s shoulder. “Lan Zhan!” he yelled in terror, soul practically flying out of his body. “Do you not understand what pacing yourself means! You—don’t have—to go—so deep—every—every—”

The second half of his perfectly sound sentence was broken by thrusts, hitched and disjointed. Lan Wangji said, “I don’t understand!”

Initially, Wei Wuxian was wailing miserably, willing to say anything to beg for mercy—but after most of the night had passed, after they’d finished going at it twice, Wei Wuxian’s legs stayed locked around Lan Wangji’s waist, refusing to let him go.

Lan Wangji’s body covered Wei Wuxian entirely, and he was careful not to lean his weight onto him. The area where they were pressed against and connected to one another was wet and slick. Lan Wangji seemed like he wanted to get up, but he only got to move a little before Wei Wuxian’s legs tightened around him. The fraction that had just left him slotted seamlessly back in again. 

“Stop moving,” Wei Wuxian said languidly. “There’s a draft. Let’s just lie here for a while.”

Lan Wangji acquiesced and didn’t move. After a while, he asked Wei Wuxian, “It’s not too much?”

“It is,” Wei Wuxian pouted. “You’re filling me up so much I could burst. You weren’t even listening to how pitifully I was crying out earlier.”

“…I’m pulling out,” Lan Wangji said.

Wei Wuxian’s expression immediately changed. “I like it when you fill me up like this,” he said without mincing his words. “It feels good.” 

He clenched down, hard. Lan Wangji’s expression shifted, and for a moment, even his breathing seemed to hitch. After bearing it for some time, he finally hoarsely said, “…Shameless!”

Seeing that he was nearly at his limit, Wei Wuxian laughed and placed a kiss on his lips. “Er-gege,” he said. “What haven’t we done? What’s there to be ashamed of?”

Lan Wangji shook his head a little in defeat. “Let me go,” he said softly. “You should bathe.”

“It’s fine, I’ll just wash up tomorrow,” Wei Wuxian said sleepily, already starting to tire a bit. “I’m exhausted from today.”

Lan Wangji placed a kiss on his forehead. “Bathe. Take care not to fall ill.”

Wei Wuxian was so tired that he couldn’t lock him in place anymore, his limbs finally going soft and letting go. Lan Wangji got off the bed, picking up the blanket that had fallen to the ground and covering Wei Wuxian’s body, tucking him in. Afterwards, he hung the clothes that had been thrown all over the place over the folding screen one by one, and draped his own robes over his shoulders. He dressed swiftly and neatly, and left to draw water for the bath. 

After an incense stick’s time, Wei Wuxian, who had nearly fallen asleep, was picked up and placed into the bath basin. The basin was placed beside Lan Wangji’s writing desk, and after Wei Wuxian submerged himself in the water and waded around a little, he grew energized again. Patting the side of the basin, he said, “Aren’t you going to come in with me, Hanguang-jun!”

“In a moment,” Lan Wangji said. 

“Why in a moment? Just come in now~” Wei Wuxian said. 

Lan Wangji glanced at him, as if he were contemplating something. After a moment, he said, “We returned four days ago, and four of the Room of Tranquility’s bath basins are broken.”

With the look Lan Wangji was giving him, Wei Wuxian felt like he had to defend himself. “It wasn’t my fault last time.”

Lan Wangji placed the honeylocust soapbox where Wei Wuxian could reach it. “It was mine,” he said neutrally. 

Wei Wuxian poured a cup of water down his neck with a splash. It was covered in love bites, and the more he washed, the brighter they glistened. “Exactly,” he said. “Last last time wasn’t my fault either. To be honest, you’re technically the one who breaks them every time. This bad habit of yours hasn’t changed since the first time you did it.”

Lan Wangji rose. When he returned, he placed a jug of Emperor’s Smile beside Wei Wuxian’s hand, then sat back down at his desk. “Indeed.”

If he stretched his arm out just a little farther, Wei Wuxian could scratch under Lan Wangji’s chin—and that’s exactly what he did. Lan Wangji took out some papers, covered densely with characters, and began to read, making brief comments in the margins. As Wei Wuxian sat in the bath, he opened his Emperor’s Smile, tilting his head back to drink. “What are you reading?” he asked casually. 

“Night-hunt notes,” Lan Wangji replied. 

“The kiddos wrote these?” Wei Wuxian said. “You’re not in charge of correcting notes and such, are you? From what I remember, that’s your uncle’s job.”

“Every once in a while, Shufu doesn’t have the capacity,” Lan Wangji said. 

Lan Qiren was likely busy with more urgent matters, causing this work to temporarily fall upon Lan Wangji. Wei Wuxian took two of them to read. “Back then, your uncle would write hundreds of words for every other line, and then summarize with almost another thousand words at the end. I have no idea where he found the time to write so much. Your comments are very sparing.”

“Is being sparing a bad thing?” Lan Wangji asked. 

“It’s good!” Wei Wuxian said. “Clear and simple.”

It wasn’t because he was cutting corners. He managed even the simplest of tasks with the utmost diligence. Rather, he was just used to it—regardless of whether he was speaking or writing, he treated ink like gold, omitting any unnecessary details. 

Wei Wuxian submerged his head underwater. After some time, he finally re-emerged, wet and dripping. He picked up the honeylocust soap and ran it down his hair with one hand, and took an assignment off the desk with the other. He’d hardly skimmed it before he let out a snort. “Who wrote this? So many characters are wrong, hahahahahahahaha. I just know it’s Jingyi. You gave him an yi.”

“Yes,” Lan Wangji said. 

“You have so many assignments here, but his is the only one I saw that didn’t get top marks,” Wei Wuxian said. “Poor kiddo.”

“Too many characters are wrong, and the analysis is redundant,” Lan Wangji said. 

“What happens if you get an yi?” Wei Wuxian asked.

“Not much,” Lan Wangji said. “A rewrite.”

“He should know how lucky he is,” Wei Wuxian said. “That’s much better than being punished to copy lines while doing a handstand.”

Lan Wangji silently collected the essays that Wei Wuxian had scattered all over the place. He straightened them out then set the neatly arranged stack to the side. Wei Wuxian watched his movements, a smile automatically tugging at the corner of his lips. “How’d you grade Sizhui?”

Lan Wangji pulled out two sheets and handed them to him. “Jia.”

Wei Wuxian took and read them. “These characters are beautiful,” he said.

“The argument is clear and logical, and the content is focused and precise.”

When Wei Wuxian finished flipping through the pile in his hand, he saw another stack on the table that hadn’t been graded yet. “You need to go through all of these? How about I help you look through some?”

“Alright,” Lan Wangji said. 

“All I have to do is mark any errors and give comments, right?” Wei Wuxian asked.

He took more than half the stack. Lan Wangji tried to take the papers back, but Wei Wuxian pulled away. “What are you doing.”

“That’s too many,” Lan Wangji said. “You’re bathing.”

Wei Wuxian took another drink from his Emperor’s Smile, and snatched a brush over. “I have nothing better to do while I bathe anyway. Reading the kiddos’ notes and essays will be rather fun.”

“You must rest after bathing,” Lan Wangji said.

“Does it look like I’ll be able to fall asleep? I feel like we could even go another couple of rounds,” Wei Wuxian bragged unabashedly. 

As he watched Wei Wuxian lean against the bath basin—carefully reading through the notes, sometimes resting an elbow on the desk to write—the fire reflected in Lan Wangji’s eyes seemed to flicker with warmth. 

Though Wei Wuxian’s words were bold, he had led a bunch of teenagers through the deep mountains to stir up a ruckus all day, then came back to mess around in bed for half the night, then graded a stack of notes. It was hard not to get sleepy. After standing firm and meticulously going through his pile, Wei Wuxian tossed them onto the desk and began slipping into the water. Eyes sharp, Lan Wangji quickly and gently lifted him up, toweled him dry, and carried him to bed. 

The quick bath was over, and after Lan Wangji got into the bed and wrapped him in his arms, Wei Wuxian woke up for a little while again. He drowsily said against his collarbone, “Your family’s kiddos’ essays were written quite well. They just come a little short when night hunting.”

“Mn,” Lan Wangji said.

“That’s okay, though…” Wei Wuxian said. “While we’re in the Hidden Cloud Depths, I’ll help them cram. Tomorrow… I’ll bring them to make a mess of the shanxiao’s den again.”

One-legged shanxiao’s strength was second to none. Covered in black fur, it ate humans as easily as munching on a melon or slicing vegetables. To anyone else, though, it would’ve sounded like he was just bringing a group of snot-nosed kids up onto a rooftop to steal bird eggs.

The corner of Lan Wangji’s lips twitched, as if it wanted to go up. “You went to catch shanxiao again today?” he asked.

“Yeah, which is why I said they still have to keep training,” Wei Wuxian said. “Those mountain spirits only have one leg. If you can’t even outrun something with only a single leg, when you run into a lizard, a spider, or a centipede, aren’t you basically lying down and asking to die… ah right, Hanguang-jun, I’m out of money, you should grant me some more.”

“Simply withdraw some using the jade pendant,” Lan Wangji said. 

Wei Wuxian blearily laughed a little, saying, “The jade pendant you gave me doesn’t just let you go through the barrier… but lets you withdraw money?”

“Yes,” Lan Wangji said. “Did you destroy someone’s street stall?”

“No… how could that happen… I spent all my money because… after the night hunt, I brought them to that Hunan restaurant in Caiyi Town… the one that you refused to go to before, even when I tried my hardest to drag you there… I’m so tired… Lan Zhan, stop talking to me…”

“Alright,” Lan Zhan said.

“…I told you to stop talking… you only have to say one word, and I can’t keep myself from replying… okay Lan Zhan, go to sleep soon alright, I… can’t hold on anymore… I’m really falling asleep… Lan Zhan, see you tomorrow…”

He kissed Lan Wangji’s Adam’s apple, and as promised, quickly fell into a deep sleep. 

The Room of Tranquility grew still, cloaked in darkness.

After a while, Lan Wangji placed a soft kiss at the center of Wei Wuxian’s forehead.

“Wei Ying,” he said softly. “See you tomorrow.”

[mdzs-mangatranslation]

CHAPTER 2 ✨

Bato ◦ Mangadex ◦ Download .CBZ ◦ Chapter index

And here is the second chapter. The next chapter will be released at the end of October. Translations will follow soon after.

Feel free to join the Discord server, where I will be storing the chapters as well.

Buy the original Japanese releases at cmoa.jp.

[lazycranberrydoodles]

chapter 2 - reincarnation (masterpost here)

[whetstonefires]

I know I talk about mdzs modern AUs a lot, but it's just somehow become a fascinating adaptation process to me, all these people making their personal calls about the nature of reality.

And a thing I keep coming back to is all the people who deliberately decide to give modern!wwx Mo Xuanyu's build.

To preserve the strength contrast that's leveraged for horny, which like, yeah that's fair, horny is an acceptable reason to make a story choice. I respect that, sometimes grudgingly.

But as a result of noticing this being done, oftentimes it seems without any reflection about why, I've developed this minor obsession with the fact that wwx in his own body at its adult height was fractionally shorter than lwj.

And this was the height he reached after a multi-year period in childhood living on scrounged garbage, plus the three months starving in the mass grave toward the end of his growth period.

Meaning that by all normal logic, a modern AU wwx who did not experience these periods of intense privation--which is most of them; it's quite rare for children to experience that particular form of total neglect in modern developed nations and modernAU!wwx's life ruining circumstances only occasionally involve intense physical torment--is going to be significantly taller as an adult.

Like. Add a few inches on there.

Where are all my adequately nourished six-foot-four Wei Wuxians???